【明報專訊】''Just out of curiosity, why do they bully? What's the point of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people and finding a way to be mean to them,'' Keaton Jones,ａTennessee student aged 11, asked his mother through tears in an online video.

Keaton said other students called him ugly, made fun of his nose and told him he had no friends. He said milk was poured on him and ham was put down on his clothes. Keaton's message went viral, catching the attention of several celebrities, including Chris Evans and Mark Hamill, who sent Keaton messages of support.

In the US, 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. About 160,000 teenagers skip school everyday because of bullying. 17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester. Keaton's family have been overwhelmed by offers of assistance since the video went viral and have not been able to respond to the thousands of messages they have received.

(Source: Ming Pao, The Guardian, www.dosomething.org)

■Photo Story

Keaton’s mother uploaded the video recording Keaton's question to facebook after picking up her son from school because he was too afraid to go to lunch himself.

■English highway﹕bully

Bully is a countable noun which means someone who habitually hurts or frightens other people. If someone bullies you into something, they make you do it by using force.

e.g. Don't be a bully.

He used to bully me into doing something illegal.

■Quiz

(Answers on next text)

1. What is the meaning of ''Keaton's message went viral'' ?

A. Keaton's message is uploaded to facebook by his mother.

B. Keaton's computer is infected by virus.

C. No one care about Keaton's message.

D. Keaton's message is very popular and circulated rapidly.

2. Is the following statement true or false?

Less than 20% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester.

True / Fasle

3. What happened to Keaton's family after his message went viral?

__________________________________

4. Find a word in the first paragraph that means ''blameless''.

__________________________________

■Glossary

mean (adj) 刻薄的

pour (v) 倒

semester (n) 學期

overwhelm (v) 淹沒

[Smarties' Power English 第203期]