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Smog makes Beijing puts sunrise on giant TVs (21st January, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is full of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thick that it blocks the sun all day. People really miss seeing the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the city. People stand in front of the digital screens and watch the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special message on it. It was a public announcement that read: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility." The live, digital sunrise is already a hit with tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science fiction. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. This smog sucks."

The air quality in China's cities often becomes bad in winter. People burn more coal for heating in the winter months. This makes more pollution. Beijing's mayor promised to make the air cleaner. He said the city would spend $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers wore face masks on their way to work. They did not want to breathe the poisonous air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning. The smog has become worse in the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes him feel bad: "I often cough and my nose is always running,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all physical activity outdoors”.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540955/Beijing-clouded-smog-way-sunrise-watch-giant-commercial-screens-Tiananmen-Square.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/17/beijing-fake-sunrise_n_4618536.html?utm_hp_ref=world

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. THE SUNRISE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the sunrise. Change partners often 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.

the sun / smog / sunrise / LED screens / special message / announcement / tourists / air quality / heating / pollution / face masks / poisonous / tall buildings / cough / nose

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

3. ENVIRONMENT: How can we keep it safe from these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	The problem today	How to solve it
Coal fires
Cars
Nuclear waste
Logging
Overfishing
Overpopulation

4. TV SUNRISES: Students A strongly believe watching sunrises on giant TVs is a cool idea; Students B strongly believe the idea sucks. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. GIANT TVs: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the things you would most like to watch in giant TVs at the top. Change partners often.

• the sunrise / sunset

• a sports game

• a movie

• a nature documentary

• a video game

• your videos / photos

• the news

• a music concert

6. FOG: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "fog". 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.	People in Beijing can now watch the sunrise on their TVs.	T / F
b.	The smog in Beijing blocks the sun all day.	T / F
c.	A message on a giant TV in the street told people to care for the Earth.	T / F
d.	A tourist said there was nothing cool about watching the sunrise on TV.	T / F
e.	The air quality in China actually gets better in winter.	T / F
f.	Beijing's mayor will spend $2.4 million on cleaner air.	T / F
g.	A man could not see the tall buildings across the street.	T / F
h.	The American embassy said people should not exercise outside.	T / F

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

1.	mixture	a.	obstructs
2.	blocks	b.	toxic
3.	message	c.	stay away from
4.	responsibility	d.	notification
5.	worrying	e.	make better
6.	bad	f.	combination
7.	improve	g.	past
8.	poisonous	h.	troubling
9.	last	i.	duty
10.	avoid	j.	terrible

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

1.	The smog is so thick that it blocks	a.	running
2.	everyone's	b.	the poisonous air
3.	already a hit with	c.	sucks
4.	It looks like science	d.	responsibility
5.	This smog	e.	tourists
6.	Beijing's mayor promised to	f.	him feel bad
7.	They did not want to breathe	g.	activity outdoors
8.	the smog usually makes	h.	fiction
9.	my nose is always	i.	make the air cleaner
10.	avoid all physical	j.	the sun all day

GAP FILL

People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is (1) ___________ of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thick that it (2) ____________ the sun all day. People really (3) ____________ seeing the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the city. People (4) ____________ in front of the digital screens and watch the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special (5) ____________ on it. It was a public announcement that read: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's (6) ____________." The live, digital sunrise is already a hit with tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science (7) ____________. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. This smog (8) ____________."

message
fiction
stand
blocks
sucks
full
responsibility
miss

The air (9) ____________ in China's cities often becomes bad in winter. People burn more coal for (10) ____________ in the winter months. This makes more pollution. Beijing's mayor promised to make the air cleaner. He said the city would (11) ____________ $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers wore face masks on their way to work. They did not want to (12) ____________ the poisonous air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the (13) ____________ buildings across the street this morning. The smog has become worse in the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes him feel bad: "I often (14) ____________ and my nose is always (15) ____________,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all physical (16) ____________ outdoors".

