Terrorists have struck at the center of London. The attack that Londoners have been expecting for many years happened during the busy, Thursday morning rush hour. Four explosions targeted London’s transport system. Bombs exploded on three subway trains and on one of London’s famous double decker buses. The death toll is at 38, with over 700 injured. Police and rescue services evacuated subway stations and sealed off the areas hit by the bomb blasts.

A leading London police officer said it was a miracle that terrorism had not come earlier. A previously unknown organization linked to Al-Qaeda has said it carried out the attacks. Leaders at the G8 meeting united in condemning the attacks. They all said they would step up the fight against terror. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “It’s particularly barbaric that this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa.”

WARM-UPS

1. THE MINUTES AFTER: What would you do if you were caught in a major terrorist attack? Would you panic or stay calm? Would you run away or stay to help? Talk with your partner(s) about what would you do in the minutes or hours after experiencing a bomb attack.

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

London / terrorists / explosions / rush hour / subway stations / double decker buses / miracles / the fight against terror / barbarism

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

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

4. TERROR OPINIONS: In pairs / groups, talk about these opinions. Do you agree or disagree with them?

1. The attacks in London are totally because of Britain being in Iraq.
2. The terrorists are attacking all of Western civilization.
3. Terror attacks like this will never disappear.
4. I would never change my lifestyle because of terrorist activities.
5. Terrorists don’t understand that bomb attacks change nothing.
6. It’s not right that innocent Iraqis also lose their lives every day but receive little attention in newspapers or on TV.
7. Terrorist attacks will happen in more of the world’s major cities.
8. It’s ridiculous that the attacks on London happened when G8 leaders are trying to help the poor in Africa.
9. Western leaders do not understand the suffering of Iraqis and Palestinians.
10. Tony Blair should now pull British soldiers out of Iraq.

5. WAR FIGURES: In pairs / groups, talk about these figures that are playing a part or who have played a part in the war on terror. What part have they played?

Osama bin Laden George W. Bush Tony Blair Other

Pervez Musharraf Ariel Sharon Vladimir Putin Other

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	London has been targeted in a major terrorist attack.	T / F
b.	The attacks took place during the quieter hours of the day.	T / F
c.	Three buses and a subway train were attacked.	T / F
d.	Police ordered people to stay inside the subway stations.	T / F
e.	A police officer said it was a miracle London wasn’t attacked before.	T / F
f.	An unknown group linked to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.	T / F
g.	G8 leaders in Scotland made no comment about the attacks.	T / F
h.	Tony Blair said the attacks were acts of barbarity.	T / F

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

a.	struck	joined
b.	expecting	count
c.	explosions	top
d.	toll	unheard of
e.	sealed off	blasts
f.	leading	hit
g.	unknown	increase
h.	united	closed
i.	step up	brutal
j.	barbaric	waiting for

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

a.	terrorists have struck	rush hour
b.	morning	blasts
c.	transport	the attacks
d.	death	organization
e.	bomb	toll
f.	a leading	in Africa
g.	previously unknown	at the center of London
h.	carried out	fight against terror
i.	step up the	system
j.	the problems of poverty	London police officer

WHILE READING / LISTENING

WORD ORDER: Put the underlined words back in correct order.

Terrorists strike heart of London

Terrorists have the center struck at of London. The attack that Londoners expecting been for have many years happened during the busy, Thursday morning rush hour. Four explosions targeted London’s transport system. Bombs exploded on three subway trains of and one on London’s famous double decker buses. The toll is death at 38, with over 700 injured. Police and rescue services evacuated subway stations and sealed off the areas
by the bomb hit blasts.

A leading London police officer said it that miracle was a terrorism had not come earlier. A previously unknown organization linked to Al-Qaeda has said it
attacks the out carried. Leaders at the G8 meeting united in condemning the attacks. They all said they would fight up step the against terror. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “It’s particularly barbaric that this has
a day happened on when people are meeting help to try to the problems of poverty in Africa.”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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. WORD ORDER: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers.

