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U.K. Royal Anger at Topless Kate Pics (16th September, 2012)

The United Kingdom's royal family has started legal proceedings against 'Closer,' the French magazine that published photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, sunbathing topless. A paparazzi photographer snapped photos of the duchess while she was on the balcony of a secluded villa in France with her husband Prince William. The two thought they were well away from prying eyes, but a freelance cameraman managed to zoom in on the couple. A statement from William's office called the publication of the photographs, "grotesque and totally unjustifiable" and compared it to, "the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

It is rare for the British royal family to sue the press. However, it is known that Prince William intended to do everything possible to shield his wife from the kind of non-stop hounding that eventually led to the death of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Meanwhile, other publications have said they would publish the photos. Italy's 'Chi' magazine is set to devote 26 pages to them in its upcoming issue. Both 'Closer' and 'Chi' belong to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media group. An editor of the 'Irish Daily Star' said: "She's one of the most photographed people in the world and she decides to partially disrobe on a balcony…Of course people are going to be interested in this."

WARM-UPS

1. PRIVACY: Walk around the class and talk to other students about privacy. 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.

 

royal family / legal proceedings / sunbathing topless / prying / grotesque / paparazzi / sue the press / shield his wife / non-stop hounding / upcoming issue / media group

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

3. PHOTOS: Can any secretly-taken photos be published? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Photos of…

Yes/No?

Why (not)?

A topless princess

 

 

Your wedding

 

 

A religious leader bathing

 

 

A confidential document

 

 

Your password list

 

 

A badly injured war victim

 

 

4. FREEDOM: Students A strongly believe publishers should have the freedom to publish whatever they want; Students B strongly believe otherwise.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. PROTECTION: Who should be given most protection against the paparazzi? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • you
  • a princess
  • a 10-year-old
  • a rape victim
  • a Hollywood superstar
  • a paparazzi photographer
  • an undercover spy
  • the world leader of a religion

6. PAPARAZZI: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'paparazzi'. 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 U.K.'s royal family is suing a magazine for publishing photos.

T / F

b.

Photos of the Duchess of Cambridge were taken as she swam in a pool.

T / F

c.

One of the couple's official photographers took and sold the pictures.

T / F

d.

The incident is compared to how the paparazzi followed Princess Diana.

T / F

e.

The British royal family frequently take legal action against the media.

T / F

f.

Prince William wanted to protect his wife against invasions of privacy.

T / F

g.

The magazine 'Closer' is owned by a former Italian Prime Minister.

T / F

h.

The editor of an Irish newspaper criticised the publishing of the pics.

T / F

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

1.

legal proceedings

a.

self-employed

2.

snapped

b.

unusual

3.

secluded

c.

harassing

4.

freelance

d.

photographed

5.

grotesque

e.

protect

6.

rare

f.

court action

7.

shield

g.

future

8.

hounding

h.

sheltered

9.

upcoming

i.

not totally

10.

partially

j.

shocking

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

1.

legal

a.

villa in France

2.

sunbathing

b.

26 pages to them

3.

a secluded

c.

of the press

4.

well away from

d.

topless

5.

the worst excesses

e.

press

6.

sue the

f.

his wife

7.

do everything possible to shield

g.

proceedings

8.

'Chi' magazine is set to devote

h.

disrobe on a balcony

9.

An editor of the

i.

prying eyes

10.

she decides to partially

j.

'Irish Daily Star'


 
 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

The United Kingdom's royal family has started (1) ____________ proceedings against 'Closer,' the French magazine that published photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, (2) ____________ topless. A paparazzi photographer (3) ____________ photos of the duchess while she was on the balcony of a (4) ____________ villa in France with her husband Prince William. The two thought they were well away from (5) ____________ eyes, but a freelance cameraman (6) ____________ to zoom in on the couple. A statement from William's office called the publication of the photographs "grotesque and (7) ____________ unjustifiable" and compared it to, "the (8) ____________ excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

 

 

 

managed
secluded
sunbathing
worst
legal
prying
snapped
totally

It is rare for the British royal family to (9) ____________ the press. However, it is known that Prince William (10) ____________ to do everything possible to (11) ____________ his wife from the kind of non-stop (12) ____________ that eventually led to the death of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Meanwhile, other publications have said they would publish the photos. Italy's 'Chi' magazine is set to (13) ____________ 26 pages to them in its upcoming issue. Both 'Closer' and 'Chi' belong to (14) ____________ Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media group. An editor of the 'Irish Daily Star' said: "She's one of the most photographed people in the world and she decides to (15) ____________ disrobe on a (16) ____________ …Of course people are going to be interested in this."

 

 

former
hounding
intended
balcony
sue
devote
partially
shield

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The United Kingdom's royal family (1) ____________________ proceedings against 'Closer,' the French magazine that published photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, sunbathing topless. A paparazzi photographer (2) ____________________ the duchess while she was on the balcony of (3) ____________________ France with her husband Prince William. The two thought they were well (4) _______________________, but a freelance cameraman managed (5) ____________________ couple. A statement from William's office called the publication of the photographs, "grotesque and totally unjustifiable" and compared it to, "(6) ____________________ of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

It is rare for the British royal family (7) ____________________. However, it is known that Prince William intended to do everything possible to shield his wife from the kind of (8) ____________________ that eventually led to the death of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Meanwhile, other publications have said they would publish the photos. Italy's 'Chi' magazine (9) ___________________ 26 pages to them in (10) _________________. Both 'Closer' and 'Chi' (11) ____________________ Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media group. An editor of the 'Irish Daily Star' said: "She's one of the most photographed people in the world and she decides to partially (12) ____________________ …Of course people are going to be interested in this."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

royal

family

 

 

 

  • 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:

  • started
  • snapped
  • two
  • zoom
  • totally
  • worst
  • rare
  • shield
  • meanwhile
  • 26
  • editor
  • patially

PRIVACY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about privacy 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.

