1) In pairs, look at the headlines and discuss the questions.
1. Why do you think news sites write these kinds of headlines?
Because each page view is worth money in terms of advertising revenue. People want to click on the headlines and share the stories because they make us feel good or look better to other people.
2. Do you think the information in these kinds of stories is reliable? Say why.
No, it isn’t. The information in these kinds of stories is just Clickbait headlines that are used to grab a reader's attention, usually by using emotion-provoking, sensationalized language.
Trending now SHARK SURPRISE!
A father and son from Irbid tried out their device to protect swimmers from shark attacks. You won’t believe what happened next!
SECRETS OF SHRIMP FARMING
The devastating truth behind those delicious prawns. This story will melt your heart!
2) Study Active Vocabulary and find two more examples of collocations in the headlines in Exercise 1.
A collocation: is a combination of two or more words, e.g. disprove a theory.
• The most common structures for collocations are:
1. adjective + noun, e.g. a bizarre theory نظرية غريبة
2. verb + noun, e.g. reveal the truth كشف الحقيقة
3. adverb + adjective, e.g. potentially embarrassing من المحتمل أن يكون مُحرِج
4. verb + adverb, e.g. discuss calmly ناقش بهدوء
The collocation |
The meaning in Arabic |
Clickbait headlines |
الروابط المضللة / مصيدة النقر/ الاستدراج بالنقر |
Hit the headlines |
تتصدر عناوين الصحف |
Go viral |
ينتشر بسرعة وعلى نطاق وامع |
Generates revenue |
يدر أو يحقق ايرادات |
Attention span |
مدى قدرة الشخص على التركيز والانتباه |
Shed lights |
سلط الأضواء |
In the public interest |
في المصلحة العامة |
Expose corruption |
يفضح ويعري الفساد |
Verify sources |
يتأكد من صحة المصادر |
Present sides of the story |
يعرض جانبي القصة (وجهي القصة) = مع وضد |