Breaking News English

        

1. THE TITANIC: Walk around the class and talk to other students about the Titanic. 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.

events / commemorate / shipyard / cruise ship / maiden voyage / iceberg / emigrants / plaque / alphabetical order / perished / disaster / relics / Hollywood blockbuster

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

3. EVENTS: What events could best commemorate the Titanic? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Event	What kind of things might happen?
On the shipwreck
At its shipyard
In Hollywood
In space
Online
In schools

4. UNSINKABLE: Students A strongly believe there is no such think as unsinkable ships; Students B strongly believe otherwise.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. TRAVEL: What's the best way to travel? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

cruise ship helicopter limousine train

horse and carriage yacht bicycle bus

6. CRUISE SHIP: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'cruise ship'. 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.	It is now 100 years since the Titanic sank.	T / F
b.	The Titanic was built in New York.	T / F
c.	Over 2,000 perished when the Titanic sank.	T / F
d.	The people who died were both rich and poor.	T / F
e.	A memorial plaque lists the names of those who died in order of age.	T / F
f.	A woman called Una Reilly said the ship was a disaster.	T / F
g.	Things from the Titanic will be on display in Las Vegas.	T / F
h.	The James Cameron movie "Titanic" has been released in 3D.	T / F

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

1.	commemorate	a.	virgin
2.	ship	b.	artifacts
3.	maiden	c.	looking for
4.	collided	d.	liner
5.	seeking	e.	revealed
6.	unveiled	f.	died
7.	perished	g.	pay tribute to
8.	service	h.	edition
9.	relics	i.	ceremony
10.	version	j.	crashed into

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

1.	100 years since	a.	in the icy waters
2.	The ship was on its maiden	b.	alphabetical order
3.	it collided	c.	was a disaster
4.	1,514 lost their life	d.	the Titanic sank
5.	poor emigrants seeking	e.	blockbuster
6.	A special plaque	f.	with an iceberg
7.	listed in	g.	was unveiled
8.	What happened	h.	from the ship's wreck
9.	relics recovered	i.	voyage
10.	The 1997 Hollywood	j.	a better life

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Events were (1) ____________ around the world yesterday to commemorate the 100 years since the Titanic sank. Ceremonies took (2) ____________ in the Belfast shipyard that built the famous cruise ship and in the North Atlantic where it sank, 640 kilometers off the (3) ____________ of Newfoundland. The ship was on its maiden (4) ____________, travelling from England to New York. Its builders proudly (5) ____________ it was the biggest ship ever built and that it was unsinkable. However, at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, it (6) ____________ with an iceberg and sank two-and-a half hours later. Of the 2,223 passengers and crew, 1,514 lost their life in the (7) ____________ waters. They included some of the richest people in the world, as well as poor (8) ____________ seeking a better life in America.		coast icy claimed held emigrants place voyage collided
A special plaque was (9) ____________ in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Titanic Memorial Garden. It (10) ____________ the names, listed in alphabetical order, of those who (11) ____________. Thousands of people attended or listened to a special service held at Belfast City Hall in which the names of those who died were read out. Una Reilly, head of Belfast Titanic Society, told the BBC: "We are all (12) ____________ of this ship. What happened was a (13) ____________, she was not." Other global events include exhibitions in Las Vegas and Singapore that include (14) ____________ recovered from the ship's (15) ____________. These include a 5-metre-long piece of the ship's hull. The 1997 Hollywood blockbuster "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, has also been released as a 3-D (16) ____________.		relics contained version proud unveiled wreck perished disaster

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Events _____________________ the world yesterday to commemorate the 100 years since the Titanic sank. Ceremonies took place in the Belfast _____________________ the famous cruise ship and in the North Atlantic where it sank, 640 kilometers _____________________ Newfoundland. The ship was on its maiden voyage, travelling from England to New York. Its builders _____________________ was the biggest ship ever built and that it was unsinkable. However, at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg and sank two-and-a half hours later. Of the 2,223 passengers and crew, 1,514 lost their _____________________. They included some of the richest people in the world, as well as _____________________ a better life in America.

A special _____________________ in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Titanic Memorial Garden. It contained the names, listed in alphabetical order, of _____________________. Thousands of people attended or listened to a special service held at Belfast City Hall in which the names of those who _____________________. Una Reilly, head of Belfast Titanic Society, told the BBC: "We are all proud of this ship. What happened was a disaster, she was not." Other global _____________________ in Las Vegas and Singapore _____________________ recovered from the ship's wreck. These include a 5-metre-long piece of the ship's hull. The 1997 Hollywood blockbuster "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, has also been released _____________________.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'cruise' and 'ship'.

