Date: Jan 25, 2008
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Online Test: Recreate the text in this online test.
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1,000 IDEAS FOR ESL CLASSES: Breaking News English.com's e-Book
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An Australian crocodile-farm worker has escaped the jaws of death, a bullet and a crocodile in the space of a few seconds. Jason Green was attacked by an angry croc while he was working at the Darwin Crocodile Farm in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mr Green was one of two men who were collecting crocodile eggs along a riverbank. They regularly collect eggs and put them in a special incubator so that the babies hatch safely. Their skins are sold to the Hermes brand to make bags. The female reptile got upset when she saw Mr Green at her nest and immediately attacked him. His quick-thinking colleague Zac Fitzgerald saved his life when he shot the saltwater beast. Mr Green was released from certain death when the croc let go of him and swam away. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald fired a second shot which hit Mr Green in the same arm the crocodile had grabbed.
Mr Green is now recovering in hospital. He needed two operations on his broken arm; one for the crocodile bite and one for the bullet wound. Mr Green was extremely lucky he made it to hospital in time to save his arm. Fortunately for him, a helicopter was waiting nearby the area that the two workers were collecting eggs. It took just 25 minutes to transport Green from the remote, Outback river to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Jason joked about the attack from his hospital bed. He told his boss: “I don’t think I’ll be at work for a couple of days.” Jason thanked his colleague for saving his life, saying: “Thank God he’s a good shot.” Jason added that he didn’t have any bad feelings toward the croc. “She only sort of poked her nose out at me,” he said. The crocodile survived the gun shot and is now back guarding her nest.
1. CROCODILES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about crocodiles. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
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farm workers / the jaws of death / crocodile skin / getting angry / bad luck / hospitals / broken bones / helicopter rescues / jokes / colleagues / gun shots |
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. WHOOPS: Talk with your partner(s) about the accidental situations below. What would you do if your friend accidentally did these to you? Rank them: 10 = you’d be seriously angry, 1 = it’d be no problem. Change partners and share your findings.
a. _____ your friend shot you in the arm
b. _____ your friend lost your English homework
c. _____ your friend accidentally stole your boy/girlfriend
d. _____ your friend gave away your Internet passwords
e. _____ your friend wiped out the contents of your iPod
f. _____ your friend lost your pet / brother / sister
g. _____ your friend ruined your favourite item of clothing
h. _____ your friend accidentally blinded you
4. HELP!: Talk with your partner(s) about being attacked by these things. Agree on the three most and least frightening. Change partners and share your findings.
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5. DEATH: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘death’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. QUICK ROLE PLAY: Student A strongly believes that crocodile skin should never be used for fashion accessories; Student B strongly believes crocodile skin products are the coolest things around. Change partners again and talk about your roles and conversations.
1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
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a. |
A farm worker was almost killed by a crocodile and a bullet. |
T / F |
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b. |
The lucky man was taking eggs to feed the crocodiles. |
T / F |
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c. |
The crocodile farm sells the crocs’ skin to a fashion company. |
T / F |
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d. |
The worker’s colleague shot the worker on purpose. |
T / F |
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e. |
The man is in hospital with a broken arm. |
T / F |
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f. |
A Toyota Landcruiser rushed the man to a nearby hospital. |
T / F |
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g. |
The man joked about being attacked by a crocodile. |
T / F |
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h. |
The crocodile died. |
T / F |
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
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1. |
Australian |
a. |
injury |
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2 |
space |
b. |
sure |
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3. |
upset |
c. |
take |
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4. |
certain |
d. |
seized |
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5. |
grabbed |
e. |
stuck |
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6. |
recovering |
f. |
period |
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7. |
wound |
g. |
angry |
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8. |
transport |
h. |
protecting |
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9. |
poked |
i. |
healing |
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10. |
guarding |
j. |
Aussie |
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
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1. |
escaped the jaws |
a. |
in hospital |
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2 |
in the space of |
b. |
of death |
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3. |
collect eggs and put them |
c. |
survived the gun shot |
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4. |
His quick-thinking |
d. |
in a special incubator |
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5. |
released from |
e. |
wound |
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6. |
recovering |
f. |
certain death |
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7. |
bullet |
g. |
colleague |
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8. |
Jason joked about |
h. |
feelings toward the croc |
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9. |
didn’t have any bad |
i. |
a few seconds |
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10. |
The crocodile |
j. |
the attack |
GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.
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An Australian crocodile-farm worker has __________ the jaws of death, a bullet and a crocodile in the __________ of a few seconds. Jason Green was attacked by an angry croc while he was working at the Darwin Crocodile Farm in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mr Green was one of __________ men who were collecting crocodile eggs along a riverbank. They regularly collect eggs and put them in a special incubator so that the babies __________ safely. Their skins are sold to the Hermes brand to make bags. The female __________ got upset when she saw Mr Green at her nest and immediately attacked him. His quick-__________ colleague Zac Fitzgerald saved his life when he shot the saltwater __________. Mr Green was released from certain death when the croc let go of him and swam away. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald __________ a second shot which hit Mr Green in the same arm the crocodile had grabbed.
