My 1,000
Ideas
e-Book

Breaking News English

HOME  |  HELP MY SITE  |  000s MORE FREE LESSONS
 
 

PRINT

13-Page PDF
Handout

  

LISTEN

MP3 (1 minute 50 seconds)

QUIZZES

Sentence jumble

Missing words

No letters


        

Petrol Bomb How-To In Kids' Magazine (10th October, 2012)

Parents in Tunisia are up in arms at one of the country's most popular children's magazines. The reason for the outrage at the "Qaws Quzah" mag is that the latest edition of the publication has an article that explains how to make a petrol bomb, also known as a Molotov cocktail. "Qaws Quzah" (which means "rainbow" in Arabic) is aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds and usually features educational pieces in its Knowledge Corner page. The petrol bomb feature describes the history of the weapon and has a picture of a glass bottle with a burning rag at its mouth. The article describes a Molotov cocktail as "an improvised weapon that is often used in riots and acts of sabotage because it is easy to make and use".

Tunisia's Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has started the process to take legal action against the publisher. A Ministry official said the article was highly inappropriate, given the revolution that recently toppled longtime President Ben Ali in January 2011. The event that triggered the uprising was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year-old street vendor who set himself on fire with petrol on 17 December 2010, in protest against the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by government officials. The Ministry said the "Qaws Quzah" article, "encourages violent and terrorist thought" and puts children's lives in danger by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of vandalism or terrorism".

WARM-UPS

1. KIDS' MAGAZINES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about children's magazines. 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.

 

up in arms / children's magazines / publication / petrol bomb / educational / weapon / legal action / inappropriate / revolution / self-immolation / harassment / vandalism

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

3. INAPPROPRIATE: Which of these things should / shouldn't be in a magazine for 11-year-olds? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Should/not

Why?

To what degree?

weapons how-to

 

 

 

AIDS

 

 

 

sexual reproduction

 

 

 

images of war dead

 

 

 

X-rated rap lyrics

 

 

 

a feature on drugs

 

 

 

4. CENSORED: Students A strongly believe content on TV and in magazines should be censored more so kids can't see it; Students B strongly believe this is the parents' responsibility.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. EDUCATIONAL: What would you like your child to read about? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often.

  • your country's history
  • how to deal with bullying
  • a child self-made billionaire
  • the importance of religion
  • a sporting role model
  • Disney
  • global warming
  • how to design things

6. REVOLUTION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'revolution'. 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.

Tunisian parents are furious over an article in a children's magazine.

T / F

b.

The magazine has weekly articles on how to make and use weapons.

T / F

c.

The publication is aimed at kindergarten and elementary school kids.

T / F

d.

The feature in the magazine has a picture of a Molotov cocktail.

T / F

e.

The magazine owner has appeared in court to defend the article.

T / F

f.

The article describes a man who set fire to himself in 2010.

T / F

g.

A Tunisian Ministry accused the magazine of endangering children.

T / F

h.

The article says the magazine editor has apologized for the feature.

T / F

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

1.

up in arms

a.

sue

2.

outrage

b.

destruction

3.

aimed

c.

unsuitable

4.

improvised

d.

intimidation

5.

sabotage

e.

makeshift

6.

take legal action against

f.

furious

7.

inappropriate

g.

started

8.

triggered

h.

anger

9.

vendor

i.

targeted

10.

harassment

j.

seller

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

1.

the latest edition

a.

rag at its mouth

2.

… features

b.

against the publisher

3.

a glass bottle with a burning

c.

the uprising

4.

an improvised

d.

acts of sabotage

5.

used in riots and

e.

educational pieces

6.

take legal action

f.

lives in danger

7.

the article was highly

g.

against the harassment

8.

he event that triggered

h.

weapon

9.

in protest

i.

inappropriate

10.

puts children's

j.

of the publication

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Parents in Tunisia are up in (1) ____________ at one of the country's most popular children's magazines. The reason for the (2) ____________ at the "Qaws Quzah" mag is that the latest edition of the publication has an article that explains how to make a petrol bomb, also (3) ____________ as a Molotov cocktail. "Qaws Quzah" (which means "rainbow" in Arabic) is aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds and usually (4) ____________ educational pieces in its Knowledge Corner page. The petrol bomb feature describes the history of the (5) ____________ and has a picture of a glass bottle with a burning (6) ____________ at its mouth. The article describes a Molotov cocktail as "an (7) ____________ weapon that is often used in riots and (8) ____________ of sabotage because it is easy to make and use".