cruise

ship

• 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:

since 640 voyage iceberg icy poor

contained order special read relics version

THE TITANIC SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the Titanic 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 TITANIC 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 'Titanic'?
c)	What do you know about the Titanic?
d)	Did you see / like the movie?
e)	How do you think the Titanic should be commemorated?
f)	What do you think of the non-stop interest in the Titanic?
g)	What do you think of traveling on cruise ships?
h)	Do you think there can be such a thing as an unsinkable ship?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What three adjectives describe this article (and why)?
c)	Are commemorative plaques important?
d)	'Titanic' is also used in English as an adjective. What does it mean?
e)	Do you think the Titanic should be raised from the ocean floor?
f)	Would you be interested in touring the Titanic (if it were possible)?
g)	What did we learn from the Titanic?
h)	What questions would you like to ask a Titanic expert?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Events were held around the world yesterday to (1) ____ the 100 years since the Titanic sank. Ceremonies (2) ____ place in the Belfast shipyard that built the famous cruise ship and in the North Atlantic where it sank, 640 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland. The ship was on its (3) ____ voyage, travelling from England to New York. Its builders proudly claimed it was the biggest ship ever built and that it was (4) ____. However, at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg and sank two-and-a half hours later. (5) ____ the 2,223 passengers and crew, 1,514 (6) ____ their life in the icy waters. They included some of the richest people in the world, as well as poor emigrants seeking a better life in America.

A special plaque was (7) ____ in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Titanic Memorial Garden. It contained the names, listed in alphabetical (8) ____, of those who perished. Thousands of people attended or listened to a special service held at Belfast City Hall in which the names of those who died were read (9) ____. Una Reilly, head of Belfast Titanic Society, told the BBC: "We are all proud of this ship. What happened was a disaster, she was not." Other global events include exhibitions in Las Vegas and Singapore that include (10) ____ recovered from the ship's (11) ____. These include a 5-metre-long piece of the ship's hull. The 1997 Hollywood (12) ____ "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, has also been released as a 3-D version.

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

1.	(a)	commoner	(b)	commercial	(c)	commotion	(d)	commemorate
2.	(a)	did	(b)	took	(c)	gave	(d)	were
3.	(a)	maiden	(b)	plaid	(c)	raiding	(d)	aided
4.	(a)	unflappable	(b)	unmanageable	(c)	unsinkable	(d)	unstoppable
5.	(a)	By	(b)	To	(c)	Of	(d)	For
6.	(a)	died	(b)	lost	(c)	killed	(d)	surrendered
7.	(a)	unveiled	(b)	unrivaled	(c)	unified	(d)	unfitting
8.	(a)	list	(b)	name	(c)	writing	(d)	order
9.	(a)	on	(b)	out	(c)	up	(d)	to
10.	(a)	extracts	(b)	forms	(c)	ships	(d)	relics
11.	(a)	mess	(b)	disaster	(c)	wreck	(d)	mistake
12.	(a)	blockbuster	(b)	edition	(c)	episodes	(d)	dream

 
 

WRITING

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

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

4. CENTENARY: Write a magazine article about centenary. Include imaginary interviews with people who attended one of the events.

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 Titanic. Ask him/her three questions about the Titanic. Give him/her three of your thoughts on it. 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.

F

d.

T

e.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	commemorate	a.	pay tribute to
2.	ship	b.	liner
3.	maiden	c.	virgin
4.	collided	d.	crashed into
5.	seeking	e.	looking for
6.	unveiled	f.	revealed
7.	perished	g.	died
8.	service	h.	ceremony
9.	relics	i.	artifacts
10.	version	j.	edition

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	100 years since	a.	the Titanic sank
2.	The ship was on its maiden	b.	voyage
3.	it collided	c.	with an iceberg
4.	1,514 lost their life	d.	in the icy waters
5.	poor emigrants seeking	e.	a better life
6.	A special plaque	f.	was unveiled
7.	listed in	g.	alphabetical order
8.	What happened	h.	was a disaster
9.	relics recovered	i.	from the ship's wreck
10.	The 1997 Hollywood	j.	blockbuster

GAP FILL:

Ceremonies mark Titanic centenary

Events were (1) held around the world yesterday to commemorate the 100 years since the Titanic sank. Ceremonies took (2) place in the Belfast shipyard that built the famous cruise ship and in the North Atlantic where it sank, 640 kilometers off the (3) coast of Newfoundland. The ship was on its maiden (4) voyage, travelling from England to New York. Its builders proudly (5) claimed it was the biggest ship ever built and that it was unsinkable. However, at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, it (6) collided with an iceberg and sank two-and-a half hours later. Of the 2,223 passengers and crew, 1,514 lost their life in the (7) icy waters. They included some of the richest people in the world, as well as poor (8) emigrants seeking a better life in America.

A special plaque was (9) unveiled in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Titanic Memorial Garden. It (10) contained the names, listed in alphabetical order, of those who (11) perished. Thousands of people attended or listened to a special service held at Belfast City Hall in which the names of those who died were read out. Una Reilly, head of Belfast Titanic Society, told the BBC: "We are all (12) proud of this ship. What happened was a (13) disaster, she was not." Other global events include exhibitions in Las Vegas and Singapore that include (14) relics recovered from the ship's (15) wreck. These include a 5-metre-long piece of the ship's hull. The 1997 Hollywood blockbuster "Titanic," directed by James Cameron, has also been released as a 3-D (16) version.

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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