IT’S THE NEW THING
10.1
97
VOCABULARY
PHRASAL VERBS (3)
4
a
Look at the phrasal verbs highlighted in the text
and match them with their meanings below.
1
discover
2
gain control of something/someone
3
maintain the same level as
4
become less fast/rapid
5
notice something which is not easy to notice
6
become fashionable or popular
7
disappear completely
8
believe in and be influenced by
4
b
Replace the words in italics in the questions below
with the correct form of a phrasal verb from Exercise 4a.
1
What was the most recent trend to
become popular
with young children?
2
Do you try to
have the same lifestyle and possessions
as
your friends and neighbours?
3
Why do you think trends
become less rapid
?
4
Which trends that have
disappeared
will have a
revival, do you think?
5
How do you personally
discover
which trends are
becoming popular?
6
Which trends seem to have
become dominant
on
the internet recently?
7
Which newspapers and magazines are the first to
notice
new trends in Bahrain?
8
Which recent trend are you not going to
be
influenced by
? Why not?
5
In small groups, ask and answer the questions in
Exercise 4b.
WRITING
6
Write a paragraph about a recent trend in Bahrain.
MEET THE EXPERT
Watch an interview with Cate Trotter,
a trend consultant, about how
understanding trends can help businesses.
Turn to page 153 for video activities.
Become an expert on …
NEXT WEEK:
chaos theory
TIPPING POINTS
1
It can be a problem these days keeping
up with the number of overnight internet
sensations and online viral marketing
campaigns. It is also difficult to explain how
these suddenly become popular. We tend
to think that change happens gradually and
steadily over time. However, often this is not
the case, especially with new trends which
seem to catch on very quickly.
2
A term heard a lot in this context is ‘tipping
point’, but what does it mean? The tipping
point is a term which originally came from
physics, although it has been used in many
fields of study, from economics to ecology.
The idea describes the time in any process
when very rapid change happens. In sociology
the term was first used by Morton Grodzins
when he was studying movements of people
into and out of neighbourhoods in America.
3
Although used by scholars and academics
for years, it became more widely known as
a popular term relating to trends because of
Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell. He wrote
a best-selling book called
The tipping point or
how little things can make a big difference.
In the
book Gladwell compares changes in behaviour
and new trends to the way outbreaks of disease
develop. He shows how they suddenly take over
and are everywhere, and then later slow down
in popularity and finally die out. Sometimes, for
example in fashion, they reappear years or even
decades later. Gladwell claims in his book that,
just like epidemics, trends move rapidly through
a population as people buy into them, although
not all academics agree with his theory.
4
Gladwell also talked about the importance
of word of mouth in helping people to pick
up on new ideas and trends. He identified
three types of people who are influential
in the development of trends: Connectors
(who have a wide range of contacts), Mavens
(who are experts with a lot of knowledge to
share) and Salesmen (who have influence and
people want to copy).
5
These days social networking allows people
to find out about trends which are global,
whereas before they were only local or
national. What do you think the next global
trend will be? Where and when will it start?
