FIRST A, B, C

Texting while walking is dangerous   (12th March, 2014)

Reading or writing text messages while you are walking is dangerous. A new study says it is more dangerous than texting while driving. The study is from the University of Buffalo in the USA. Researchers found that there are more injuries per kilometer to texting pedestrians than there are to texting motorists. Their report says walking is not as easy as we think it is. We need to focus on many things at the same time to walk safely in a straight line. The research team said that people forget how to walk properly, so dangerous things happen to them. They bump into walls and other people, walk into cars, fall over things in the street, and even fall into holes or down stairs.

A University of Buffalo professor said walking is a complex action. He said there are several reasons why texting stops people from walking properly. One reason is that they cannot see the path ahead of them. Another is that they are focused on their fingers on their mobile phone keyboard instead of their feet on the street. A final reason is that their minds are somewhere else and not on thinking about walking from A to B safely. The professor said over 6,000 people visited his hospital last year because they were injured while texting. He said the worst cases are head injuries. When a pedestrian is tossed into the air after being hit by a car, he/she has nothing to protect the head, and the damage can be serious.

  TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	It is more dangerous to text while walking than while driving.	T / F
b.	A study says people who text and walk are injured every kilometer.	T / F
c.	Researchers said walking isn't as easy as we think it is.	T / F
d.	The article says people who walk and text often fall up stairs.	T / F
e.	A professor said people do not focus on their feet when they text.	T / F
f.	The professor said people who text are absent-minded.	T / F
g.	60,000 people visited the professor in 2013 because of texting injuries.	T / F
h.	The professor said the worst texting injuries are head injuries.	T / F

 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	study	a.	complicated
2	found	b.	correctly
3.	motorists	c.	thrown
4.	properly	d.	discovered
5.	things	e.	in front
6.	complex	f.	report
7.	ahead	g.	safeguard
8.	injured	h.	drivers
9.	tossed	i.	hurt
10.	protect	j.	stuff

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What says texting while walking is dangerous?	6.	How many reasons did a professor give for why texting makes walking difficult?
	a) the book on walking safely b) a study c) the International Text-Walkers Organisation (ITWO) d) a "walk safely" app		a) several b) countless c) 17 d) many
2.	What is texting while walking more dangerous than?	7.	What was the first reason for not walking properly?
	a) parachuting b) eating 10 large hamburgers c) texting while driving d) being a soldier		a) holes in the street b) bad-fitting shoes c) very important texts d) people cannot see ahead
3.	What do we need to do to walk in in a straight line?	8.	Where did the professor say people's minds are while they are texting?
	a) decide which way to go b) use a piece of chalk c) not drink alcohol d) focus on many things		a) between their ears b) inside their mobile phones c) somewhere else d) asleep
4.	What two things do people bump into while walking and texting?	9.	How many people visited the professor's hospital?
	a) old friends and people from work b) other people and walls c) ice cream pizza d) telephones and bridges		a) sixty million b) 660 c) over 60 thousand d) over six thousand
5.	What do people sometimes fall down while walking and texting?	10.	What kinds of injuries did the professor say were worst?
	a) stairs b) hills c) wells d) rabbit holes		a) back injuries b) head injuries c) eye injuries d) fingernail injuries

Read more: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1403/140312-texting-while-walking.html#ixzz2ybifa92b