Keep it up study on Dec 27th in 2014

리더 Alex 입니다.올해의 마지막 스터디가 되겠군요. 이렇게 2014년은 또 과거로 지나갑니다.얼른 가라 ㅋㅋ    Topic1. Internet     The founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has spoken about his creation 25 years after he helped to conceive it. He said it has been a force for good, but it also has a negative side. Mr Berners-Lee was speaking to the BBC at London's Science Museum. He said: "Everywhere I look I see a mass of energy, a huge amount of energy, and also in some places, they are using the web for organised protests against oppressive regimes." He also lamented the growing use of the Internet for trolling and negativity. He said: "It's staggering to me that people who must have been brought up like anybody else will suddenly become very polarised in their opinions and will suddenly become very hateful instead of very loving."  Berners-Lee was at the Science Museum to view an important part of Internet history. The museum will house the server that hosted the first ever website. It is part of a new exhibition called the Information Age. The machine still has a reminder on it written by Berners-Lee that warns: "This machine is a server. Do not power it down." Berners-Lee is currently the director of an organisation called the World Wide Web Consortium, which oversees the Web's continued development. Talking about the future of the Internet, he said: "Maybe we will be able to build web-based tools that help us keep people on the path of collaborating rather than fighting." He hopes the Web will remain "a medium for positive change".   Questions   1. How important is the Internet to you? 2. What was life like before the Internet? 3. How do you think someone came up with the idea of the Web? 4. What do you know about the history of the Internet? 5. What are the negative sides to the Internet? 6. How does the Internet improve your life? 7. What makes you angry about the Internet? 8. Have you ever posted a negative comment on the Internet?    Topic2.   Hip-hop   Doctors at Britain's world famous Cambridge University believe that hip-hop music can help people who are depressed or mentally ill. They call it 'hip-hop therapy'. The doctors said that many of the lyrics (the words to the songs) in hip-hop music can reach out to people with emotional problems. A team of doctors wrote a report about this. The report is in a special medical magazine called 'The Lancet Psychiatry'. The doctors said a lot of hip-hop music speaks of overcoming hardships and big difficulties in life. In particular, hip-hop has lyrics about being poor, being unpopular, and about crime and drugs. These are all problems that can lead to depression and mental illnesses.  The report on hip-hop and mental health says: "Hip-hop artists use their skills and talents not only to describe the world they see, but also as a means of breaking free. There's often a message of hope in amongst the lyrics, describing the place where they want to be - the cars they want to own, the models they want to date." The doctors chose five hip-hop songs as part of the therapy. One of them is the classic 1982 tune 'The Message' by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Another is a track called 'Juicy' by The Notorious BIG. This has lyrics that tell people they can be successful even if others say they cannot be. BIG explains how teachers told him he would "amount to nothing" but then became a superstar.     Questions  1. How does hip-hop make you feel? 2. What different kinds of hip-hop are there? 3. Is hip-hop modern-day poetry? 4. Do you understand why some people don't like hip-hop? 5. How can hip-hop help people with mental illnesses? 6. Is American hip-hop better than hip-hop from other countries? 7. What music do you think would be the best therapy? 8. Are you good at singing hip-hop?     Topic3. Smart watches    The electronics giant Sony is gearing up for the launch of a watch made out of electronic paper. The e-paper watch could be on store shelves next year. Sony's watch will be the latest to enter the smart watch market. A company spokesman said the watch would differ from the competition because it will focus more on looks and style rather than function and gadgetry. The watch will be made from a special paper material that will allow both its face and strap to serve as a display. The wearer will be able to change and interact with the entire surface of the watch. Analysts say that the watch may have trouble selling. Most agree that it is stylish, but it isn't a proper smart watch as it cannot connect to the Internet.  Sony kept the testing of its watch a big secret until this week. It made the design public last September to gauge public reaction to it. Sony didn't want people to be influenced by its name or brand, so it said the watch was from a company called Fashion Entertainment. A spokesman said: "We hid Sony's name because we wanted to test the real value of the product, whether there will be demand for our concept." Sony put the watch on a crowdfunding site to test the market and see how many people thought it would be worth investing in. The device surpassed its two million yen ($17,000) goal, raising 3.5 million yen ($30,000) in total.   Questions   1. What do you think of the idea of smart watches? 2. How happy are you with your watch? 3. What things do you really need on a watch? 4. What is your favorite watch brand? 5. How good a brand is Sony? 6. What other things could e-paper be used for? 7. What do you know about crowdfunding? 8. Would you invest in a crowdfunded project?