breathe
cough
heating
activity
quality
tall
running
spend

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	The air is full of smog (______ smoke and fog)
	a. a mixed tart of b. a mixture of c. a mixtures of d. a mixed tar of
2)	Beijing's leaders decided to ______
	a. do the same thing b. do some things c. do something d. do anything
3)	Protecting the atmosphere and environment is ______
	a. everyone's responsible tea b. everyone's response ability c. everyone's responsibility d. everyone's responsibilities
4)	Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like ______"
	a. science friction b. science fictional c. science faction d. science fiction
5)	…but it's also worrying. This ______
	a. smogasbord b. smogs suck c. snog sucks d. smog sucks
6)	He said the city would spend $2.4 billion this year to improve ______
	a. the air quantity b. the air quality c. the air qualities d. the air qualify
7)	They did not want to breathe ______
	a. the poison us air b. the poisonous air c. the poison as air d. the poisons as air
8)	The smog has ______
	a. become worst b. become worse c. become verse d. become wears
9)	I often cough and my nose ______
	a. is always raning in b. is always run in c. is always running d. is always raining
10)	The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all physical ______
	a. activity out of doors b. activity outdoors c. activity indoors d. activity out dares

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The (1) ___________________ (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thick that it blocks the sun all day. People (2) ___________________ the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the city. People (3) ___________________ the digital screens and watch the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special message on it. It was (4) ___________________ that read: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility." The live, digital sunrise is (5) ___________________ tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science fiction. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. (6) ___________________."

The air quality in China's (7) ___________________ bad in winter. People burn more coal for heating in the winter months. This makes more pollution. Beijing's mayor (8) ___________________ air cleaner. He said the city would spend $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers wore face masks (9) ___________________ work. They did not want to breathe the poisonous air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning. The smog (10) ___________________ the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes him feel bad: "I often cough and my (11) ___________________,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all (12) ___________________".

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What is smog a mixture of?
2.	What do people miss?
3.	What do people stand in front of?
4.	Whose responsibility is it to protect the atmosphere and environment?
5.	What did a Mexican man liken the smog to?
6.	What do people burn more of in the winter?
7.	How much does the Beijing mayor want to spend?
8.	What do many workers wear?
9.	What couldn't a man see across the street?
10.	Who advised people to avoid exercise outside?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What is smog a mixture of?	6.	What do people burn more of in the winter?
	a) pollution and rain b) smoke and oxygen c) fog and smoke d) rain and oxygen		a) fingers b) coal c) money d) calories
2.	What do people miss?	7.	How much does the Beijing mayor want to spend?
	a) seeing the sun rise b) the old days c) fresh milk d) TV		a) $2.4 million b) $2,400,000 c) $24 billion d) $2,400,000,000
3.	What do people stand in front of?	8.	What do many workers wear?
	a) the firing line b) giant mirrors c) the truth d) digital screens		a) perfume b) face masks c) jewellery d) a smile
4.	Whose responsibility is it to protect the atmosphere and environment?	9.	What couldn't a man see across the street?
	a) Beijing's government b) everyone's c) coal companies d) the USA's		a) tall buildings b) the sun c) his friend d) smog
5.	What did a Mexican man liken the smog to?	10.	Who advised people to avoid exercise outside?
	a) early-morning mist b) ice cream c) science fiction d) smoke		a) Ricardo Hernandez b) a fitness expert c) China's leader d) the American embassy

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Overpopulation

You think overpopulation is the biggest problem for the Earth. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these problems to solve (and why): logging, nuclear waste or overfishing.

Role B – Logging

You think logging is the biggest problem for the Earth. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these problems to solve (and why): overpopulation, nuclear waste or overfishing.

Role C – Nuclear waste

You think nuclear waste is the biggest problem for the Earth. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these problems to solve (and why): logging, overpopulation or overfishing.

