Word of the week: MEMORIAL
Related expressions
1. memorial – a memorial event or object is a way of remembering a person or people who have died
Everyone came to the memorial service of our dear professor.
2. pay tribute – to praise someone or something
Football fans paid special tribute to their player who died in a car accident.
3. exposed to – to make it likely that someone will experience something harmful or unpleasant:
The family was exposed to poisonous gases leaking from the factory which was the cause of their death.
In context
June 7 will be remembered as the day the World said its final farewell to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The memorial event held in the Staples Arena in Los Angeles was filled with several thousand fans and celebrities, while almost a billion people worldwide watched the service live on television. The memorial service hosted stars who wanted to pay a personal tribute to the singer. It was an emotional event for all the fans gathered in different corners of the world. In China, where Michael Jackson never performed, fans rented a room in a hotel to watch a live broadcast of the service. Fans in London stood in the rain as they watched a live broadcast of the event. In New Delhi, fans paid tribute by lighting a candle. Yet, the moment that captivated everyone’s hearts was at the close of the ceremony when Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter, stated that she had the best father anyone could ever imagine.
The last decade has seen many emotional memorial services for famous artists, politicians and religious leaders. When a famous person passes away, it can be a shock to the community because his/her life and work may have touched many people. Therefore such events enable people to pay their final tribute to their idol; however some believe that memorials are only media events of sensationalism and emotion. A study was conducted among 1,850 Americans by HCS Research. The study revealed that 63% of respondents claimed that Michael Jackson’s death received too much media coverage; however 84% indicated that they are engaged with the death of someone famous when they are exposed to it by the media. I suppose no one can be indifferent nowadays to any major event, especially if it is covered by the media and the Internet.
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www.people-press.org
Guardian
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