🌸 C2 READING PRACTICE to improve your FLUENCY IN ENGLISH!

In this lesson, we're going to read an advanced news article together.

This is quite an advanced article at the C2 level.

But don't worry because we're going to review this article in full and I'll explain all

of the advanced vocabulary and advanced grammar concepts so you can advance your English quickly

and easily.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

1st I'll read the headline What rockets a brand into cult following status.

And the brand we're talking about is the Barbie brand.

So here, what rockets?

Of course you're familiar with a rocket, but notice that this is not a noun, it's a verb.

A verb?

To rocket to rocket.

Can you imagine what this means?

What does a rocket do?

It goes into space very, very quickly, right?

So when something rockets something else, it means it allows it to move very, very quickly.

And the article is questioning, well, what was it?

What was it that allowed the brand, the Barbie brand to move into this status very, very

quickly?

What rockets a brand into cult following status?

So what is a cult following?

Well, cult in this sense.

In the context of a brand or a person or a product, it simply means that there's a lot

of popularity.

The brand or product or person is very popular with many people.

So this article is going to discuss what allowed Barbie to become very popular with a group

of people very quickly, the Rockets.

As a verb.

Don't worry about taking these notes because I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF,

so you can look for the link in the description.

Let's continue.

Director Greta Gerwig's Barbie film has surpassed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.

So surpass means it has exceeded.

So it has earned more than $1 billion.

So exceeded.

I'll write that for you.

So the film has achieved more than $1 billion.

And notice here the word mark, The $1 billion mark simply means the level intended or wanted.

So within the movie industry, this is a highly desirable achievement to achieve or to exceed

surpass $1 billion in earnings from a film.

And this is the global box office.

So around the world.

Yet fans aren't just lining up for tickets, they're also clamoring for Barbie core fashion,

air travel bearing the Barbie logo and even Barbie themed coffins.

A coffin with the Barbie theme?

I have not seen that.

Very interesting.

Let's take a look at this.

They're also clamoring for Barbie core fashion to clamor.

This is a verb, and it means that you make a complaint or a demand, but you do it very

loudly.

So in this case, they're lining up for tickets.

When you line up for something, it simply means you form a line.

So if you're a tourist, you might line up for tickets to see the Eiffel Tower, because

there's always a long line, so you have to line up for the tickets.

You have to form a line.

But in the line, they're not just standing there silently, they're clamoring.

They're saying, oh, we really, really want it.

So in this case, notice you can use it for a complaint, which is negative, but then you

can also use it to say you want something.

So a demand for something.

So they're saying in this case, they're also clamoring for Barbie core fashion.

So they're saying we really want it.

I want that tshirt.

I want that hat.

Now, Barbie core, I've never seen this word before, but obviously I know it's Barbie,

and then there's just the word core after it.

So this is the name that they're using to describe the merchandise that contains the

Barbie logo or some reference to Barbie.

So it might be a Tshirt, a hat, a backpack, a cell phone cover, whatever it might be.

Well, in this case it's also air travel bearing the Barbie logo, so that would be suitcases

or travel bags and then a coffin.

So there's an option for you.

Now, I also want to discuss this sentence structure.

Fans aren't just lining up for, they're also clamoring for.

So notice they have a negative in the second part.

They aren't just, but then there's a positive with also or a additional word.

I gave an example here you could say, for example, I didn't just pass my ILS, I got

the highest mark.

Now you can say I also got the highest mark, but that's optional.

Now what you're doing here is you're just taking two sentences.

I pass my ILS, I pass my ILS.

I got the highest mark, but you're saying it in a more interesting way.

So if I say oh, I didn't just XI, also Y, you're just putting more emphasis on these

actions and it sounds more important or more engaging to say it this way.

So the sentence structure is I and then you have some sort of negative, negative I'm so

subject negative and then just or only and then the statement that you did or the achievement

the the something.

Instead of statement I'll put something and then it would be subject, positive verb and

then the something.

This looks a little confusing the way I'm writing it, but I just put the word negative

because it isn't always didn't in this case.

Notice it's aren't.

So you need to match the verb to the time reference and the subject.

So that's why I can't put a specific negative verb here, because it depends on the time

reference and the subject.

But just start with a simple example and then you can try more complex examples as well.

Now before we continue, I just want to see if you are enjoying this lesson and if you

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Let's continue.

That's just a fraction of the pink hued consumption happening across market sectors.