Role D – Overfishing

You think overfishing is the biggest problem for the Earth. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these problems to solve (and why): logging, nuclear waste or overpopulation.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

sunrise

sunset

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:

full
thick
decided
digital
live
but

winter
promised
spend
face
across
nose

THE SUNRISE SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the sunrise 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 SMOG / SUNRISE 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 'sunrise'?
c)	Where was the most beautiful sunrise you ever saw?
d)	Is there a lot of smog where you live?
e)	What can people do to reduce the smog?
f)	What do you think of televising the sunrise for people to see?
g)	How would you feel if there were no visible sunrises in the future?
h)	What do you do to protect the environment?
i)	Do you think what's happening in Beijing is science fiction?
j)	Is it the government's responsibility to make sure the air is clean?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	What's the air quality like in your city?
c)	What do you think when you see lots of smoke coming from factories?
d)	Would you move to another place if your town was always smoggy?
e)	Do you prefer the sunrise or sunset?
f)	Where is the best place to see the sun rise?
g)	What's the difference "sunrise" and "sun rise"?
h)	Would you like to see different colours in a sunrise / sunset?
i)	What do you think the sunrise looks like on the Moon?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Beijing's mayor?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is (1) ____ of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so (2) ____ that it blocks the sun all day. People really miss seeing the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the city. People stand in front of the digital screens and (3) ____ the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special message on it. It was a public announcement that (4) ____: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility." The live, digital sunrise is already a (5) ____ with tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science fiction. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. This smog (6) ____."

The air quality in China's cities often becomes bad in winter. People (7) ____ more coal for heating in the winter months. This makes more pollution. Beijing's mayor promised to make the air cleaner. He said the city would (8) ____ $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers wore face masks on their way to work. They did not want to (9) ____ the poisonous air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning. The smog has become (10) ____ in the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes him feel bad: "I often (11) ____ and my nose is always running,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all physical activity (12) ____".

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

1.	(a)	fullest	(b)	filling	(c)	filled	(d)	full
2.	(a)	thickness	(b)	thickly	(c)	thicken	(d)	thick
3.	(a)	gaze	(b)	watch	(c)	stare	(d)	look
4.	(a)	saw	(b)	wrote	(c)	read	(d)	spoke
5.	(a)	line	(b)	popular	(c)	hit	(d)	top
6.	(a)	sucks	(b)	blows	(c)	wheezes	(d)	draws
7.	(a)	ignite	(b)	burn	(c)	fire	(d)	light
8.	(a)	spend	(b)	save	(c)	deposit	(d)	count
9.	(a)	breathless	(b)	breathe	(c)	breather	(d)	breath
10.	(a)	worsen	(b)	worsening	(c)	worse	(d)	worsens
11.	(a)	cuff	(b)	cliff	(c)	cough	(d)	quaff
12.	(a)	outdoes	(b)	doors	(c)	outdoor	(d)	outdoors

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	a ixmrute of smoke and fog
2.	giant LED cresens
3.	a public noennuamtnce
4.	Protecting the atmosphere and irnetmenvon
5.	everyone's rseipoilybstni
6.	It looks like seneicc fiction
Paragraph 2
7.	air lqtiuay
8.	This makes more lnooiputl
9.	btaeher the poisonous air
10.	The smog has become oersw
11.	I often ohcug and my nose is always running
12.	avoid all iplyscah activity outdoors

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	wore face masks on their way to work. They did not want to breathe the poisonous
( )	running,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all physical activity outdoors".
( )	blocks the sun all day. People really miss seeing the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the
( )	The air quality in China's cities often becomes bad in winter. People burn more coal for
( )	announcement that read: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility." The live, digital sunrise is already a
( 1 )	People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is full of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thick that it
( )	air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning. The smog has
( )	cleaner. He said the city would spend $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers
( )	become worse in the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes
( )	sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the city. People stand in front of the digital screens and
( )	him feel bad: "I often cough and my nose is always
( )	heating in the winter months. This makes more pollution. Beijing's mayor promised to make the air
( )	hit with tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science fiction. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. This smog sucks."
( )	watch the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special message on it. It was a public

