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Date: May 1, 2005
Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.)
Downloads: This Lesson (Word Doc) | Class Handout (Word Doc) | Class Handout (PDF)

Listening (1:57 - 229.2 KB - 16kbps)

THE ARTICLE

Two separate incidents have killed two people and injured at least ten more in the centre of Cairo, Egypt. In one, a man wanted by Egyptian authorities on terrorism charges blew himself up after detonating explosives strapped to his body. Ehab Yousri Yassin was being chased by police at the time in connection to a bomb blast at a Cairo bazaar on April 7 in which the bomber and three foreign tourists died. He was carrying the identification card of the bomber who perpetrated the bazaar attack.

The other attack occurred two hours later and was carried out by the fiancée and the sister of the man killed earlier. The two women, both in their early twenties, opened fire on a tourist bus outside Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. One of the assailants was shot dead by the police, who quickly cordoned off the area for fear of further attacks. It appears these attacks are being orchestrated within a tight circle of family and friends and are not part of a wider network.

These and other recent attacks have sparked fears there may be a resurgence of a terrorism campaign against foreign tourists. The 1990s saw a string of high profile attacks against foreigners and almost decimated Egypt’s tourism industry. There had been a lull in violence since an Egyptian crackdown resulted in the imprisonment of 16,000 suspected militants. In October, two simultaneous bombings on Sinai resorts, which killed 34 people, ended that calm.

WARM UPS

1. CHAT: Talk in pairs or groups about: Cairo / Egypt / terrorism / suicide bombings / foreign tourists… For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

2. EGYPT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Egypt. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. TERROR THREAT: In pairs / groups, interview each other about the threat from terrorism. Do you worry about the possibilities of terrorist attacks? Do you think about it every day? Have authorities in the town / city in which you live of study taken any action to prevent terrorist attacks? Do you worry about going to airports of flying on airplanes? Are you suspicious if you see an unattended bag on the train or at the train station. Change partners and report your interview findings to your new partner.

4. IS THIS YOU? Read one of the comments below to your partner and follow the comment with the question, “Is this you?” Your partner can use one of the following responses before providing more details:

“Yes. That’s me through and through.”

“Yes. That’s me down to a T.”

“Yes. That’s most definitely me.”

“Yes. That’s me. That’s me.”

“Yes. That’s me sometimes.”

“Hmmm… That’s not really me.”

“No. That’s not me. Not at all”

COMMENTS

  1. I’m on a constant state of alert. I worry about terrorism all the time.
  2. I never worry about terrorism. It’s a waste of energy.
  3. If I see an unattended bag at the train station, I move away from it”
  4. I get suspicious when I see foreigners in groups talking to each other.
  5. Terrorists or no terrorists, I’ll go where I want in the world.
  6. I check every Internet site for safety alerts before deciding where to go on vacation.
  7. I like adventure. I want to visit the places other people think are dangerous.
  8. I’m 100% safe. Terrorism will never affect my life.
  9. Terrorists don’t frighten me. I’ll wear a T-Shirt with my country’s flag on it anywhere in the world.
  10. At the airport I can’t stop looking at suitcases and wondering what’s inside.

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Use your dictionary / computer to find word partners (collocates), other meanings, synonyms or more information on the words ‘foreign’ and ‘tourists’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true or false:

  1. Two separate incidents have killed two people and injured ten in Cairo. T / F
  2. A suspected terrorist detonated explosives strapped to his body.  T / F
  3. The suspected terrorist was carrying no ID.  T / F
  4. The man’s fiancée and sister shot at a tourist bus two hours later.  T / F
  5. The man’s fiancée shot and killed a member of the security forces.  T / F
  6. The two who died (the man and his fiancée) belonged to an orchestra.  T / F
  7. Egyptian authorities are not too worried about these attacks.  T / F
  8. Egyptian authorities have imprisoned 16,000 suspected militants.  T / F

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.

incidents

respite

b.

chased

attackers

c.

detonating

setting off

d.

perpetrated

wave

e.

assailants

committed

f.

orchestrated

occurrences

g.

resurgence

wiped out

h.

string

rebirth

i.

decimated

pursued

j.

lull

coordinated

4. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.

terrorism

perpetrated the bazaar attack

b.

detonating

off the area

c.

the bomber who

fire on a tourist bus

d.

opened

orchestrated

e.

One of the assailants was

in violence

f.

cordoned

explosives

g.

these attacks are being

Egypt’s tourism industry

h.

sparked

shot dead by the police

i.

almost decimated

charges

j.

a lull

fears

 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. WHICH WORD: Circle the word in each pair of italics that is correct.

Two dead, 10 injured in Cairo attacks

Two separate attacks have killed two people and injured at least ten more in the centre of Cairo, Egypt. In one accident / incident a man wanted by Egyptian authorities on terrorism charges blew himself up / down after detonating explosives strapped to his body. Ehab Yousri Yassin was being chased by police at the time in link / connection to a bomb blast at the Khan al-Khalili bazaar on April 7 in which the bomber and three foreign tourists died. He was carrying the identification card of the bomber who perpetrated the bazaar / bizarre attack.

