Breaking News English

WARM-UPS

1. BURGERS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about burgers. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your partner(s) and share your findings.

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

Christmas / perfume / smell / advertising / seduction / candlelit baths /  in the mood / online / sold out / satisfied customers / body spray / extra cheese / vegetarians

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. THE NEW FRAGRANCE FROM…: You and your partner(s) will make a presentation about some new perfumes. Complete the table below. Share what you wrote with other students for more ideas. Decide as a class who is the best marketing person.

From…	Name	Slogan	Smell	What it will do
Burger King
Shell
My country
Nescafe
My country’s leader

4. PERFECT PRESENT: Students A strongly believe a burger-scented perfume is just as good as any other perfumes and is a great present; Students B strongly believe a burger-scented perfume is a stupid idea and a ridiculous present. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. THE ESSENCE OF…: Different smells capture the essence of different things. Write the smells that capture the essence of the things in the table. Talk about your smells with your partner(s). Change partners and talk again.

English _____________________ childhood _____________________ love  _____________________ the 21st century  _____________________

me  _____________________ peace  _____________________ my city _____________________ other _____________________

6. SMELL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘smell’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Burger King is selling perfume that smells of its burgers.	T / F
b.	The new fragrance is called ‘Fire, Meats, Desire’.	T / F
c.	Burger King’s Whopper sandwich is America’s best-selling burger.	T / F
d.	The perfume’s website has a variety of images of burgers and meat.	T / F
e.	There is plenty of the perfume left if you want to buy it online.	T / F
f.	A man said he would like the perfume more if it has a cheesy smell.	T / F
g.	A woman said her husband wore the scent and started following dogs.	T / F
h.	Strangely, the biggest customers for the perfume are vegetarians.	T / F

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

1.	perfume	a.	comments
2	captures	b.	concerned
3.	essence	c.	presents
4.	features	d.	success
5.	mood	e.	aftershave
6.	desperately	f.	spirit
7.	feedback	g.	urgently
8.	irresistible	h.	atmosphere
9.	worried	i.	catches
10.	big hit	j.	attractive

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

1.	the man who has	a.	seduction
2	a fragrance	b.	mood
3.	the scent of	c.	irresistible
4.	a variety of	d.	online
5.	Set the	e.	everything
6.	The scent is on sale	f.	vegetarians
7.	buy a	g.	for men
8.	make men more	h.	cheese
9.	the smell of extra	i.	romantic images
10.	a big hit with	j.	bottle

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

What do you buy the __________ who has everything for Christmas? How about some perfume that smells of meat? The US hamburger __________ Burger King has just released a fragrance for men __________ on the smell of its Whopper burger. The company is advertising the scent, __________ Flame, on its website firemeetsdesire.com. It says: “The Whopper sandwich is America’s favourite burger. Flame….captures the __________ of that love and gives it to you.” The website also __________ visitors to “Behold the scent of seduction.” The site __________ a variety of romantic images, including candlelit baths, wine and sunsets. Burger King says Flame will allow men to “Set the mood no matter what mood you’re in the __________ for”.		features man based essence giant invites mood called
The scent is on __________ online for $3.99, although just five days before Christmas, it was sold __________. It is on sale in New York, for those who desperately want to buy a bottle. The website that is marketing Flame has a lot of feedback from some very __________ customers. It seems the body spray is doing some amazing things to __________ men more irresistible. We found several people who were more than happy with their __________. Jason Lowe from San Diego said: “I like the smell but would like the body spray to have the __________ of extra cheese.” Carmen Diaz from Los Angeles said she loved the smell, but was worried about the __________ of dogs that now followed her husband. The fragrance has not yet been a big __________ with vegetarians.		number satisfied purchase sale make hit out smell

LISTENING:  Listen and fill in the spaces.

What do you buy __________________ everything for Christmas? How about some perfume that smells of meat? The US hamburger giant Burger King __________________ a fragrance for men __________________ of its Whopper burger. The company is advertising the scent, called Flame, on its website firemeetsdesire.com. It says: “The Whopper sandwich is America’s favourite burger. Flame….__________________ of that love and gives it to you.” The website also invites visitors to “Behold the scent of seduction.” The site __________________ of romantic images, including candlelit baths, wine and sunsets. Burger King says Flame will allow men to “Set the mood __________________ mood you’re in the mood for”.

The scent is __________________ $3.99, although just five days before Christmas, it was sold out. It is on sale in New York, for those who desperately __________________. The website that is marketing Flame has a lot of feedback from some very satisfied customers. It seems the body spray is doing some amazing things __________________ irresistible. We found several people who were __________________ their purchase. Jason Lowe from San Diego said: “I like the smell but would like the body spray to __________________ extra cheese.” Carmen Diaz from Los Angeles said she loved the smell, but was worried about the number of dogs that now followed her husband. The fragrance has __________________ hit with vegetarians.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

fire

desire

• 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:

everything based love invites variety mood

just bottle happy extra worried hit

STUDENT BURGERS & PERFUME SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about burgers and perfume 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.

• 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.

