Breaking News English

        

1. STEALING FOR THE POOR: Walk around the class and talk to other students about stealing for the poor. Change partners often. Share your findings with your first partner.

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

hero / stealing / elected / leader / immunity / prosecution / arrested / theft / exploits / severe economic conditions / workforce / jobless / austerity / disgrace / protest

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

3. STEALING: How bad and what should the punishment be? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Stealing…	How bad?	Punishment?
A country's leader stealing from tax payers.
A store worker taking home items past their sell-by date.
A mayor stealing from supermarkets to give to the poor.
A Hollywood superstar stealing just for fun.
A homeless person stealing food to survive.
A thief stealing priceless art from a national museum.

4. POVERTY: Students A strongly believe there will be no poverty one day; Students B strongly believe it will always exist.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. AUSTERITY: Which of these things could you not cut down on? Rank them and share your rankings with your partner. Put the things you need most at the top.

chocolate and sweets drinks restaurants phone and text use

hobbies clothes going out English lessons

6. HERO: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'hero'. 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.	The people in a small town are angry their mayor is stealing food.	T / F
b.	The mayor cannot be arrested for stealing the food.	T / F
c.	The mayor only organizes the stealing but does not actually steal it.	T / F
d.	The mayor said prices have skyrocketed for 30 years.	T / F
e.	Around 25% of Spain's workforce is unemployed.	T / F
f.	Unemployment in the mayor's region is double the national average.	T / F
g.	The mayor said he understood his actions were a disgrace.	T / F
h.	The mayor is now on a three-week protest walk to Madrid.	T / F

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

1.	modern-day	a.	robbery
2.	immunity	b.	shame
3.	orchestrated	c.	experiencing
4.	theft	d.	exemption
5.	exploits	e.	total
6.	facing	f.	contemporary
7.	poverty	g.	hit back
8.	absolute	h.	deeds
9.	disgrace	i.	arranged
10.	retaliated	j.	destitution

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

1.	steal food from supermarkets	a.	economic conditions
2.	immunity from	b.	to see his food grabs
3.	He has so far orchestrated	c.	the less well-off
4.	his recent exploits have seen	d.	in poverty
5.	crowds gathering	e.	several raids
6.	facing severe	f.	to give to the poor
7.	many now live	g.	disgrace
8.	stealing food for	h.	his popularity skyrocket
9.	this is an absolute	i.	austerity protest march
10.	a three-week anti-	j.	prosecution

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

A mayor in a small Spanish town has become a (1) ____________ after helping steal food from supermarkets to give to the poor. The modern-day Robin Hood is Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, 59, the (2) ____________ leader of the southern town of Marinaleda in Andalusia. Mayor Gordillo has (3) ____________ from prosecution under Andalusian law and so can (4) ____________ the law without being arrested. He has so far orchestrated several raids on supermarkets to (5) ____________ out the stolen food to poor families. Unfortunately, those helping him are not immune from prosecution and seven have been arrested for                   (6) ____________. Gordillo has been mayor for 30 years and his recent (7) ____________ have seen his popularity skyrocket, with crowds gathering to see his food (8) ____________.		hand break elected exploits hero grabs immunity theft
Many Spaniards are facing (9) ____________ economic conditions. A quarter of Spain's workforce is jobless and austerity (10) ____________ mean many now live in (11) ____________. Things are even worse in Andalusia where unemployment is over 30 per cent. Mr Gordillo defended his (12) ____________ in stealing food for the less well-off. He said: "There are people who don't have enough to eat. In the 21st century, this is an          (13) ____________ disgrace." Spain's conservative government has criticised Gordillo, accusing him of taking part in publicity  (14) ____________ to boost his own popularity. The mayor retaliated by saying he would happily (15) ____________ being arrested. He is currently leading a three-week anti-austerity protest (16) ____________ to Spain's capital Madrid.		role accept measures stunts severe poverty march absolute

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A mayor in a small Spanish town (1) _____________________ after helping steal food from supermarkets to give to the poor. The modern-day Robin Hood is Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, 59, (2) _____________________ the southern town of Marinaleda in Andalusia. Mayor Gordillo has immunity from prosecution under Andalusian law and (3) _____________________ without being arrested. He has (4) _____________________ several raids on supermarkets to hand out the stolen food to poor families. Unfortunately, those helping him (5) _____________________ prosecution and seven have been arrested for theft. Gordillo has been mayor for 30 years and his recent exploits have seen (6) _____________________, with crowds gathering to see his food grabs.

Many Spaniards are (7) _____________________ conditions. A quarter of Spain's workforce is jobless and austerity measures mean many now live in poverty. Things (8) _____________________ Andalusia where unemployment is over 30 per cent. Mr Gordillo defended his role in stealing food (9) _____________________. He said: "There are people who don't have enough to eat. In the 21st century, this                                         (10) _____________________." Spain's conservative government has criticised Gordillo, accusing him of taking part in publicity stunts             (11) _____________________ popularity. The mayor retaliated by saying he would happily accept being arrested. He is currently leading a three-week (12) _____________________ march to Spain's capital Madrid.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

steal

food

• 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:

become modern under several theft crowds

facing poverty role absolute boost currently

STEALING FOR THE POOR SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about stealing for the poor 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.

 
 

STEALING FOR THE POOR 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 'steal'?
c)	Is the mayor a thief?
d)	Is he a hero or a villain?
e)	Is the mayor hurting others by stealing from supermarkets?
f)	Should a mayor have immunity from stealing?
g)	What other unlawful things could the mayor do to help the poor?
h)	Should the mayor steal things on his own so others don't have to get arrested?
i)	Do you think the mayor is doing this to get re-elected?
j)	Would you gather to see your mayor steal from a supermarket?

