Breaking News English

        

1. RELATIONSHIPS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about relationships. Change partners often. Sit with your first 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.

royalty / special relationship / state visit / banquets / solidarity / the past decade / Queen Elizabeth / the president’s words / important ally / secure / warm words

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

3. RELATIONS: Complete this table about your country’s relationships and talk about them with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Relationship with…	qqqqqqq	qqqqqqq
its nearest neighbour
its oldest ally
the USA
its trading partners
its biggest enemy
the UN

4. ALLIES: Students A strongly believe all countries in the world will be peaceful allies with each other one day; Students B strongly believe this is impossible.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. BANQUET: Who would you most like to have dinner with? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

Barack Obama Britain’s Queen Elizabeth The Pope The Dalai Lama

Nelson Mandela Lionel Messi Lady Gaga Queen Noor of Jordan

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Barack Obama spoke about Britain at a White House dinner.	T / F
b.	The dinner was attended by the Obamas and British royals only.	T / F
c.	Mr Obama thanked Britain for its support after the 9/11 attacks.	T / F
d.	Obama said the British Queen added strength to the US/UK alliance.	T / F
e.	The Queen agreed Britain had a special relationship with the USA.	T / F
f.	The Queen said Britain is stronger when it stands alone in the world.	T / F
g.	The British monarch said the USA and UK made the world safer.	T / F
h.	Relations between the Obamas and royal family aren’t too friendly.	T / F

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

1.	banquet	a.	praised
2	hailed	b.	seconded
3.	particularly	c.	strongly
4.	solidarity	d.	real
5.	resilience	e.	especially
6.	echoed	f.	partner
7.	firmly	g.	strength
8.	links	h.	feast
9.	ally	i.	connections
10.	genuine	j.	togetherness

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	a Buckingham Palace	a.	interests
2	as strong and important	b.	for the solidarity
3.	Obama hailed the friendship	c.	witness
4.	particular grateful	d.	two families
5.	a living	e.	banquet
6.	Queen Elizabeth echoed the	f.	ally
7.	many shared	g.	between the two
8.	our most important	h.	have been spoken
9.	Very warm words	i.	president’s words
10.	a genuine warmth between the	j.	as ever

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

US President Obama told British (1) ____________ at a Buckingham Palace banquet that the “(2) ____________ relationship” between Britain and the USA was as strong and important as ever. Mr and Mrs Obama are on a (3) ____________ visit to the UK and attended the special dinner along with politicians, movie stars and business leaders. President Obama hailed the friendship between the two (4) ____________, particularly since the 9/11 terror attacks. He said: "As we          (5) ____________ the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm particular grateful for the (6) ____________ that the United Kingdom has shown to America over the past decade….From that day to this, you have been our (7) ____________ partner.” He praised the Queen, calling her "a living witness to the power of our alliance and a chief (8) ____________ of its resilience".		nations closest special source approach state royalty solidarity
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (9) ____________ the president’s words. She said: "We are here to celebrate the tried, tested and - yes - special relationship between our two countries….I (10) ____________ believe that the strength of our (11) ____________ and many shared interests will continue to ensure that, when the US and the UK (12) ____________ together.” The British monarch went on to describe the US as, “our most important (13) ____________” and said the world was a “more secure” place when the USA and the UK (14) ____________ together. A royal spokesperson said the special relationship also existed between the Obamas and the Queen’s family, saying: "Very (15) ____________ words have been spoken between the royal family and the Obamas. There is a genuine, genuine — and I (16) ____________ mean this — a genuine warmth between the two families."		ally firmly really stand echoed warm stood links

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

US President Obama ____________________ a Buckingham Palace banquet that the “special relationship” between Britain and the USA was as strong ____________________. Mr and Mrs Obama are on a state visit to the UK and attended the special dinner ____________________, movie stars and business leaders. President Obama hailed the friendship between the two nations, ____________________ 9/11 terror attacks. He said: "As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm particular grateful for the solidarity that the United Kingdom has shown to America ____________________ ….From that day to this, you have been our closest partner.” He praised the Queen, calling her "____________________ the power of our alliance and a chief source of its resilience".

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth echoed the president’s words. She said: "We are here to celebrate ____________________ - yes - special relationship between our two countries….I firmly believe that the ____________________ and many shared interests will continue to ensure that, when the US and the UK stand together.” The British monarch went on to describe the US as, “our ____________________” and said the world was a “more secure” place when the USA and the UK stood together. A royal spokesperson said the special relationship ____________________ the Obamas and the Queen’s family, saying: "Very ____________________ been spoken between the royal family and the Obamas. There is a genuine, genuine — and I really mean this — ____________________ between the two families."

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

special

relationship

• 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:

royalty ever along particularly past chief

echoed tested ensure secure warm warmth

STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about relationships 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.

