Breaking News English

        

1. AMBASSADORS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about ambassadors. Change partners often. Share your findings with your first partner.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

Barack Obama / justice / consulates / wounded / senseless / violence / cowardly / speculation / video trailer / insulting / prohibited / pre-planned / coincide / image

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

3. SENSELESS: Rate these things: 1 = no problem, 10 = totally senseless. Complete the table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote.

Rate these things:	1 - 10	Why?
Attacking a consulate
Portraying the Prophet Mohammed
Sending U.S. warships to Libya
Burning another country's' flag
Occupying foreign lands
Fighting in the name of religion

4. PEACE: Students A strongly believe there will be peace between Christians and Muslims one day; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. JUSTICE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'justice'. 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 article says Obama wants the killers tried in the USA.	T / F
b.	The US ambassador to Libya was killed in the U.S. embassy.	T / F
c.	Five others died and three were wounded.	T / F
d.	Hilary Clinton questioned the actions of a nation the US helped liberate.	T / F
e.	A blockbuster film that insulted Islam probably sparked the protests.	T / F
f.	No one really knows yet who made the film.	T / F
g.	Some believe the attack was planned for the 9/11 anniversary.	T / F
h.	Libya's UN representative said the attack damaged the image of Islam.	T / F

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

1.	promised	a.	started
2.	wounded	b.	reason
3.	senseless	c.	free
4.	justification	d.	first
5.	liberate	e.	injured
6.	assault	f.	occur simultaneously
7.	initial	g.	vowed
8.	sparked	h.	seriously
9.	coincide	i.	attack
10.	gravely	j.	pointless

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

1.	killed in an attack	a.	apology to America
2.	There is absolutely	b.	low-budget film
3.	senseless	c.	planned
4.	a country we helped	d.	on the U.S. consulate
5.	We extend our	e.	9/11 anniversary
6.	video trailer for a	f.	liberate
7.	The makers of the film are	g.	the image of Islam
8.	the attack was pre-	h.	no justification
9.	coincide with the	i.	as yet unknown
10.	It gravely damages	j.	violence

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to (1) ____________ to justice to those who killed American ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya on Tuesday night. Mr Stevens was killed in an attack on the U.S. (2) ____________ in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Three other consulate staff died in the attack and five were (3) ____________. Mr Obama said: "There is                   (4) ____________ no justification for this type of                      (5) ____________ violence." U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked: "How could this happen in a country we helped    (6) ____________; in a city we helped save from destruction?" Libya's (7) ____________ president Mohammed el-Megarif apologised for what he called the "cowardly" attack, saying: "We (8) ____________ our apology to America."		absolutely interim consulate extend bring senseless wounded liberate
There is speculation over what caused the (9) ____________ on the consulate. Initial reports said a YouTube video                   (10) ____________ for a low-budget film that gives an            (11) ____________ portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad sparked the protests. Any depiction of the Prophet is (12) ____________ in Islam and greatly offends Muslims. The makers of the film are as yet (13) ____________, but reports say Egyptian Coptic Christians and an American-Israeli are (14) ____________ it. However, media reports now say the attack was pre-planned to (15) ____________ with the 9/11 anniversary. Libya's UN representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said: "This attack…cannot be considered as a defence of Islam. [It] (16) ____________ damages the image of Islam."		unknown coincide trailer prohibited assault gravely behind insulting

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised (1) _____________________ those who killed American ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya on Tuesday night. Mr Stevens was killed (2) _____________________ the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Three other consulate staff died in the (3) _____________________ wounded. Mr Obama said: "There is absolutely no justification for (4) _____________________ violence." U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked: "How could this happen in a country we helped liberate; in a city (5) _____________________ destruction?" Libya's interim president Mohammed el-Megarif apologised for what he called (6) _____________________, saying: "We extend our apology to America."

There is speculation over what (7) _____________________ the consulate. Initial reports said a YouTube video trailer (8) _____________________ film that gives (9) _____________________ of the Prophet Muhammad sparked the protests. Any depiction of the Prophet is prohibited in Islam and greatly offends Muslims. The makers of the film                                         (10) _____________________, but reports say Egyptian Coptic Christians and an American-Israeli are behind it. However, media reports now say the attack was (11) _____________________ with the 9/11 anniversary. Libya's UN representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said: "This attack…cannot be considered as a defence of Islam. [It] (12) _____________________ image of Islam."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

bring

justice

• 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:

promised eastern five type helped extend

caused sparked greatly behind coincide image

LIBYA ATTACK SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the attack in Libya 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.

LIBYA ATTACK 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 'Libya'?
c)	What were you doing when you heard about the attacks?
d)	What can the U.S do to bring about justice?
e)	What is the answer to Hilary Clinton's question?
f)	What do you think will happen in Libya from now?
g)	Do you think Americans are questioning why they got involved in Libya?
h)	Should there have been more security at the U.S. consulate?
i)	Should the U.S. withdraw all its diplomatic staff from Libya?
j)	How "cowardly" was the attack?

