Hooking Up on the Internet
It seems there is nothing you can’t do on the Internet these days. Last week I read about an 80 year old Australian man that wants to hook up with and eventually wed a Korean woman. To achieve this he has registered with a dating website and to sweeten his offer, he is offering a large sum of money to his future wife as well as offering to set her up in a 1.5 billion won house in Korea.
Certainly the Internet has revolutionized the way we do business and in business that is why the written word is even more important. We need to know when to use formal and when it’s okay to use informal language such as in emailing. Therefore, it is important that our websites give the right impression about our business and us. For example, I do all my banking online and sometimes when I read the English version I have trouble understanding some of what is written in English. The same goes for a hotel that I’m meeting an international visitor at this coming week. I gave him the hotel’s website, and when I read the directions and information it was full of strange English, some of it hard to decipher. I don’t think this gives an impression of the hotel being quality. It wouldn’t take the hotel long to find a native speaker to do some editing on these sites and create the right international impression.
So back to our Australian friend, his strategy is certainly interesting. Would you consider meeting someone this way? Do you think he is treating matters of the heart as if it’s a business? I’m not sure myself, you be the judge.
Guess the Meaning of Words From Context
Match the word/phrase on the left with the meaning in the right column
|
hook up with (informal slang style) |
A |
1 |
Organize something, establish, begin |
|
To wed |
B |
2 |
A total change, completely new |
|
sweeten his offer |
C |
3 |
Make something more interesting or better with an offer of something nice or a lot more money |
|
set up |
D |
4 |
Emotions, feelings, usually romantic feelings and emotions |
|
revolutionize |
E |
5 |
Get together with, meet, date |
|
decipher |
F |
6 |
To marry |
|
matters of the heart |
G |
7 |
To understand, figure something out, solve |
A=5, B=6, C=3, D=1, E=2, F=7, G=4
Learn New Words by Using Them
Answer these questions using the new words/phrases
1. How often do you hook up with friends/alumni from university or high school? And what do you do when you hook up?
2. Do you or anyone you know have plans to wed this coming year? Tell me about it.
3. Describe how you could sweeten an offer in business. Or describe a situation where your company sweetened an offer to win a deal.
4. Describe something that you have to set up? For example you might have to set up a meeting or business deal, or set up a blind date for a friend.
5. What products have revolutionized life? Describe them?
6. What is something that is hard to decipher? Why?
7. What are you like when it comes to matters of the heart?
Some Example Sentences to Help you Understand How to Use the New Words/Phrases
1. I need to replace my computer so do you think you could hook me up with a good price?
2. They met on a blind date last year and next year they plan to wed.
3. A good negotiator will know how much and what to sweeten an offer with to get the sale.
4. It takes a lot of money to set up a new business.
5. MP3 players revolutionized how we listen to music.
6. It was so hard to hear her words on the telephone; I could not decipher what she was saying.
7. Love relationships can be hard; matters of the heart can be confusing.
ECK Education
