week4 Ice Bucket Challenge: Can Lightning Strike Again?

 

Ice in a bucket became lightning in a bottle this summer, raising awareness and a record $115 million to combat the rare disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Former President George W. Bush, Taylor Swift, LeBron James, Bill Gates and millions more social media users participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, dumping buckets of ice over their heads to support attempts to find a cure for A.L.S., known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. About 30,000 Americans have A.L.S., which attacks nerve cells and ultimately leads to total paralysis, although the mind remains sharp. Life expectancy is usually about two to five years from diagnosis.

The concept was simple: People made videos of themselves dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, posted it to Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites, and then challenged friends to do the same within 24 hours or donate money to A.L.S. research and care. (Many people both made a video and donated the money.)

Since the end of July, donations to the ALS Association, a Washington-based nonprofit, amount to nearly six times the $19.4 million the group raised in all of the year ended Jan. 31, 2013.

“This is an encouraging sign that people have truly embraced the fight against A.L.S. as a cause they want to support,” Barbara Newhouse, chief executive of the ALS Association, said in a statement.

But can charities replicate that success? Social media marketing experts said that would be close to impossible because serendipity played such a large role. Still, that has not stopped experts from studying the phenomenon.

“More than anything else, the reason why this all worked in the end is because people felt like they were doing good, that they were contributing to something,” said Charlene Li, a social media expert and a founder of the Altimeter Group consultancy. “It really was about you, but it had the veneer of being a good citizen.”

Such experts point to a couple of key factors: The stunt was easy and entertaining, especially during the dog days of summer. Peer pressure spurred people to join in.

Star power also propelled the challenge into a global sensation. “It’s not just that celebrities got involved, but they really made it their own,” said Sarah Hofstetter, chief executive of the digital marketing company 360i. “There was creativity here, whether it’s Kermit the Frog, Bill Gates or Sarah Palin — they all were both relatable and akin to their personality.”

The ALS Association didn’t even start the campaign. A spokeswoman said that if the group had tried to create it itself, it probably would not have been nearly as successful. The charity stumbled onto success by jumping on a small campaign that already had taken root.

The Ice Bucket Challenge had been percolating on the Internet for several weeks before it was linked to A.L.S., with participants challenged to donate to a charity of their choosing. In mid-July, for example, the golfer Greg Norman challenged Matt Lauer, host of “Today” on NBC. Mr. Lauer performed the stunt on the show, promised to donate money to the Hospice of Palm Beach County and challenged Brian Williams, Martha Stewart and Howard Stern.

A couple of weeks later, Pete Frates , a former college baseball player at Boston College, learned about the challenge from his friend Pat Quinn. Mr. Frates and Mr. Quinn have A.L.S. and wanted to turn the stunt into a fund-raiser for the disease.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/giving/ice-bucket-challenge-can-lightning-strike-again.html

Structure of the Lead：

Who- Ice in a bucket

When- this summer

Why- not given

What- became lightning in a bottle

Where- not given

How- raising awareness and a record $115 million to combat the rare disease

Keywords:

1.        life expectancy 壽命

2.        dump 倒

3.        propel 促成

week3-Elliot Rodger's Previous Attacks on Women, Couples

Elliot Rodger's rage-filled manifesto documents his growing fury with the world and his initial attacks on women and couples that he envied. One of those attacks occurred on his 22nd birthday.

Fueled by vodka, Rodger decided on July 20, 2013 to party with the California college students he despised." I was giving the female gender one last chance to provide me with the pleasures I deserved from them," he later wrote in a 137-page manifesto.

That "last chance" turned bleak – a night that reflected his ambitions, fury and warped perspectives. It became a flashpoint leading up to last Friday's attacks that left six others dead and 13 injured. Rodger bought a bottle of vodka that night, taking a few shots for courage, maybe downing one too many. Other students were partying – "good looking popular kids," as he identified them. Without the buzz, he would have been too intimidated to mingle. He walked into a house party. Hip-hop music blasted from the DJ booth. The students played beer pong. Rodger soon became frustrated that no one was talking to him. Instead, women were giving "obnoxious slobs" attention, he wrote. With his inhibitions blurred by the liquor, Rodger's rage boiled over. He confronted a couple before walking outside, "realizing how pathetic I looked all by myself when everyone was partying around me."

He decided to climb onto a wooden ledge and plop onto a chair. Some partiers eventually climbed onto the ledge, too. But since the students weren't talking to him, Rodger snapped.

"That was the last straw," he wrote. "A dark, hate-fueled rage overcame my entire being, and I tried to push as many of them as I could from the 10-foot ledge."

He didn't succeed. The students pushed him back, and Rodger fell onto the street, breaking his ankle. As he stumbled away, he realized his Gucci sunglasses were missing. He turned back – but he was so drunk, he forgot where the party was, so he ended up walking onto a nearby front yard, demanding to know who took his sunglasses. The students there called him names, and more fighting followed. Eventually Rodger staggered home, beaten and bloody. No one offered to help. His sunglasses – as well as his necklace, he later learned – were gone. And his ego was crushed, he recounted in his manifesto.

Rodger was fearful he might get in trouble, so he concocted an altered story about the ledge incident to police. "Two police did interview me, and I told them that those boys deliberately pushed me off of the ledge after I acted 'cocky' towards them," Rodger wrote. "Since there was no actual evidence, the whole case was shortly dismissed."