PAPARAZZI 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 'paparazzi'?

c)

Do you think the British royal family is right to start legal proceedings?

d)

What do you think of the fact a paparazzi photographer took topless photos of the duchess?

e)

Do you think Prince William and his wife were careless?

f)

Is it wrong for the future queen of England to sunbathe topless?

g)

Should the royal family be surprised these photos were taken and published?

h)

Should the photos have been published?

i)

Where do privacy laws come in regarding taking photos of people?

j)

Is this incident made worse because of what happened to Princess Diana?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)

What did you think about this article?

b)

Do you think the British royal family should sue the press more often?

c)

Is the publication of these photos in the public interest?

d)

Is the motivation for magazines to publish such photos greed or good journalism?

e)

Should the paparazzi photographer be punished?

f)

Why would a magazine devote 26 pages to the photos?

g)

Do you think the photos will change the way royals do things in the future?

h)

How would you feel if you or someone close to you were photographed topless and the pictures published for the world to see?

i)

Is Kate Middleton really just another celebrity other people want to see photos of?

j)

What questions would you like to ask Kate Middleton?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The United Kingdom's royal family has started (1) ____ proceedings against 'Closer,' the French magazine that published photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, sunbathing topless. A paparazzi photographer (2) ____ photos of the duchess while she was on the balcony of a (3) ____ villa in France with her husband Prince William. The two thought they were (4) ____ away from prying eyes, but a freelance cameraman managed to zoom in (5) ____ the couple. A statement from William's office called the publication of the photographs, "grotesque and totally unjustifiable" and (6) ____ it to, "the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

It is rare for the British royal family to (7) ____ the press. However, it is known that Prince William intended to do everything possible to (8) ____ his wife from the kind of non-stop (9) ____  that eventually led to the death of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Meanwhile, other publications have said they would publish the photos. Italy's 'Chi' magazine is (10) ____ to devote 26 pages to them in its upcoming issue. Both 'Closer' and 'Chi' belong to (11) ____ Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media group. An editor of the 'Irish Daily Star' said: "She's one of the most photographed people in the world and she decides to (12) ____ disrobe on a balcony…Of course people are going to be interested in this."

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

1.

(a)

legal

(b)

legalise

(c)

legally

(d)

legality

2.

(a)

slapped

(b)

snapped

(c)

strapped

(d)

scrapped

3.

(a)

seconded

(b)

sectioned

(c)

secluded

(d)

secreted

4.

(a)

best

(b)

good

(c)

goodly

(d)

well

5.

(a)

as

(b)

of

(c)

up

(d)

on

6.

(a)

liked

(b)

mirrored

(c)

compared

(d)

shadowed

7.

(a)

sue

(b)

rue

(c)

cue

(d)

hue

8.

(a)

sword

(b)

shield

(c)

armour

(d)

helmet

9.

(a)

pigeon-holing

(b)

rabbiting

(c)

hounding

(d)

fishing

10.

(a)

set

(b)

let

(c)

bet

(d)

vet

11.

(a)

firmer

(b)

framer

(c)

farmer

(d)

former

12.

(a)

partake

(b)

partially

(c)

participate

(d)

particulars


 
 

WRITING

Write about privacy for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 paparazzi. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PRIVACY: Make a poster about privacy and the press. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. PICS: Write a magazine article about the publishing of the pics. Include imaginary interviews with newspaper editors 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 the paparazzi photographer who took the photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Ask him/her three questions about privacy. 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.

F

b.

F

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

F

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

legal proceedings

a.

court action

2.

snapped

b.

photographed

3.

secluded

c.

sheltered

4.

freelance

d.

self-employed

5.

grotesque

e.

shocking

6.

rare

f.

unusual

7.

shield

g.

protect

8.

hounding

h.

harassing

9.

upcoming

i.

future

10.

partially

j.

not totally

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

legal

a.

proceedings

2.

sunbathing

b.

topless

3.

a secluded

c.

villa in France

4.

well away from

d.

prying eyes

5.

the worst excesses

e.

of the press

6.

sue the

f.

press

7.

do everything possible to shield

g.

his wife

8.

'Chi' magazine is set to devote

h.

26 pages to them

9.

An editor of the

i.

'Irish Daily Star'

10.

she decides to partially

j.

disrobe on a balcony

GAP FILL:

U.K. royal anger at topless Kate pics

The United Kingdom's royal family has started (1) legal proceedings against 'Closer,' the French magazine that published photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, (2) sunbathing topless. A paparazzi photographer (3) snapped photos of the duchess while she was on the balcony of a (4) secluded villa in France with her husband Prince William. The two thought they were well away from (5) prying eyes, but a freelance cameraman (6) managed to zoom in on the couple. A statement from William's office called the publication of the photographs, "grotesque and (7) totally unjustifiable" and compared it to, "the (8) worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales".

It is rare for the British royal family to (9) sue the press. However, it is known that Prince William (10) intended to do everything possible to (11) shield his wife from the kind of non-stop (12) hounding that eventually led to the death of his mother in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Meanwhile, other publications have said they would publish the photos. Italy's 'Chi' magazine is set to (13) devote 26 pages to them in its upcoming issue. Both 'Closer' and 'Chi' belong to (14) former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media group. An editor of the 'Irish Daily Star' said: "She's one of the most photographed people in the world and she decides to (15) partially disrobe on a (16) balcony…Of course people are going to be interested in this."

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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