TeaLizard Takes Over Twitter

AS IT IS 2016-06-22 #TeaLizard Takes Over Twitter

This is What’s Trending Today….

LeBron James was understandably emotional Sunday night after he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the National Basketball Association championship.

Photographs of the basketball star crying after the win spread quickly on social media. To some people, the photos looked a lot like the popular internet meme #CryingJordan.

A meme is a funny image or video that is copied -- with small changes -- and spread on social media.

The #CryingJordan meme is based on a picture of former basketball star Michael Jordan crying. He became emotional when he joined the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

People have been posting the picture on social media whenever their favorite sports team loses or in connection with any other disappointing event.

On Tuesday, the ABC television show Good Morning America asked its followers² on Twitter about a possible new #CryingLeBron meme. The tweet made note of other famous memes.

The Tweet included the photo of Michael Jordan crying and a picture of Kermit the Frog drinking tea.

Kermit the Frog is part of the popular Internet meme known as “None of My Business.” People use the Kermit meme to make jokes about “questionable behaviors in everyday social situations,” according to the website KnowYourMeme.com.

Kermit is one of the Muppets, a group of characters created by puppeteer³ Jim Henson. The Disney Company now controls the rights to the Muppets. The company also owns ABC TV.

Good Morning America’s tweet read: “Does #CryingLeBron join other meme greats like #tealizard, [and] #CryingJordan?”

Twitter users quickly reacted, criticizing the TV show for calling Kermit the Frog a lizard¹. By definition, a ‘lizard’ is a reptile⁴ that has a long body and tail, and rough, uneven⁵ skin. Kermit is, of course, a frog puppet. Not a lizard puppet.

People on social media mocked Good Morning America for mistaking the world-famous frog for a lizard. The #tealizard hashtag quickly took over the Internet.

By early Tuesday, #tealizard was a trending topic on Twitter. And the fun began.

One Twitter user questioned whether or not the #tealizard error was a mistake, or “whether some evil genius at GMA” created it on purpose.

While the people directing Good Morning America’s Twitter account might not have known about Kermit’s “none of my business” meme, LeBron James himself surely has.

He posted an Instagram photo of himself wearing a Kermit the Frog “None of my business” hat. James posted the photo on Monday, many hours before the GMA tweet. The photo included a note to his critics and doubters, and ended with the line “but guess what, that’s none of my business.”

Words in This Story

behavior - n. the way a person or animal acts or behaves

puppeteer - n.? a person who uses puppets in performances to entertain people?

reptile - n.? an animal (such as a snake, lizard, turtle, or alligator) that has cold blood, that lays eggs, and that has a body covered with scales or hard parts?

puppet - n.? a doll that is moved by putting your hand inside it or by pulling strings⁶ or wires that are attached to it?

evil - adj. morally bad

genius - n. a person who is very good at doing something

1 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 puppeteer   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡

参考例句：

• Mr. Sullivan is a professional puppeteer.沙利文先生是一位专业的木偶戏表演者。
• One puppeteer controls the doll's head,face,and right hand.一个表演者控制木偶的头部，面部和右手。

4 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。