 

 

 

outrage
acts
arms
features
known
rag
improvised
weapon

Tunisia's Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has started the process to take (9) ____________ action against the publisher. A Ministry official said the article was (10) ____________ inappropriate, given the revolution that recently (11) ____________ longtime President Ben Ali in January 2011. The event that (12) ____________ the uprising was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year-old street vendor who (13) ____________ himself on fire with petrol on 17 December 2010, in protest against the harassment and humiliation (14) ____________ on him by government officials. The Ministry said the "Qaws Quzah" article, "encourages violent and terrorist (15) ____________ " and puts children's lives in danger by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of (16) ____________ or terrorism".

 

 

set
toppled
vandalism
legal
thought
triggered
highly
inflicted

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Parents in Tunisia (1) ______________________ one of the country's most popular children's magazines. The reason (2) ______________________ "Qaws Quzah" mag is that the latest edition of the publication has an article that explains how to make a petrol bomb, (3) ______________________ cocktail. "Qaws Quzah" (which means "rainbow" in Arabic) is aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds and usually features (4) ______________________ its Knowledge Corner page. The petrol bomb feature describes the history of the weapon (5) ______________________ glass bottle with a burning rag at its mouth. The article describes a Molotov cocktail as "an improvised weapon that is (6) ______________________ acts of sabotage because it is easy to make and use".

Tunisia's Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has started the process to  (7) ______________________ the publisher. A Ministry official said the article was highly inappropriate, given the (8) ______________________ toppled longtime President Ben Ali in January 2011. The event that triggered the (9) ______________________-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year-old street vendor (10) ______________________ with petrol on 17 December 2010, in protest against the (11) ______________________ inflicted on him by government officials. The Ministry said the "Qaws Quzah" article, "encourages violent (12) ______________________ " and puts children's lives in danger by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of vandalism or terrorism".


 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

petrol

bomb

 

 

 

  • 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:

  • up
  • latest
  • aimed
  • rainbow
  • picture
  • easy
  • against
  • recently
  • triggered
  • set
  • officials
  • danger

KIDS' MAGAZINES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about children's magazines 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.


 
 

KIDS' MAGAZINES 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 'Molotov cocktail'?

c)

What do you think of the magazine for doing this?

d)

Would you be outraged if one of your children read such an article?

e)

Why do you think the magazine included the feature?

f)

Do you think the article could be intended as knowledge only, rather than encouraging children to make a Molotov cocktail?

g)

What would happen to a magazine in your country for printing such a how-to?

h)

Would such a how-to be appropriate even in an adult magazine?

i)

What was (is) your favourite kids' magazine? Why?

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

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

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

What do you think the court will decide?

c)

What should the court decide?

d)

How inappropriate is the article given Tunisia's recent history?

e)

What do you know about Tunisia's revolution?

f)

What should Tunisian children be learning about their country?

g)

Do you agree with the Ministry, that the article really "encourages violent and terrorist thought"?

h)

What should the editor of the magazine do now?

i)

What questions would you like to ask the editor of Qaws Quzah?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Parents in Tunisia are up in (1) ____ at one of the country's most popular children's magazines. The reason for the (2) ____ at the "Qaws Quzah" mag is that the latest edition of the publication has an article that explains how to make a petrol bomb, also known as a Molotov cocktail. "Qaws Quzah" (which means "rainbow" in Arabic) is (3) ____ at 5- to 15-year-olds and usually features educational pieces in its Knowledge Corner page. The petrol bomb (4) ____ describes the history of the weapon and has a picture of a glass bottle with a burning (5) ____ at its mouth. The article describes a Molotov cocktail as "an improvised weapon that is often used in riots and acts of (6) ____ because it is easy to make and use".

