Listening Exercise
National Public Radio: Day to Day
Dealing with Troubled Kids, Five Years after Columbine
hosted by Alex Chadwick, reported by Madeleine Brand
Go to the following Web page and click on the audio link
to listen to the NPR report
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1843894

Vocabulary:
Littleton, Colorado
shortly before
lunchtime
bombs
guns
Eric Harris
Dylan Klebold
to blow up
shooting
on- and off-campus
to strike one
suburban
parking lot
late-model cars
sign out front
to announce
report cards
supposed to
incessant media coverage
to fairly glow with evil import
sunny
Meagan Feely
to let s.t. go
teenage
massacre
to unfold
live television
audio tape
library
911
to fire shots
Stay on the floor!
to survive
ever since
Brooks Brown
the latter part
to lose one's mind
to drive one to have delusions
certainty
popular
outcasts
smart
socially awkward
tall and gangly
painfully shy
to be treated for depression
vicious social hierarchy
terrifying
to get beaten up
to be shoved down
to be called name
'You suck!'
to beat s.o. into
in the middle
horrifying		 daily torture
to drive s.o. over the edge
principal
to go on a rampage
contributing factors
to state
journals
to be bullied
to idolize
Marilyn Manson
Adolf Hitler
hatred
as a result of
to commit an act
administration
seems satisfied that
to resort to
metal detectors
armed guard
anonymous
tip box
to inform
violent
to be quick to take action
dark essay
to threaten
threat assessment team
to be made up of
counselors
to convene
to figure out
outside professional help
to be referred to
campus atmosphere
to hang out
skateboard park
a lot stricter
to joke around
to mess around
slang talk
to take it way suspiciously
to be sent down to the principal's office
to send you to counseling
to be suicidal
to be arrested
to rob a van
to post messages
frightening
Website
to annihilate
to take no action
Sheriff Ted Mink
to jump up to the top
regardless
on the surface
pretty ridiculous 		to take seriously
to the fullest potential
to reach a resolution
hoax
legitimacy
cooperation
FBI
to run down those things
prior to
to finish the job
authorities
to err on the side of too much caution
legislature
to mandate
information-sharing
over the weekend
and vice-versa
privacy
Del Eliot
Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
to be slow to enact reforms
formal written policy
to be in denial
to tend to
to cover
appearance
National Center for Juvenile Justice
a much greater chance
Centers for Disease Control
plots
caught in the planning stages
Nebraska
bomb
to swig alcohol
to put on
a black trenchcoat
to turn in
thinnest part of the bell curve
to get towards the fatty edge
to go away
it only takes
vigilance
attention
compassion
to stand up for
Goth kid    (example)
athlete
outcast
locked door
insecure
hotheaded
at one point
to assume
one little thing
victims


Listening comprehension questions:
1. What happened at Columbine High School on April 20th, 1999?
2. How many people died in the tragedy?
3. What kind of people were Eric and Dylan, as described by reporter Madeleine Brand?
4. What did Brooks Brown, friend of Eric and Dylan, think the motivation behind Eric and Dylan's crazy action might have been? And what did Columbine's principal say about Brooks Brown's point of view?
5. Who is Marilyn Manson? You can use the Internet to search for information.
6. What measures are schools now adopting to protect their students?
7. What early warning signs were there of Eric and Dylan's action that the police knew about but the school didn't?
8. What procedural changes did the police make after the shootings?
9. What is the significance of laws passed regarding information sharing between police and schools? Do you think these laws will be beneficial? Why?
10. What problems still exist in schools despite the changes that have been made?
11. What evidence is there that bullying is increasing nationwide?
12. According to Brooks Brown, what should we do to prevent further tragedies like the Columbine shootings?

NPR report chosen and exercise designed by Alice Chou ©P°ûªL

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