Thousands of people cycled naked around 50 cities worldwide on June 11. The naked cyclists were protesting against the world’s overuse of gasoline. The 2005 World Naked Bike Ride website* urged people to strip and ride. It said: “Join the world’s largest naked protest against oil dependency and car culture in the history of humanity.”

In London, hundreds of protesters cycled past the British Houses of Parliament, the U.S. Embassy and many famous sights. They were protesting against the West’s obsession with cars. Total nudity was not necessary to join in the rides. Organizers asked people to “just go as bare as you dare”.

One protestor said: “It’s a protest against oil dependency and car culture, and the overuse of cars for unnecessary reasons. There is too much pollution. It stinks in London, and we use too much fossil fuel.” The protestors wanted the world to understand that the bicycle is a very good way of protecting the environment.

WARM-UPS

1. NAKED BIKE RIDE: Would you like to join in the World Naked Bike Ride to help save the planet? Would you take off your clothes in public for any reason? In pairs / groups, talk about for which of the following you would consider getting naked:

World Naked Bike Ride (in your town) World Naked Bike Ride (in another country) Playboy/Playgirl magazine for $1,000,000 As a model for an art class

A calendar to be sold for charity A public bath A nudist beach Other

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

Nudity / cycling / The 2005 World Naked Bike Ride / gasoline / petrol / cars / bicycles / obsession with cars / pollution / smelly cities

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

3. NAKED: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “naked”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

4. NAKED BIKER OPINIONS: Talk with your partner(s) about how much you agree with these opinions.

1. The World Naked Bike Ride is a silly idea.
2. I think it is shocking to see naked people on their bicycles in public streets.
3. It seems a clean, fun way to highlight an important issue.
4. The World Naked Bike Ride will not reduce pollution.
5. Anyone who rides a bicycle in the streets naked should be arrested.
6. I think world leaders should also get naked. That would get a lot of publicity.
7. Bicycles are too much trouble. Cars are cool and comfortable.
8. Cars should be banned in all city centers.
9. You have to accept the facts – without oil the world would stop.
10. No one wants to ride a bicycle in a city – it’s too dangerous.

5. OIL DEPENDENCY: In pairs / groups, talk about the things we can do to use less oil and save energy in our everyday lives. Change partners and compare the things you talked about with your first partner(s).

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	People worldwide rode bicycles that had no brakes or gears.	T / F
b.	It was a worldwide protest against using too much gasoline.	T / F
c.	The cyclists went into the U.S. Embassy in London.	T / F
d.	Organizers asked everyone to be totally nude to join the protest.	T / F
e.	Some people went in costume as bears.	T / F
f.	A protester said we needed to use our cars more often.	T / F
g.	Another protester said there was too much pollution.	T / F
h.	London always has a fresh, pleasant smell.	T / F

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

a.	naked	asked
b.	protesting	reliance
c.	urged	saving
d.	dependency	mania
e.	sights	nude
f.	obsession	be aware
g.	unnecessary	smells bad
h.	understand	complaining
i.	stinks	landmarks
j.	protecting	avoidable

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

a.	50 cities	culture
b.	protesting against the	much pollution
c.	oil	world’s overuse of gasoline
d.	car	sights
e.	the history	the environment
f.	the U.S.	Embassy
g.	famous	fuel
h.	There is too	of humanity
i.	fossil	dependency
j.	protecting	worldwide

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

World naked bike ride against oil use

Thousands of people ______ naked around 50 cities worldwide on June 11. The naked cyclists were protesting against the world’s ______ of gasoline. The 2005 World Naked Bike Ride website* ______ people to ______ and ride. It said: “Join the world’s largest naked protest against oil dependency and car ______ in the history of humanity.”		strip urged overuse culture cycled
In London, hundreds of ______ cycled past the British Houses of Parliament, the U.S. Embassy and many famous ______. They were protesting against the West’s ______ with cars. Total nudity was not ______ to join in the rides. Organizers asked people to “just go as bare as you ______”.		sights protesters necessary dare obsession
One protestor said: “It’s a protest ______ oil dependency and car culture, and the ______ of cars for unnecessary reasons. There is too much pollution. It ______ in London, and we use too much ______ fuel.” The protestors wanted the world to understand that the bicycle is a very good way of ______ the environment.		fossil protecting overuse stinks against

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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 gap 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 CYCLING or NUDITY SURVEY: In pairs / groups write down questions about cycling or nudity.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups 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:

thousands protesting strip humanity London sights

obsession dare protestor pollution fossil protecting

 DISCUSSION

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

1. What was your first thought when you saw this headline?
2. What adjective(s) describe your feelings about this story?
3. What are your thoughts on the naked cyclists?
4. Do you respect them?
5. Would you buy a car that uses a lot of gasoline/petrol?
6. Do you think riding a bicycle in public without clothes is wrong?
7. Would you get naked in public to protest against something?
8. Have you ever protested in the streets?
9. How is the pollution / smell in your town?
10. Would you like to see bicycles replace cars in cities and large towns?

