Breaking News English

        

1. APPLE PRODUCTS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Apple products. 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.

designer / best-selling / business cards / enterprise / iconic / admired brand / buttons / award / recognized / childhood dream / fortunate / remarkable / simplicity / iPod

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

3. ADMIRED COMPANIES: Complete this table with your partner(s) and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Company	Things to admire	Things not to admire
Apple
Microsoft
Coca Cola
McDonalds
Disney
Toyota

4. DESIGNERS: Students A strongly believe designers are more important than engineers; Students B strongly believe engineers are more important than designers.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. WELL-DESIGNED: Rank these according to which is most important to have a good design and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most important at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

a computer a meal a pen a toothbrush

a car seat chopsticks a perfume bottle sunglasses

6. DESIGN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘design’. 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.	The designer of the iPad got a special award from the British Queen.	T / F
b.	Jonathan Ive is now Sir Jonathan Ive.	T / F
c.	Jonathan Ive has worked for Apple for over 20 years.	T / F
d.	Ive and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs differed greatly on design ideas.	T / F
e.	Ive wanted to be a designer after he left college with a degree in art.	T / F
f.	Ive thinks he is lucky to be able to work with his Apple co-workers.	T / F
g.	Steve Jobs treated Jonathan Ive the same as everybody else at Apple.	T / F
h.	Six of Ive’s designs are exhibits in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.	T / F

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

1.	honour (UK) / honor (US)	a.	respected
2	enterprise	b.	accountable
3.	admired	c.	totally
4.	stylish	d.	inventiveness
5.	highly	e.	lucky
6.	absolutely	f.	award
7.	sincerely	g.	contained
8.	fortunate	h.	elegant
9.	answerable	i.	very
10.	housed	j.	genuinely

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

1.	the highest award the Queen	a.	and sincerely grateful
2	services to design and	b.	fortunate
3.	the world’s most	c.	in design
4.	Steve Jobs’ passion for high quality	d.	easy to use
5.	highly functional and	e.	can give to a citizen
6.	I am both humbled	f.	was to be a designer
7.	his childhood dream	g.	admired brand
8.	I feel enormously	h.	Museum of Modern Art
9.	their shared understanding of simplicity	i.	and stylish products
10.	housed in a collection at the	j.	enterprise

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Jonathan Ive, designer of Apple’s best-(1) ____________ iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads has (2) ____________ a knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This means he can now put “Sir” Jonathan on his (3) ____________ cards. The honour is the highest award the Queen can give to a citizen. Sir Jonathan received it for his (4) ____________ to design and enterprise – his iconic designs of Apple’s products helped turn the Silicon Valley (5) ____________ into the world’s most admired (6) ____________ and most valuable company. He has worked with Apple since the mid-1990s and is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. He shared Apple co-(7) ____________ Steve Jobs’ passion for high quality and stylish products. Many of these have few buttons but are (8) ____________ functional and easy to use.		brand business founder services selling highly received giant
Ive said of his (9) ____________: “To be recognized with this honour is (10) ____________ thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful.” Ive told reporters his childhood dream was to be a designer, saying: “I discovered at an early age that (11) ____________ I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously (12) ____________ that I continue to be able to design and make products with a truly (13) ____________ group of people here at Apple.” Steve Jobs supposedly called Ive his “soul mate” because of their shared understanding of (14) ____________ in design. He elevated the British designer to a special position within Apple, (15) ____________ only to Jobs. Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are (16) ____________ in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.		remarkable all housed award fortunate absolutely answerable simplicity

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Jonathan Ive, designer of Apple’s best-selling iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads has _______________________ from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This means he can now put “Sir” Jonathan on his business cards. The honour is the _______________________ Queen can give to a citizen. Sir Jonathan received it for his services to design and enterprise – _______________________ Apple’s products helped turn the Silicon Valley giant into the world’s _______________________ and most valuable company. He has worked with Apple since the mid-1990s and is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. He shared Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ passion for high _______________________. Many of these have few buttons but _______________________ and easy to use.

Ive said of his award: “To be recognized with this _______________________ thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful.” Ive told reporters his childhood _______________________ designer, saying: “I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I _______________________ that I continue to be able to design and make products with a _______________________ of people here at Apple.” Steve Jobs supposedly called Ive his “soul mate” because of their shared understanding _______________________. He elevated the British designer to a special position within Apple, _______________________. Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are housed in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

iconic

brand

• 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:

received business turn brand shared highly

both dream early truly soul collection

APPLE PRODUCTS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Apple products 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.

