12 Killed in Batman Shooting in U.S.

A gunman killed 12 people and wounded 59 at a Colorado cinema early Friday morning. Police apprehended the killer and identified him as James Eagan Holmes, 24, a former neuroscience PhD student. He armed himself with an assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol and fired at random at moviegoers attending the midnight premiere of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises". Holmes had dyed his hair red, just like Batman's nemesis the Joker, and wore full body armour and a gas mask. Many initially thought he was part of a stunt for the movie screening. Cinemas in New York got police protection after the shooting to prevent copycat killings. The premiere in Paris was immediately cancelled.


U.S. President Barack Obama has led the mourning after the massacre, ordering flags to be lowered to half-mast. He said: "There are going to be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection." The shooting has once again reignited the debate on gun control in America. All the weapons used in the killings were bought legally in a local gun store. The shooting brings back memories of the 1999 Columbine High School murders, just 25km from the cinema, in which 13 people lost their lives. Tragedies like this are becoming all too common but do little to get tighter gun controls enforced. Gun ownership is a right in the USA. There are an estimated 192 million firearms in the country.


EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY 


1. Apprehended-[a-pRi-hEnd]
Meaning (verb):1.to arrest someone
                      2.to understand or to know the
                         meaning (of something)


Example Sentences:1.Within hours, police had
                           apprehended the thief.
                          2.I need to read some additional
                            information to fully apprehend his
                            research topic.


2. Assault-[uH-zult]
Meaning (noun): a violent physical or verbal attack
Example Sentence: She was injured in a brutal
                              assault.


3. Moviegoers-[moo-vi-gow-werz]
Meaning (noun)-someone who likes watching movies
Example Sentence: I am a moviegoer, I watch movies
                             every Sunday.


4. Nemesis-[ne-me-sis]
Meaning (noun)-A source of harm or ruin
Example Sentence:He will be playing his old nemesis
                           for the championship.


5. Massacre-[ma-sak-ker]
Meaning (noun)-the act of killing a number of
                helplessly human beings at
                 the same given place and time.
Example Sentence: The game turned out to be a
                      complete massacre.


6. Reignite-[ri-eeg-neyt]
Meaning (verb)-to flare up again
***flare means a sudden outburst or excitement
Example Sentence: After a long investigation, his case
                 was reignited in the court.




WORDS TO PRONOUNCE:
wounded
apprehended
neuroscience
assault
rifle
premiere
dyed
nemesis
massacre
reignited
tragedies


EXERCISE 2: SHARING IDEAS


Tell me something about the article.
1. What is this article all about?
2. What do you think about this article?
3. Is gun crime common in your country?
4. Do you think people need gun? Why or why not?
5. How can society reduce the number of gun crimes?






Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish