Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
On January 21, 2017, millions of people all over the world marched in the streets in protest of Donald Trump’s inauguration. This collective gathering was originally supposed to happen only in the USA’s capitol city, Washington, DC. However, many people all over the world heard about it. Women, men, and children came out to march on every continent. Even a small group of scientists in Antarctica had their own march.
Some people criticized the Women’s March. They thought the people marching were being too angry, and that it was disrespectful to protest the new president. Other people also worried that the march would be dangerous and that protestors might get arrested or cause damage to public property. However, the Women’s March was non-violent. In the end, many people agreed that it was an international show of solidarity and goodness.
In Gary’s hometown, more than one hundred thousand people marched. Listen as he tells Andy about his experience.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Gary: Did you do anything fun this weekend?
Andy_H: Oh, man. Me and my friends went out fishing a couple miles south… we had perfect weather.
Gary: That’s awesome.
Andy_H: What about you?
Gary: I was at the Women’s March.
Andy_H: Oh, boy.
Gary: Really? “Oh boy?”
Andy_H: Well, what did you accomplish?
Gary: I think we accomplished some incredible stuff by bringing one hundred-plus thousand people together with shared values and to just celebrate all the things that we have in common.
Andy_H: OK. Was this like a response to the election or the inauguration, or…
Gary: It seems like it definitely was, like that was the catalyst to it. But I think what was really great was that everybody had their own approach to why they were there. It wasn’t just, “We’re here for this reason.” It was a group of people all coming together to have shared values and shared ideas, but it didn’t have to be yours or my opinion. It was just a collective will of goodness.
Andy_H: Hmm. Hmm. I never thought of it that way. I mean, do you think you accomplished anything, or would you do it again?
Gary: I would! And I guess I would say that there’s a lot of people talking about it, which means that something has happened. There’s a dialogue. And one of the best things was that the police forces that I’ve seen…
Andy_H: They were beating you guys up, right?
Gary: Oh, my goodness, they were beating everyone up with great vibes.
Andy_H: Wait, what?
Gary: Yeah, they were so happy, they were like, “You guys are great! There’ve been no problems. It’s been a beautiful day. This was just so easy. We were just all here celebrating with you.”
Andy_H: Well, I’ll be darned.
Gary: Right?
Andy_H: All right.
Gary: Collective good!
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Present Perfect Tense" from this lesson
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Discussion
Gary tells Andy that he went to the Women’s March last weekend. Andy is not sure what to think. He does not really know what the Women’s March was supposed to accomplish. He thinks it was just a reaction against the inauguration and asks Gary if he got beaten up by police while he was there.
Gary says that the inauguration was the catalyst for the March but that the event ended up being about a lot more than just protesting. It was a way for people to get together and share common values. It felt very positive and safe. In fact, the police were very nice to the protestors. In Gary’s city, they were encouraging and gave out great vibes. Andy is surprised to hear this. He had never thought of it that way before.
In your country, are people allowed to march if they do not agree with the government? Would you ever go to a protest?
Comments
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