Tunisia's Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has started the process to (7) ____ legal action against the publisher. A Ministry official said the article was highly inappropriate, (8) ____ the revolution that recently toppled longtime President Ben Ali in January 2011. The event that triggered the uprising was the (9) ____-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year-old street vendor who set himself on  (10) ____ with petrol on 17 December 2010, in protest against the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by government officials. The Ministry said the "Qaws Quzah" article, "encourages violent and terrorist thought" and puts children's lives (11) ____ danger by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of (12) ____ or terrorism".

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

1.

(a)

knees

(b)

legs

(c)

elbows

(d)

arms

2.

(a)

outrageous

(b)

outage

(c)

outing

(d)

outrage

3.

(a)

sighted

(b)

aimed

(c)

rifled

(d)

triggered

4.

(a)

future

(b)

feather

(c)

feature

(d)

feat

5.

(a)

lag

(b)

sag

(c)

rag

(d)

wag

6.

(a)

sabotage

(b)

refuge

(c)

adage

(d)

privilege

7.

(a)

have

(b)

take

(c)

do

(d)

carry

8.

(a)

given

(b)

done

(c)

taken

(d)

set

9.

(a)

sole

(b)

self

(c)

being

(d)

suicide

10.

(a)

burning

(b)

alight

(c)

fire

(d)

flame

11.

(a)

of

(b)

at

(c)

in

(d)

by

12.

(a)

vandalised

(b)

vandals

(c)

vandalise

(d)

vandalism


 
 

WRITING

Write about Molotov cocktails 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 Tunisia's history. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. QAWS QUZAH: Write a magazine article about the Molotov cocktail article. Include imaginary interviews with the editor and an outraged parent.

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 editor of Qaws Quzah. Ask him/her three questions about the article. Give her/him three of your opinions 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.

T

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

up in arms

a.

furious

2.

outrage

b.

anger

3.

aimed

c.

targeted

4.

improvised

d.

makeshift

5.

sabotage

e.

destruction

6.

take legal action against

f.

sue

7.

inappropriate

g.

unsuitable

8.

triggered

h.

started

9.

vendor

i.

seller

10.

harassment

j.

intimidation

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

the latest edition

a.

of the publication

2.

… features

b.

educational pieces

3.

a glass bottle with a burning

c.

rag at its mouth

4.

an improvised

d.

weapon

5.

used in riots and

e.

acts of sabotage

6.

take legal action

f.

against the publisher

7.

the article was highly

g.

inappropriate

8.

he event that triggered

h.

the uprising

9.

in protest

i.

against the harassment

10.

puts children's

j.

lives in danger

GAP FILL:

Petrol bomb how-to in kids' magazine

Parents in Tunisia are up in (1) arms at one of the country's most popular children's magazines. The reason for the (2) outrage at the "Qaws Quzah" mag is that the latest edition of the publication has an article that explains how to make a petrol bomb, also (3) known as a Molotov cocktail. "Qaws Quzah" (which means "rainbow" in Arabic) is aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds and usually (4) features educational pieces in its Knowledge Corner page. The petrol bomb feature describes the history of the (5) weapon and has a picture of a glass bottle with a burning (6) rag at its mouth. The article describes a Molotov cocktail as "an (7) improvised weapon that is often used in riots and (8) acts of sabotage because it is easy to make and use".

Tunisia's Ministry for Women and Family Affairs has started the process to take (9) legal action against the publisher. A Ministry official said the article was (10) highly inappropriate, given the revolution that recently (11) toppled longtime President Ben Ali in January 2011. The event that (12) triggered the uprising was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 27-year-old street vendor who (13) set himself on fire with petrol on 17 December 2010, in protest against the harassment and humiliation (14) inflicted on him by government officials. The Ministry said the "Qaws Quzah" article, "encourages violent and terrorist (15) thought" and puts children's lives in danger by "encouraging the use of Molotov cocktails in acts of (16) vandalism or terrorism".

LANGUAGE WORK

1 – d

2 – d

3 – b

4 – c

5 – c

6 – a

7 – b

8 – a

9 –b

10 – c

11 – c

12 – d

Back to the top

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You

Copyright © 2004-2023 by Sean Banville | Links | About | Privacy Policy


 
 
SHARE THIS LESSON: E-Mail RSS