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	in People sun the see cannot Beijing.
2.	air smoke smog The of of . mixture full fog) (a is and
3.	that is sun it so The all blocks thick smog day the.
4.	is responsibility Protecting environment everyone's the.
5.	hit a already is sunrise digital , live The tourists with.
6.	in months more heating winter Burn for the coal.
7.	make Beijing's the mayor air promised cleaner to.
8.	not breathe air did to poisonous They want the.
9.	worse last three Become the to in two years.
10.	cough nose running often my always I and is.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is full from / of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thickly / thick that it blocks the sun all / whole day. People really mess / miss seeing the sun. Beijing's leaders decided to do something so / such people could see the sunrise. They put giant LED screens across the / a city. People stand in front of the digital screens and watching / watch the sunrise. The screen in Tiananmen Square also had a special message in / on it. It was a public announcement that read: "Protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility / responsible." The live, digital sunrise is already a hit with tourists. Ricardo Hernandez from Mexico said: "It looks like science fiction. It's kind of cool, but it's also worrying. This smog sticks / sucks."

The air quality / quantity in China's cities often becomes / becoming bad in winter. People burn more coal for hating / heating in the winter months. This makes more polluting / pollution. Beijing's mayor promised to make the air cleaner. He said the city would spend / expand $2.4 billion this year to improve the air quality. Many workers wore face masks on their way to work. They did not want to breath / breathe the poisonous air. One man told reporters: "I couldn't see the high / tall buildings across the street this morning. The smog has become worse / worst in the last two to three years." He said the smog usually makes him feel badly / bad: "I often cough and my nose is always running,'' he said. The US embassy advised people to, "avoid all / many physical activity outdoors".

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

P__pl_ _n B__j_ng c_nn_t s__ th_ s_n. Th_ __r _s f_ll _f sm_g (_ m_xt_r_ _f sm_k_ _nd f_g). Th_ sm_g _s s_ th_ck th_t _t bl_cks th_ s_n _ll d_y. P__pl_ r__lly m_ss s___ng th_ s_n. B__j_ng's l__d_rs d_c_d_d t_ d_ s_m_th_ng s_ p__pl_ c__ld s__ th_ s_nr_s_. Th_y p_t g__nt L_D scr__ns _cr_ss th_ c_ty. P__pl_ st_nd _n fr_nt _f th_ d_g_t_l scr__ns _nd w_tch th_ s_nr_s_. Th_ scr__n _n T__n_nm_n Sq__r_ _ls_ h_d _ sp_c__l m_ss_g_ _n _t. _t w_s _ p_bl_c _nn__nc_m_nt th_t r__d: "Pr_t_ct_ng th_ _tm_sph_r_ _nd _nv_r_nm_nt _s _v_ry_n_'s r_sp_ns_b_l_ty." Th_ l_v_, d_g_t_l s_nr_s_ _s _lr__dy _ h_t w_th t__r_sts. R_c_rd_ H_rn_nd_z fr_m M_x_c_ s__d: "_t l__ks l_k_ sc__nc_ f_ct__n. _t's k_nd _f c__l, b_t _t's _ls_ w_rry_ng. Th_s sm_g s_cks."

Th_ __r q__l_ty _n Ch_n_'s c_t__s _ft_n b_c_m_s b_d _n w_nt_r. P__pl_ b_rn m_r_ c__l f_r h__t_ng _n th_ w_nt_r m_nths. Th_s m_k_s m_r_ p_ll_t__n. B__j_ng's m_y_r pr_m_s_d t_ m_k_ th_ __r cl__n_r. H_ s__d th_ c_ty w__ld sp_nd $2.4 b_ll__n th_s y__r t_ _mpr_v_ th_ __r q__l_ty. M_ny w_rk_rs w_r_ f_c_ m_sks _n th__r w_y t_ w_rk. Th_y d_d n_t w_nt t_ br__th_ th_ p__s_n__s __r. _n_ m_n t_ld r_p_rt_rs: "_ c__ldn't s__ th_ t_ll b__ld_ngs _cr_ss th_ str__t th_s m_rn_ng. Th_ sm_g h_s b_c_m_ w_rs_ _n th_ l_st tw_ t_ thr__ y__rs." H_ s__d th_ sm_g _s__lly m_k_s h_m f__l b_d: "_ _ft_n c__gh _nd my n_s_ _s _lw_ys r_nn_ng,'' h_ s__d. Th_ _S _mb_ssy _dv_s_d p__pl_ t_, "_v__d _ll phys_c_l _ct_v_ty __td__rs".

