Test No. [color=blue]incompl/advan-76 “Internet Business”, question 1
One of the great advantages of using the Internet is that people can … more quickly.
(a) interfere
(b) interrupt
(c) intervene
(d) interact
Test No. [color=blue]incompl/advan-76 “Internet Business”, answer 1
One of the great advantages of using the Internet is that people can interact more quickly.
Correct answer: (d) interact
Your answer was: [color=red]incorrect
One of the great advantages of using the Internet is that people can intervene more quickly.
[size=200]_________________________[/size]
About this setence.
I also thought that it was interact however after considering it carefully it did not make sense.
Here is my reasoning. To interact with somebody is to communicate with them. When we communicate we people we do not go about it at a faster or a slower pace. We just do. I guess that we could say that we can interact more quickly because we do not need to send smail (regular mail). Well that is reasoning by extension.
It could be likewise to the following argument.
With the use of the internet people can intervene more quickly in many politically challenging situations. For example, they could use the Inet and make petitions and intervene more quickly in government actions they do not support.
Hi Rosoko,
While your point is taken, interact still is the most appropriate choice in the given sentence. You right, to interact means to communicate. To communicate means to exchange information. Now, you certainly will agree that the Internet allows to send and receive messages faster. Take our forum. It enables us to interact very fast, doesn’t it?
I’m sure you’ll also agree that the word Internet is closely connected to such words like interactive, interactivity, interaction etc.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEFL listening discussions: How many types of IMA passes are available?[YSaerTTEW443543]
I guess that the key to this is understanding the meaning of the word communicate. You are right words like interactive, interactivity, interaction are closely connected with the Internet. However, I do not understand the phrase “to interact more quickly”. It is lost to me. I imagine interaction as two people talking and moving and to interact more quickly simply means that they would have to start talking and moving faster. That image is funny and is probably the reason why I cannot understand the use of the word interact in that sentence. I can understand the use of to exchange information more quickly however. To exchange means that something is in flux and therefore it could go faster or slower.
The link between interaction and exchange of information is lost on me however. Maybe this is because I do not understand the word interaction well enough. I may know some of its meanings but some more subtle meanings may be lost for me.
I thought that we were talking and not interacting actually. : ) So I guess that we are interacting now. Interacting with another person is so new to me. : ) Do not get me wrong I have talked with many people on the Internet before I just did not know we were interacting.
Ok. I tried practicing it but it still feels a little strange to use it in that manner.
What are the implications of the word interact. In what situations is it used?
According to Dictionary.com it means :
act together or towards others or with others; “He should interact more with his colleagues”
The meaning that they give has to do with talking (implied by the example) and acting. It is actually in concordance with the image I have in my mind regarding interaction.
The Inet aspect of interaction is difficult for me to conceptualize. Right now we are not acting together we are just talking. My friends really would not understand me if I tell them that I have interacted with you on the Internet. Or maybe the word interact can not be used in the case of reported speech.
If you can not find an answer I guess I may need to just take this definition for what it is. There may not be another way to grasp it. Some additional examples may prove helpful however.
Thank you for the help,
P.S. I just wanted to say that your site is great. If you do not mind I will recommend it to my students.
Dear Roso1234,
You are right, to interact means to exchange information. Now, if you send a letter to one of your students via snail mail it might take a couple of days until they receive it. If your student replies to your letter via snail mail too, your entire exchange requires a substantial amount of time. You cannot interact within another person within minutes or even in real time if you use a conventional medium.
However, you can interact with another person very fast if you use an electronic network. So, the Internet allows you to interact with your students very quickly. You can get a reaction (a reply) to your email or forum message within seconds while it takes days to interact with another person via snail mail.
Please, do invite your students to visit our website so we can find how to interact more quickly via Internet :)[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEFL listening discussions: Why does the student visit the adviser’s office?[YSaerTTEW443543]
Your explanation really proved helpful. It also follows the definition given by Dictionary.com. I see now that interaction means the act of doing something. When we write emails we interact because we exchange information.
I wonder is talking also interaction? We are exchanging information and therefore we are interacting. Ok. I see how it works.
If it does not prove too time consuming for you could you tell me another meaning of interaction. That is when interaction is used in technology. How is a computer interactive (the computer is not Inet connected)? How is a piece of technology interactive.
Thank you again,
You are most helpful.
For somebody who has struggled with English on his own for the past 5 years this site has proven more than useful. It is just amazing. It makes things a lot easier!
Well,
You can interact with a computer too because if you give a command your PC reacts. This response by your computer triggers another action by you and so on. Any medium that either allows at least two parties to communicate with each other is interactive. A TV channel is not interactive because viewers cannot communicate through this medium. They can only receive information but not send anything. A phone is an interactive medium because you can receive as well as send information. The Internet provides various forms of interactivity one of which are forums like ours :)[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a university adviser and a student[YSaerTTEW443543]