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

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. Are you interested in news of environmental issues?
3. Have you heard about the World Naked Bike Ride before?
4. Is naked cycling a good method of protesting?
5. Do you think the World Naked Bike Ride protest will have any impact on pollution?
6. When would you go by bicycle instead of going by car?
7. Is it safe to ride a bicycle through city streets?
8. Do you think governments can find an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels?
9. Would you like to join in the World Naked Bike Ride 2006?
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

NAKED BIKE RIDE ROLE PLAY: This role play is to discuss whether or not riding a bicycle on public streets without clothes is bad behavior. Team up with classmates who have the same role as you and develop your ideas and “strategies”.

Introduce yourself to the other role players before the role play begins.

Role A – No Nudity You are shocked at public nudity. You believe it is a sin against God. It is shocking for children. You cannot accept that people would take off their clothes in busy cities. You think other ways of protesting would be more effective and attract more publicity.

Role B – It’s My Body You are a naturist. You are proud of the body nature gave you. You don’t understand why people hide their bodies with uncomfortable clothes. Fashion is a waste of time and money. You think being naked with nature is life’s greatest pleasure. You hate people who tell you to get dressed.

Role C – Naked Bike Ride Organizer You are the organizer of the World Naked Bike Ride. You believe any form of peaceful protest that saves the planet is OK. You think the naked body is a powerful symbol for protests. Using bicycles will save the planet.

Role D – The Real Protestors You are the leader of a protest group. You believe gas stations and cars should be attacked. You think naked bike riding is a silly idea. You think it has no effect. It just gives real protestors a bad image. Tell them to put their clothes on and join your group.

Role E – No Idea You have no idea what to think. You love arguing. Agree with everything the person on your right says and disagree with the person on your right.

Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays.

Talk about whether you agreed with what you said in your roles.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

World naked bike ride against oil use

Thousands of people ______ _____ _______ 50 cities worldwide on June 11. The naked cyclists were protesting against the world’s
_______ __ ________. The 2005 World Naked Bike Ride website* urged people to _____ ___ _____. It said: “Join the world’s largest naked protest against ___ ___________ and car culture in the history of humanity.”

In London, ________ __ __________ cycled past the British Houses of Parliament, the U.S. Embassy and many famous sights. They were protesting against ___ ______ _________ with cars. Total nudity was not necessary to join in the rides. Organizers asked people to “just go
__ ____ __ ____ _____”.

One protestor said: “It’s a protest against oil dependency and car culture, and ___ ______ ___ _____ for unnecessary reasons. There is too much pollution. It stinks in London, and we use too much ______ ____.” The protestors wanted the world to understand that the bicycle is a very good way of _________ ___ ______________.

*http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/

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 the 2005 World Naked Bike Ride. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. OIL DEPENDENCY: Write a fact sheet with ideas on what we can do to save energy every day. Focus on our habits, from cleaning our teeth in the morning to reading in bed at night. Try out these ideas for one week. Show your ideas to your classmates in your next lesson and report on your trial energy saving week. Did you have similar ideas?

4. A LETTER: Write a letter to the organizers of the World Naked Bike Ride. Tell them exactly what you think of their idea. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar opinions?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	naked	nude
b.	protesting	complaining
c.	urged	asked
d.	dependency	reliance
e.	sights	landmarks
f.	obsession	mania
g.	unnecessary	avoidable
h.	understand	be aware
i.	stinks	smells bad
j.	protecting	saving

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	50 cities	worldwide
b.	protesting against the	world’s overuse of gasoline
c.	oil	dependency
d.	car	culture
e.	the history	of humanity
f.	the U.S.	Embassy
g.	famous	sights
h.	There is too	much pollution
i.	fossil	fuel
j.	protecting	the environment

GAP FILL:

World naked bike ride against oil use

Thousands of people cycled naked around 50 cities worldwide on June 11. The naked cyclists were protesting against the world’s overuse of gasoline. The 2005 World Naked Bike Ride website* urged people to strip and ride. It said: “Join the world’s largest naked protest against oil dependency and car culture in the history of humanity.”

In London, hundreds of protesters cycled past the British Houses of Parliament, the U.S. Embassy and many famous sights. They were protesting against the West’s obsession with cars. Total nudity was not necessary to join in the rides. Organizers asked people to “just go as bare as you dare”.

One protestor said: “It’s a protest against oil dependency and car culture, and the overuse of cars for unnecessary reasons. There is too much pollution. It stinks in London, and we use too much fossil fuel.” The protestors wanted the world to understand that the bicycle is a very good way of protecting the environment.

*http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/

 

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