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

people in beijing cannot see the sun the air is full of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog) the smog is so thick that it blocks the sun all day people really miss seeing the sun beijing's leaders decided to do something so people could see the sunrise they put giant led screens across the city people stand in front of the digital screens and watch the sunrise the screen in tiananmen square also had a special message on it it was a public announcement that read "protecting the atmosphere and environment is everyone's responsibility" the live digital sunrise is already a hit with tourists ricardo hernandez from mexico said "it looks like science fiction it's kind of cool but it's also worrying this smog sucks"

the air quality in china's cities often becomes bad in winter people burn more coal for heating in the winter months this makes more pollution beijing's mayor promised to make the air cleaner he said the city would spend $24 billion this year to improve the air quality many workers wore face masks on their way to work they did not want to breathe the poisonous air one man told reporters "i couldn't see the tall buildings across the street this morning the smog has become worse in the last two to three years" he said the smog usually makes him feel bad "i often cough and my nose is always running'' he said the us embassy advised people to "avoid all physical activity outdoors"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

PeopleinBeijingcannotseethesun.Theairisfullofsmog(amixtureofs
mokeandfog).Thesmogissothickthatitblocksthesunallday.Peopler
eallymissseeingthesun.Beijing'sleadersdecidedtodosomethingso
peoplecouldseethesunrise.TheyputgiantLEDscreensacrossthecity
.Peoplestandinfrontofthedigitalscreensandwatchthesunrise.Thes
creeninTiananmenSquarealsohadaspecialmessageonit.Itwasapu
blicannouncementthatread:"Protectingtheatmosphereandenviro
nmentiseveryone'sresponsibility."Thelive,digitalsunriseisalready
ahitwithtourists.RicardoHernandezfromMexicosaid:"Itlookslikesc
iencefiction.It'skindofcool,butit'salsoworrying.Thissmogsucks."T
heairqualityinChina'scitiesoftenbecomesbadinwinter.Peopleburn
morecoalforheatinginthewintermonths.Thismakesmorepollution.
Beijing'smayorpromisedtomaketheaircleaner.Hesaidthecitywoul
dspend$2.4billionthisyeartoimprovetheairquality.Manyworkersw
orefacemasksontheirwaytowork.Theydidnotwanttobreathethepoi
sonousair.Onemantoldreporters:"Icouldn'tseethetallbuildingsacr
ossthestreetthismorning.Thesmoghasbecomeworseinthelasttwot
othreeyears."Hesaidthesmogusuallymakeshimfeelbad:"Ioftenco
ughandmynoseisalwaysrunning,''hesaid.TheUSembassyadvisedp
eopleto,"avoidallphysicalactivityoutdoors".

FREE WRITING

Write about the sunrise for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

What is best, the sunrise or the sunset? Why?

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

4. SUNRISE OR SUNSET?: Write a magazine article about which is best - the sunrise or the sunset. Include imaginary interviews with people who like the sunrise better and people who like the sunset better.

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. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a smog expert. Ask him/her three questions about the smog. Give him/her three ideas on how to stop it happening. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

F

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	mixture	a.	combination
2.	blocks	b.	obstructs
3.	message	c.	notification
4.	responsibility	d.	duty
5.	worrying	e.	troubling
6.	bad	f.	terrible
7.	improve	g.	make better
8.	poisonous	h.	toxic
9.	last	i.	past
10.	avoid	j.	stay away from

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Smoke and fog
2.	Seeing the sun
3.	Digital screens
4.	Everyone's
5.	Science fiction
6.	Coal
7.	$2.4 billion
8.	Face masks
9.	Tall buildings
10.	The U.S. embassy

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

d

4.

b

5.

c

6.

d

7.

b

8.

d

9.

a

10.

d

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Smog makes Beijing puts sunrise on giant TVs (21st January, 2014)

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