COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. |
What is the name of the museum in the article? |
2. |
In what year was the first Christmas recording done ? |
3. |
When were the 24 recordings done? |
4. |
Who was sent to fight in WWI? |
5. |
What usually happens to wax cylinders over time? |
6. |
What did David Brown discover in his house? |
7. |
How are Mr Brown and Cromwell Wall related? |
8. |
When did the Museum of London receive the machine? |
9. |
What did the museum use to clean the wax cylinders? |
10. |
What did Mr Brown say about the recordings? |
MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ
1. |
How old is the recording of the first family Christmas? |
6. |
Who is David Brown? |
|
a) 1,902 years old
b) 110 years old
c) scientists cannot date it
d) dating back two centuries |
|
a) the great-grandson of Cromwell Wall
b) the grandson of Cromwell Wall
c) the great-great-grandson of Mr
Cromwell Wall
d) Cromwell Wall's great-great-great-
grandson |
2. |
What's the name of the family who is on the recordings? |
7. |
What did Mr Brown do with the phonograph machine? |
|
a) Hall
b) Mall
c) Ball
d) Wall |
|
a) he kept it
b) he auctioned it
c) he gave it to a museum
d) he sold it to an antique shop |
3. |
How many recordings are there in total? |
8. |
When did the National Museum of London get the machine? |
|
a) 22
b) 23
c) 24
d) 25 |
|
a) 2008
b) 2009
c) 2010
d) 2011 |
4. |
Where were the family sons sent? |
9. |
Why did the museum clean the cylinder? |
|
a) to fight in WWI
b) to bed
c) to various family gatherings
d) to the local store to get some bread |
|
a) to increase the noise
b) to hear the noise
c) to create noise
d) to reduce the noise |
5. |
What usually happens to wax cylinders as they age? |
10. |
What did Mr Brown say was incredible? |
|
a) they improve in quality
b) they disintegrate
c) they melt
d) they harden |
|
a) the skill of the restorers
b) digital recording technology
c) the recordings
d) his family history |
PRESENTS
What would you buy these people, and why? Talk about your answers with your partner(s).
Who |
What? |
Why? |
Barack Obama |
|
|
Your English teacher |
|
|
Yourself |
|
|
Malala Yousafzai |
|
|
Mark Zuckerberg |
|
|
Lady Gaga |
|
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Ban Ki-moon |
|
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The world |
|
|
AFTER READING / LISTENING
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'local' and 'museum'.
- 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:
- dating
- part
- various
- special
- time
- old
|
- 71
- use
- 2008
- reduce
- fine
- clear
|
CHRISTMAS SURVEY
Write five GOOD questions about Christmas 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.
|
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|
|
- 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.
CHRISTMAS 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 'Christmas'? |
c) |
What can you remember of your first Christmas? |
d) |
What do you think is different between Christmas today and Christmas 1902? |
e) |
What do you think is on the 1902 recording? |
f) |
How far back can you go with your family history? |
g) |
What is the meaning of Christmas today? |
h) |
What do you think your relatives from 100 years ago were like? |
i) |
Would you like to hear the recording? |
j) |
How do you think the first family Christmas was spent? |
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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
a) |
Did you like reading this article? Why/not? |
b) |
Do you think Christmas was better, more traditional a century ago? |
c) |
Why is 'Christmas' sometimes spelt as 'Xmas'? |
d) |
Do you think it's OK for kids to believe in Santa Claus? |
e) |
What sounds of Christmas from centuries ago would you like to hear? |
f) |
Is there anything you dislike about Christmas? |
g) |
Have your feelings towards Xmas changed since you were a child? |
h) |
Is Christmas stressful? |
i) |
How do you feel when Christmas is over? |
j) |
What questions would you like to ask Santa Claus? |
DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)
STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B) |
1. |
________________________________________________________ |
2. |
________________________________________________________ |
3. |
________________________________________________________ |
4. |
________________________________________________________ |
5. |
________________________________________________________ |
6. |
________________________________________________________ |
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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A) |
1. |
________________________________________________________ |
2. |
________________________________________________________ |
3. |
________________________________________________________ |
4. |
________________________________________________________ |
5. |
________________________________________________________ |
6. |
________________________________________________________ |
MULTIPLE CHOICE - LANGUAGE
The National Museum of London has uncovered (1) ____ it says is the first ever recording of a family Christmas, (2) ____ back 110 years. It is of the 1902 family (3) ____ -together of the Wall family from North London. It is part of 24 recordings made by the family between 1899 and 1917. The recordings are from (4) ____ family gatherings, including comments made during World War I on sons who were sent to fight. The Wall family used a phonograph machine to put the audio of their special (5) ____ on wax cylinders. Historians at the museum say it is amazing the cylinders have survived as they are very (6) ____ and usually disintegrate over time. They also say the sound quality of the century-old recordings is amazing.
