Japan town beats world
snowman record


Words of the Day:

• previous (adj): coming or occurring before something else.
• Example: Previous studies show the harmful effects of global warming.
• coincided (v): to occur at the same place and time.
• Example: Our vacations coincided this year.
• adjudicator (n.): a judge, most commonly seen in debate competitions.
• Example: The adjudicator judged that our argument was the best.
• tackle (v): to deal with.
• Example: The efforts to tackle global warming has achieved little.
• feat (n): an extraordinary act or achievement.
• Example: Fire dancing is such an incredible feat.

Article Reading


Residents of a Japanese town have broken the world speed record for building snowmen. Citizens at the Iiyama Snow Festival in Nagano made 1,585 of the snowy fellows in one hour to set the new mark. Around 630 people took part in the record attempt. The previous record was 1,279 snowmen, set in Utah, USA in 2011. The event in Iiyama Town coincided with the opening of a new train station for Japan's famous bullet train. Justin Patterson, the adjudicator from the official Guinness World Records organisation, said the event had been a wonderful occasion. He said: "Despite Iiyama being buried in snow, it is wonderful that the residents came out to tackle the challenge together in a positive light."


There were strict rules to be met for the record to be broken. One was that each snowman had to be at least 80 cm tall. In addition the snowmen had to be made of three separate snowballs, with eyes, a nose and arms. People used only their hands in the record-breaking endeavour. Committee member Jiro Kobayashi told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper that the event was fitting for the opening of the bullet train station. He said: "We were able to achieve the record thanks to the cooperation of many people. We believe the feat will boost [the celebratory atmosphere of] the opening of the Shinkansen's Iiyama Station." Ichika Oguchi, 8, said: "It was tough because the snow didn't stick together, but I had fun."
...........................................................................................................


True or False

a.	Residents in a Japanese town have built the world's tallest snowman.	T / F
b.	It took about 630 people to break the snowman record.	T / F
c.	The record attempt was to celebrate the opening of a train station.	T / F
d.	The residents came together and did everything in a positive light.	T / F
e.	The snowmen had to be made from three separate snowballs.	T / F
f.	People used special equipment to help break the record.	T / F
g.	The event put a damper on the celebratory atmosphere.	T / F
h.	An 8-year-old said the event was fun and easy. Comprehension Questions: At what kind of festival was the record broken? How many people helped make the snowmen? What did the event coincide with? Who is Justin Patterson? In what kind of light did the residents tackle this challenge? What kind of rules were there for the event? What was the minimum height each snowman had to be? Who is Jiro Kobayashi? What kind of atmosphere did the event boost? How old was the child who had fun?

Synonyms

Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	residents	a.	men
2	fellows	b.	what's more
3.	previous	c.	confront
4.	coincided	d.	collaboration
5.	tackle	e.	attempt
6.	strict	f.	citizens
7.	in addition	g.	happened together
8.	endeavour	h.	difficult
9.	cooperation	i.	old
10.	tough	j.	rigid

Discussion

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'snowman'?
3)	What do you think about what you read?
4)	What do you think of there being a record for building the most snowmen in an hour?
5)	Would you like to take part in this attempt?
6)	What do you know about Japan's bullet train?
7)	What world record would you like to break?
8)	What things are good to do in snow?
9)	Do you like snow? Why?
10)	Do you live in a community where people do things together?

Read more:http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1502/150221-snowman.html#ixzz3TVHXTVN7