Let's take a look at a fraction of.

This simply means a small amount of.

So let's say you have a budget for your trip that you're planning our budget for how much

you want to spend on Barbie merchandise.

You can say I only spent a fraction of my budget, which means a small amount of.

Or you could say my employee only did a fraction of their tasks, so they did a small amount

of their tasks.

So that's not a good thing.

But when you only spend a small amount of your budget, a fraction of your budget, that

is a good thing.

So you can use it in a positive or negative way.

That's just a fraction of the pink hued hue.

The word hue is simply the amount of a color.

So obviously there are different shades of pink.

Shades of a color, I'll write that for you.

Different.

There are different shades of a color.

So you can have light pink, dark pink and everything in between.

So there's dark pink, light pink.

But in within that there's all different shades.

There are all different hues.

Same thing, shades of colors, hues of colors.

That's just a fraction of the pink hued consumption.

Now they use the pink hued because Barbie is all about pink, so that's why they simply

use that.

It simply means a small amount of Barbie consumption.

The pink hued consumption represents that all the Barbie merchandise is going to have

some pink in it.

So your coffin is going to be bright pink and sparkly, which I don't necessarily think

is a bad thing.

That's just a fraction of the pink hued consumption happening across market sectors.

Consumers, we're always loyal to the Barbie brand.

When you're loyal to someone or something, it means that you support them or offer your

support to them in any situation.

So you might have a brand that you're loyal to.

For example, I'm loyal to Apple, so all of my electronics are Apple.

I'm loyal to Apple, and I hope that you're loyal to me.

You're loyal to my videos, which means that you you support them well.

How do you do that?

When I post a new video, you watch it, you like it, you subscribe, you share it with

your friends, You comment in the comments section.

That's how you can be loyal to me and notice I use my brand color because my brand color

is a shade of pink.

A hue of pink because I love pink as well.

So you can put this in the chat.

I'm loyal to Jay Forrest.

I forgot to put English there.

I'm loyal to Jay Forrest English.

I'm loyal to Jennifer, whichever you like, because you can be loyal to a person.

I'm loyal to Jennifer, or in this case, you're loyal to something.

My YouTube channel.

So Jay Force English represents my YouTube channel, which is a something.

And then this obviously represents me as a person.

So you can be loyal to something like a brand, or you can be loyal to a person.

So put that in the comments.

I'm loyal to Jennifer and thank you so much for your loyalty.

Notice how that is the noun form.

Your loyalty.

Loyalty is the concept.

Thank you for your loyalty.

I appreciate it.

OK, let's continue.

Consumers were always loyal to the Barbie brand, but Gerwig's film has seemingly kicked

the extreme fandom into a higher gear.

Okay.

Well, if you've ever driven a manual car, then you know when you go into a higher gear

you go faster.

Is that true?

I guess so, because that's what it means.

I used to drive a manual car, but I haven't driven a manual car in a long time.

I thought when you go into a lower gear, you go faster anyway.

You can let me know in a manual transmission, if you're in a lower gear, do you go faster

or slower?

And if you're in a higher gear, do you go faster or slower?

Share that in the comments.

But regardless, when you kick something into a higher gear, it means you do more of that,

which implies the car should go faster in a higher gear.

So I'm very curious how that works with the manual transition, because I honestly mostly

cannot remember Okay.

So to kick something into a higher gear means that you need to do more of it or to do it

faster.

So in this case, the film has kicked the extreme fandom into a higher gear.

It means that the extreme fandom is the something, so it has allowed it to do more of that or

to do it faster.

The extreme fandom fandom comes from the word fan.

So it's simply the the number of people who are fans of the film, the Barbie movie.

So I wrote that here, but it's fans of the Barbie brand.

I previously just said movie film, but it's not because the film has kicked the extreme

fandom into high gear, so the film has quickly increased the number of fans of the Barbie

brand in general.

So now the Barbie brand, whether it be a suitcase with the Barbie logo, a hat or a tshirt, or

apparently a coffin with the Barbie logo are now popular as well.

And this is even 6 decades SO1 decade is 10 years.

So 6 decades is some very easy math for you.

60 years, 60 years, 60 years, even 60 years, 6 decades after the toys.

Inception.

The toy being the Barbie doll and Inception meaning when it first started.

So here I put start beginning or creation.

Creation it could be the toys creation.

The toys Inception, let's continue, is certainly not the only brand with a widely devoted following.