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thinking |
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Mr Green is now __________ in hospital. He needed two operations on his broken arm; one for the crocodile __________ and one for the bullet __________. Mr Green was extremely lucky he made it to hospital in time to save his arm. Fortunately for him, a helicopter was waiting __________ the area that the two workers were collecting eggs. It took just 25 minutes to transport Green from the __________, Outback river to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Jason joked about the attack from his hospital bed. He told his boss: “I don’t think I’ll be at work for a couple of days.” Jason thanked his colleague for __________ his life, saying: “Thank God he’s a good shot.” Jason added that he didn’t have any bad __________ toward the croc. “She only sort of poked her nose out at me,” he said. The crocodile __________ the gun shot and is now back guarding her nest. |
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remote |
An Australian crocodile-farm worker has ______________________ death, a bullet and a crocodile ___________________ few seconds. Jason Green was attacked by an angry croc while he was working at the Darwin Crocodile Farm in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mr Green ______________________ who were collecting crocodile eggs along a riverbank. They regularly collect eggs ______________________ special incubator so that the babies hatch safely. Their skins are sold to the Hermes brand to make bags. The female reptile ______________________ Mr Green at her nest and immediately attacked him. His quick-thinking colleague Zac Fitzgerald saved his ______________________ saltwater beast. Mr Green was released from certain death when the croc let go of him and swam away. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald fired a second shot which hit Mr Green ______________________ crocodile had grabbed.
Mr Green is ______________________. He needed two operations on his broken arm; one for the crocodile bite and one for the bullet wound. Mr Green was extremely ______________________ hospital in time to save his arm. Fortunately for him, a helicopter ______________________ that the two workers were collecting eggs. It took just 25 minutes to transport Green ______________________, Outback river to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Jason joked about the attack from his hospital bed. He told his boss: “I don’t ______________________ for a couple of days.” Jason thanked his colleague for saving his life, saying: “Thank God ______________________.” Jason added that he didn’t have any bad feelings toward the croc. “She only sort of ______________________ at me,” he said. The crocodile survived the gun shot ______________________ her nest.
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘bullet’ and ‘wound’.
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bullet |
wound
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2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
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Write five GOOD questions about crocodiles in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.
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STUDENT 1 _____________ |
STUDENT 2 _____________ |
STUDENT 3 _____________ |
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Q.1.
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Q.2.
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Q.3.
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Q.4.
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Q.5.
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STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
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a) |
What did you think when you read the headline? |
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b) |
What springs to mind when you hear the phrase ‘jaws of death’? |
|
c) |
Have you ever stared at the face of death? |
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d) |
What do you think of crocodile farms? |
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e) |
Do you think Hermes and other fashion companies should sell goods made from crocodile skins? |
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f) |
Would you like to work on a crocodile farm? |
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g) |
Has a friend of yours ever injured you by mistake? |
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h) |
What examples are there in your life when you have been quick thinking? |
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i) |
What do you think of this story? |
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
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a) |
Did you like reading this article? |
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b) |
Have you ever stayed in hospital? |
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c) |
Do you think Mr Green is a lucky man? Are you a lucky person? |
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d) |
Are you the kind of person who jokes about the bad things that happen to you? |
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e) |
What do you think Jason’s boss and colleague should do for Jason when he leaves hospital? |
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f) |
What would you say to someone who saved your life? |
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g) |
Do you always have bad feelings toward someone who causes you harm? |
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h) |
What questions would you like to ask the crocodile in this story? |
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i) |
Did you like this discussion? |
CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.
An Australian crocodile-farm worker has escaped the (1) ____ of death, a bullet and a crocodile in the space (2) ____ a few seconds. Jason Green was attacked by an angry croc while he was working at the Darwin Crocodile Farm in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mr Green was one (3) ____ two men who were collecting crocodile eggs along a riverbank. They regularly collect eggs and put them in a special incubator so that the babies hatch (4) ____. Their skins are sold to the Hermes brand to make bags. The female reptile got upset (5) ____ she saw Mr Green at her nest and immediately attacked him. His quick-thinking colleague Zac Fitzgerald saved his life when he shot the saltwater (6) ____. Mr Green was released from certain death when the croc let go of him and swam away. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald fired a second shot which hit Mr Green in the same arm the crocodile had grabbed.
Mr Green is now recovering in hospital. He needed two operations (7) ____ his broken arm; one for the crocodile bite and one for the bullet wound. Mr Green was extremely lucky he (8) ____ it to hospital in time to save his arm. Fortunately for him, a helicopter was waiting (9) ____ the area that the two workers were collecting eggs. It took just 25 minutes to transport Green from the remote, Outback river to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Jason (10) ____ about the attack from his hospital bed. He told his boss: “I don’t think I’ll be at work for a couple of days.” Jason thanked his colleague for saving his life, saying: “Thank God he’s a good (11) ____.” Jason added that he didn’t have any bad feelings toward the croc. “She only sort of poked her nose out at me,” he said. The crocodile survived the gun shot and is now back (12) ____ her nest.
