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Smartphone Thefts
ECK교육 | 2013.06.17 09:42

Smartphone Thefts

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

What do you already know about smartphone theft?

Do you know someone who had their smartphone stolen?

In the past year four of my friends have had their smart phones stolen. These losses mostly happened when they were in noisy dark bars or traveling in parts of South East Asia. In fact when I was in HoChiMin City recently I felt very uncomfortable taking out my smartphone because some had told me that they had their phones ripped from their hands from passing scooter riders.

There has been a lucrative market for used smartphones, especially in poorer countries where owning an expensive smartphone is used as a status symbol in the same way perhaps as owning an exotic car. Smartphones are a ‘must have’ product.

The loss and theft of cellphones cost consumers in the United States over $30 billion in 2012, according to a recent study by Lookout, a San Francisco mobile security company. About 113 smartphones are lost or stolen each minute in the United States and, according to the Federal Communications Commission, cellphone thefts account for 30 to 40 percent of all robberies nationwide. In New York City, the thefts increased 40 percent last year alone.

Seeking to curb a nationwide increase in smartphone thefts, New York’s attorney general and San Francisco’s district attorney on Thursday announced an initiative to push the industry to develop technologies that will discourage theft and dry up the market for stolen devices.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading.

The answers are below the table.

In fact	A	1	Suddenly taken, pulled from, taken away
ripped	B	2	Very different and desirable, unusual
lucrative	C	3	To stop or slow something down
status symbol	D	4	To begin, to create a new idea or to do something without waiting to be told
exotic	E	5	Something such as a luxury brand name that increases how other people might see or think of us
must have	F	6	Sales die, no more customers
to curb	G	7	Synonyms: Actually, to say, really,
initiative	H	8	Really need to own
dry up the market	I	9	A lot of value, can make a lot of money

A=7, B=1, C=9, D=5, E=2, F=8, G=3, H=4, I=6

Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.

1. Kim YuNa is a great Korean skater, in fact she is the best in the world.

2. When I lost my girlfriend I felt that something had been ripped from my life.

3. Smartphones have been lucrative for Samsung and other phone makers.

4. Prada is definitely a status symbol among women who love shoes.

5. Exotic sports cars like Ferraris cost as much as a house.

6. These new accessories seem to be a ‘must have’ item for young Korean women.

7. The government aims to curb smoking by increasing the tax.

8. Employers want workers who have initiative and don’t wait to be told what to do all the time.

9. The bank loans dried up and so now the country has a financial problem.

Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.

1. Why do you think the writer used the phrase ‘in fact’ in the reading? What other words or phrases could you replace it with?

2. What advice would you give to someone who had something valuable ripped from their hands like in the story?

3. Is their a lucrative market for used smartphones in your country? Why or why not?

4. How much is a smartphone a status symbol in your country? What items would be exotic or a status symbol where you live?

5. What products are ‘must have’ for you? That is, you don’t need to own one but you really desire it.

6. Do you agree with the way they are trying to curb smartphone stealing in America? Why or why not?

7. Does your countries government need to initiate some ways to stop smartphone theft? What initiatives could they take?

8. What market has dried up in your country in your lifetime? For example some say that the market for desktop computers could dry up as tablet computers become more powerful?

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