WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is going to be the next special guest of the cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The 40-year-old activist will make a cameo appearance as the neighbour of Bart, Homer, Marge and the rest of the family . The episode will be the 500th show and is currently titled "At Long Last Leave". It will air in the USA on February 19th. In the programme, the family move to an isolated house and find themselves living next to Assange. "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean told “Entertainment Weekly” that Assange recorded his part of the show from a secret location in Britain six months ago. Jean said: Assange “invites them over for a home movie and it's an Afghan wedding being bombed”.
Julian Assange is famous for creating his Wikileaks website that uploaded hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents for the world to see. He is currently under house arrest in Britain, awaiting the result of an extradition request by Sweden. He is accused of committing sexual offences in Sweden, which he strongly denies. If the court rejects his case, the 40-year-old Australian will have to make a last-ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to be allowed to stay in the UK. In the meantime, Assange is set to make another television appearance – as the host of a chat show, set to premiere in mid-March. Assange will carry out in-depth interviews with important world figures.
1. JULIAN ASSANGE: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Julian Assange. 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.
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Wikileaks / special guest / cartoon / episode / isolated / secret location / wedding / uploaded / confidential documents / extradition / denies / appeals / chat show |
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CONFIDENTIAL: Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share again.
Topic |
How secret? |
Why? |
Age |
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Salary |
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Weight |
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Partners |
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Passwords |
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Desires |
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4. CRIMINAL: Students A strongly believe Julian Assange is a criminal; Students B strongly believe not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
5. GUEST: Who would be the best guest of “The Simpsons”? What would the story be? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.
- Barack Obama
- Lady Gaga
- Lionel Messi
- Hugo Chavez
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- Queen Elizabeth II
- Justin Bieber
- Serena Williams
- J.K. Rowling
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6. CARTOON: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘cartoon’. 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. |
Julian Assange will be a regular new character in “The Simpsons” |
T / F |
b. |
He will appear in the thousandth episode of the cartoon series. |
T / F |
c. |
An episode of the show will see Assange as the Simpsons’ neighbor. |
T / F |
d. |
In the show, Assange shows a video of a wedding in Afghanistan. |
T / F |
e. |
Assange did not actually create the Wikileaks site. |
T / F |
f. |
Assange may appeal to a European court about charges against him. |
T / F |
g. |
Assange will soon host a TV talk show in the USA. |
T / F |
h. |
The show will feature celebrities who have been in “The Simpsons”. |
T / F |
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
| 1. |
cartoon |
a. |
show |
2. |
currently |
b. |
throws out |
3. |
air |
c. |
relocate |
4. |
move |
d. |
top-secret |
5. |
location |
e. |
animation |
6. |
confidential |
f. |
repatriation |
7. |
extradition |
g. |
ready |
8. |
rejects |
h. |
place |
9. |
appeal |
i. |
presently |
10. |
set |
j. |
request |
3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
| 1. |
the next special guest of the cartoon |
a. |
USA on February 19th |
2. |
The episode will be |
b. |
denies |
3. |
It will air in the |
c. |
over for a home movie |
4. |
move to an isolated |
d. |
sexual offences |
5. |
Assange invites them |
e. |
arrest in Britain |
6. |
hundreds of thousands of confidential |
f. |
series “The Simpsons” |
7. |
He is currently under house |
g. |
interviews |
8. |
He is accused of committing |
h. |
the 500th show |
9. |
…which he strongly |
i. |
government documents |
10. |
carry out in-depth |
j. |
house |
WHILE READING / LISTENING
GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is going to be the next special (1) ____________ of the cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The 40-year-old (2) ____________ will make a cameo appearance as the neighbour of Bart, Homer, Marge and the rest of the family. The (3) ____________ will be the 500th show and is (4) ____________ titled "At Long Last Leave". It will air in the USA on February 19th. In the programme, the family move to an (5) ____________ house and find themselves living next to Assange. "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean told “Entertainment Weekly” that Assange recorded his (6) ____________ of the show from a secret location in Britain six months ago. Jean said: Assange “(7) ____________ them over for a (8) ____________ movie and it's an Afghan wedding being bombed”. |
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isolated
episode
invites
guest
home
part
activist
currently
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Julian Assange is famous for (9) ____________ his Wikileaks website that uploaded hundreds of thousands of confidential government (10) ____________ for the world to see. He is currently under house arrest in Britain, (11) ____________ the result of an extradition request by Sweden. He is accused of committing sexual (12) ____________ in Sweden, which he strongly denies. If the court rejects his (13) ____________, the 40-year-old Australian will have to make a last-ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to be allowed to stay in the UK. In the (14) ____________, Assange is set to make another television appearance – as the host of a chat show, set to (15) ____________ in mid-March. Assange will carry out in-depth interviews with important world (16) ____________. |
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offences
figures
documents
premiere
case
creating
awaiting
meantime |
LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is _____________________ special guest of the cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The 40-year-old activist will make a _____________________ the neighbour of Bart, Homer, Marge and the rest of the family. _____________________ the 500th show _____________________ "At Long Last Leave". It will air in the USA on February 19th. In the programme, the family _____________________ house and find themselves living next to Assange. "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean told “Entertainment Weekly” that Assange _____________________ the show from a secret location in Britain six months ago. Jean said: Assange “invites them over for a home movie and it's an Afghan wedding being bombed”.
