A Nepalese couple have become the first people ever to get married on top of Mount Everest. They felt, and were, on top of the world on their wedding day. Moni Mule Pati, 24, and Pem Dorjee Sherpa, 23, exchanged wedding vows on top of the world’s highest peak. Their ceremony on the summit truly was a match made in heaven. The couple are now on cloud nine.

There were no wedding dresses, tuxedos or wedding bells. Just oxygen tanks, climbing equipment and some plastic flowers. The groom carried some traditional red powder, which he put on his bride’s forehead as a symbol of marriage. The happy couple and their one guest had to climb down after ten minutes. The conditions were bitingly cold and becoming dangerous.

The newlyweds had kept their plan a secret. They were worried about not being able to reach the top together. They also had concerns over what their families might say about their different cultural backgrounds. Pem Dorjee said: “With our interracial marriage, we also wanted to give the message that caste and race are no barriers when it comes to marriage.”

WARM-UPS

1. EVEREST WEDDING: You have just returned from your wedding on top of Mount Everest. Talk to as many people as you can about your happy day. All of your classmates also got married at the same place!

2. MOUNT EVEREST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Mount Everest. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them.

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

Nepal / Mount Everest / on top of the world / wedding day / wedding vows / heaven / oxygen tanks / Himalayas / biting cold / Hindu ceremonies / interracial marriages / caste systems

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. STORY PREDICTION: In pairs / groups, use the words from the “CHAT” activity to predict the story in the article. Change partners and compare your stories. If you have different ideas, talk about which is likelier to be in the actual article.

5. WEDDINGS: Do you think it’s best to have a traditional wedding or a wedding that’s a little different? In pairs / groups, talk about these different weddings. Which one(s) would you choose for a wedding? Which are no-nos / is a no-no?

1. On top of Mount Everest.
2. In a hot air balloon above African elephants and lions
3. Under the sea in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
4. In Baghdad – the birthplace of civilization.
5. In space.
6. On the sports field of your favorite team, an hour before a big game starts.
7. Your idea.

6. ON TOP OF THE WORLD: In pairs/ groups, tell each other a time you were on top of the world (or just very happy)….

• Earlier today
• Yesterday
• Last week
• Last month
• Last year

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	One hundred couples have married on Everest’s peak.	T / F
b.	A couple felt on top of the world on their wedding day.	T / F
c.	The couple saw nine clouds.	T / F
d.	The groom wore a tuxedo.	T / F
e.	There was just one guest at the wedding.	T / F
f.	They bit their fingers because they were cold.	T / F
g.	The couple kept their wedding a secret from their family.	T / F
h.	They said it was a race and that many barriers were cast aside.	T / F

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

a.	couple	in seventh heaven
b.	vows	fears
c.	peak	mark
d.	on cloud nine	bitterly
e.	oxygen	pair
f.	symbol	honeymooners
g.	bitingly	mountain top
h.	newlyweds	O2
i.	concerns	social class
j.	caste	promises

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

a.	on top of	the world
b.	exchanged	cold
c.	a match made	bells
d.	on cloud	in heaven
e.	wedding	when it comes to marriage
f.	a symbol	wedding vows
g.	bitingly	backgrounds
h.	cultural	marriage
i.	interracial	nine
j.	caste and race are no barriers	of marriage

WHILE READING / LISTENING

SYNONYM FILL: Place the number of the synonym group in the correct gap (It is not important to guess a correct word - any of the synonyms from each group could be put into the relevant gap).

Everest wedding

A Nepalese ____ have become the first people ever to get married on top of Mount Everest. They felt, and were, on top of the world on their wedding day. Moni Mule Pati, 24, and Pem Dorjee Sherpa, 23, exchanged wedding vows on top of the world’s highest peak. Their ceremony on the summit truly was a match made in heaven. The couple are now ____.

There were no wedding dresses, tuxedoes or wedding bells. Just oxygen tanks, climbing ____ and some plastic flowers. The groom carried some traditional red powder, which he put on his bride’s forehead as a symbol of marriage. The happy couple and their one guest had to climb down after ten minutes. The conditions were bitingly ____ and becoming dangerous.

The newlyweds had kept their plan a secret. They were worried about not being able to reach the top together. They also had ____ over what their families might say about their different cultural backgrounds. Pem Dorjee said: “With our interracial marriage, we also wanted to give the message that ____ and race are no barriers when it comes to marriage.”

1 caste social class rank station	2 couple pair bride and groom twosome	3 on cloud nine in seventh heaven on top of the world over the moon
4 equipment gear things stuff	5 concerns worries fears unease	6 cold freezing severe wintry

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘wedding’ and ‘vows’.

