Spark Study Buddy (Explorer): Why are Jellycat soft toys so popular?
This page has an easy read with questions to test your understanding and work on your English skills.
A Jellycat pop-up store in Lane Crawford, Causeway Bay. Photo: Austin ZhangContent provided by British Council
[1] What is a Jellycat, and why are people queuing up for hours to buy one? Jellycat, a British soft toy company, was founded in 1999 in London, England. The company makes plush toys, also known as plushies. The cute and fun designs range from animals like cats to food items like croissants and objects like cassette tapes. People, young and old, are falling in love with the toys, but they are not cheap.
[2] For example, in Hong Kong, Jellycats at the Lane Crawford pop-up store in Causeway Bay cost between HK$265 and HK$2,265 (US$34 and US$291). Still, there is a high demand for the cuddly toys. Some fans treat the toys as collector’s or investment items, especially rarer ones.
[3] What makes a Jellycat soft toy so special? Comments left on social media suggest that many people appreciate Jellycats because they find the soft toys calming. One poster on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like platform in China, wrote: “When I buy a Jellycat toy, I feel comforted when I hug and touch it. The comfort it brings me is more important than the price.”
[4] One user of the social website Reddit wrote: “There is a huge range, with different forms of plushies. Animals, mushrooms. Super cute. Full of personality – it is very important for me. Different, high-quality fabrics. Such a feeling of comfort when I hug them.”
[5] A user of the Chinese blogging site Weibo said Jellycats provided a lot of emotional value. They also did not have the opportunity to buy those cute plushies as a kid.
[6] The soft toy company has theories about the Jellycat plushies’ popularity. Maybe it is how the toys sit in your hand or the expression that “speaks a thousand words”. It could be how it feels to hold the soft toy close to you. “The answer is different for everyone,” the company has said on its website.
[7] Jellycats’ popularity has been growing steadily in Asia. According to Chinese shopping platform Tmall, Jellycat was its bestselling soft toy on Singles’ Day.
Source: South China Morning Post, December 4
Questions
1. According to paragraph 1, what is Jellycat?
A. a popular cat breed
B. a kind of jelly
C. a company
D. a type of cassette tape
2. How much does the cheapest Jellycat toy cost in the Lane Crawford pop-up store in Causeway Bay, according to paragraph 2?
3. The person in paragraph 4 likes Jellycat soft toys because …
A. they are high quality.
B. they come in lots of different forms.
C. they are full of personality.
D. all of the above
4. Why did the Weibo user in paragraph 5 buy Jellycat plushies?
5. Write the correct punctuation. (4 marks)
People love Jellycat plushies (i) _____ especially in China (ii) ____ Even though they can be expensive (iii) ____ people still buy them (iv) ____.
6. Complete the table with the correct form of the adjective. The first one has been done for you. (4 marks)
Answers
1. C
2. HK$265
3. D
4. They did not have the opportunity to buy the soft toy when they were a kid.
5. (i), (ii). (iii), (iv).
6. cheap, cheaper, cheapest; rare, rarer, rarest