Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. compose
    • ex. Some singers write their own songs and compose their own music.
  2. submit
    • ex. I submitted my report one day late, so my boss wasn’t happy.
  3. a passion
    • ex. She developed a passion for painting when she was seven years old.
  4. extraordinary
    • ex. The costumes in his new TV show are extraordinary; I’ve never seen anything like them.
  5. bring (something) to life
    • ex. My favorite book was brought to life when they made it into a live-action movie.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Lego recently launched a 3,662-piece grand piano set that can make music. It has 25 playable keys and can be used with a smartphone app to play, compose, and record music. The piano set, which is only 22.5 cm tall when built, costs $350 (about ¥37,000).

The new grand piano set was created as part of the Lego Ideas Collection. For this collection, the toy company invites fans to submit their ideas for new Lego creations. The piano was the idea of a music teacher named Donny Chen. Chen said that he loves both music and Legos, and he wanted to create a set that includes his two passions.

Federico Begher, vice president of global marketing at The Lego Group, said that when his team saw Chen’s design, they thought that it was extraordinary. According to Begher, they believed that it would be a unique Lego set and immediately wanted to bring it to life. Chen said that it was an honor to have his design chosen by the company.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Lego Ideas Collection

  • Should Lego pay Chen for his idea? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think the Lego Ideas Collection is a good way for Lego to gain customers? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that Lego wants you to submit an idea for their collection. What kind of Lego design are you going to submit (ex. a car model, a musical instrument)? Why? Discuss.

Toys

  • Do you think the price of the Lego grand piano ($350) is reasonable for a toy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think buying toys and never playing with them is a good idea? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Why do you think some people collect toys (ex. Lego sets, old games)? Discuss.