• 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. SYNONYM FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the synonym fill. 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. STUDENT WEDDING DAY SURVEY: In pairs / groups write down questions about wedding days.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make a mini-presentation to another group / the class on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

first felt exchanged nine bells powder

guest bitingly secret concerns backgrounds barriers

 DISCUSSION

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

1. What was your image when you read the headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. Are you surprised they are the first couple to marry on top of Everest?
4. What do you think of the idea of Everest weddings?
5. What do you think of the Nepalese couple?
6. Would you like to climb Mount Everest?
7. What wedding vow would you make on top of Mt. Everest?
8. What would your family say if you told them you had plans to marry on top of Mount Everest?
9. Is there anywhere in the world more wonderful to get married?
10. Where do you recommend the couple go on honeymoon?

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

1. Did you like reading the article?
2. How did this news make you feel?
3. Would you like to get married on top of Mount Everest?
4. Will the couple have an extra special marriage for getting married on top of Mount Everest?
5. Would you like an Everest wedding or a normal wedding?
6. If you chose a very different wedding, what would you do?
7. If you got married on top of Mt. Everest, what would you take (apart from oxygen)?
8. Would you marry someone from another race?
9. Are there any barriers when it comes to marriage?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

ADVENTURE WEDDINGS: You are the boss of the company “Adventure Weddings”. The weddings your company offers are (1) Everest, (2) Hot air balloon over Africa, (3) Great Barrier Reef (underwater), (4) Baghdad – the birthplace of civilization or (5) Your choice. In pairs / groups, decide on the wedding you want to work on. Discuss the details for each of the points in the table below:

POINTS	DETAILS FOR ____________________________ WEDDING
A catchy name for the adventure wedding
A slogan
A special vow for the bride and groom
Wedding clothes
Guests
Food
Gifts for the guests
Music
Main wedding picture background

After you have finished, change partners / groups. Show your new partner(s) your wedding plans. Give each other advice on how your plans could be made better.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Everest wedding

A Nepalese couple have become the _____ ______ ____ to get married on top of Mount Everest. They felt, and were,
__ ____ __ ___ _____ on their wedding day. Moni Mule Pati, 24, and Pem Dorjee Sherpa, 23, exchanged wedding vows on top of the world’s highest peak. Their ceremony on the summit truly was a _____ ____ ___ heaven. The couple are now on cloud nine.

There were no wedding dresses, tuxedos or _______ _____. Just oxygen tanks, climbing equipment and some plastic flowers. The groom carried some traditional red powder, which he put on his bride’s forehead as a ______ __ ________. The happy couple and their one guest had to climb down after ten minutes. The conditions were ________ ____ and becoming dangerous.

The newlyweds had ____ _____ _____ a secret. They were worried about not being able to ______ ___ ____ together. They also had concerns over what their families might say about their different cultural backgrounds. Pem Dorjee said: “With our interracial marriage, we also wanted to give the message that _____ ___ _____ are no barriers when it comes to marriage.”

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 more information on Mount Everest. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. DIFFERENT WEDDING: Plan a wedding with a difference. Explain all of the details that make the wedding so different. Show your wedding ideas to your classmates in your next lesson. Talk about whether the plans are good or not so good (or really bad).

4. MY COUNTRY: Write a description of a usual, typical wedding in your country. Show it to your classmates in your next lesson. Find similarities in the weddings you described.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. T

f. F

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	couple	pair
b.	vows	promises
c.	peak	mountain top
d.	on cloud nine	in seventh heaven
e.	oxygen	O2
f.	symbol	mark
g.	bitingly	bitterly
h.	newlyweds	honeymooners
i.	concerns	fears
j.	caste	social class

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	on top of	the world
b.	exchanged	wedding vows
c.	a match made	in heaven
d.	on cloud	nine
e.	wedding	bells
f.	a symbol	of marriage
g.	bitingly	cold
h.	cultural	backgrounds
i.	interracial	marriage
j.	caste and race are no barriers	when it comes to marriage

SYNONYM FILL:

Everest Wedding

A Nepalese ---2--- have become the first people ever to get married on top of Mount Everest. They felt, and were, on top of the world on their wedding day. Moni Mule Pati, 24, and Pem Dorjee Sherpa, 23, exchanged wedding vows on top of the world’s highest peak. Their ceremony on the summit truly was a match made in heaven. The couple are now ---3---.

There were no wedding dresses, tuxedoes or wedding bells. Just oxygen tanks, climbing ---4--- and some plastic flowers. The groom carried some traditional red powder, which he put on his bride’s forehead as a symbol of marriage. The happy couple and their one guest had to climb down after ten minutes. The conditions were bitingly ---6--- and becoming dangerous.

The newlyweds had kept their plan a secret. They were worried about not being able to reach the top together. They also had ---5--- over what their families might say about their different cultural backgrounds. Pem Dorjee said: “With our interracial marriage, we also wanted to give the message that ---1--- and race are no barriers when it comes to marriage.”

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