As he recovered from his broken ankle, Rodger focused on his "Day of Retribution," a plan he would carry to fruition 10 months later.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/elliot-rodgers-previous-attacks-women-couples/story?id=23879620

Structure of the Lead：

Who- Elliot Rodger

When- on his 22nd birthday

Why- his growing fury with the world and his initial attacks on women and couples that he envied

What- he filled manifesto documents

Where- not given

How- not given

Keywords:

1.     manifesto  宣言；告示

2.     intimidate  威嚇；脅迫

3.     stagger  搖搖晃晃，蹣跚而行

Germany win World Cup: 'Miracle boy' Gotze told to outshine Messi

week2-Germany coach Joachim Low hailed Mario Gotze as the "miracle boy" after his extra-time strike sealed a 1-0 win over Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final.

Low also revealed he told Gotze to show the world he was better than Lionel Messi minutes before the substitute came on to score the winner.

Victory gave Germany a fourth World Cup title and first for 24 years.

Gotze, 22, said: "It is an unbelievable feeling. You score that goal and you don't really know what's happening."

Gotze, who began the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Germany's starting line-up, came on as an 88th-minute substitute for Miroslav Klose in Sunday's final.

With seven minutes of extra time remaining, the Bayern Munich midfielder volleyed home with his left foot after controlling Andre Schurrle's left-wing cross on his chest.

"He is the wonder who can play in numerous positions, he is the decider who can come on and make a difference," said Low. "That is what he did."

Gotze, who joined Bayern in a £31.5m deal from Borussia Dortmund last summer, added: "It's indescribable. The dream has become a reality. It is absolutely sensational."

Coach Alejandro Sabella said the award was "very deserved", adding: "He played a great World Cup to get us where he did."

Germany counterpart Low, meanwhile, said victory in Brazil was the result of a 10-year project.

Germany were knocked out at the group stage of Euro 2004 without winning a game but have since reached three semi-finals and two finals at five major championships.

Before Sunday they had not won a tournament since tasting success in the 1996 European Championships in England.

"We've made constant progress and believed in the project," said the 54-year-old Low, who became coach in 2006 after stepping up from his role as assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann. "If any group deserves it, it's this team."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28288692

Structure of the Lead:

Who- Germany coach Joachim Low

When- not given

What- hailed Mario Gotze as the "miracle boy"

Why- his extra-time strike sealed a 1-0 win over Argentina

Where- in Sunday's World Cup final

Keywords:

1.      outshine光亮強過；使失色；比……更優秀
2.      hail向……歡呼；為……喝采
3.      sensational引起轟動的；轟動社會的
4.      be knocked out  打敗; 淘汰

week 1 Cross-straits service pact

Cross-Straits service pact 'benefits both'

By An Baijie (China Daily)Updated: 2014-03-26 22:41

The mainland's spokesman on Taiwan affairs called on Taiwan people on Wednesday not to undermine a proposed new cross-Straits pact, saying the agreement would be "mutually beneficial".

The Cross-Straits Service Trade Agreement is an economic pact that aims to benefit people on both sides, a fact that should be understood by Taiwan's people, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The mainland and Taiwan have had economic exchanges for more than 20 years, and the enhanced economic cooperation has benefited Taiwan's people, he said.

Ma made the remarks at a regular biweekly news conference on Wednesday morning, several days after more than 2,000 Taiwan residents gathered on Sunday evening to protest the pact.

Some protesters broke into the building of Taiwan's executive chamber, smashing windows and clashing with police.

At least 110 protesters and 55 policemen were injured.

Some Taiwan residents worry that the pact would allow mainland people to work in Taiwan and take local people's jobs, but such worries are unfounded, Ma said.

Taiwan has never allowed mainland workers to hunt for jobs on the island, and the service trade pact does not lift that restriction, he added.

Ma also said that the pact will not lead to the immigration of mainland investors to Taiwan.

"I heard rumors that by investing 48,000 yuan ($7,730), mainland people could move to Taiwan, and I wonder how that could be possible," he said.

Only by marrying Taiwan residents and then waiting for years can mainland people be allowed to live on the island, he added.

Ma called on Taiwan's people to read the pact and know its contents before hitting the streets to protest.

According to the pact, the mainland will open 80 service sectors to Taiwan, while Taiwan will open 64 sectors to the mainland.

For example, the pact allows Taiwan businesses operating on the mainland to hire professionals in the construction sector from Taiwan, with no time limit on their stay. Taiwan construction companies are also permitted to bid for construction projects on the mainland.

Both the mainland and Taiwan should cherish the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, Ma said.

Li Baoming, a professor with the Institute of Taiwan Studies with Tsinghua University, said that it was Taiwan's political confrontations, rather than the pact itself, that triggered the protest.

The Cross-Straits Trade Service Agreement was signed in June by the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation. The two organizations are authorized by the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Straits negotiations and the signing of agreements.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-03/26/content_17381400.htm

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO- The mainland's spokesman on Taiwan affairs

   WHEN-not given

   WHAT- called on Taiwan people on Wednesday not to undermine a proposed new cross-Straits pact

              WHY- saying the agreement would be "mutually beneficial".

          where-not given

           HOW-not given

Keywords:

1.      cross-straits service pact 服貿協定

2.      undermine 暗中破壞

3.      economic cooperation 經濟合作

4.      news conference 記者會

5.      restriction 限制 約束

6.      confrontation 對抗