RELATIONSHIPS 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 ‘relationship’?
c)	What do you think of the relationship between the USA and Britain?
d)	What are your country’s relations like with the USA / Britain?
e)	Does your country have good relations with all its neighbours?
f)	Which country does your country have a bad relationship with (and why)?
g)	Which country does your country have an up and down relationship with? Explain how.
h)	Would you like to attend a banquet at Buckingham Palace? Why?
i)	Which country does your country have to be most grateful to?
j)	When has your country showed resilience?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you think all countries will have good relations with each other?
c)	Who is your country’s most important ally?
d)	Do you think the world is more secure because of the USA and UK?
e)	What do you think of President Obama?
f)	What do you think of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth?
g)	Which relationships between countries really need mending?
h)	What do you want your country to do to have better relations with other countries?
i)	Which two countries do you think will never get on? Why?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Barak Obama?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

US President Obama told British royalty at a Buckingham Palace (1) ____ that the “special relationship” between Britain and the USA was as strong and important as ever. Mr and Mrs Obama are on a state visit to the UK and attended the special dinner (2) ____ with politicians, movie stars and business leaders. President Obama (3) ____ the friendship between the two nations, particularly since the 9/11 terror attacks. He said: "(4) ____ we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm particular grateful for the solidarity that the United Kingdom has (5) ____ to America over the past decade….From that day to this, you have been our closest partner.” He praised the Queen, calling her "a (6) ____ witness to the power of our alliance and a chief source of its resilience".

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (7) ____ the president’s words. She said: "We are here to celebrate the (8) ____, tested and - yes - special relationship between our two countries….I firmly believe that the strength of our links and many shared interests will continue to ensure that, when the US and the UK stand together.” The British (9) ____ went on to describe the US as, “our most important ally” and said the world was a “more (10) ____” place when the USA and the UK stood together. A royal spokesperson said the special relationship also existed between the Obamas and the Queen’s family, saying: "Very (11) ____ words have been (12) ____ between the royal family and the Obamas. There is a genuine, genuine — and I really mean this — a genuine warmth between the two families."

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

1.	(a)	brink	(b)	bouquet	(c)	banking	(d)	banquet
2.	(a)	over	(b)	along	(c)	through	(d)	under
3.	(a)	hailed	(b)	rained	(c)	snowed	(d)	winded
4.	(a)	Has	(b)	Was	(c)	As	(d)	Is
5.	(a)	done	(b)	been	(c)	shown	(d)	viewed
6.	(a)	alive	(b)	living	(c)	alive	(d)	lives
7.	(a)	echoed	(b)	bounced	(c)	rebounded	(d)	rerecorded
8.	(a)	tries	(b)	trying	(c)	trial	(d)	tried
9.	(a)	monarchy	(b)	monarch	(c)	monarchial	(d)	monarchs
10.	(a)	security	(b)	securities	(c)	securing	(d)	secure
11.	(a)	warmly	(b)	warmth	(c)	warm	(d)	warms
12.	(a)	spoken	(b)	told	(c)	asked	(d)	talked

 
 

WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 the “special relationship” between the USA and Britain. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. RELATIONSHIPS: Make a poster about international relationships. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. STATE VISIT: Write a magazine article about President Obama’s state visit to Britain. Include imaginary interviews with President Obama and the Queen.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to President Obama. Ask him three questions about relationships. Give him three questions about the relationship between the USA and Britain. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

T

d.

T

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	banquet	a.	feast
2	hailed	b.	praised
3.	particularly	c.	especially
4.	solidarity	d.	togetherness
5.	resilience	e.	strength
6.	echoed	f.	seconded
7.	firmly	g.	strongly
8.	links	h.	connections
9.	ally	i.	partner
10.	genuine	j.	real

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a Buckingham Palace	a.	banquet
2	as strong and important	b.	as ever
3.	Obama hailed the friendship	c.	between the two
4.	particular grateful	d.	for the solidarity
5.	a living	e.	witness
6.	Queen Elizabeth echoed the	f.	president’s words
7.	many shared	g.	interests
8.	our most important	h.	ally
9.	Very warm words	i.	have been spoken
10.	a genuine warmth between the	j.	two families

GAP FILL:

US-UK “special relationship” strong - Obama

US President Obama told British (1) royalty at a Buckingham Palace banquet that the “(2) special relationship” between Britain and the USA was as strong and important as ever. Mr and Mrs Obama are on a (3) state visit to the UK and attended the special dinner along with politicians, movie stars and business leaders. President Obama hailed the friendship between the two (4) nations, particularly since the 9/11 terror attacks. He said: "As we (5) approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm particular grateful for the (6) solidarity that the United Kingdom has shown to America over the past decade….From that day to this, you have been our (7) closest partner.” He praised the Queen, calling her "a living witness to the power of our alliance and a chief (8) source of its resilience".

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (9) echoed the president’s words. She said: "We are here to celebrate the tried, tested and - yes - special relationship between our two countries….I (10) firmly believe that the strength of our (11) links and many shared interests will continue to ensure that, when the US and the UK (12) stand together.” The British monarch went on to describe the US as, “our most important (13) ally” and said the world was a “more secure” place when the USA and the UK (14) stood together. A royal spokesperson said the special relationship also existed between the Obamas and the Queen’s family, saying: "Very (15) warm words have been spoken between the royal family and the Obamas. There is a genuine, genuine — and I (16) really mean this — a genuine warmth between the two families."

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

Back to the top