The Reading / Listening - 'Nutella Riots' - Level 0

People in France were fighting to buy Nutella. Supermarkets cut the price of it by 70 per cent, from €4.50 to €1.41. There were many shoppers outside stores. Inside stores, people got angry. A shopper told a newspaper that: "They fought like animals. A woman had her hair pulled…and another woman had a bloody hand. It was terrible."

An Italian company makes Nutella. It knew nothing about the price cut. The supermarket decided to cut prices. The company was sad. It said the price cut confused and upset people. The supermarket did not comment. A worker said: "It was crazy….It was like a riot." A tweeter said: "French people eat Nutella by the spoonful".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    'Nutella Riots' - Level 1,  'Nutella Riots' - Level 2   or  'Nutella Riots' - Level 3

Sources
  • http://www.euronews.com/2018/01/26/nutella-price-cut-sparks-fights-between-shoppers-in-supermarkets-across-france
  • https://www.thelocal.fr/20180126/what-the-great-nutella-riots-of-2018-tell-us-about-the-french
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/world/europe/nutella-riots-france.html


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 :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. People in France were fighting
  2. cut the price of it
  3. There were many shoppers
  4. Inside stores, people
  5. They fought like
  6. A woman had her hair
  7. another woman had a bloody
  8. It was
  1. hand
  2. outside stores
  3. terrible
  4. by 70 per cent
  5. pulled
  6. animals
  7. got angry
  8. to buy Nutella

Paragraph 2

  1. An Italian company makes
  2. It knew
  3. price
  4. The supermarket decided
  5. the price cut confused and
  6. The supermarket did not
  7. It was like
  8. French people eat Nutella
  1. comment
  2. cut
  3. by the spoonful
  4. Nutella
  5. a riot
  6. upset people
  7. nothing
  8. to cut prices

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

People in France (1) ___________________ buy Nutella. Supermarkets (2) ___________________ of it by 70 per cent, from €4.50 to €1.41. There were many (3) __________________. Inside stores, (4) ___________________. A shopper told a newspaper that: "They (5) ___________________. A woman had her hair pulled…and another woman had (6) _________________. It was terrible."

An Italian company makes Nutella. (7) ___________________ about (8) ___________________. The supermarket decided to cut prices. The (9) ___________________. It said the price (10) ___________________ upset people. The supermarket did not comment. A worker said: "(11) ___________________ ….It was like a riot." A tweeter said: "French people eat Nutella (12) ___________________ ".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

PeopleinFrancewerefightingtobuyNutella.Supermarketscuttheprice
ofitby70percent,from€4.50to€1.41.Thereweremanyshoppersoutsi
destores.Insidestores,peoplegotangry.Ashoppertoldanewspaperth
at:"Theyfoughtlikeanimals.Awomanhadherhairpulled…andanother
womanhadabloodyhand.Itwasterrible."AnItaliancompanymakesNu
tella.Itknewnothingaboutthepricecut.Thesupermarketdecidedtocut
prices.Thecompanywassad.Itsaidthepricecutconfusedandupsetpeo
ple.Thesupermarketdidnotcomment.Aworkersaid:"Itwascrazy….It
waslikeariot."Atweetersaid:"FrenchpeopleeatNutellabythespoonful".

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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