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

a)	What three adjectives best describe the news in this article?
b)	Many in the USA say the video falls under free speech. Should the rules of free speech be changed to prevent provocative acts?
c)	Should countries do more to stop obvious insults to Islam?
d)	Should anything happen to the filmmakers once their identities are known?
e)	Do you think the filmmakers are in any danger?
f)	What damage has this film and the attack on the consulate done?
g)	How can leaders on all sides keep their people calm?
h)	Should the consulate have been better prepared on the anniversary of 9/11?
i)	To what degree does the attack "gravely" damage the image of Islam?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the filmmakers?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to (1) ____ to justice to those who killed American ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya on Tuesday night. Mr Stevens was killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city       (2) ____ Benghazi. Three other (3) ____ staff died in the attack and five were wounded. Mr Obama said: "There is absolutely no justification for this type of        (4) ____ violence." U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked: "How could this happen in a country we helped (5) ____; in a city we helped save from destruction?" Libya's interim president Mohammed el-Megarif apologised for        (6) ____ he called the "cowardly" attack, saying: "We extend our apology to America."

There is speculation (7) ____ what caused the assault on the consulate. (8) ____ reports said a YouTube video trailer for a low-budget film that gives an insulting portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad (9) ____ the protests. Any depiction of the Prophet is prohibited in Islam and greatly offends Muslims. The makers of the film are (10) ____ yet unknown, but reports say Egyptian Coptic Christians and an American-Israeli are behind it. However, media reports now say the attack was pre-planned to coincide (11) ____ the 9/11 anniversary. Libya's UN representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said: "This attack…cannot be considered as a defence of Islam. [It] (12) ____ damages the image of Islam."

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

1.	(a)	bring	(b)	drag	(c)	put	(d)	stick
2.	(a)	for	(b)	of	(c)	as	(d)	on
3.	(a)	console	(b)	consolation	(c)	consulate	(d)	consulting
4.	(a)	strangeness	(b)	seamless	(c)	softness	(d)	senseless
5.	(a)	reprobate	(b)	berate	(c)	translate	(d)	liberate
6.	(a)	which	(b)	that	(c)	what	(d)	this
7.	(a)	over	(b)	around	(c)	under	(d)	through
8.	(a)	Sign	(b)	Initial	(c)	Address	(d)	Stamp
9.	(a)	flaked	(b)	spanked	(c)	sparked	(d)	freaked
10.	(a)	as	(b)	be	(c)	of	(d)	be
11.	(a)	on	(b)	up	(c)	by	(d)	with
12.	(a)	gravity	(b)	gravely	(c)	graveness	(d)	grave

 
 

WRITING

Write about the attack in Libya 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 attack on the U.S. ambassador to Libya. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. LIBYA ATTACK: Make a poster about the attack in Libya. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. SECURITY: Write a magazine article about the attack in Libya. Include imaginary interviews with people who were there.

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 U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Ask her three questions about the attack in Libya. Give her three ideas on how to improve things. 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.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	promised	a.	vowed
2.	wounded	b.	injured
3.	senseless	c.	pointless
4.	justification	d.	reason
5.	liberate	e.	free
6.	assault	f.	attack
7.	initial	g.	first
8.	sparked	h.	started
9.	coincide	i.	occur simultaneously
10.	gravely	j.	seriously

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	killed in an attack	a.	on the U.S. consulate
2.	There is absolutely	b.	no justification
3.	senseless	c.	violence
4.	a country we helped	d.	liberate
5.	We extend our	e.	apology to America
6.	video trailer for a	f.	low-budget film
7.	The makers of the film are	g.	as yet unknown
8.	the attack was pre-	h.	planned
9.	coincide with the	i.	9/11 anniversary
10.	It gravely damages	j.	the image of Islam

GAP FILL:

U.S. vows justice for slain ambassador

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to (1) bring to justice to those who killed American ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya on Tuesday night. Mr Stevens was killed in an attack on the U.S. (2) consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. Three other consulate staff died in the attack and five were (3) wounded. Mr Obama said: "There is (4) absolutely no justification for this type of (5) senseless violence." U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton asked: "How could this happen in a country we helped (6) liberate; in a city we helped save from destruction?" Libya's (7) interim president Mohammed el-Megarif apologised for what he called the "cowardly" attack, saying: "We (8) extend our apology to America."

There is speculation over what caused the (9) assault on the consulate. Initial reports said a YouTube video (10) trailer for a low-budget film that gives an (11) insulting portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad sparked the protests. Any depiction of the Prophet is (12) prohibited in Islam and greatly offends Muslims. The makers of the film are as yet (13) unknown, but reports say Egyptian Coptic Christians and an American-Israeli are (14) behind it. However, media reports now say the attack was pre-planned to (15) coincide with the 9/11 anniversary. Libya's UN representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said: "This attack…cannot be considered as a defence of Islam. [It] (16) gravely damages the image of Islam."

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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