The other attack occurred / incurred two hours later and was carried out by the fiancée and the sister of the man killed earlier. The two women, both in their early twenties, closed / opened fire on a tourist bus outside Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. One of the assailants was shot dead by the police, who quickly cordoned on / off the area for fear of further attacks. It reveals / appears these attacks are being orchestrated within a tight circle of family and friends and are not part of a wider network.

These and other recent attacks have sparked / sparkled fears there may be a resurgence of a terrorism campaign against foreign tourists. The 1990s saw a rope / string of high profile attacks against foreigners and almost decimated / decimalized Egypt’s tourism industry. There had been a lull in violence since an Egyptian crackdown / meltdown resulted in the imprisonment of 16,000 suspected militants. In October, two simultaneous bombings on Sinai resorts, which killed 34 people ended, that clam / calm.

 

2. TRUE/FALSE: Check your answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Make notes for questions you would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. WHICH WORD: Check your answers to this exercise. Talk about what was wrong with the incorrect word.

2. QUESTIONS: Ask the discussion questions you thought of above to your partner / group / class. Pool the questions for everyone to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT TERRORISM SURVEY: In pairs/groups write down questions about terrorism. Ask other classmates your questions and report back to your original partner/ group to compare your findings.

5. ‘FOREIGN’ / ‘TOURISTS’: Make questions based on your findings from pre-reading activity #1. Ask your partner / group your questions.

6. DISCUSSION:

  1. What did you think after reading this article?
  2. Can you remember your reaction to reading the headline?
  3. Do you think attacks of this kind will ever stop?
  4. What feelings do you think motivate people to become a suicide bomber?
  5. What do you think drives young women to shoot at foreign tourists?
  6. Would this attack make you think twice about going to Cairo?
  7. Is Egypt on your list of countries you must visit?
  8. Why do you think Egyptians would turn to terror?
  9. Do you ever worry about your own safety?
  10. Do you think about terrorism or bombs at airports or busy train stations?
  11. Have you ever witnessed any form of terrorism?
  12. What do you think are the key things that need to be done to end this kind of violence?
  13. Is George W. Bush winning the war on terror?
  14. Do you choose your travel destinations with terrorist threats in mind?
  15. Has your country experienced terrorism?
  16. Do you think you have become desensitized to news of terrorist attacks?
  17. What do you think of the words “martyr”, “freedom fighter” and “liberator”, used by militant groups use to describe suicide bombers?
  18. Did you like this discussion?
  19. Teacher / Student additional questions.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find information on one of the world’s terrorist groups. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. WAR ON TERROR: There are many terrorist groups around the world, operating for many different reasons. Write a short article describing one of these groups and what you think needs to be done to end its activities. Present your article to the class in your next lesson.

4. 9/11: Write your opinion on whether the world is a safer place since 9/11. Discuss this with your classmates in your next lesson.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

  1. Two separate incidents have killed two people and injured ten in Cairo T
  2. A suspected terrorist detonated explosives strapped to his body.  T
  3. The suspected terrorist was carrying no ID.  F
  4. The man’s fiancée and sister shot at a tourist bus two hours later.  T
  5. The man’s fiancée shot and killed a member of the security forces.  F
  6. The two who died (the man and his fiancée) belonged to an orchestra.  F
  7. Egyptian authorities are not too worried about these attacks.  F
  8. Egyptian authorities have imprisoned 16,000 suspected militants.  T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.

incidents

occurrences

b.

chased

pursued

c.

detonating

setting off

d.

perpetrated

committed

e.

assailants

attackers

f.

orchestrated

coordinated

g.

resurgence

rebirth

h.

string

wave

i.

decimated

wiped out

j.

lull

respite

PHRASE MATCH:

a.

terrorism

charges

b.

detonating

explosives

c.

the bomber who

perpetrated the bazaar attack

d.

opened

fire on a tourist bus

e.

one of the assailants was

shot dead by the police

f.

cordoned

off the area

g.

these attacks are being

orchestrated

h.

sparked

fears

i.

almost decimated

Egypt’s tourism industry

j.

a lull

in violence

WHICH WORD:

Two dead, 10 injured in Cairo attacks

Two separate attacks have killed two people and injured at least ten more in the centre of Cairo, Egypt. In one incident a man wanted by Egyptian authorities on terrorism charges blew himself up after detonating explosives strapped to his body. Ehab Yousri Yassin was being chased by police at the time in connection to a bomb blast at the Khan al-Khalili bazaar on April 7 in which the bomber and three foreign tourists died. He was carrying the identification card of the bomber who perpetrated the bazaar attack.

The other attack occurred two hours later and was carried out by the fiancée and the sister of the man killed earlier. The two women, both in their early twenties, opened fire on a tourist bus outside Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. One of the assailants was shot dead by the police, who quickly cordoned off the area for fear of further attacks. It appears these attacks are being orchestrated within a tight circle of family and friends and are not part of a wider network.

These and other recent attacks have sparked fears there may be a resurgence of a terrorism campaign against foreign tourists. The 1990s saw a string of high profile attacks against foreigners and almost decimated Egypt’s tourism industry. There had been a lull in violence since an Egyptian crackdown resulted in the imprisonment of 16,000 suspected militants. In October, two simultaneous bombings on Sinai resorts, which killed 34 people, ended that calm.

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