Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. renew
    • ex. The new movie helped renew people’s interest in the old book.
  2. a movement
    • ex. Many people joined the movement to help save the forests.
  3. popularize
    • ex. The singer popularized many different songs.
  4. awareness
    • ex. Earth Day is a movement that hopes to raise awareness about the environment.
  5. make the difference
    • ex. Good teamwork can make the difference in winning the game.

Article

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

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Last month, people gathered at Fenway Park in Boston to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Among them were the governor of Massachusetts and some sports stars, who joined in by pouring cold water on themselves. The event’s goal is to renew interest in the challenge, which became a popular movement to raise money for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Pete Frates and Pat Quinn, who both had ALS, helped popularize the Ice Bucket Challenge. Then, it became a big movement. Thousands of people, including actors, sports stars, and government officials, joined the popular challenge. Their online videos were watched millions of times. The movement has raised $250 million (approximately ¥36.7 billion) for ALS and helped get an extra $1 billion (about ¥146.8 billion) for research.

Dr. Merit Cudkowicz admires Frates’ effort to raise money for ALS research. She reminded everyone how this simple challenge raised awareness about ALS more than any other effort. “It brought so many new scientists to the field all over the world, and that’s making the difference today for people living with ALS,” Dr. Cudkowicz said.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Raising Awareness and Social Media Campaigns

  • What awareness campaigns do you know of (ex. Pink Ribbon Campaign, Ice Bucket Challenge)? Discuss.
  • Do you agree that social media campaigns are more effective than traditional methods (ex. TV ads, flyers) for raising awareness? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are raising awareness for a particular campaign. How would you promote it? Discuss.

Impact of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

  • How popular was the Ice Bucket Challenge in your country? Discuss.
  • Do you agree with using fun as a way to raise awareness? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Thousands of people, including actors, sports stars, and government officials, joined the Ice Bucket Challenge. What do you think of popular people joining such campaigns (ex. it’s good for raising awareness, they just want to be popular)? Discuss.