BURGERS & PERFUME 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 ‘perfume’?
c)	Why do so many people like to wear perfume?
d)	What do you know about the history of perfume?
e)	Do you think a perfume that smells of cooked burgers is a good idea?
f)	What would you buy someone who has everything?
g)	What exactly is the smell of love?
h)	What mood are you in today?
i)	What do you do to get in the mood for something?
j)	Would you wear Burger King’s Flame perfume?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you find it easy to buy presents for people?
c)	Are you surprised the perfume has already sold out online?
d)	What kind of perfume do you like?
e)	Have you ever thought there should be ‘nose pollution’ laws against perfume?
f)	Do you think a perfume came make a man or woman more attractive?
g)	Do you think Burger King’s new perfume will start a trend? Perhaps next we’ll have Parfum de Microsoft, or Fragrance of Coca Cola.
h)	What do you think of perfumes named after famous stars, like Paris Hilton and Annika Sorentsam? Do they smell better?
i)	Is perfume necessary?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the creator of Flame perfume?

LANGUAGE

What do you buy the man who has (1) ____ for Christmas? How about some perfume that smells of meat? The US hamburger giant Burger King has just released a fragrance for men based (2) ____ the smell of its Whopper burger. The company is advertising the (3) ____, called Flame, on its website firemeetsdesire.com. It says: “The Whopper sandwich is America’s favourite burger. Flame….captures the essence of that (4) ____ and gives it to you.” The website also (5) ____ visitors to “Behold the scent of seduction.” The site features a variety of romantic images, including candlelit baths, wine and sunsets. Burger King says Flame will allow men to “Set the mood no matter what (6) ____ you’re in the mood for”.

The scent is on sale online for $3.99, although just five days before Christmas, it was sold (7) ____. It is on sale in New York, for those who desperately want to buy a bottle. The website that is marketing Flame has a lot of feedback from some very (8) ____ customers. It seems the body spray is doing some amazing things to make men more irresistible. We found several people who were (9) ____ than happy with their purchase. Jason Lowe from San Diego said: “I like the smell but would like the (10) ____ spray to have the smell of extra cheese.” Carmen Diaz from Los Angeles said she loved the smell, but was worried about the (11) ____ of dogs that now followed her husband. The fragrance has not yet been a big (12) ____ with vegetarians.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	everywhere	(b)	every	(c)	thing	(d)	everything
2.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	at	(d)	by
3.	(a)	scent	(b)	sent	(c)	cent	(d)	sente
4.	(a)	love life	(b)	lovey-dovey	(c)	love	(d)	lovely
5.	(a)	invitation	(b)	inviting	(c)	invites	(d)	invite
6.	(a)	moody	(b)	mood	(c)	moodiness	(d)	moodily
7.	(a)	out	(b)	up	(c)	in	(d)	down
8.	(a)	satisfy	(b)	satisfying	(c)	satisfaction	(d)	satisfied
9.	(a)	much	(b)	more	(c)	many	(d)	very
10.	(a)	bodily	(b)	bodies	(c)	body’s	(d)	body
11.	(a)	numeracy	(b)	numeral	(c)	number	(d)	numbering
12.	(a)	hit	(b)	smash	(c)	punch	(d)	bomb

WRITING: 

Write about perfume for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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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 Burger King’s new Flame perfume. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PERFUMES: Make a poster about different perfumes. What are the differences between them? Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. CHASED: Write a magazine article about a man who keeps being chased by dogs because of a perfume he bought. Include imaginary interviews with the person and the perfume maker.

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. PERFUME ME: Make a poster advertising a new perfume based on you. Give it a name, a slogan and write something about how the perfume will change the wearer’s life. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a perfume maker. Ask him/her three questions about perfume. Give him/her three suggestions on what he/she can do to make a perfume for the 21^st century. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

T

d.

F

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	perfume	a.	aftershave
2	captures	b.	catches
3.	essence	c.	spirit
4.	features	d.	presents
5.	mood	e.	atmosphere
6.	desperately	f.	urgently
7.	feedback	g.	comments
8.	irresistible	h.	attractive
9.	worried	i.	concerned
10.	big hit	j.	success

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	the man who has	a.	everything
2	a fragrance	b.	for men
3.	the scent of	c.	seduction
4.	a variety of	d.	romantic images
5.	Set the	e.	mood
6.	The scent is on sale	f.	online
7.	buy a	g.	bottle
8.	make men more	h.	irresistible
9.	the smell of extra	i.	cheese
10.	a big hit with	j.	vegetarians

GAP FILL:

Burger King releases meat perfume

What do you buy the man who has everything for Christmas? How about some perfume that smells of meat? The US hamburger giant Burger King has just released a fragrance for men based on the smell of its Whopper burger. The company is advertising the scent, called Flame, on its website firemeetsdesire.com. It says: “The Whopper sandwich is America’s favourite burger. Flame….captures the essence of that love and gives it to you.” The website also invites visitors to “Behold the scent of seduction.” The site features a variety of romantic images, including candlelit baths, wine and sunsets. Burger King says Flame will allow men to “Set the mood no matter what mood you’re in the mood for”.

The scent is on sale online for $3.99, although just five days before Christmas, it was sold out. It is on sale in New York, for those who desperately want to buy a bottle. The website that is marketing Flame has a lot of feedback from some very satisfied customers. It seems the body spray is doing some amazing things to make men more irresistible. We found several people who were more than happy with their purchase. Jason Lowe from San Diego said: “I like the smell but would like the body spray to have the smell of extra cheese.” Carmen Diaz from Los Angeles said she loved the smell, but was worried about the number of dogs that now followed her husband. The fragrance has not yet been a big hit with vegetarians.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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