The phonograph machine was discovered in the year 2000 by David Brown, 71, in his house near Cambridge. Mr Brown is the (7) ____-grandson of Mr Cromwell Wall, who made the recordings. Brown saw no (8) ____ for the machine and donated it to his local museum, which passed it on to the Museum of London in 2008. It discovered the significance of the wax cylinders and has spent the past four years (9) ____ restoring them. The museum said: "We tried to reduce any noise by cleaning the cylinder first with a (10) ____ brush that can get in between the groove and once we had the best playback from the cylinder we then (11) ____ cleaned them up". Mr Brown said: "It's incredible how (12) ____ the recordings are."
Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.
1. |
(a) |
what |
(b) |
that |
(c) |
which |
(d) |
why |
2. |
(a) |
dates |
(b) |
dated |
(c) |
dating |
(d) |
date |
3. |
(a) |
got |
(b) |
getting |
(c) |
get |
(d) |
gets |
4. |
(a) |
myriad |
(b) |
a number |
(c) |
assortment |
(d) |
various |
5. |
(a) |
occasions |
(b) |
happenings |
(c) |
incidents |
(d) |
occurrences |
6. |
(a) |
agile |
(b) |
fragile |
(c) |
guile |
(d) |
angular |
7. |
(a) |
fabulous |
(b) |
incredible |
(c) |
superb |
(d) |
great |
8. |
(a) |
lose |
(b) |
use |
(c) |
functioning |
(d) |
available |
9. |
(a) |
diligence |
(b) |
meticulous |
(c) |
painstakingly |
(d) |
industrious |
10. |
(a) |
finish |
(b) |
fine |
(c) |
finale |
(d) |
finite |
11. |
(a) |
digitalise |
(b) |
digital |
(c) |
digits |
(d) |
digitally |
12. |
(a) |
clarity |
(b) |
clear |
(c) |
clearness |
(d) |
clears |
SPELLING
Paragraph 1 |
1. |
family etg-rgtoeteh |
2. |
uisavro family gatherings |
3. |
special ccsnisaoo |
4. |
wax nysdelirc |
5. |
very lfeigar |
6. |
nirsegetitda over time |
Paragraph 2
|
7. |
ohaorgnpph machine |
8. |
local ummeus |
9. |
discovered the nicnfsaigiec |
10. |
anlnikytasigp restoring them |
11. |
we then agitdylil cleaned them up |
12. |
It's lieebinrcd |
PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER
Number these lines in the correct order.
( ) |
very fragile and usually disintegrate over time. They also say the sound quality of the century-old recordings is amazing. |
( ) |
occasions on wax cylinders. Historians at the museum say it is amazing the cylinders have survived as they are |
( 1 ) |
The National Museum of London has uncovered what it says is the first ever recording |
( ) |
near Cambridge. Mr Brown is the great-grandson of Mr Cromwell Wall, who made the |
( ) |
The phonograph machine was discovered in the year 2000 by David Brown, 71, in his house |
( ) |
on to the Museum of London in 2008. It discovered the significance of the wax cylinders and has spent the past four years |
( ) |
and 1917. The recordings are from various family gatherings, including comments made during World War I on sons who |
( ) |
recordings. Brown saw no use for the machine and donated it to his local museum, which passed it |
( ) |
from the cylinder we then digitally cleaned them up". Mr Brown said: "It's incredible how clear the recordings are." |
( ) |
of a family Christmas, dating back 110 years. It is of the 1902 family get-together of the Wall family |
( ) |
first with a fine brush that can get in between the groove and once we had the best playback |
( ) |
painstakingly restoring them. The museum said: "We tried to reduce any noise by cleaning the cylinder |
( ) |
from North London. It is part of 24 recordings made by the family between 1899 |
( ) |
were sent to fight. The Wall family used a phonograph machine to put the audio of their special |
PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER
1. |
of The a first family ever Christmas recording. |
2. |
part of 24 recordings made by the family It is. |
3. |
from are recordings The gatherings family various. |
4. |
their special occasions on wax cylinders Put the audio of. |
5. |
disintegrate very usually time are and over They fragile. |
6. |
use no saw Brown machine the for. |
7. |
the cylinders significance of It the discovered wax. |
8. |
years Spent painstakingly the restoring past them four. |
9. |
by cylinder to noise the tried any cleaning We reduce. |
10. |
brush that can get in between the groove A fine. |
CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (21 PAIRS)
The National Museum of London has uncovered / covered what it says is the first ever recording of a family Christmas, dates / dating back 110 years. It is of the 1902 family gets-together / get-together of the Wall family from North London. It is part of 24 recordings made by the family between 1899 and 1917. The recordings are from various / variety family gatherings, including commented / comments made during World War I on sons who were sent to fight. The Wall family used a phonograph machine to put the audio of their special incidents / occasions on wax cylinders. Historians at the museum say it is amazing the cylinders have survived as they are very fragility / fragile and usually disintegrate over / pass time. They also say the sound / sounds quality of the century-old / century-age recordings is amazing.