When something is widely it as an adjective, adverb.

Sorry, as an adverb is simply expands the adjective, so the adjective is a devoted following.

If someone is devoted to you, it's another way of saying they're loyal to you.

So you could also say I'm devoted to Jay Forest English.

I'm devoted to Jennifer, thank you so much.

Or you can say loyal.

They have the same thing.

Now the adverb adverb widely means more, so it's intensifying the adjective, so it simply

means more so It's certainly not the only brand with a widely devoted following, but

the skyrocketing Barbie obsession.

So here skyrocketing.

You could also just say the rocketing Barbie obsession like we saw at the beginning, but

skyrocketing again.

It means the obsession is happening very quickly, very suddenly, like a rocket goes into space.

So that's how you can remember it.

But the skyrocketing Barbie obsession is playing out in real time.

When something plays out in real time, real time means that it's happening at the exact

moment.

So right now I'm recording this in real time.

OK, I'm recording it in the moment.

Now playing out.

This is another way of simply saying happening, happening.

So right now, let me just write this.

First happening is playing out is happening.

So the verb is to play out, and then it's just conjugated in the present continuous.

So the Barbie obsession is happening right now.

You and I see it when we go into the store today.

There is Barbie merchandise everywhere.

But two weeks ago, there was no Barbie merchandise.

So we're seeing how the popularity, how this obsession is skyrocketing.

It's playing out in real time.

Barbie Obsession is playing out in real time, giving consumers and marketers alike access

to a case study of cult fandom in action.

So all this means is that the marketers are able to see this.

Oh wow.

Two weeks ago, no stores had Barbie merchandise, and now everywhere you look online, you see

Barbie.

You can even buy a Barbie Coffin so they can study this because marketers study marketing,

so they can study this to understand what's happening and what this means for for business.

The cult fandom, remember that simply refers to the popularity.

So what rockets a brand or even a person?

Again, this was our verb from the very beginning into this venerated and highly coveted cult

status with intense staying power.

Let's take a look at these two words that you may not know.

Venerated.

This simply means honored and respected.

So into this respected status, Coveted status.

When something is coveted, it means that it is desired or wanted.

So this Barbie coffin was coveted by the public, was highly desired or wanted by the public.

Experts say it's a mix of strategic marketing, intimate consumer messaging and some right

place, right time, magic, intimate.

This simply means that you're talking directly to someone.

So if you have an intimate conversation, it means you and that person are talking directly

to each other and you're very focused on each other.

There isn't a lot of distractions, so that can be a very good thing to have.

And this is how apparently, according to marketers, these three things is.

How the Barbie brand skyrocketed.

The mix of marketing, strategic marketing, intimate consumer messaging.

So talking directly to the consumers with a lot of focus and intensity and some right

place right time magic, among the brands with the most recognizable cult followings is Apple.

I gave that example of a brand that I'm loyal to before.

So what about you?

Which brand are you loyal to?

Apple or Android or another brand?

I guess Android is more of a software system.

See, I don't even know the other ones because I'm loyal to Apple.

I literally do not even know what other cell phones are available because I only buy Apple

because I'm loyal to Apple.

This shows you my loyalty, because I literally do not know any other cell phone brands.

Among the brands with the most recognizable cult followings is Apple, with fans who have

lauded the company since its founding in the 1970s.

The verb to laud, listen to my pronunciation, laud odd.

Laud to laud is the same as saying to praise.

So who have lauded?

Who have praised the company?

Apple since its founding in the 1970s?

The difference between a fad and an enduring cult brand.

OK, let's pause.

Because of fad.

This is when something is very popular but for a short period of time.

But it's extremely popular, but a short period of time.

It could be a week, a month, a year.

So it you you don't exactly know, but it's short in terms of the popularity of other

brands.

So right now, Barbie is extremely popular, but the movie was recently released.

This means that it could be a fad, which means it could only last maybe one more month.

And then nobody wants Barbie products, nobody wants Barbie merchandise.

So it's possible, because we're right at the beginning stages of Barbie's popularity.

It's possible that it's just a fad, which means it will only last for a small amount

of time.

So here, the difference between a fad and an enduring cult brand.

So if that brand endures, it means it lasts a long time.

So it's the opposite of a fad.

If Barbie can maintain its popularity one year from today, well then we know it wasn't

a fad.

It it's an enduring cult brand also comes down to good timing.

