Spark Study Buddy (Challenger): ‘Superman challenge’ leaves students injured
The story on this page has some tougher vocabulary words and questions to improve your understanding and English grammar.
Japan has warned schools about the viral “Superman challenge” after multiple student injuries. Photo: SCMP composite/IMDb/YouTubeContent provided by British Council
[1] Education chiefs in Japan have warned primary and junior secondary schools after an online “Superman challenge” went viral among young students and caused multiple injuries across the country. The challenge sees a person jumping into the joined arms of two rows of people to imitate the flying superhero before bouncing back and landing in a perfect position.
[2] Even though it looks very easy in the viral online videos, the reality is somewhat different for some students. Last December, a secondary school student in Tokyo was sent to the hospital after failing the challenge and getting injured. He broke both wrists and chipped his front teeth.
[3] His doctor, surnamed Kishibe, watched the video on his smartphone. He saw the boy being thrown up to a height of two to three metres by friends. He lost his balance and fell face-first onto a concrete floor. The doctor said he could not imagine how a game so dangerous became so popular. The boy said he thought it was just a game because people in the videos laughed and had fun.
[4] Another secondary school student in the Aomori region cracked the back of his head on the ground after being thrown in the air by six friends. He reported a hurting neck but did not suffer more serious injuries. The boy’s mother expressed worries over the challenge.
[5] “Falling on one’s neck or waist can cause serious, life-changing injuries. It is not just a game,” she said. According to Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun, the challenge could go wrong in many ways. Challengers could hurt themselves if they fail to fall on their arms or are thrown up too high and hit the ceiling.
[6] Education boards in several cities of southwestern Japan’s Okinawa area warned their primary and secondary schools to raise awareness of the risks after many similar injuries were reported. ByteDance’s Japan office told the media outlet NHK that it was making it impossible to search for Superman challenge videos through hashtags and relevant keywords.
[7] Children from other countries, such as Spain, North Macedonia and Romania, were also reported to have injured themselves. This is not the first time such risky online challenges have been mired in controversy.
[8] In 2021, an activity known as the “blackout challenge”, in which the performers choked themselves until they lost consciousness, went viral among young people. Some children reportedly died during the filming of the challenge.
Source: South China Morning Post, January 5
Questions
1. Who does the “flying superhero” in paragraph 1 refer to?
2. The student mentioned in paragraph 3 landed …
A. on his feet.
B. on his back.
C. on his elbow.
D. none of the above
3. In paragraph 4, how did the secondary school student get injured?
4. What action did ByteDance’s Japan office take in response to the injuries according to paragraph 7?
5. According to paragraph 8, what did people do during the “blackout challenge”?
6. In each sentence, circle the correct preposition that completes the phrasal verb. (3 marks)
(i) The “Superman challenge” caught on / up / out among young students, despite it being extremely dangerous.
(ii) A doctor in Japan looked off / down / into the incident of a student injuring himself while doing the challenge.
(iii) Another student’s mother spoke in / out / on against the challenge and warned others about its potential dangers.
Answers
1. Superman
2. D
3. He cracked the back of his head on the ground after being thrown in the air by six friends.
4. They made it impossible to search for Superman Challenge videos through hashtags and relevant keywords.
5. They choked themselves until they lost consciousness.
6. (i) on; (ii) into; (iii) out