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STEALING FOR THE POOR DISCUSSION

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you support what the mayor is doing?
c)	Why do you think the police don't stop the stealing to return the goods to the shelves?
d)	Do you think supermarkets should ban the mayor from their stores?
e)	Why is Spain's economy in such a bad way?
f)	What do you think of the idea or robbing from the rich to give to the poor?
g)	Do you agree with the mayor that people without food to eat is an "absolute disgrace"?
h)	Is it a bigger disgrace the world does so little to help the victims of famine?
i)	What advice would you give to the mayor?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the mayor?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

A mayor in a small Spanish town has become a hero (1) ____ helping steal food from supermarkets to give to the poor. The modern-(2) ____  Robin Hood is Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, 59, the elected leader of the southern town of Marinaleda in Andalusia. Mayor Gordillo has (3) ____ from prosecution under Andalusian law and so can break the law without being arrested. He has so far (4) ____ several raids on supermarkets to hand out the stolen food to poor families. Unfortunately, those helping him are not immune from prosecution and seven have been arrested for (5) ____. Gordillo has been mayor for 30 years and his recent exploits have seen his popularity skyrocket, with crowds gathering to see his food (6) ____.

Many Spaniards are (7) ____ severe economic conditions. A quarter of Spain's workforce is jobless and austerity measures mean many now live (8) ____ poverty. Things are even worse in Andalusia where unemployment is over 30 per cent. Mr Gordillo defended his role in stealing food for the (9) ____ well-off. He said: "There are people who don't have enough to eat. In the 21st century, this is an (10) ____ disgrace." Spain's conservative government has criticised Gordillo, accusing him of (11) ____ part in publicity stunts to boost his own popularity. The mayor retaliated by saying he would happily accept being arrested. He is currently (12) ____ a three-week anti-austerity protest march to Spain's capital Madrid.

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

1.	(a)	ante	(b)	post	(c)	subsequent	(d)	after
2.	(a)	day	(b)	week	(c)	month	(d)	year
3.	(a)	immunizations	(b)	immunity	(c)	immune	(d)	immunizes
4.	(a)	composed	(b)	written	(c)	orchestrated	(d)	played
5.	(a)	cleft	(b)	bereft	(c)	theft	(d)	deft
6.	(a)	grubs	(b)	grabs	(c)	grids	(d)	grins
7.	(a)	heading	(b)	mouthing	(c)	nosing	(d)	facing
8.	(a)	in	(b)	up	(c)	at	(d)	on
9.	(a)	small	(b)	less	(c)	poor	(d)	more
10.	(a)	arrested	(b)	austerity	(c)	absolved	(d)	absolute
11.	(a)	raking	(b)	faking	(c)	taking	(d)	making
12.	(a)	leading	(b)	leads	(c)	leaders	(d)	led

 
 

WRITING

Write about stealing for the poor 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 the modern-day Robin Hood. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. STEALING: Make a poster about stealing. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. MAYOR: Write a magazine article about Mayor Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for him and those who are against him.

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 Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo. Ask him three questions about his action. Give him three of your opinions on his actions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

T

d.

F

e.

T

f.

F

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	modern-day	a.	contemporary
2.	immunity	b.	exemption
3.	orchestrated	c.	arranged
4.	theft	d.	robbery
5.	exploits	e.	deeds
6.	facing	f.	experiencing
7.	poverty	g.	destitution
8.	absolute	h.	total
9.	disgrace	i.	shame
10.	retaliated	j.	hit back

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	steal food from supermarkets	a.	to give to the poor
2.	immunity from	b.	prosecution
3.	He has so far orchestrated	c.	several raids
4.	his recent exploits have seen	d.	his popularity skyrocket
5.	crowds gathering	e.	to see his food grabs
6.	facing severe	f.	economic conditions
7.	many now live	g.	in poverty
8.	stealing food for	h.	the less well-off
9.	this is an absolute	i.	disgrace
10.	a three-week anti-	j.	austerity protest march

GAP FILL:

Spain mayor steals food for the poor

A mayor in a small Spanish town has become a (1) hero after helping steal food from supermarkets to give to the poor. The modern-day Robin Hood is Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, 59, the (2) elected leader of the southern town of Marinaleda in Andalusia. Mayor Gordillo has (3) immunity from prosecution under Andalusian law and so can (4) break the law without being arrested. He has so far orchestrated several raids on supermarkets to (5) hand out the stolen food to poor families. Unfortunately, those helping him are not immune from prosecution and seven have been arrested for (6) theft. Gordillo has been mayor for 30 years and his recent (7) exploits have seen his popularity skyrocket, with crowds gathering to see his food (8) grabs.

Many Spaniards are facing (9) severe economic conditions. A quarter of Spain's workforce is jobless and austerity (10) measures mean many now live in (11) poverty. Things are even worse in Andalusia where unemployment is over 30 per cent. Mr Gordillo defended his (12) role in stealing food for the less well-off. He said: "There are people who don't have enough to eat. In the 21st century, this is an (13) absolute disgrace." Spain's conservative government has criticised Gordillo, accusing him of taking part in publicity (14) stunts to boost his own popularity. The mayor retaliated by saying he would happily (15) accept being arrested. He is currently leading a three-week anti-austerity protest (16) march to Spain's capital Madrid.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

 

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