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Britney Spears admits baby driving mistakeDate: Feb 11, 2006Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (1:48 - 212.4 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEPop singer Britney Spears has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again, this time for driving her SUV with her four-month-old son seated on her lap. While she has admitted how reckless and dumb her actions were, she has apportioned a considerable amount of blame on the paparazzi. She said the celebrity-obsessed photographers hound her to the extent that she feels she is constantly escaping their attentions. Ms Spears claimed she instinctively put her son between her and the steering wheel in an attempt to avoid a waiting “pack” of “aggressive” cameramen. The media agency that took the pics rebutted her claims, saying: “These pictures were taken in a very peaceful context, in which photographers exhibited no aggressive behavior.” Spears may face prosecution for violating traffic safety laws. California regulations require children to be secured in a child-safety seat until they are at least 6 years old or weigh 27 kg. A police spokesperson said Ms. Spears would have been fully aware of the legalities and repercussions of her recklessness. He said a deputy sheriff had already paid a visit to Spears’ Malibu home at the request of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family services, who are apparently up in arms at the irresponsible and “downright dangerous” example set by the singer. They said it is quite routine to report incidents where a child has been endangered due to a failure to properly restrain them in a car. The matter is now pending with the LA Police Department. WARM-UPS1. CELEBRITIES: Write down the name of some celebrities who have broken the law. Talk about these in pairs / groups. What punishment did they receive? Was it the same as a “normal” person would get? Do you think famous people get treated differently under the law? 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 3. CAR SAFETY: Which of these points are subject to traffic laws in your country? Would you like to see any of them tightened up?
4. OPINIONS: Do you agree with these opinions on celebrities and the law?
5. HEADLINES: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “headlines”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 6. HOUNDED: You are a famous star. Everyone in the street recognizes you. The paparazzi constantly follow you and photograph your every move. Talk to the other “stars” in the class about being famous. What do you think of the paparazzi? In what ways is your life not normal? BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text. Britney Spears admits baby driving mistake
LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. Britney Spears admits baby driving mistakePop singer Britney Spears has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again, this time for driving her SUV with her four-month-old son ________ on her lap. While she has admitted how reckless and _____ her actions were, she has ______________ a considerable amount of blame on the paparazzi. She said the celebrity-obsessed photographers _______ her to the extent that she feels she is constantly escaping their attentions. Ms Spears claimed she instinctively put her son between her and the steering wheel in an attempt to _______ a waiting “pack” of “aggressive” cameramen. The media agency that took the pics __________ her claims, saying: “These pictures were taken in a very peaceful context, in which photographers __________ no aggressive behavior.” Spears may face prosecution for __________ traffic safety laws. California regulations require children to be __________ in a child-safety seat until they are at least 6 years old or weigh 27 kg. A police spokesperson said Ms. Spears would have been fully aware of the __________ and repercussions of her recklessness. He said a deputy sheriff had already paid a visit to Spears’ Malibu home at the request of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family services, who are __________ up in arms at the irresponsible and “__________ dangerous” example set by the singer. They said it is quite routine to report incidents where a child has been endangered due to a failure to properly _______ them in a car. The matter is now ___________ with the LA Police Department. AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘matter’ and ‘pending’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
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. STUDENT “CHILD SEAT” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about holidays and sick days.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
DISCUSSIONSTUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
SPEAKINGCHILD SAFETY: In pairs / groups, think of new laws to make it safer for children to be in cars. Create the penalties for people breaking these laws.
Change partners / groups. Tell each other your laws and penalties. Give each other feedback on them. Return to your original partner(s) and share what you heard from your earlier partner(s). Conduct a class survey to find out what the most common laws and penalties were. HOMEWORK1. 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 information on previous occasions on which Britney Spears has hit the headlines. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things? 3. SURVEY: Conduct your own “child seat” survey among your family and friends. Report your findings to your partner(s) in your next class. Did you all write about similar things? 4. CAR SAFETY: Write an essay on your thoughts about car safety and children. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Did everyone write about similar things? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: Britney Spears admits baby driving mistakePop singer Britney Spears has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again, this time for driving her SUV with her four-month-old son seated on her lap. While she has admitted how reckless and dumb her actions were, she has apportioned a considerable amount of blame on the paparazzi. She said the celebrity-obsessed photographers hound her to the extent that she feels she is constantly escaping their attentions. Ms. Spears claimed she instinctively put her son between her and the steering wheel in an attempt to avoid a waiting “pack” of “aggressive” cameramen. The media agency that took the pics rebutted her claims, saying: “These pictures were taken in a very peaceful context, in which photographers exhibited no aggressive behavior.” Spears may face prosecution for violating traffic safety laws. California regulations require children to be secured in a child-safety seat until they are at least 6 years old or weigh 27 kg. A police spokesperson said Ms. Spears would have been fully aware of the legalities and repercussions of her recklessness. He said a deputy sheriff had already paid a visit to Spears’ Malibu home at the request of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family services, who are apparently up in arms at the irresponsible and “downright dangerous” example set by the singer. They said it is quite routine to report incidents where a child has been endangered due to a failure to properly restrain them in a car. The matter is now pending with the LA Police Department.
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