[Technology ★★]
(P1) Samsung, the world’s leading producer of smartphones, has started a music streaming service called Milk Music. At present, the service is only available for Samsung Galaxy smartphones in the USA. The service offers over 200 radio stations and a total of 13 million songs. The company does not want to bother their users with ads in the near future. In addition, users do not have to log in to use the service.
(P2) Although there are many other streaming services that can be used on any smartphone Samsung states that restricting Milk Music to its own devices will attract users who want a better service with more quality. Recently Apple launched iTunes Radio with a variety of over 300 different music tastes.
(P3) Milk can also download music tracks for offline use, in case you do not have any connection. You can also customize the service so that it will offer the music or artists you want to listen to. At the moment, Samsung does not let you buy the music, but this may be added in the future.
WORDS: 178
SOURCE: http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/living/chinas-skyscrapers-become-worlds-tallest.htm
VOCABULARY: streaming, bother, states, restricting, launched, variety, customize
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- If Milk Music was available to you, would you use it? Why or why not?
- Which types of music do you like? Why?
- Can music help people de-stress? Why or why not?
- Which types of music are popular in your country?
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES: What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
- At present (P1)
- Music tastes (P2)
- Music tracks (P3)
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