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Frequently Asked Questions How does playing the vocabulary game at FreeRice help me? Learning new vocabulary has tremendous benefits. It can help you:
How does the FreeRice vocabulary program work? FreeRice has a custom database containing thousands of words at varying degrees of difficulty. There are words appropriate for people just learning English and words that will challenge the most scholarly professors. In between are thousands of words for students, business people, homemakers, doctors, truck drivers, retired people… everyone! FreeRice automatically adjusts to your level of vocabulary. It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, assigns you an approximate starting level. You then determine a more exact level for yourself as you play. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. This one-to-three ratio is best for keeping you at the “outer fringe” of your vocabulary, where learning can take place. There are 55 levels in all, but it is rare for people to get much above level 48. How is the difficulty level for each word determined? The program keeps track of how many people get each word right or wrong, and then adjusts each word’s difficulty level accordingly. So the words at the easiest levels are the ones that people most often get right. The words at the hardest levels are the ones that people most often get wrong. As more and more people have played the game, these levels have become increasingly more accurate. Is FreeRice adding more words? Yes. A team of professional lexicographers from the firm of Lexiteria is working to add words and additional levels to the FreeRice database. Five new levels were added in late January 2008 and more will follow. In particular, the hunt is on to find the hairiest and most difficult words in the English language. But we are also looking to add easy words, medium words and all the other words you might ever want to know. In short, we do not want you to run out of vocabulary to learn anytime soon... How do I hear a word pronounced? To hear one of the vocabulary words pronounced out loud, click on the speaker symbol to the right of the word. Speech over the Internet is not an exact science and there are a number of things you can check if you do not hear the word pronounced. Check that your computer has speakers, that the volume is turned up and not on mute, and that you have Flash installed (most computers do). Also, some recently added words may not have the pronunciation done yet. The pronunciations are very kindly provided by eSpindle.org, a non-profit organization that tutors vocabulary and spelling online. What happens if my computer suddenly loses power while I am in the middle of playing? Does my donation still count? Yes, once your screen says that you have donated a certain amount of rice, that means our servers have registered it. For example, suppose your screen says that you have donated 120 grains of rice. If your computer then suddenly loses power, or you close your browser, or you click to go somewhere else, your donation has already been counted. Who pays for the donated rice? The rice is paid for by the advertisers whose names you see on the bottom of your vocabulary screen. This is regular advertising for these companies, but it is also something more. Through their advertising at FreeRice, these companies support both learning (free vocabulary for everyone) and reducing hunger (free rice for the hungry). We commend these companies for their participation at FreeRice. If FreeRice has the rice to give, why not give it all away right now? FreeRice is not sitting on a pile of rice―you are earning it 20 grains at a time. Here is how it works. When you play the game, advertisements appear on the bottom of your screen. The money generated by these advertisements is then used to buy the rice. So by playing, you generate the money that pays for the rice donated to hungry people. Does FreeRice make any money from this? No, it does not. FreeRice runs the site at no profit. Couldn’t I just write a computer program to play all day and give a lot of rice that way? There are two problems with this. First, it overloads our servers so that real people can’t play and learn vocabulary. Second, without real people playing and buying products, it is no longer cost-effective for companies to advertise. Without advertising, we cannot give any rice at all. Are there any banners I can use to link to FreeRice? Yes, these are available here. Who distributes the donated rice? The rice is distributed by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The World Food Program is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good. Wherever possible, the World Food Program buys food locally to support local farmers and the local economy. We encourage you to visit the United Nations World Food Program to learn more about their successful approach to ending hunger. Will the rice I donate make a difference? The rice you donate makes a huge difference to the person who receives it. According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children. To a mother or father watching a loved child die in their arms from hunger, the rice you donate is more precious than anything in the world. What is being done to end world hunger? There is great progress being made to end world hunger. Many organizations across the globe are involved in this struggle. Each day, hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women work for these organizations. Through their efforts, millions of impoverished people have food to eat, learn skills and find hope for the future. What else can I do to help end hunger? Here are two key things you can do to help end hunger. Both are free and easy to do.
One last important thing you can do to help end hunger is to become knowledgeable about it. A good way to do this is to visit our sister site Poverty.com (designed so that busy people can learn quickly about hunger and poverty) or one of the many excellent sites listed here. We believe that when enough people around the world become knowledgeable about hunger, it will no longer be tolerated. |
| WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance |
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VOCAB LEVEL: 39 YOUR BEST LEVEL: 40 You have now donated 500 grains of rice. |
