Article 07/11/22

 

World record gathering of people with same name   (31st October, 2022)

A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing a namesake of his drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an octogenarian.
       Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated at breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were thwarted largely because of the association's insistence on all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a more lenient criterion. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka reflected on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of silliness".

 

BEST NAME: What are the best names for these people / things, and why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Best Name	Why?
A newborn baby boy
A newborn baby girl
A pet dog
A sports car
A bookshop
An English school

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	convened	a.	A person who is between 80 and 89 years old.
2.	inspiration	b.	A person or thing that has the same name as another.
3.	namesake	c.	Extend across a period of time or a range of subjects.
4.	drafted	d.	Came or brought together for a meeting or activity.
5.	span	e.	All of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively.
6.	generation	f.	The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.
7.	octogenarian	g.	Selected a player for a sports team.

    Paragraph 2

8.	elated	h.	Average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.
9.	thwarted	i.	Prevented someone from achieving or doing something.
10.	insistence	j.	Thought deeply or carefully about.
11.	lenient	k.	Very, very, very happy.
12.	criterion	l.	A principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided.
13.	deemed	m.	The fact or quality of saying that something is definitely the case or should be done.
14.	reflected	n.	Regarded or considered in a specified way.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. A group of women who all had the same name broke a world record.     T / F
2. The record attempt was organized by the John Smith Association.     T / F
3. A former professional baseball player helped to break the record.     T / F
4. The oldest person in the group was in his/her eighties.     T / F
5. This was the third time for the group to attempt to break the record.     T / F
6. This attempt required participants to have the same Chinese characters.  T / F
7. The person who organized the attempt knew it would be broken.     T / F
8. The person called the record an example of silliness.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. convened
2. gathering
3. attempt
4. established
5. span
6. elated
7. thwarted
8. eligible
9. reflected
10. ridiculous

1. foiled
2. set up
3. allowed
4. assembly
5. thrilled
6. laughable
7. effort
8. thought about
9. met
10. cross

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1. the largest gathering
2. This group was established
3. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing
4. The 178 new record holders span
5. the eldest being
6. Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated
7. These attempts were
8. having to have the same
9. regardless of the kanji used
10. Tanaka reflected on his

1. at breaking the world record
2. a namesake of his
3. of people
4. Chinese characters
5. world-beating achievement
6. the generations
7. by a guy called Tanaka
8. to spell their name
9. an octogenarian
10. thwarted

Multiple choice quiz

     1)  In which city did the men break the world record?
a) Sydney
b) Tokyo
c) Lima
d) Beijing
   2) When was the Tanaka Hirokazu association started?
a) 1991
b) 1992
c) 1993
d) 1994
   3) Who started the Tanaka Hirokazu association?
a) Tanaka Hirokazu
b) Guinness World Records
c) the Namesake Association
d) Genealogy International
   4) What sport did one of the record breakers use to play?
a) ice hockey
b) football
c) baseball
d) tennis
     5) How old was the oldest record breaker?
a) 79
b) in his eighties
c) 90
d) a centenarian

    6) How did Tanaka Hirokazu feel about breaking the world record?
a) bewildered
b) relieved
c) elated
d) mildly surprised
    7) How many times in total did the group try to break the record?
a) ten
b) four
c) two
d) three
     8) What did the first attempts require all names to have?
a) the same Chinese characters
b) a middle name
c) a birth certificate
d) a history
     9) Who did Tanaka Hirokazu talk to about breaking the record?
a) reporters
b) Mrs Tanaka
c) his neighbours
d) a group on Zoom
     10) What did Tanaka Hirokazu call the world record an example of?
a) naming
b) silliness
c) hard work
d) achievement