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1. THE OLYMPICS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about the Olympics. 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.

missiles / attack by air / security / safety / defences / weapons / main venues / defended / terrorists / athletes / injured / security measures / undercover agents

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

3. PROTECT: How can Britain protect these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Protect…	Measures	Problems with these
the Olympics
the athletes
spectators
the website
London
the marathon

4. SAFE: Students A strongly believe we will all be safe one day; Students B strongly believe the opposite.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. SPORT: What’s best? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

Olympics Formula 1 Tennis Opens Golf Opens

FIFA Soccer World Cup America’s Cup yacht race NFL Super Bowl Baseball World Series

6. PROTECT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘protect’. 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.	Britain will use missiles to prevent a land attack during the Olympics.	T / F
b.	It will be the first Olympics to be defended by military missiles.	T / F
c.	The Beijing and Athens Games prepared missiles ready for use.	T / F
d.	The Olympics security coordinator denied missiles would be used.	T / F
e.	Defences at London’s Olympics won’t be as good as at earlier Games.	T / F
f.	The article mentions attacks at three different Olympics.	T / F
g.	The USA is sending 1,000 of its agents to protect the London Olympics.	T / F
h.	More than 5,000 British soldiers will dress up as security guards.	T / F

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

1.	set	a.	probable
2	protect	b.	ready
3.	ensure	c.	greeted
4.	deployed	d.	victims
5.	reports	e.	make certain
6.	likely	f.	keep safe
7.	target	g.	dressed up
8.	welcomed	h.	used
9.	disguised	i.	increase
10.	boost	j.	accounts

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

1.	Britain is set	a.	of terrorists before
2	an attack	b.	to-air defences
3.	All necessary	c.	agents
4.	appropriate ground-	d.	by air
5.	London's Olympic security	e.	boost security
6.	They have been the target	f.	the security measures
7.	The USA has welcomed	g.	to use surface-to-air missiles
8.	undercover	h.	coordinator
9.	soldiers disguised	i.	measures
10.	12,000 police will	j.	as security guards

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Britain is (1) ____________ to use surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to protect the London Olympics from an attack (2) ____________ air. U.K. Defence Minister Philip Hammond said on Monday: "All necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of the London Olympic Games will be (3) ____________ including, if the advice of the military is that it is required, appropriate ground-to-(4) ____________ defences." Such military weapons have been made available (5) ____________ to protect an international sporting event. China deployed them (6) ____________ its main venues for the Beijing games in 2008. Missiles were also on standby for the Athens Games in 2004. It is the first (7) ____________ missiles will be used in Britain (8) ____________ World War II. London's Olympic security coordinator Chris Allison said the reports of SAMs were not true.		before taken time set since air by near
The 2012 Games are likely to be the best-(9) ____________ Olympics ever. They have been the (10) ____________ of terrorists before. At the Munich Olympics in 1972, members of the Palestinian Black September group killed eleven Israeli (11) ____________ and coaches and a West German police officer. In an attack on the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, two people died and 111 were (12) ____________ in a bomb attack at the Olympic Park. The USA has (13) ____________ the security measures. They are sending up to 1,000 FBI and undercover agents to protect American athletes and (14) ____________. More than 6,000 British soldiers (15) ____________ as security guards plus 10,000 volunteer guards and 12,000 police will (16) ____________ security for the London Games.		injured target boost athletes diplomats defended disguised welcomed

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Britain ___________________-to-air missiles (SAMs) to protect the London Olympics ___________________. U.K. Defence Minister Philip Hammond said on Monday: "All necessary measures ___________________ and safety of the London Olympic Games will be taken including, if the advice of the military is that it is required, appropriate ground-to-air defences." Such military weapons have been ___________________ before to protect an international sporting event. China deployed them near its main venues for the Beijing games in 2008. Missiles were ___________________ the Athens Games in 2004. It is the first time missiles will be used in Britain since World War II. London's Olympic ___________________ Chris Allison said the reports of SAMs were not true.

The 2012 Games are likely to be ___________________ Olympics ever. They have been the ___________________ before. At the Munich Olympics in 1972, members of the Palestinian Black September group killed eleven Israeli ___________________ and a West German police officer. In an attack on the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, two people died and 111 were ___________________ attack at the Olympic Park. The USA has welcomed the security measures. They are sending up to 1,000 FBI and undercover agents to protect American athletes and diplomats. More than 6,000 British soldiers ___________________ guards plus 10,000 volunteer guards and 12,000 police will boost se___________________ curity for the London Games.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

surface

air

• 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:

set air measures ground main true

defended members coaches 111 6,000 boost

STUDENT THE OLYMPICS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the Olympics 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.

