A man named Elon Musk is upset because some big companies stopped putting their ads on a website called X. These companies don’t want their ads to show up next to bad posts. X makes most of its money from ads, so this is a big problem. Musk might have to use his own money or talk to banks to help X stay open.

X is also losing money because it’s not making as much from ads as before. They have to pay a lot of people who work there and pay back money they borrowed. If X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes, it could close down. This would be bad for Musk’s name and make it harder for him to borrow money later.

Musk is trying to make money for X in new ways. He started services for talking and watching videos and wants X to do many things, like chatting and paying for stuff online. X has a lot of old talks that can help make smart robots that chat. But these new ideas need time to make money, and right now, X needs to find a way to make up for the money it lost because the big companies stopped putting their ads on the website.

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

Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words related to the article. One student from each group will choose a word and draw a picture representing that word, while the other students in the group try to guess the word. The first student to correctly guess the word gets a point for their team. Continue until all the words have been used or the time limit is reached. The team with the most points wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually. Then, ask them to think about one question related to the article. After a few minutes, have them pair up with a partner and share their question and their thoughts on it. Finally, have a class discussion where each pair shares their question and thoughts with the rest of the class.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of vocabulary words from the article. In their groups, the students have to come up with a catchy newspaper headline using as many of the vocabulary words as possible. After a few minutes, have each group share their headline with the rest of the class and vote on the best one.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a copy of the article. Set a timer for 5 minutes. In that time, each pair has to summarize the article as quickly and concisely as possible. After the time is up, have each pair take turns presenting their summary to the rest of the class. The class can then discuss any differences or similarities between the different summaries.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. Group A will discuss the statement “Big companies should stop putting their ads on websites with bad posts.” Group B will discuss the statement “Big companies should continue putting their ads on websites with bad posts.” Each group should come up with arguments to support their opinion. After a few minutes, have a class debate where students from each group present their arguments. Encourage students to respond and ask questions to each other.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why is Elon Musk upset?
2. What is the name of the website that companies stopped putting their ads on?
3. How does X make most of its money?
4. Why is it a big problem that the big companies stopped putting their ads on X?
5. What could happen if X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes?
6. What are some new ways that Musk is trying to make money for X?
7. Why does X need to find a way to make up for the money it lost?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Elon Musk is (1)______ because some big companies stopped (2)______ their ads on a website called X. These companies don’t want their ads to show up next to bad posts. X makes most of its (3)______ from ads, so this is a big problem. Musk might have to use his own money or talk to (4)______ to (5)______ X (6)______ open.

X is also losing money because it’s not making as much from ads as before. They have to pay a lot of people who work there and pay back money they borrowed. If X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes, it could close down. This would be bad for (7)______’s name and (8)______ it harder for him to borrow money later.

Musk is trying to make money for X in new ways. He started services for (9)______ and watching videos and wants X to do many things, like chatting and paying for stuff online. X has a lot of old talks that can help make smart robots that chat. But these new (10)______ need time to make money, and right now, X (11)______ to find a way to make up for the money it lost because the big (12)______ stopped putting their ads on the website.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a website?
2. How would you feel if you couldn’t pay the people who work for you?
3. Do you think it’s important for a company to make money from ads? Why or why not?
4. What are some other ways a website can make money?
5. Do you like watching videos online? Why or why not?
6. How do you think Elon Musk feels about the big companies stopping their ads on X? Why?
7. What would happen if X closed down?
8. Do you think it’s easy or hard for X to find a way to make up for the lost money? Why?
9. What is a smart robot?
10. How do you think X can make money from chatting and paying for stuff online?
11. Would you be upset if you had to use your own money to keep a website open? Why or why not?
12. What do you think will happen to X in the future? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. upset
2. ads
3. website
4. problem
5. money
6. workers
7. borrowed
8. close down
9. services
10. chatting
11. smart
12. make up for

Meanings:
(A) Feeling sad or angry
(B) Things that help you do something or get something done
(C) Coins or bills that you use to buy things
(D) Find a way to get back what was lost or missing
(E) People who have a job and work for a company
(F) Stop doing something or go out of business
(G) A place on the internet where you can find information or do things
(H) Something that is difficult or not going well
(I) Talking with someone online
(J) Pictures or messages that try to sell you something
(K) Very clever or intelligent
(L) Took money from someone and need to give it back
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why is Elon Musk upset?
(a) X is losing money.
(b) X has a lot of old talks.
(c) Some big companies stopped putting their ads on X.
(d) Musk wants to make money for X in new ways.