So good timing that's in the right place, right time, that would be good timing.

When there's good timing, it means it happened at the time you needed it too.

So if you need a new backpack and then you go to the store and today they put all the

backpacks on sale and they're 50% off, you can say, wow, that's good timing.

Is good timing that the exact time you need a backpack, They're on sale, so that's good

timing, says business professor Susan Fournier.

Yes, cult brands channel powerful marketing strategies.

In this case 2 channel.

This is a verb you can simply think of it as to use.

Yes, cult brands use powerful marketing strategies, but for success stories like Gerwig's Barbie,

Greta Gerwig, she was the director of the film.

Like Gerwig's Barbie, serendipitous timing is key.

Serendipitous in this case, is describing the timing.

It's saying that the timing.

So the timing being when the film Barbie was released to the public.

That happened by chance.

They didn't plan it.

It just happened by chance that it was very good timing.

Serendipitous timing.

Listen to my pronunciation.

Serendipitous.

So the syllable stress is on Dipetus.

Serendipitous, serendipitous.

Timing is key here.

When something is key to be key, it means that it's in extremely important.

Extremely important.

So Apple or Barbie or any brand would say loyalty is key.

Loyalty is extremely important.

So why was this serendipitous timing?

Why was it perfect timing?

But it wasn't planned.

It happened by chance.

Well, this business professor says it's because she says, the lingering pandemic.

Lingering means that something lasts longer than wanted or expected.

So obviously the pandemic lingered.

It lasts longer than wanted or expected.

We can all agree to that, she says.

The lingering pandemic, unstable global economy and Western political culture wars have left

consumers hungry for an entertaining life draft.

So a life raft is a raft that is there to save your life.

If you're drowning in the ocean or even a pool, someone will throw you a life raft and

you can hold on to that and you don't drown and die.

So it's saying that consumers needed something to save them, and they needed some entertainment

to save them, and they needed some entertainment to save them because of these three very negative

things, the pandemic, unstable global economy and Western political culture wars.

Happiness is down, anxiety is up, says Fournier.

Then enter Barbie in all its pink splendor.

So it's very difficult to be angry and upset when you're surrounded by so much positivity

and vibrancy and fun, which is is Barbie.

And that is why it was serendipitous.

It was serendipitous because obviously the Barbie film didn't plan the pandemic.

They didn't plan unstable global economies, and they didn't plan these political culture

wars.

They just were happening in the world and consumers were sick of all the negativity

and they just wanted to be entertained with some fun, lighthearted, sparkly pink entertainment

to forget about those issues.

And that's why it was called serendipitous.

So that was the end of the article.

And now that I'm at the top of the article, what I'll do now is I'll read the article

from start to finish, and this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

What rockets a brand into cult following status?

Director Greta Gerwig's Barbie film has surpassed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.

Yet fans aren't just lining out for tickets.

They're also clamoring for Barbie core fashion, air travel bearing the Barbie logo and even

Barbie themed coffins.

That's just a fraction of the pink hued consumption happening across market sectors.

Consumers were always loyal to the Barbie brand, but Gerwig's film has seemingly kicked

the extreme fandom into a higher gear even 6 decades after the toys inception.

It's certainly not the only brand with a widely devoted following, but the skyrocketing Barbie

obsession is playing out in real time, giving consumers and marketers alike access to a

case study of cult fandom in action.

So what rockets a brand, or even a person, into this venerated and highly coveted cult

status with intense staying power?

Experts say it's a mix of strategic marketing, intimate consumer messaging and some right

place, right time magic.

Among the brands with the most recognizable cult followings is Apple, with fans who have

lauded the company since its founding in the 1970s.

The difference between a fad and an enduring cult brand also comes down to good timing,

says business professor Susan Fournier.

Yes, cult brands channel powerful marketing strategies.

But for success stories like Gerwig's Barbie, serendipitous timing is key, She says The

lingering pandemic, unstable global economy and Western political culture wars have lacked

consumers hungry for an entertaining life raft.

Happiness is down, anxiety is up, says Fournier.

Then enter Barbie in all its pink splendor.

So did you like this lesson?

Did you like the level?

The C2 level?

If you want me to make more lessons at this level, then put C2 in the comments.

That's actually kind of boring.

Why don't you put Barbie core, Barbie Core in the comments so you can put C2 or Barbie

Core in the comments so I know you want more lessons at the C2 level.

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