JONATHAN IVE 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 ‘design’?
c)	What do you think of Jonathan Ive’s award?
d)	What other famous designers do you like?
e)	What do you think Jonathan Ive does every day at Apple?
f)	What do you think of Jonathan Ive’s designs?
g)	Do you agree with Ive that simplicity of design is best?
h)	Would you be a good designer?
i)	What do you think of the company Apple?
j)	Do you have a passion for great quality and stylish products?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Would you like Jonathan Ive’s job?
c)	When was the last time you were humbled?
d)	What was your childhood dream?
e)	Would you like to work for Apple?
f)	Do you think Jonathan Ive will continue to bring out great designs?
g)	What’s more important, Jonathan Ive’s design or the technology inside the products?
h)	Do you think iPods and iPads should be in New York’s Museum of Modern Art?
i)	What do you think Jonathan Ive should do next?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Jonathan Ive?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Jonathan Ive, designer of Apple’s (1) ____-selling iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads has received a knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This means he can now put “Sir” Jonathan on his business cards. The honour is the highest (2) ____ the Queen can give to a citizen. Sir Jonathan received it for his services to design and (3) ____ – his iconic designs of Apple’s products helped turn the Silicon Valley giant into the world’s most (4) ____ brand and most valuable company. He has worked with Apple since the (5) ____-1990s and is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. He shared Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ passion for high quality and stylish products. Many of these have few buttons but are (6) ____ functional and easy to use.

Ive said of his award: “To be recognized with this honour is absolutely (7) ____ and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful.” Ive told reporters his childhood dream was to be a designer, saying: “I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously (8) ____ that I continue to be able to design and make products with a (9) ____ remarkable group of people here at Apple.” Steve Jobs supposedly called Ive his “soul mate” because of their shared understanding of simplicity (10) ____ design. He elevated the British designer to a special position within Apple, (11) ____ only to Jobs. Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are (12) ____ in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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

1.	(a)	good	(b)	better	(c)	well	(d)	best
2.	(a)	present	(b)	award	(c)	reward	(d)	thing
3.	(a)	enterprise	(b)	surprise	(c)	reprise	(d)	comprise
4.	(a)	admires	(b)	admiring	(c)	admired	(d)	admire
5.	(a)	middle	(b)	centre	(c)	mid	(d)	center
6.	(a)	high	(b)	highly	(c)	highs	(d)	height
7.	(a)	thrilling	(b)	spilling	(c)	refilling	(d)	unwilling
8.	(a)	luck	(b)	fortunate	(c)	good chance	(d)	wealthy
9.	(a)	truthful	(b)	truly	(c)	true	(d)	truth
10.	(a)	on	(b)	at	(c)	to	(d)	in
11.	(a)	questioned	(b)	replied	(c)	answerable	(d)	responded
12.	(a)	housed	(b)	caved	(c)	boated	(d)	towered

 
 

WRITING

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

3. JONATHAN IVE: Make a poster about Apple’s design guru Jonathan Ive. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. APPLE: Write a magazine article about the design of Apple’s products. Include imaginary interviews with Jonathan Ive and someone who doesn’t like the design of Apple products.

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 design expert. Ask him/her three questions about Apple products. Give him/her three of your opinions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

T

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	honour (UK) / honor (US)	a.	award
2	enterprise	b.	inventiveness
3.	admired	c.	respected
4.	stylish	d.	elegant
5.	highly	e.	very
6.	absolutely	f.	totally
7.	sincerely	g.	genuinely
8.	fortunate	h.	lucky
9.	answerable	i.	accountable
10.	housed	j.	contained

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	the highest award the Queen	a.	can give to a citizen
2	services to design and	b.	enterprise
3.	the world’s most	c.	admired brand
4.	Steve Jobs’ passion for beautiful	d.	and stylish products
5.	highly functional and	e.	easy to use
6.	I am both humbled	f.	and sincerely grateful
7.	his childhood dream	g.	was to be a designer
8.	I feel enormously	h.	fortunate
9.	their shared understanding of simplicity	i.	in design
10.	housed in a collection at the	j.	Museum of Modern Art

GAP FILL:

Apple designer honored by U.K. Queen

Jonathan Ive, designer of Apple’s best-(1) selling iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads has (2) received a knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This means he can now put “Sir” Jonathan on his (3) business cards. The honour is the highest award the Queen can give to a citizen. Sir Jonathan received it for his (4) services to design and enterprise – his iconic designs of Apple’s products helped turn the Silicon Valley (5) giant into the world’s most admired (6) brand and most valuable company. He has worked with Apple since the mid-1990s and is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. He shared Apple co-(7) founder Steve Jobs’ passion for high quality and stylish products. Many of these have few buttons but are (8) highly functional and easy to use.

Ive said of his (9) award: “To be recognized with this honour is (10) absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful.” Ive told reporters his childhood dream was to be a designer, saying: “I discovered at an early age that (11) all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously (12) fortunate that I continue to be able to design and make products with a truly (13) remarkable group of people here at Apple.” Steve Jobs supposedly called Ive his “soul mate” because of their shared understanding of (14) simplicity in design. He elevated the British designer to a special position within Apple, (15) answerable only to Jobs. Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are (16) housed in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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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