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1. |
(a) |
tongue |
(b) |
tooth |
(c) |
gums |
(d) |
jaws |
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2. |
(a) |
by |
(b) |
with |
(c) |
of |
(d) |
for |
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3. |
(a) |
by |
(b) |
of |
(c) |
on |
(d) |
for |
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4. |
(a) |
safely |
(b) |
safety |
(c) |
safe |
(d) |
safest |
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5. |
(a) |
where |
(b) |
while |
(c) |
when |
(d) |
who |
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6. |
(a) |
breast |
(b) |
boast |
(c) |
best |
(d) |
beast |
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7. |
(a) |
by |
(b) |
on |
(c) |
of |
(d) |
out |
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8. |
(a) |
made |
(b) |
make |
(c) |
makes |
(d) |
making |
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9. |
(a) |
nearly |
(b) |
nearby |
(c) |
neatly |
(d) |
standby |
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10. |
(a) |
joker |
(b) |
joking |
(c) |
joked |
(d) |
jokers |
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11. |
(a) |
shot |
(b) |
shoot |
(c) |
shooting |
(d) |
shoots |
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12. |
(a) |
gliding |
(b) |
guiding |
(c) |
grading |
(d) |
guarding |
Write about crocodile skin products for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.
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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 out about Hermes and its crocodile skin goods. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. CROCODILES: What are the differences between crocodiles and alligators? Make a poster this. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. OOPS!: Write a magazine article about the article you have just read / listened to. Include imaginary interviews with Jason and the crocodile.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down new words and expressions.
5. LETTER: Write a letter to the boss of the fashion company Hermes. Ask her/him three questions about why they use crocodile skin in their products. Give her/him three suggestions on what (s)he could do instead of killing crocodiles. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
TRUE / FALSE:
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a. T |
b. F |
c. T |
d. F |
e. T |
f. F |
g. T |
h. F |
SYNONYM MATCH:
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1. |
Australian |
a. |
Aussie |
|
2 |
space |
b. |
period |
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3. |
upset |
c. |
angry |
|
4. |
certain |
d. |
sure |
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5. |
grabbed |
e. |
seized |
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6. |
recovering |
f. |
healing |
|
7. |
wound |
g. |
injury |
|
8. |
transport |
h. |
take |
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9. |
poked |
i. |
stuck |
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10. |
guarding |
j. |
protecting |
PHRASE MATCH:
|
1. |
escaped the jaws |
a. |
of death |
|
2 |
in the space of |
b. |
a few seconds |
|
3. |
collect eggs and put them |
c. |
in a special incubator |
|
4. |
His quick-thinking |
d. |
colleague |
|
5. |
released from |
e. |
certain death |
|
6. |
recovering |
f. |
in hospital |
|
7. |
bullet |
g. |
wound |
|
8. |
Jason joked about |
h. |
the attack |
|
9. |
didn’t have any bad |
i. |
feelings toward the croc |
|
10. |
The crocodile |
j. |
survived the gun shot |
GAP FILL:
An Australian crocodile-farm worker has escaped the jaws of death, a bullet and a crocodile in the space of a few seconds. Jason Green was attacked by an angry croc while he was working at the Darwin Crocodile Farm in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mr Green was one of two men who were collecting crocodile eggs along a riverbank. They regularly collect eggs and put them in a special incubator so that the babies hatch safely. Their skins are sold to the Hermes brand to make bags. The female reptile got upset when she saw Mr Green at her nest and immediately attacked him. His quick-thinking colleague Zac Fitzgerald saved his life when he shot the saltwater beast. Mr Green was released from certain death when the croc let go of him and swam away. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald fired a second shot which hit Mr Green in the same arm the crocodile had grabbed.
Mr Green is now recovering in hospital. He needed two operations on his broken arm; one for the crocodile bite and one for the bullet wound. Mr Green was extremely lucky he made it to hospital in time to save his arm. Fortunately for him, a helicopter was waiting nearby the area that the two workers were collecting eggs. It took just 25 minutes to transport Green from the remote, Outback river to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Jason joked about the attack from his hospital bed. He told his boss: “I don’t think I’ll be at work for a couple of days.” Jason thanked his colleague for saving his life, saying: “Thank God he’s a good shot.” Jason added that he didn’t have any bad feelings toward the croc. “She only sort of poked her nose out at me,” he said. The crocodile survived the gun shot and is now back guarding her nest.
LANGUAGE WORK
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1 - d |
2 -c |
3 - b |
4 -a |
5 - c |
6 - d |
7 -b |
8 - a |
9 - b |
10 -c |
11 - a |
12 - d |
Copyright © 2008 by Sean Banville