Cartoon: Mobile Phone Addiction

This cartoon by Andy Davey from The Sun relates to research that shows that smartphones have turned Britain into a nation of mobile addicts. Regulator Ofcom found that 60 per cent of teenagers and more than a third of adults are 'highly addicted' to using their mobile phones. 

The cartoon shows young people in a park. They are all on their mobile phones. The boy and girl in the foreground are actually speaking to each other on their phones. The joke is that they don't realize how addicted they are.

VOCABULARY

OMG stands for Oh My God, and  LOL for Laughing Out Loud. Both are examples of SMS language or Textese (also known as text-speak). 

[JOKE] Install the phone

Install the phone

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He'd rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office.

Wishing to appear busy, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments.

Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Sure. I've come to install the phone!"

Vocabulary Help

• antiques - móveis antigos
• big deal - grande negócio
• businessman - homem de negócios
• busy - ocupado
• commitments - compromisso
• furnish - mobiliar
• hang up - desligar
• huge - enorme
• office - escritório
• own - próprio
• pick up - pegar
• pretend - fingir
• rent - alugar
• see (see, saw, seen) - ver
• sure - certamente
• throw (throw, threw, thrown) - jogar
• wish - desejar
• young - jovem