Breaking News English

        

1. TOILETS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about toilets. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

Beijing / officials / beautifying / public lavatories / limit / cleanliness / flies / measures / initiative / rules / public gardens / odours (UK) / odors (USA) / litter / improved

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. BEAUTIFYING: How can we make things more beautiful? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	How beautiful are they now?	How to make them more beautiful
Toilets
Computers
Houses
Pizzas
Roads
Money

4. PUBLIC TOILETS: Students A strongly believe public toilets are a great service; Students B strongly believe they're not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. MOST BEAUTIFUL: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most beautiful at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

A baby's smile A red rose The countryside The human body

Art The night sky Dolphins playing in the ocean A place of worship

6. CLEANLINESS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'cleanliness'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	There are new rules aimed at making Beijing toilets nicer.	T / F
b.	The city has set a two-fly limit in toilets as a standard of cleanliness.	T / F
c.	A special toilet attendant will be trained to count flies in toilets.	T / F
d.	The city said all toilet attendants must strictly follow these rules.	T / F
e.	The new rules follow on from those introduced for the Beijing Olympics.	T / F
f.	Railway stations are exempt from the new rules.	T / F
g.	There are also rules about how much toilets can smell.	T / F
h.	A Beijing newspaper said toilets are no better since the Olympics.	T / F

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

1.	ruling	a.	enhancing
2.	beautifying	b.	broader
3.	limit	c.	benchmark
4.	standard	d.	considerably
5.	flexible	e.	regulation
6.	wider	f.	put into effect
7.	implemented	g.	utensils
8.	equipment	h.	maximum
9.	litter	i.	adaptable
10.	greatly	j.	trash

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	aimed at beautifying the	a.	introduced in 2008
2.	a limit of two flies	b.	attention to toilet cleanliness
3.	pay greater	c.	items
4.	a new standard	d.	part of a wider initiative
5.	there were no measures in	e.	in each cubicle
6.	The two-fly limit is	f.	place to enforce the ruling
7.	a continuation of measures	g.	improved greatly
8.	the type of cleaning	h.	city's public lavatories
9.	discarded	i.	equipment used
10.	the city's toilets have	j.	for public toilet management

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Beijing officials have introduced a new (1) ____________ aimed at beautifying the city's public lavatories. The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment has (2) ____________ that there will be a limit of two flies in each cubicle. The city has (3) ____________ its washroom attendants to pay greater attention to toilet cleanliness and be especially vigilant when it (4) ____________ to flies. City spokesman Xie Guomin said the ruling was a "new (5) ____________ for public toilet management".  He added: "We will not actually (6) ____________ fly numbers. The regulation is (7) ____________ and quantified, but the inspection methodology will be flexible." Mr Guomin also said there were no (8) ____________ in place to enforce the ruling.		count directed measures announced specific comes ruling standard
The two-fly (9) ____________ is part of a wider initiative to improve toilet cleanliness in Beijing. It is a continuation of (10) ____________ introduced in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics. The rules will be implemented in places such as parks and public gardens, tourist (11) ____________, railway stations, hospitals and shopping malls. Other rules (12) ____________ the setting of standards on (13) ____________ in toilets, the type of cleaning equipment used by public toilet staff and the cleaning of litter bins. The guidelines (14) ____________ litter say that no more than two discarded items should be left in a toilet and they should be (15) ____________ within 30 minutes. The 'Beijing Times' reported that the city's toilets have improved (16) ____________ in recent years, especially those for women.		on cover measures greatly limit odours spots removed

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Beijing officials have introduced __________________ at beautifying the city's public lavatories. The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment has announced that __________________ of two flies in each cubicle. The city has directed its washroom attendants to ____________________ to toilet cleanliness and __________________ when it comes to flies. City spokesman Xie Guomin said the ruling was a "new standard for public toilet management".  He added: "We will not actually __________________. The regulation is specific and quantified, but the inspection methodology will be flexible." Mr Guomin also said there were no measures in place to __________________.

The two-fly limit is part of __________________ to improve toilet cleanliness in Beijing. It is a continuation of measures introduced in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics. The rules __________________ in places such as parks and public gardens, tourist spots, railway stations, hospitals and shopping malls. Other rules __________________ of standards on odours in toilets, the type of cleaning equipment used by public toilet staff and the cleaning of litter bins. The __________________ say that no more than two __________________ should be left in a toilet and they should be removed within 30 minutes. The 'Beijing Times' reported that the city's toilets have __________________ recent years, especially those for women.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'public' and 'toilet'.

public

toilet

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

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 how they were used in the text:

aimed announced pay spokesman count place

wider 2008 spots type items greatly

TOILETS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about toilets 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

 
 

TOILETS DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'public toilet'?
c)	What are the differences between the words 'toilet', 'washroom', 'bathroom', 'WC' and lavatory?
d)	What do you think of Beijing's new plan?
e)	Do you think public toilets need beautifying?
f)	What do you think of the two-fly limit?
g)	Do you ever worry about the cleanliness in public toilets?
h)	Why do you think there's a two-fly limit in cubicles if no one is going to count them?
i)	How important is public toilet management in a city?