Julian Assange is _____________________ his Wikileaks website that uploaded hundreds of thousands of _____________________ documents for the world to see. He is currently under house arrest in Britain, awaiting the result of an extradition request by Sweden. He is _____________________ sexual offences in Sweden, which he strongly denies. If the court rejects his case, the 40-year-old Australian will have to make _____________________ to the European Court of Human Rights to be allowed to stay in the UK. In the meantime, Assange is set to make another television appearance – as the _____________________, set to premiere in mid-March. Assange will _____________________ interviews with important world figures.
AFTER READING / LISTENING
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, documents, synonyms … for the words ‘special’ and ‘guest’.
- 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:
- guest
- activist
- 500
- move
- part
- home
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- hundreds
- result
- accused
- case
- set
- figures
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JULIAN ASSANGE SURVEY
Write five GOOD questions about Julian Assange 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.
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STUDENT 1
_____________ |
STUDENT 2
_____________ |
STUDENT 3
_____________ |
Q.1.
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Q.2.
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Q.3.
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Q.4.
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Q.5.
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- 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.
JULIAN ASSANGE 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 ‘cartoon’? |
c) |
What do you know about Julian Assange? |
d) |
What do you think of him appearing in a Simpsons cartoon? |
e) |
Do you think the TV company should be using Assange, considering he is wanted on charges of rape? |
f) |
Would you like to make a cameo appearance in the Simpsons? |
g) |
What kind of role would you play and in what kind of Simpsons story? |
h) |
Was Julian Assange right to upload confidential information? |
i) |
What do you think of the ideas for the 500th episode? |
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
| a) |
Did you like reading this article? |
b) |
What do you think will happen to Julian Assange? |
c) |
Why has he become such a celebrity? |
d) |
Would you like to see his chat show when it starts? |
e) |
How can governments keep their confidential information more secure? |
f) |
What do you hope happens to Assange? |
g) |
Have you ever made a “last-ditch appeal”? |
h) |
Should Assange be arrested for uploading the confidential documents? |
i) |
What questions would you like to ask Julian Assange? |
LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is going to be the next special guest of the cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The 40-year-old (1) ____ will make a cameo appearance as the neighbour of Bart, Homer, Marge and the (2) ____ of the family. The episode will be the 500th show and is (3) ____ titled "At Long Last Leave". It will air in the USA on February 19th. In the programme, the family move to an isolated house and (4) ____ themselves living next to Assange. "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean told “Entertainment Weekly” that Assange recorded his part of the show from a secret (5) ____ in Britain six months ago. Jean said: Assange “invites them over for a home movie and it's an Afghan wedding being bombed”.
Julian Assange is famous (6) ____ creating his Wikileaks website that uploaded hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents for the world to see. He is currently (7) ____ house arrest in Britain, awaiting the result of an extradition request by Sweden. He is accused (8) ____ committing sexual offences in Sweden, which he strongly denies. If the court rejects his case, the 40-year-old Australian will have to make a (9)____ -ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to be allowed to stay in the UK. In the (10) ____, Assange is set to make another television appearance – as the host of a chat show, (11) ____ to premiere in mid-March. Assange will carry out in-(12) ____ interviews with important world figures.
Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.
| 1. |
(a) |
activity |
(b) |
activism |
(c) |
actively |
(d) |
activist |
2. |
(a) |
rest |
(b) |
relax |
(c) |
remains |
(d) |
rested |
3. |
(a) |
current |
(b) |
currency |
(c) |
currently |
(d) |
currant |
4. |
(a) |
finding |
(b) |
find |
(c) |
finder |
(d) |
finds |
5. |
(a) |
local |
(b) |
location |
(c) |
localize |
(d) |
locution |
6. |
(a) |
by |
(b) |
at |
(c) |
for |
(d) |
to |
7. |
(a) |
under |
(b) |
of |
(c) |
over |
(d) |
above |
8. |
(a) |
in |
(b) |
on |
(c) |
at |
(d) |
of |
9. |
(a) |
past |
(b) |
fast |
(c) |
cast |
(d) |
last |
10. |
(a) |
meanwhile |
(b) |
meantime |
(c) |
sometime |
(d) |
timely |
11. |
(a) |
set |
(b) |
bet |
(c) |
let |
(d) |
wet |
12. |
(a) |
deep |
(b) |
deeply |
(c) |
depth |
(d) |
deeper |
WRITING
Write about Julian Assange 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 Wikileaks. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. JULIAN ASSANGE: Make a poster about Julian Assange. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. ASSANGE: Write a magazine article about Julian Assange and his appearance in the Simpsons. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.
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 Mr Assange. Ask him three questions about his life. Give him three pieces of advice on what to do in the future. 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. |
F |
d. |
F |
e. |
F |
f. |
F |
g. |
F |
h. |
F |
SYNONYM MATCH:
| 1. |
cartoon |
a. |
animation |
2. |
currently |
b. |
presently |
3. |
air |
c. |
show |
4. |
move |
d. |
relocate |
5. |
location |
e. |
place |
6. |
confidential |
f. |
top-secret |
7. |
extradition |
g. |
repatriation |
8. |
rejects |
h. |
throws out |
9. |
appeal |
i. |
request |
10. |
set |
j. |
ready |
PHRASE MATCH:
| 1. |
the next special guest of the cartoon |
a. |
series “The Simpsons” |
2. |
The episode will be |
b. |
the 500th show |
3. |
It will air in the |
c. |
USA on February 19th |
4. |
move to an isolated |
d. |
house |
5. |
Assange invites them |
e. |
over for a home movie |
6. |
hundreds of thousands of confidential |
f. |
government documents |
7. |
He is currently under house |
g. |
arrest in Britain |
8. |
He is accused of committing |
h. |
sexual offences |
9. |
…which he strongly |
i. |
denies |
10. |
carry out in-depth |
j. |
interviews |
GAP FILL:
Wikileaks founder to appear in The Simpsons
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is going to be the next special (1) guest of the cartoon series “The Simpsons”. The 40-year-old (2) activist will make a cameo appearance as the neighbour of Bart, Homer, Marge and the rest of the family. The (3) episode will be the 500th show and is (4) currently titled "At Long Last Leave". It will air in the USA on February 19th. In the programme, the family move to an (5) isolated house and find themselves living next to Assange. "The Simpsons" producer Al Jean told “Entertainment Weekly” that Assange recorded his (6) part of the show from a secret location in Britain six months ago. Jean said: Assange “(7) invites them over for a (8) home movie and it's an Afghan wedding being bombed”.
Julian Assange is famous for (9) creating his Wikileaks website that uploaded hundreds of thousands of confidential government (10) documents for the world to see. He is currently under house arrest in Britain, (11) awaiting the result of an extradition request by Sweden. He is accused of committing sexual (12) offences in Sweden, which he strongly denies. If the court rejects his (13) case, the 40-year-old Australian will have to make a last-ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to be allowed to stay in the UK. In the (14) meantime, Assange is set to make another television appearance – as the host of a chat show, set to (15) premiere in mid-March. Assange will carry out in-depth interviews with important world (16) figures.
LANGUAGE WORK
| 1 - d |
2 - a |
3 - c |
4 - b |
5 - b |
6 - c |
7 - a |
8 - d |
9 -d |
10 - b |
11 - a |
12 - c |