Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission
Level 2
Intermediate
1 Key words
Complete the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to
help you.
sneakers
massacre
lethal
magazine
loophole
firepower
outspoken
unimaginable
lobby
armour
1. ___________________________ are shoes worn for playing sports. In British English they are called trainers.
(para 1)
2. A ___________________________ is the killing of a lot of people. (para 1)
3. A ___________________________ is an organized group that represents a particular area of business or
society and tries to influence politicians. (para 2)
4. ___________________________ is special clothing that you wear to protect your body from bullets. (para 3)
5. If something is ___________________________, it is very dangerous and able to kill you. (para 4)
6. A ___________________________ is the part of a gun in which you put the bullets. (para 4)
7. An ___________________________ person gives their opinion honestly, even if other people do not like it.
(para 5)
8. A ___________________________ is something that has been left out of a law that people can use to avoid
obeying that law. (para 6)
9. ___________________________ is the amount of weaponry and ammunition an individual or an army has.
(para 8)
10. If something is ___________________________, it is very difficult to imagine. (para 9)
2 Find the information
Find the following information as quickly as possible.
1. When was the Columbine school massacre?
2. How many people died at Columbine?
3. How many people died in the cinema shootings in Aurora?
4. How many rounds of ammunition did James Holmes have?
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NEWS LESSONS / Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission / Intermediate
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5. How many times did Obama mention the word gun in his speech?
Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission
Intermediate
6
He helped close a loophole in Colorado, which
made it harder to buy weapons at gun shows. He
has supported the few politicians who publicly
support more gun controls and he is a board
member of Colorado Ceasefire, a gun control
group. But Mauser knows that – despite awful
events like Columbine – his side of the debate is
losing and there is little chance of change.
7
Instead, gun controls have got looser and
looser across America since 1999. “It has not
got better; it has got worse. In America we
prefer punishment to prevention. But when you
lose a loved one, punishment does not mean
anything,” he said. But after the Aurora killings
there has still been little debate over making gun
laws stricter. Obama spoke about the tragedy
during his weekly radio programme but he did
not mention the word gun once in his speech.
Romney simply asked for the swift prosecution
of the killer. Only New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg asked for a national debate on the
issue. But, so far, his call has mostly fallen on
deaf ears.
3 Mauser believes that James Holmes, who is
believed to have killed 12 and injured 58 people
during a midnight showing of the latest Batman
film, is a clear example of the gaps in America’s
gun laws. Holmes had a terrifying collection
of four guns, 6,000 rounds of ammunition and
sophisticated bulletproof armour but he does not
appear to have broken any laws.
8
Even after long years of struggle, though,
Mauser is still shocked at the silence that follows
each new disaster. “If America can’t question
having that amount of firepower available [to
Holmes] then the gun control movement should
just give up,” he said. But he will not give up,
because he is powerfully motivated by the
memory of his son.
4 He bought everything legally, either via the
internet or in person at a gun store. Even buying
a sophisticated and lethal 100-bullet magazine
for his semi-automatic rifle was legal. That is
something that almost makes Mauser cry. “A
hundred bullet magazine? Really? What is the
purpose of that being legal, and how does that
make us a stronger nation?” he asked.
9
Many parents might find it unimaginable to think
what it feels like to wear the same shoes that a
beloved son died in. But Mauser uses them as
a motivational tool when he speaks about gun
control issues and the shoes are also a way of
paying tribute to Daniel’s tragically short life. “It is
very hard. But it is what I have to do. It is how I
honour my son. Parents should not have to walk
in the shoes of a murdered child,” he said.
2 “They are afraid of the gun lobby,” he said,
standing in the middle of the Columbine
memorial in the Denver suburb of Littleton, just
across town from Aurora. “They are not as afraid
of hearing from me as they are afraid of hearing
from the gun lobby. Well, I am going to make
them afraid of me too.”
5 These are questions close to Mauser’s heart.
His son, Daniel, died in the shocking Columbine
school killings, in which 12 students, one teacher
and the two shooters were killed. But that
heartbreaking experience has made Mauser a
passionate and outspoken supporter of stricter
gun laws.
© Guardian News & Media 2012
First published in The Guardian, 22/07/12
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2012
NEWS LESSONS / Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission / Intermediate
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1 Tom Mauser’s shoes may look like an ordinary
pair of sneakers. But they are not. They are
the same pair his 15-year-old son Daniel was
wearing when he died in the 1999 Columbine
school massacre. But Mauser was not thinking
about the shoes. He was just very angry and his
voice shook with emotion as he explained why
neither President Barack Obama nor Republican
challenger Mitt Romney had spoken out about
stricter gun controls after the mass shooting in
Aurora, Colorado.
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Paul Harris in Littleton, Colorado
22 July, 2012
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Colorado shooting renews anti-gun
mission for Columbine victim’s father
CA
Level 2
Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission
Level 2
Intermediate
3 Comprehension check
Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the text?
1. Aurora and Columbine are both in Colorado.
2. James Holmes bought his guns and ammunition illegally.
3. Since 1999, gun controls across America have become stricter.
4. Tom Mauser wears Daniel’s shoes as a tribute to his son.
5. Obama has asked for stricter gun laws.
6. Tom Mauser is planning to give up his campaign for stricter gun laws.
4 Find the word
Find the following words and expressions in the text.
1. a two-word phrasal verb meaning to give your opinion firmly and publicly about something (para 1)
2. an adjective meaning complicated and advanced in design (para 3)
3. an adjective meaning made from a material that stops bullets from passing through (para 3)
4. a four-word expression meaning very important or interesting to you (para 5)
5. an adjective meaning happening quickly or immediately (para 7)
6. a four-word expression meaning to be completely ignored by people who hear it (a particular request or
demand) (para 7)
7. a two-word expression meaning something that helps to make you determined to achieve something (para 9)
5 Two-word expressions
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NEWS LESSONS / Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission / Intermediate
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2012
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Find five words in the text that follow the word gun.
Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission
Level 2
Intermediate
6 Word-building
Complete the table with words from the text.
verb
noun
show
prosecute
move
punish
prevent
shoot
7 Discussion
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NEWS LESSONS / Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission / Intermediate
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Should people be allowed to buy and own guns? Why? Why not?
Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission
Level 2
Intermediate
KEY
1 Key words
5 Two-word expressions
1. sneakers
2. massacre
3. lobby
4. armour
5. lethal
6. magazine
7. outspoken
8. loophole
9. firepower
10. unimaginable
laws, control(s), lobby, shows, store
6 Word-building
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
showing
prosecution
movement
punishment
prevention
shooting
2 Find the information
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
in 1999
15
12
6,000
none
3 Comprehension check
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
T
F
F
T
F
F
4 Find the word
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NEWS LESSONS / Colorado shooting renews father’s anti-gun mission / Intermediate
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speak out
sophisticated
bulletproof
close to your heart
swift
fall on deaf ears
motivational tool
N
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.