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT SAFETY IN CITIES SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about safety in cities and the threat of terrorist attacks.

• 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:

struck expecting targeted famous injured sealed

leading unknown united step up barbaric poverty

 DISCUSSION

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

1. What was your initial reaction to this headline?
2. What were you doing when you first heard this news?
3. Are you surprised London was attacked??
4. Will these attacks make you think twice about visiting London?
5. What do you think the terrorists hope to achieve?
6. Do you think the world is different after 9-11?
7. What will it take to stop terrorists attacking cities?
8. Do you think these attacks are an attack on the whole of the civilized world or just the people of London?
9. How do you think you would react in a bomb blast?
10. Will you be more vigilant as a result of these attacks?

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

1. Did you learn anything from reading this article?
2. What did you think about what you read?
3. Would you use the subway system in London today?
4. Do you think the bombs will change life in London?
5. Do you think terrorists will ever stop targeting innocent people?
6. Have you followed this story a lot on TV, the Internet or in newspapers?
7. Do you think the attacks were planned to coincide with the G8 meeting or Olympics announcement?
8. What message would you send to the people of London?
9. What message would you send to those who planned these attacks?
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

HEIGHTENED SECURITY:

Imagine you are responsible for implementing safety precautions in a major city. You must take measures to reduce the possibilities of terrorism. What changes will you make to the areas in the column on the left?

AREAS	CHANGES
Public transport
Airports
Information on TV and in newspapers
Major tourist areas
Police force
Other

After you have finished, change partners and show each other your plans. Find flaws or problems and give each other advice on how to improve your plans.

Return to your original partners and incorporate the advice you received into revising your original plans.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Terrorists strike heart of London

Terrorists have ______ __ the center of London. The attack that Londoners have ____ _________ for many years happened during the busy, Thursday morning ____ ____. Four explosions targeted London’s transport system. Bombs ________ on three subway trains and on one of London’s famous double decker buses. The _____ ____ is at 38, with over 700 injured. Police and rescue services evacuated subway stations and ______ ___ the areas hit by the bomb ______.

A leading London police officer said it was a _______ ____ terrorism had not come earlier. A __________ unknown organization linked to Al-Qaeda has said it _______ ____ the attacks. Leaders at the G8 meeting ______ in condemning the attacks. They all said they would ____ ___ the fight against terror. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “It’s particularly _________ that this has happened on a day when people are meeting __ ____ __ help the problems of ________ in Africa.”

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 terror strikes in London. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. WHAT CAN BE DONE?: Write an essay describing what you think should be done about the war on terror. What can world leaders do to stop further attacks? State the main points of your essay to your classmates in your next lesson. Did everyone write about similar things?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to the planner of the terror attacks in London. Tell him / her what you think of their acts. Read your letter to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. F

c. F

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	struck	hit
b.	expecting	waiting for
c.	explosions	blasts
d.	toll	count
e.	sealed off	closed
f.	leading	top
g.	unknown	unheard of
h.	united	joined
i.	step up	increase
j.	barbaric	brutal

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	terrorists have struck	at the center of London
b.	morning	rush hour
c.	transport	system
d.	death	toll
e.	bomb	blasts
f.	a leading	London police officer
g.	previously unknown	organization
h.	carried out	the attacks
i.	step up the	fight against terror
j.	the problems of poverty	in Africa

WORD ORDER:

Terrorists strike heart of London

Terrorists have struck at the center of London. The attack that Londoners have been expecting for many years happened during the busy, Thursday morning rush hour. Four explosions targeted London’s transport system. Bombs exploded on three subway trains and on one of London’s famous double decker buses. The death toll is at 38, with over 700 injured. Police and rescue services evacuated subway stations and sealed off the areas hit by the bomb blasts.

A leading London police officer said it was a miracle that terrorism had not come earlier. A previously unknown organization linked to Al-Qaeda has said it carried out the attacks. Leaders at the G8 meeting united in condemning the attacks. They all said they would step up the fight against terror. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “It’s particularly barbaric that this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa.”

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