The phonograph machine was discovery / discovered in the year 2000 by David Brown, 71, in his house near Cambridge. Mr Brown is the [fabulous-grandson / great-grandson] of Mr Cromwell Wall, who made the recordings. Brown saw no use / using for the machine and donated / donation it to his local museum, which passed it in / on to the Museum of London in 2008. It discovered the significant / significance of the wax cylinders and has spent the past four years painstakingly / painlessly restoring them. The museum said: "We tried to reduce any noise by cleaned / cleaning the cylinder first with a fine brush that can get / let in between the groovy / groove and once we had the best playback from the cylinder we then digitally cleaned them up". Mr Brown said: "It's incredible how clear / clarity the recordings are."
Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.
INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)
Th_ N_t__n_l M_s__m _f L_nd_n h_s _nc_v_r_d wh_t _t s_ys _s th_ f_rst _v_r r_c_rd_ng _f _ f_m_ly Chr_stm_s, d_t_ng b_ck 110 y__rs. _t _s _f th_ 1902 f_m_ly g_t-t_g_th_r _f th_ W_ll f_m_ly fr_m N_rth L_nd_n. _t _s p_rt _f 24 r_c_rd_ngs m_d_ by th_ f_m_ly b_tw__n 1899 _nd 1917. Th_ r_c_rd_ngs _r_ fr_m v_r___s f_m_ly g_th_r_ngs, _ncl_d_ng c_mm_nts m_d_ d_r_ng W_rld W_r _ _n s_ns wh_ w_r_ s_nt t_ f_ght. Th_ W_ll f_m_ly _s_d _ ph_n_gr_ph m_ch_n_ t_ p_t th_ __d__ _f th__r sp_c__l _cc_s__ns _n w_x cyl_nd_rs. H_st_r__ns _t th_ m_s__m s_y _t _s _m_z_ng th_ cyl_nd_rs h_v_ s_rv_v_d _s th_y _r_ v_ry fr_g_l_ _nd _s__lly d_s_nt_gr_t_ _v_r t_m_. Th_y _ls_ s_y th_ s__nd q__l_ty _f th_ c_nt_ry-_ld r_c_rd_ngs _s _m_z_ng.
Th_ ph_n_gr_ph m_ch_n_ w_s d_sc_v_r_d _n th_ y__r 2000 by D_v_d Br_wn, 71, _n h_s h__s_ n__r C_mbr_dg_. Mr Br_wn _s th_ gr__t-gr_nds_n _f Mr Cr_mw_ll W_ll, wh_ m_d_ th_ r_c_rd_ngs. Br_wn s_w n_ _s_ f_r th_ m_ch_n_ _nd d_n_t_d _t t_ h_s l_c_l m_s__m, wh_ch p_ss_d _t _n t_ th_ M_s__m _f L_nd_n _n 2008. _t d_sc_v_r_d th_ s_gn_f_c_nc_ _f th_ w_x cyl_nd_rs _nd h_s sp_nt th_ p_st f__r y__rs p__nst_k_ngly r_st_r_ng th_m. Th_ m_s__m s__d: "W_ tr__d t_ r_d_c_ _ny n__s_ by cl__n_ng th_ cyl_nd_r f_rst w_th _ f_n_ br_sh th_t c_n g_t _n b_tw__n th_ gr__v_ _nd _nc_ w_ h_d th_ b_st pl_yb_ck fr_m th_ cyl_nd_r w_ th_n d_g_t_lly cl__n_d th_m _p". Mr Br_wn s__d: "_t's _ncr_d_bl_ h_w cl__r th_ r_c_rd_ngs _r_."
PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS
the national museum of london has uncovered what it says is the first ever recording of a family christmas dating back 110 years it is of the 1902 family get-together of the wall family from north london it is part of 24 recordings made by the family between 1899 and 1917 the recordings are from various family gatherings including comments made during world war i on sons who were sent to fight the wall family used a phonograph machine to put the audio of their special occasions on wax cylinders historians at the museum say it is amazing the cylinders have survived as they are very fragile and usually disintegrate over time they also say the sound quality of the century-old recordings is amazing
the phonograph machine was discovered in the year 2000 by david brown 71 in his house near cambridge mr brown is the great-grandson of mr cromwell wall who made the recordings brown saw no use for the machine and donated it to his local museum which passed it on to the museum of london in 2008 it discovered the significance of the wax cylinders and has spent the past four years painstakingly restoring them the museum said "we tried to reduce any noise by cleaning the cylinder first with a fine brush that can get in between the groove and once we had the best playback from the cylinder we then digitally cleaned them up" mr brown said "it's incredible how clear the recordings are"
PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE
TheNationalMuseumofLondonhasuncoveredwhatitsaysisthefirsteverrecordingo
fafamilyChristmas,datingback110years.Itisofthe1902familyget-togetherofthe
WallfamilyfromNorthLondon.Itispartof24recordingsmadebythefamilybetween
1899and1917.Therecordingsarefromvariousfamilygatherings,includingcomments
madeduringWorldWarIonsonswhoweresenttofight.TheWallfamilyuseda
phonographmachinetoputtheaudiooftheirspecialoccasionsonwaxcylinders.
Historiansatthemuseumsayitisamazingthecylindershavesurvivedastheyarevery
fragileandusuallydisintegrateovertime.Theyalsosaythesoundqualityofthecentury
-oldrecordingsisamazing.Thephonographmachinewasdiscoveredintheyear2000
byDavidBrown,71,inhishousenearCambridge.MrBrownisthegreat-grandsonof
MrCromwellWall,whomadetherecordings.Brownsawnouseforthemachineand
donatedittohislocalmuseum,whichpasseditontotheMuseumofLondonin2008.It
discoveredthesignificanceofthewaxcylindersandhasspentthepastfouryears
painstakinglyrestoringthem.Themuseumsaid:"Wetriedtoreduceanynoiseby
cleaningthecylinderfirstwithafinebrushthatcangetinbetweenthegrooveandonce
wehadthebestplaybackfromthecylinderwethendigitallycleanedthemup".
MrBrownsaid:"It'sincrediblehowcleartherecordingsare." |
FREE WRITING
Write about Christmas for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.
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ACADEMIC WRITING
Christmas in the 21st Century has lost its true meaning. Discuss.
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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 history of family Christmas celebrations. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. CHRISTMAS: Make a poster about Christmas indifferent parts of the world. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. COMMERCIAL: Write a magazine article about the commercialization of Christmas. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.
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. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
6. LETTER: Write a letter to a Christmas. Ask him/her three questions about Christmas. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
ANSWERS
TRUE / FALSE (p.4)
a |
F |
b |
T |
c |
T |
d |
T |
e |
T |
f |
F |
g |
F |
h |
F |
SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)
1. |
uncovered |
a. |
unearthed |
2. |
get-together |
b. |
reunion |
3. |
various |
c. |
a number of |
4. |
fragile |
d. |
delicate |
5. |
disintegrate |
e. |
fall apart |
6. |
donated |
f. |
contributed |
7. |
significance |
g. |
importance |
8. |
painstakingly |
h. |
meticulously |
9. |
fine |
i. |
thin |
10. |
incredible |
j. |
unbelievable |
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)
1. |
The National Museum of London |
2. |
1902 |
3. |
Between 1899 and 1917 |
4. |
The sons of the Wall family |
5. |
They disintegrate |
6. |
A phonograph machine |
7. |
They are great-grandfather and great-grandson |
8. |
2008 |
9. |
A fine brush |
10. |
He said they were incredible |
MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)
1. |
b |
2. |
d |
3. |
c |
4. |
a |
5. |
b |
6. |
a |
7. |
c |
8. |
a |
9. |
d |
10. |
c |
ALL OTHER EXERCISES
Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)