New Google service to rival Wikipedia

ANSWERS

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Knol. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. KNOWLEDGE: Make a poster about the history of how and what people used to increase their knowledge. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all include similar things?

4. RIVALRY: Write a magazine article about the new rivalry between Wikipedia and Google’s new service Knol. Include imaginary interviews with the CEOs of both companies.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down new words and expressions.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the bosses of Google. Give them three suggestions on what they should do to create a better online encyclopedia. Give them three reasons why they should take your advice. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	unveiled	a.	revealed
	authoritative	b.	factual
3.	departure	c.	shift
4.	operational	d.	usable
5.	universally	e.	widely
6.	represents	f.	equals
7.	concepts	g.	ideas
8.	collaboration	h.	working together
9.	rivalry	i.	competition
10.	doubted	j.	questioned

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a new service that is set	a.	to rival Wikipedia
	Knol aims to knock Wikipedia	b.	off of its perch
3.	write an authoritative	c.	article
4.	take a share	d.	of the profits
5.	organize the world’s information and	e.	make it universally useful
6.	The name ‘Knol’ comes from the	f.	word ‘knowledge’
7.	the lack of collaboration between	g.	authors
8.	encourage an element of rivalry	h.	among contributors
9.	people will not be able to edit	i.	each other’s work
10.	Knol articles would lack	j.	balance

GAP FILL:

Google has unveiled a new service that is set to rival Wikipedia, the Internet’s most visited encyclopedia. Google’s new product, called Knol, aims to knock Wikipedia off of its perch as the web’s largest reference source. A Google spokesperson said the new project will get authors, experts and ordinary people “who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it”. The added bonus for contributors is that Knol’s writers will be able to put adverts on their work and take a share of the profits. This is a departure from Wikipedia, which relies on voluntary contributions. Knol is currently in a test phase but sources say it should be fully operational within months. It seems to be another step towards Google’s mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally useful and accessible ”.

The name ‘Knol’ comes from the word ‘knowledge,’ and a ‘knol’ represents one written article. A spokesperson said: “A ‘knol’ is meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read…The goal is for ‘knols’ to cover all topics, from scientific concepts to entertainment.” The main difference between Google’s new service and Wikipedia is the lack of collaboration between authors. Knol hopes to encourage an element of rivalry among contributors. Authors will know there is a link between the quality of their writing and how much revenue their work might generate. Another difference is that on Knol, people will not be able to edit each other’s work. Wikipedia’s founder Jimmy Wales doubted whether Knol would be able to generate enough “quality content” and suggested that Knol articles would lack balance.

Дата добавления: 2015-01-03