THE OLYMPICS 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 ‘Olympics’?
c)	What are your earliest memories of the Olympics?
d)	How high-profile are the Olympics?
e)	How easy or difficult do you think it is for terrorists to attack the Olympics?
f)	Do you ever worry about terrorism?
g)	What do you think of the Olympics being protected by missiles?
h)	Would this news keep you from attending the Olympics or make you feel safer?
i)	Are the Olympics a bigger target because they are in London?
j)	Why do you think the Olympics security coordinator is denying reports that missiles will be deployed?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	How important are the Olympics?
c)	What’s your favourite Olympics event?
d)	How happy are you when athletes from your country win gold?
e)	What do you know of previous terrorist attacks at the Olympics?
f)	How safe will London be during the Olympics?
g)	What will an undercover FBI do at the London Olympics?
h)	How important is it for a country to hold the Olympics?
i)	Are you looking forward to the Games?
j)	What questions would you like to ask London's Olympic security coordinator Chris Allison?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Britain is set to use (1) ____-to-air missiles (SAMs) to protect the London Olympics from an attack by air. U.K. Defence Minister Philip Hammond said on Monday: "All necessary (2) ____ to ensure the security and safety of the London Olympic Games will be taken including, if the advice of the military is that it is required, appropriate ground-to-air defences." Such (3) ____ weapons have been made available before to protect an international sporting event. China (4) ____ them near its main venues for the Beijing games in 2008. Missiles were also on (5) ____ for the Athens Games in 2004. It is the first time missiles will be used in Britain since World War II. London's Olympic security coordinator Chris Allison said the (6) ____ of SAMs were not true.

The 2012 Games are likely to be the best-(7) ____ Olympics ever. They have been the target of terrorists before. At the Munich Olympics in 1972, members of the Palestinian Black September group killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer. In an attack (8) ____ the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, two people died and 111 were injured in a bomb attack at the Olympic Park. The USA has (9) ____ the security measures. They are sending (10) ____ to 1,000 FBI and (11) ____ agents to protect American athletes and diplomats. More than 6,000 British soldiers disguised as security guards plus 10,000 volunteer guards and 12,000 police will (12) ____ security for the London Games.

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

1.	(a)	surface	(b)	shelter	(c)	suffice	(d)	standalone
2.	(a)	measured	(b)	measures	(c)	measuring	(d)	measure
3.	(a)	might	(b)	monument	(c)	military	(d)	militia
4.	(a)	deploy	(b)	deploys	(c)	deployment	(d)	deployed
5.	(a)	standalone	(b)	standoffish	(c)	standing	(d)	standby
6.	(a)	essays	(b)	paragraphs	(c)	reports	(d)	writings
7.	(a)	defended	(b)	defensive	(c)	defending	(d)	defends
8.	(a)	to	(b)	on	(c)	as	(d)	up
9.	(a)	hello	(b)	waved	(c)	welcomed	(d)	farewell
10.	(a)	up	(b)	down	(c)	as	(d)	from
11.	(a)	under	(b)	underling	(c)	understood	(d)	undercover
12.	(a)	beast	(b)	boost	(c)	boast	(d)	baste

 
 

WRITING

Write about the Olympics 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 the Olympics. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. THE OLYMPICS: Make a poster about the Olympics and security. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. SECURITY: Write a magazine article about how to keep the Olympics free from terror attacks. Include imaginary interviews with security experts.

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 a security expert. Ask him/her three questions about the Olympics. Give him/her three ideas on how to keep them safe. 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.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	set	a.	ready
2	protect	b.	keep safe
3.	ensure	c.	make certain
4.	deployed	d.	used
5.	reports	e.	accounts
6.	likely	f.	probable
7.	target	g.	victims
8.	welcomed	h.	greeted
9.	disguised	i.	dressed up
10.	boost	j.	increase

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Britain is set	a.	to use surface-to-air missiles
2	an attack	b.	by air
3.	All necessary	c.	measures
4.	appropriate ground-	d.	to-air defences
5.	London's Olympic security	e.	coordinator
6.	They have been the target	f.	of terrorists before
7.	The USA has welcomed	g.	the security measures
8.	undercover	h.	agents
9.	soldiers disguised	i.	as security guards
10.	12,000 police will	j.	boost security

GAP FILL:

Missiles to protect 2012 Olympics

Britain is (1) set to use surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to protect the London Olympics from an attack (2) by air. U.K. Defence Minister Philip Hammond said on Monday: "All necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of the London Olympic Games will be (3) taken including, if the advice of the military is that it is required, appropriate ground-to-(4) air defences." Such military weapons have been made available (5) before to protect an international sporting event. China deployed them (6) near its main venues for the Beijing games in 2008. Missiles were also on standby for the Athens Games in 2004. It is the first (7) time missiles will be used in Britain (8) since World War II. London's Olympic security coordinator Chris Allison said the reports of SAMs were not true.

The 2012 Games are likely to be the best-(9) defended Olympics ever. They have been the (10) target of terrorists before. At the Munich Olympics in 1972, members of the Palestinian Black September group killed eleven Israeli (11) athletes and coaches and a West German police officer. In an attack on the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, two people died and 111 were (12) injured in a bomb attack at the Olympic Park. The USA has (13) welcomed the security measures. They are sending up to 1,000 FBI and undercover agents to protect American athletes and (14) diplomats. More than 6,000 British soldiers (15) disguised as security guards plus 10,000 volunteer guards and 12,000 police will (16) boost security for the London Games.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - b

3 - c

4 - d

5 - d

6 - c

7 - a

8 - b

9 - c

10 - a

11 - d

12 - b

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