Speed Reading — Online Lectures - Level 3 — 300 wpm

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.


This is the text (if you need help).

A university professor in Singapore gave a two-hour online lecture but didn't realize he was on mute. Professor Wang, who teaches maths, was not aware that throughout his online presentation, the microphone on his computer was switched off. This meant that none of the students attending his online class heard what professor Wang was talking about. His university switched his classes online to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. His lecture started well but then it froze. The video came back but the mic was off and professor Wang did not notice. One of his students says it might have been because the professor was using an iPad and not a computer.

Students tried many times to contact professor Wang during the lesson but could not get through to him. They waved their arms and even tried calling him on his personal phone. A video of the moment he understood his mic was off has gone viral on the Internet. It has received more than 653,000 views. After realizing what happened, professor Wang appeared shocked and stressed. He said he was upset at the thought of wasting two hours of his students' time. He has offered to redo the lecture at a different time so his students do not miss that class. One of his students posted on social media about the professor's mishap. She wrote: "I took a class under him before and he teaches well. I feel bad for him."

Comprehension questions
  1. In which country was the professor teaching online?
  2. What does the professor teach?
  3. What did the university want to stop the spread of?
  4. What happened to the professor's lecture after it started?
  5. What did a student say the problem might have been?
  6. What did students wave?
  7. How many views has a YouTube video had?
  8. How did the professor appear to feel in a video?
  9. What has the professor offered to redo?
  10. How does one of the professor's students feel about the mishap?

Back to the online lecture lesson.

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