F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Vocabulary

Binge (n): 1- an occasion when an activity is done in an extreme way, especially eating, drinking, or spending money:
E.g.: He went on a five-day drinking binge.

Adverse (adj): having a negative or harmful effect on something. (adv: Adversely)
E.g.: The match has been cancelled because of adverse weather conditions.
E.g.: They received a lot of adverse publicity/criticism about the changes.
E.g.: Cancellations and delays may continue to adversely affect the airline’s financial performance.

Fatigue (n): 1- extreme tiredness.
E.g.: She was suffering from fatigue.

Prevalent (n): 1- existing very commonly or happening often. (n: Prevalence)
E.g.: These diseases are more prevalent among young children.
E.g.: Trees are dying in areas where acid rain is most prevalent.

Back-to-back (adj): 1- happening one after another, without interruption:
E.g.: Hamilton is celebrating back-to-back victories in the German and British Grands Prix.
E.g.: I’ve had ten back-to-back classes today. I’m exhausted!

Pattern (n): 1- a particular way in which something is done, is organized, or happens:
E.g.: The pattern of family life has been changing over recent years.
E.g.: A pattern is beginning to emerge from our analysis of the accident data.
E.g.: Many behavior(al) patterns have been identified in the chimp colony.

Plot (n): 1- the story of a book, film, play, etc..
E.g.: The movie has a very simple plot.
E.g.: The plots of his books are basically all the same.

Advent (n): 1- the fact of an event happening, an invention being made, or a person arriving:
E.g.: Life was changed by the advent of the internet.

Soap Opera (n): 1-  a series of television or radio programmes about the lives and problems of a particular group of characters. The series continues over a long period and is broadcast (several times) every week.
E.g.: It is her proud boast that she has never missed a single episode of the soap opera.
E.g.: The new soap opera will be screened five times each day.
E.g.: I know that if I start watching a soap opera I immediately become hopelessly addicted.
E.g.: He was interviewing some soap star.

Binge-Watching Television Causes Sleep Problems
(Source: breakingnewsenglish.com/1708/170820-binge-watching-tv.html)

New research shows that binge-watching television can adversely affect your health. Binge-viewing involves excessive watching of back-to-back TV shows in a single sitting. It has become prevalent across the world with the advent of online streaming and downloading services. Researchers from the University of Michigan in the USA and the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium surveyed 423 people aged 18-25 on their TV-viewing habits. Their research found that binge-viewing greatly interrupted sleep patterns. Co-author Professor Jan Van den Bulck said: “Our study signals that binge-viewing is prevalent in young adults and that it may be harmful to their sleep.”

The researchers asked participants about their sleep quality, levels of fatigue and prevalence of insomnia. They also enquired about their frequency of binge-watching programs on televisions, laptops and desktop computers. Over 80 per cent of the participants reported binge-watching, with 20 per cent doing so several times a week. Binge-watchers are 98 per cent more likely to experience poor sleep quality. A researcher said: “Bingeable TV shows have plots that keep the viewer tied to the screen. We think they become intensely involved with the content and may keep thinking about it when they want to go to sleep.” She said this caused people problems when trying to sleep.

Grammar

It’s a sick. – It’s an illness. 

Pronunciation

Adult: /ˈæd.ʌlt/ /əˈdʌlt/

Signal: /ˈsɪɡ.nəl/

Participant: /pɑːrˈtɪs.ə.pənt/

Belgium: /ˈbel.dʒəm/

Binge: /bɪndʒ/

Fatigue: /fəˈtiːɡ/

Prevalence: /ˈprevələns/

Insomnia:  /ɪnˈsɑːm.ni.ə/