2. What is X?
(a) A bank
(b) A website
(c) A company
(d) A person

3. How does X make most of its money?
(a) From ads
(b) From talking and watching videos
(c) From paying workers
(d) From borrowing money

4. Why is X losing money?
(a) It has to pay a lot of people who work there.
(b) It has to pay back money it borrowed.
(c) It’s not making as much from ads as before.
(d) All of the above.

5. What could happen if X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes?
(a) Musk’s name would be bad.
(b) It would be harder for Musk to borrow money later.
(c) All of the above.
(d) It could close down.

6. What new services did Musk start for X?
(a) Talking and watching videos
(b) Chatting and paying for stuff online
(c) Making smart robots that chat
(d) All of the above

7. What does X need to find a way to do?
(a) Pay back money it borrowed
(b) Close down
(c) Talk to banks
(d) Make up for the money it lost

8. What is Musk willing to do to help X stay open?
(a) Talk to banks
(b) Use his own money
(c) Make up for the money X lost
(d) All of the above

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Musk is trying to make money for X in traditional ways, like starting services for texting and reading articles.
2. Musk might have to use his own money or talk to banks to help X stay open.
3. X has to pay a few people who work there and pay back money they borrowed.
4. Elon Musk is upset because some big companies have stopped putting their ads on a website called X.
5. X makes some of its money from ads, so this is not a big problem for them.
6. If X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes, it could close down.
7. X is making money because it’s making more from ads than before.
8. X has a lot of old talks that can help make smart robots that chat.
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. Why don’t the big companies want their ads on the website?
3. How does X make most of its money?
4. What could happen if X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes?
5. What new ideas is Musk trying to make money for X?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

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

2. What is the name of the website that companies stopped putting their ads on?
The name of the website is X.

3. How does X make most of its money?
X makes most of its money from ads.

4. Why is it a big problem that the big companies stopped putting their ads on X?
It is a big problem because X relies on the money from ads to stay open and pay its workers.

5. What could happen if X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes?
If X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes, it could close down.

6. What are some new ways that Musk is trying to make money for X?
Musk is trying to make money for X by starting services for talking and watching videos and by adding features like chatting and paying for stuff online.

7. Why does X need to find a way to make up for the money it lost?
X needs to find a way to make up for the money it lost because it needs the money to pay its workers and the money it owes.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) upset
(2) putting
(3) money
(4) banks
(5) help
(6) stay
(7) Musk
(8) make
(9) talking
(10) ideas
(11) needs
(12) companies
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. upset
Answer: (A) Feeling sad or angry

2. ads
Answer: (J) Pictures or messages that try to sell you something

3. website
Answer: (G) A place on the internet where you can find information or do things

4. problem
Answer: (H) Something that is difficult or not going well

5. money
Answer: (C) Coins or bills that you use to buy things

6. workers
Answer: (E) People who have a job and work for a company

7. borrowed
Answer: (L) Took money from someone and need to give it back

8. close down
Answer: (F) Stop doing something or go out of business

9. services
Answer: (B) Things that help you do something or get something done

10. chatting
Answer: (I) Talking with someone online

11. smart
Answer: (K) Very clever or intelligent

12. make up for
Answer: (D) Find a way to get back what was lost or missing
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why is Elon Musk upset?
Answer: (c) Some big companies stopped putting their ads on X.

2. What is X?
Answer: (b) A website

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

4. Why is X losing money?
Answer: (c) It’s not making as much from ads as before.

5. What could happen if X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes?
Answer: (d) It could close down.

6. What new services did Musk start for X?
Answer: (a) Talking and watching videos

7. What does X need to find a way to do?
Answer: (d) Make up for the money it lost

8. What is Musk willing to do to help X stay open?
Answer: (b) Use his own money
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Musk is trying to make money for X in traditional ways, like starting services for texting and reading articles. (Answer: False)
2. Musk might have to use his own money or talk to banks to help X stay open. (Answer: True)
3. X has to pay a few people who work there and pay back money they borrowed. (Answer: False)
4. Elon Musk is upset because some big companies have stopped putting their ads on a website called X. (Answer: True)
5. X makes some of its money from ads, so this is not a big problem for them. (Answer: False)
6. If X can’t pay its workers or the money it owes, it could close down. (Answer: True)
7. X is making money because it’s making more from ads than before. (Answer: False)
8. X has a lot of old talks that can help make smart robots that chat. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