A man named Elon Musk is upset because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X. This website used to be called Twitter. These companies don’t want their ads to be next to bad messages. X gets most of its money from ads, so this is a big problem. If X doesn’t get enough money, it might go away. Elon Musk can put more of his own money into X or talk to banks to help X, but we don’t know what he will do yet.

X is having more troubles, too. They are not making as much money from ads as they did before. They have to pay a lot of people who work for them and pay back money they borrowed. If they can’t pay, X might have to close down. This would be bad for Elon Musk because people might not trust him with money anymore. He is trying to make X do more things, like letting people talk and send money, but it will take time to make money from these new ideas. Right now, X needs to find a way to make money without the ads.

Original news source: Could X go bankrupt under Elon Musk? (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. One student from each pair will act out a word or phrase related to the article, while the other student guesses what it is. Encourage students to use gestures and body language to convey the meaning.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, have students take turns summarizing the main points of the article. Encourage them to use their own words and keep their summaries concise.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a vocabulary word from the article. Without speaking, they must draw a picture to represent the word. The rest of the class must guess what word is being depicted.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Have students take turns summarizing the article in one minute or less. Encourage them to focus on the main ideas and key details. After each student’s turn, ask the class if they agree with the summary or if anything important was missed.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. One group will list the pros (positive aspects) of X’s situation, while the other group will list the cons (negative aspects). After brainstorming, have each group share their lists and discuss their reasoning.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is upset because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X?
2. Why don’t these companies want their ads to be next to bad messages?
3. Where does X get most of its money from?
4. What might happen to X if it doesn’t get enough money?
5. What can Elon Musk do to help X?
6. Why is X having more troubles?
7. What might happen to X if it can’t pay its debts?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named (1)______ Musk is upset because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X. This website used to be called Twitter. These companies don’t want their ads to be next to bad messages. X gets most of its (2)______ from ads, so this is a big problem. If X doesn’t get enough money, it might go away. Elon Musk can put more of his own money into X or (3)______ to banks to help X, but we don’t know what he will do yet.

X is having more (4)______, too. They are not (5)______ as much money from ads as they did before. They have to pay a lot of people who work for them and pay back money they borrowed. If they can’t pay, X might have to (6)______ down. This would be bad for Elon Musk because people might not trust him with money anymore. He is trying to make X do more (7)______, like letting people talk and send money, but it will take time to make money from these new ideas. Right now, X needs to (8)______ a way to make money without the ads.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a big problem for X if they don’t get enough money from ads?
2. How would you feel if you were Elon Musk and people didn’t trust you with money anymore?
3. Do you like websites that let people talk and send money? Why or why not?
4. What do you think Elon Musk should do to help X?
5. Why do you think some big companies stopped putting their ads on X?
6. How would you feel if X had to close down?
7. Do you think Elon Musk should put more of his own money into X? Why or why not?
8. What do you think X can do to make money without the ads?
9. How do you think Elon Musk can talk to banks to help X?
10. What would happen if X didn’t have enough money to pay the people who work for them?
11. Do you think X will be able to make money from the new ideas of letting people talk and send money? Why or why not?
12. Why do you think X used to be called Twitter?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. upset
2. ads
3. website
4. messages
5. money
6. problem
7. banks
8. troubles
9. borrow
10. close down

Meanings:
(A) Difficulties or things that go wrong
(B) Notes or words that people send to each other
(C) To take something from someone and promise to give it back later
(D) To stop doing something and not start again
(E) Pictures or words that try to sell you something
(F) A place on the internet where you can look at things and read things
(G) Something that is hard to fix or figure out
(H) Places where you keep your money and ask for help
(I) Coins or paper that you use to buy things
(J) Feeling sad or mad
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the website that used to be called Twitter?
(a) Y
(b) Z
(c) X
(d) W

2. Why are some big companies upset with X?
(a) They don’t like the name of the website.
(b) They don’t want their ads next to bad messages.
(c) They don’t like Elon Musk.
(d) They want to put their ads on another website.

