IMPROVING VOCABULARY (FIGHTING HUNGER)

NBC NEWS

FEEDING THE HUNGRY

MULTIMEDIA - ENGLISH

NBC News segment on the website freerice.com; a website that teaches vocabulary and, at the same time, donates food to those in need.

https://freerice.com

TRANSCRIPT:

Finally tonight, a big idea for a simple way to bring kids to the internet for good reason. A way to feed their minds and ultimately, if it all works, feed a whole lot of people around the world. In other words, it is possible your kids are doing a good deed online without you even knowing about it. The story from NBC's Kevin Tibbles.
For the half-million people around the globe who play this little computer game every day ... helping feed the world's hungry is just a mouse-click away. It is called 'free rice dot com' (freerice.com).
The brainchild of Bloomington, Indiana, computer programmer John Breen, who just a year ago, with his dog Fuzzy by his side, was looking for a way to help his son learn new words for his SATs.
- What was the first word you ever put on this site?
- I think the first word was 'turgid'.
- 'Turgid'?
- Yeah.
From these beginnings the game has exploded to become an internet phenomenon.
- Doesn't take any time, it doesn't cost any money, and you learn a little vocabulary while you're doing it.
Here's how free-rice works:
Each player is presented with a word, then offered up four possible definitions. When the correct answer is selected, 20 grains of rice are donated as the prize. The site's advertisers then pay for the rice, just pennies for the 20 grains. Advocates say it's so simple it's brilliant.
Every six seconds a child dies of hunger. Some 854 million people are hungry every single day. The thing is you can do something about it. Hunger is solvable.
- You're kind of like a computer geek with a social conscience, I guess.
- I guess that's right.
In six months more than 25 billion grains of rice have been donated, enough to feed more than a million people for a day. And students playing the game learn new words... and the spirit of giving.
- It helps them think more globally and not just locally.
- Learning how to spell and learning +++ words.
- You're helping yourself as well as helping others.
- What's that mean?
- I love it!
Helping fight world hunger one grain of rice at a time. Kevin Tibbles, NBC News, Bloomington, Indiana.

EXPLANATIONS:

• A WHOLE LOT OF = Emphatic form of "a lot of".
• A GOOD DEED = A morally good action.
• THE GLOBE = This planet, the Earth.
• THE WORLD'S HUNGRY = People who are hungry all over the world.
• JUST A MOUSE-CLICK AWAY = You only need to click your mouse to do it.
• BRAINCHILD = Idea, invention.
• SATs = A standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States.
• TURGID = (of muscle, organ or part of the body) Swollen or distended, as from a fluid (turgid veins, a turgid bladder).
• ADVOCATES = A person supporting or defending something.
• SOLVABLE = If something is solvable it may be solved, it has a solution.
• YOU'RE KIND OF LIKE... = You are more or less like... (used for making comparisons)
• I GUESS = I suppose.
• WHAT'S THAT MEAN? = What does that mean?

Adapted from: https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/freericecom-feeding-the-hungry-nbc-news-6927. Accessed on August 26, 2021.