http://www.ted.com/talks/leslie_t_chang_the_voices_of_china_s_workers
1. Describe her presentation skills. Does she use gestures? Eye contact? A strong, clear voice?
2. Why do people in China migrate to work in factories?
3. Whose story is she interested in telling? Whose voice is missing in the discourse about globalization?
4. What is her thesis? (What's her main point? Why is she giving this presentation?)
Unit 1
Migration
Climate
Inhabit Ancient Arid
Temperate
Frigid
Tropical
Herding
Political
|
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1408/140831-hello-kitty.pdf
The creators of one of the world's most widely-recognised cartoon
characters have set the record straight. Japanese toymaker Sanrio have
declared that its iconic creation Hello Kitty is not a cat. The bombshell
came to light following publicity for an upcoming exhibition on the
character at the Japanese American National Museum. The curator of the
exhibition, anthropologist Christine R Yano, said she received a mail from
Sanrio correcting her script for the show. Ms Yano confirmed that: "Hello
Kitty is not a cat. She is a little girl. She is a friend….She's never depicted
on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature." The Sanrio
website states Kitty is "a bright little girl with a heart of gold”.
Hello Kitty has taken the world by storm since its introduction in 1974. It
has become ubiquitous worldwide, adorning everything from chopsticks
to airplanes. The Japanese carmaker Daihatsu even sold a specially
branded Hello Kitty car. It had Kitty-emblazoned upholstery, a
speedometer with the character's face etched into the glass and a Kittyshaped
gear stick. The creators designed the character's face to
epitomise cuteness. Sanrio account for her lack of a mouth, saying she
doesn't have one because she speaks with her heart. Social media has
been abuzz with the revelation that Kitty is a girl. Rapper Mike Shinoda
tweeted: "This is worse than finding out Pluto is not a planet."
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1408/140831-hello-kitty.html
1. What did the company Sanrio set straight?
2. What is happening at a national museum?
3. What is the profession of the exhibition curator?
4. In what position is Hello Kitty never shown?
5. What kind of heart did Sanrio say Hello Kitty has?
6. When was Hello Kitty introduced to the world?
7. Where on a specially branded car was Hello Kitty's face engraved?
8. What did Sanrio say Hello Kitty's face epitomised?
9. Why does Hello Kitty have no mouth?
10. What did a rapper say finding out about this news was worse than?
HELLO KITTY SURVEY
From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1408/140831-hello-kitty.html
Write five GOOD questions about Hello Kitty in the table. Do this in pairs. Each
student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.
STUDENT 1
_____________
STUDENT 2
_____________
STUDENT 3
_____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.
• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found
out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.
HELLO KITTY DISCUSSION
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
a) What did you think when you read the headline?
b) What springs to mind when you hear the word 'cartoon'?
c) What do you know about Hello Kitty?
d) Is there anything wrong about cartoon characters?
e) Who is your favourite cartoon character?
f) Why do you think Hello Kitty became so iconic?
g) Would you like to see an exhibition on Hello Kitty?
h) Are Disney characters the best?
i) What do you think of goods branded with cartoons?
j) This is a widely reported story. Why is it news?
Hello Kitty is a girl, not a cat – 31st August, 2014
More free lessons at www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HELLO KITTY DISCUSSION
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
a) Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b) What do you think of Hello Kitty?
c) Why do adults like cartoon characters?
d) Do you buy anything adorned with cartoon characters?
e) What do you think of the idea of a Hello Kitty branded car?
f) What is the world's cutest cartoon character?
g) What makes a character cute?
h) Should there be more scary characters?
i) Is finding out that Hellp Kitty is not a cat worse than discovering Pluto
is not a planet?
j) What questions would you like to ask Sanrio's boss?
FREE WRITING
From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1408/140831-hello-kitty.html
Write about Hello Kitty for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.
HOMEWORK
1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the
text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to
build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Hello Kitty.
Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. HELLO KITTY: Make a poster about Hello Kitty. Show your work to
your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. NOT A CAT: Write a magazine article about whether or not Hello Kitty
is a cat of a little girl. Include imaginary interviews with people who think
she's a cat and people who think she's a small girl.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any
new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next
stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the
next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
6. LETTER: Write a letter to a Hello Kitty expert. Ask him/her three
questions about Hello Kitty. Give him/her three of your opinions on her.
Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will
answer your questions.
BEFORE READING / LISTENING
From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1408/140831-hello-kitty.html
1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
a. A Japanese toymaker has told the truth about Hello Kitty. T / F
b. The toymaker set the record straight for an upcoming exhibition. T / F
c. An archeologist is curating an exhibition on Hello Kitty. T / F
d. Hello Kitty is often seen walking like a cat, on all fours. T / F
e. The Hello Kitty character began 40 years ago. T / F
f. A Japanese carmaker sold a Hello Kitty edition car. T / F
g. Hello Kitty's mouth is heart shaped. T / F
h. Hello Kitty was based on the Disney character Pluto. T / F
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
1. creators a. portrayed
2 declared b. decorating
3. came to light c. intelligent
4. depicted d. everywhere
5. bright e. disclosure
6. ubiquitous f. engraved
7. adorning g. originators
8. etched h. embody
9. epitomise i. emerged
10. revelation j. announced
3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
1. the world's most widely- a. ubiquitous
2 its iconic b. with a heart of gold
3. publicity for an upcoming c. cuteness
4. She's never depicted on d. recognised cartoon
5. a bright little girl e. by storm
6. Hello Kitty has taken the world f. all fours
7. It has become g. Hello Kitty car
8. a specially branded h. creation
9. epitomise i. with the revelation
10. Social media has been abuzz j. exhibition
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