Lionel Messi keen to meet young Afghan kid who dressed as Argentine star in blue-and-white striped plastic bag

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

Who was somebody famous you loved as a child? Can you imagine that you could meet them?

A five-year-old Afghan boy living in a dangerous area of Afghanistan has become an online sensation after pictures of him dressed in an improvised Lionel Messi shirt -- made out of a plastic bag -- went viral.

Murtaza loves the Argentine soccer star but a shirt of his favorite player is beyond the means of his poor family in a country area of Afghanistan.

His elder brother made him the plastic shirt with Messi's named written in marker pen on it. He then put the photos of Murtaza wearing the shirt on Facebook two weeks ago.

"Our neighbour had thrown away grocery bags and Murtaza brought me one to make a Messi shirt," he said. Murtaza’s older brother is a high school student and also an FC Barcelona fan.

Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s father said the footballer heard about the photos that went viral on social media. And Messi "wants to do something special" for his young fan. Lionel Messi has said that he is keen to meet the boy.

Murtaza’s father said he could not afford to buy him a replica shirt. He said his son only had a broken ball to play with in his village in the dangerous area of Afghanistan.

"We do not have a football playground near our house and the only ball I have has a hole in it”

"I love Messi, he plays really well, and I love the shirt my brother made for me."

He kicks the broken football in his snow-covered village. He said,  "I want to be like Messi when I grow up."

The boy’s father who works as a farmer, said he hopes that his son turns into a great football player one day.

"I want my son to become the Messi of Afghanistan"

"Murtaza wants to meet Lionel Messi one day. He asked me to buy him a shirt but I cannot afford it," said Murtaza’s father who has six children.

When his photos were first put on the Internet; Internet users scrambled to discover who  the boy was.

But Murtaza's uncle who lives in Australia, revealed to the media that his nephew was the surprise famous child of the story.

His father only learned about Murtaza's new fame from relatives when he recently visited Kabul for medical help.

Sport was rarely played when the Taliban controlled Afghanistan. And the football stadium in Kabul was a notorious place for executions and other punishments.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=6, B=7, C=1, D=8, E=2, F=5, G=4, H=3

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1.      Psy was a huge sensation in Korea and around the world.

2.      I did not have enough money, so I had to improvise with the things I had to be able to do it.

3.      There is a bad virus in schools this winter, everyone seems to have it.

4.      It was beyond my parents means to send me to a good school, so I had to do my best at this one.

5.      It looks like real Nike, but it is only a replica.

6.      I scrambled to find the money that was needed to pay the debt due today.

7.      It was revealed that the politician had hidden lots of money.

8.      Cats are notorious for stealing food from the garbage.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      Is Messi a sensation in your country, why or why not?

2.      What do you think of this boys improvisation to replicate his hero?

3.      What things do you know of that have gone viral? Why?

4.      How would you feel if you were this father and treating your son was beyond your means?

5.      Would you buy a replica of a famous brand? Why or why not?

6.      Why do you think people scrambled to find out who this boy was?

7.      What do you think your fashion reveals about you?

8.      What are freshmen students notorious for in your country?