3. How does X make most of its money?
(a) From ads
(b) From selling products
(c) From donations
(d) From government funding

4. What might happen to X if it doesn’t get enough money?
(a) It might become a different website
(b) It might go away
(c) It might become more popular
(d) It might get more ads

5. What can Elon Musk do to help X?
(a) Talk to banks to help X
(b) Both a and b
(c) None of the above
(d) Put more of his own money into X

6. Why is it bad for Elon Musk if X closes down?
(a) He might lose his job
(b) He might have to find a new website to advertise on
(c) He might have to change his name
(d) People might not trust him with money anymore

7. What is Elon Musk trying to make X do?
(a) Let people play games
(b) Let people watch movies
(c) Let people talk and send money
(d) Let people read books

8. What does X need to find a way to make money without?
(a) Ads
(b) People
(c) Computers
(d) Animals

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. We do know what Elon Musk will do yet.
2. The website called X used to be called Instagram.
3. X is having more troubles because they are not making as much money from ads as they did before.
4. The companies don’t want their ads to be next to bad messages.
5. Elon Musk is pleased because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X.
6. If X doesn’t get enough money, it might go away.
7. X gets most of its money from ads, so this is a big problem.
8. Elon Musk cannot put more of his own money into X or talk to banks to help X.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why is Elon Musk upset?
2. What is the name of the website that used to be called Twitter?
3. Why don’t some big companies want their ads on X?
4. What might happen if X doesn’t get enough money?
5. What is Elon Musk trying to do to make X do more things?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is upset because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X?
Elon Musk is upset.

2. Why don’t these companies want their ads to be next to bad messages?
These companies don’t want their ads to be next to bad messages because it can make their brand look bad.

3. Where does X get most of its money from?
X gets most of its money from ads.

4. What might happen to X if it doesn’t get enough money?
If X doesn’t get enough money, it might go away or shut down.

5. What can Elon Musk do to help X?
Elon Musk can put more of his own money into X or talk to banks to help X.

6. Why is X having more troubles?
X is having more troubles because they are not making as much money from ads as they did before.

7. What might happen to X if it can’t pay its debts?
If X can’t pay its debts, it might have to close down or shut down.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Elon
(2) money
(3) talk
(4) troubles
(5) making
(6) close
(7) things
(8) find
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. upset
Answer: (J) Feeling sad or mad

2. ads
Answer: (E) Pictures or words that try to sell you something

3. website
Answer: (F) A place on the internet where you can look at things and read things

4. messages
Answer: (B) Notes or words that people send to each other

5. money
Answer: (I) Coins or paper that you use to buy things

6. problem
Answer: (G) Something that is hard to fix or figure out

7. banks
Answer: (H) Places where you keep your money and ask for help

8. troubles
Answer: (A) Difficulties or things that go wrong

9. borrow
Answer: (C) To take something from someone and promise to give it back later

10. close down
Answer: (D) To stop doing something and not start again
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the website that used to be called Twitter?
Answer: (c) X

2. Why are some big companies upset with X?
Answer: (b) They don’t want their ads next to bad messages.

3. How does X make most of its money?
Answer: (a) From ads

4. What might happen to X if it doesn’t get enough money?
Answer: (b) It might go away

5. What can Elon Musk do to help X?
Answer: (d) Put more of his own money into X

6. Why is it bad for Elon Musk if X closes down?
Answer: (d) People might not trust him with money anymore

7. What is Elon Musk trying to make X do?
Answer: (c) Let people talk and send money

8. What does X need to find a way to make money without?
Answer: (a) Ads
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. We do know what Elon Musk will do yet. (Answer: False)
2. The website called X used to be called Instagram. (Answer: False)
3. X is having more troubles because they are not making as much money from ads as they did before. (Answer: True)
4. The companies don’t want their ads to be next to bad messages. (Answer: True)
5. Elon Musk is pleased because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X. (Answer: False)
6. If X doesn’t get enough money, it might go away. (Answer: True)
7. X gets most of its money from ads, so this is a big problem. (Answer: True)
8. Elon Musk cannot put more of his own money into X or talk to banks to help X. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