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What other ideas can you think of to improve toilets?
c)	What are the best toilets (public or otherwise) that you've been in?
d)	Which would you prefer to use – the toilets in McDonald's or a public toilet?
e)	How successful do you think the beautification project will be?
f)	Do you think other world cites should follow Beijing's example?
g)	Have you ever gone into a toilet and decided not to use it?
h)	What's the worst thing about public toilets?
i)	What questions would you like to ask spokesman Xie Guomin?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Beijing officials have introduced a new (1) ____ aimed at beautifying the city's public lavatories. The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment has announced that there will be a limit of two flies in each (2) ____. The city has directed its washroom attendants to (3) ____ greater attention to toilet cleanliness and be especially vigilant when it (4) ____ to flies. City spokesman Xie Guomin said the ruling was a "new standard for public toilet management".  He added: "We will not actually (5) ____ fly numbers. The regulation is specific and quantified, but the inspection methodology will be flexible." Mr Guomin also said there were no measures (6) ____ place to enforce the ruling.

The two-fly limit is part of a (7) ____ initiative to improve toilet cleanliness in Beijing. It is a continuation of (8) ____ introduced in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics. The rules will be implemented in places such as parks and public gardens, tourist spots, railway stations, hospitals and shopping malls. Other rules cover the         (9) ____ of standards on odours in toilets, the type of cleaning equipment used by public toilet staff and the cleaning of litter bins. The guidelines (10) ____ litter say that no more than two (11) ____ items should be left in a toilet and they should be removed within 30 minutes. The 'Beijing Times' reported that the city's toilets have improved greatly in recent years, especially (12) ____ for women.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	railing	(b)	reeling	(c)	ruing	(d)	ruling
2.	(a)	particle	(b)	cubicle	(c)	ventricle	(d)	obstacle
3.	(a)	pay	(b)	serve	(c)	receive	(d)	refund
4.	(a)	goes	(b)	arrives	(c)	comes	(d)	departs
5.	(a)	countable	(b)	countenance	(c)	count	(d)	counting
6.	(a)	as	(b)	in	(c)	of	(d)	by
7.	(a)	wider	(b)	width	(c)	widely	(d)	widest
8.	(a)	measures	(b)	rulers	(c)	tapes	(d)	calculations
9.	(a)	set	(b)	setting	(c)	sets	(d)	settings
10.	(a)	at	(b)	by	(c)	as	(d)	on
11.	(a)	disregarded	(b)	disguised	(c)	discarded	(d)	disgusted
12.	(a)	those	(b)	them	(c)	these	(d)	that

 
 

WRITING

Write about toilets for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

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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 out more about Beijing's public toilets. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. TOILETS: Make a poster about public toilets and cleanliness. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. FLIES: Write a magazine article about the new rules for Beijing's toilets. Include imaginary interviews with local people and officials.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a health expert. Ask him/her three questions about toilets. Give him/her three of your opinions on how they need to be improved. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

T

c.

F

d.

F

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	ruling	a.	regulation
2.	beautifying	b.	enhancing
3.	limit	c.	maximum
4.	standard	d.	benchmark
5.	flexible	e.	adaptable
6.	wider	f.	broader
7.	implemented	g.	put into effect
8.	equipment	h.	utensils
9.	litter	i.	trash
10.	greatly	j.	considerably

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	aimed at beautifying the	a.	city's public lavatories
2.	a limit of two flies	b.	in each cubicle
3.	pay greater	c.	attention to toilet cleanliness
4.	a new standard	d.	for public toilet management
5.	there were no measures in	e.	place to enforce the ruling
6.	The two-fly limit is	f.	part of a wider initiative
7.	a continuation of measures	g.	introduced in 2008
8.	the type of cleaning	h.	equipment used
9.	discarded	i.	items
10.	the city's toilets have	j.	improved greatly

GAP FILL:

Two-flies-only limit for Beijing toilets

Beijing officials have introduced a new (1) ruling aimed at beautifying the city's public lavatories. The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment has (2) announced that there will be a limit of two flies in each cubicle. The city has (3) directed its washroom attendants to pay greater attention to toilet cleanliness and be especially vigilant when it (4) comes to flies. City spokesman Xie Guomin said the ruling was a "new (5) standard for public toilet management".  He added: "We will not actually (6) count fly numbers. The regulation is (7) specific and quantified, but the inspection methodology will be flexible." Mr Guomin also said there were no (8) measures in place to enforce the ruling.

The two-fly (9) limit is part of a wider initiative to improve toilet cleanliness in Beijing. It is a continuation of (10) measures introduced in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics. The rules will be implemented in places such as parks and public gardens, tourist (11) spots, railway stations, hospitals and shopping malls. Other rules (12) cover the setting of standards on (13) odours in toilets, the type of cleaning equipment used by public toilet staff and the cleaning of litter bins. The guidelines (14) on litter say that no more than two discarded items should be left in a toilet and they should be (15) removed within 30 minutes. The 'Beijing Times' reported that the city's toilets have improved (16) greatly in recent years, especially those for women.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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