The Reading / Listening - Nuclear Reactors - Level 6

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has started removing fuel rods from Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company that operates the nuclear power plant. It was badly damaged and suffered meltdowns following being hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five years behind schedule. The work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods was delayed because of a whole series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed for the removal operation. Another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said this posed a "significant challenge" for engineers.

Tepco said it is removing seven unspent nuclear fuel rods from the reactor's pool. There are a total of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods stored at the power plant. The rods will be transferred to safer storage pools at the plant. Tepco said the work would be completed by the end of March 2021. A company spokesman, Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going well so far. We will watch the progress at the site as we put safety first. Our goal is not to rush the process but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning work." Another spokesman said: "Safety is our priority. We will carefully continue this work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its best to rebuild the area.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Nuclear Reactors - Level 4  or  Nuclear Reactors - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/15/national/tepco-begins-removing-fuel-rods-unit-3-reactor-pool-crippled-fukushima-nuclear-plant/
  • https://japantoday.com/category/national/removal-of-fuel-in-pool-at-fukushima's-melted-reactor-begins
  • https://news.yahoo.com/nuclear-fuel-removed-crippled-japan-plant-034119163.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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. NUCLEAR POWER: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about nuclear power. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       electric / power / fuel / damage / meltdowns / earthquake / schedule / device / delays
       reactor / storage / company / progress / safety / decommissioning / priority / rebuild
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. NUCLEAR: Students A strongly believe nuclear is the way to go; Students B strongly believe it isn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. POWER: What are the pros and cons of these kinds of power? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Pros

Cons

Nuclear

 

 

Wind

 

 

Solar

 

 

Coal

 

 

Wave

 

 

Biofuel

 

 
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. FUEL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "fuel". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. HAZARDOUS JOBS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • miner
  • construction worker
  • deep-sea diver
  • crocodile farmer
  • nuclear waste removal
  • stunt performer
  • F1 driver
  • soldier

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. rod a. Seriously affected by an undesirable condition.
      2. stricken b. The energy transmitted by radiation, as heat, light, electricity, etc.
      3. meltdown c. An accident in a nuclear reactor in which the fuel overheats and melts the insides.
      4. massive d. A thin straight bar, especially of wood or metal.
      5. hazardous e. Very, very big.
      6. malfunction f. Risky; dangerous.
      7. radiation g. A failure to work properly in a normal or satisfactory way.

    Paragraph 2

      8. reactor h. Taking a nuclear reactor or weapon out of action to make it save and no longer able to work.
      9. spent i. Begin or continue a course of action.
      10. storage j. Advance or development toward a better, more complete, or more modern condition.
      11. progress k. A structure or tower in which atomic material can be turned into energy.
      12. proceed l. The fact or condition of being thought of or treated as being more important.
      13. decommissioning m. Used up; having no power or energy left.
      14. priority n. Space available for keeping something over a long time.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Nuclear fuel rods are being removed from Fukushima's No. 3 plant.     T / F
  2. The removal of the fuel rods is five years behind schedule.     T / F
  3. There were problems with the devices that were made for the removal.   T / F
  4. One reason for the delay is high levels of radiation in the area.     T / F
  5. There are more than 1,500 rods at Fukushima's nuclear power plant.     T / F
  6. Work on removing the fuel rods will finish at the end of 2020.     T / F
  7. A power company worker said the company is in a hurry to finish.     T / F
  8. Japan's Prime Minister said the area would not be rebuilt.     T / F

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

  1. stricken
  2. suffered
  3. massive
  4. hazardous
  5. posed
  6. spent
  7. progress
  8. process
  9. priority
  10. rebuild
  1. enormous
  2. reconstruct
  3. dangerous
  4. development
  5. prime concern
  6. troubled
  7. procedure
  8. exhausted
  9. experienced
  10. raised

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

  1. started removing fuel
  2. meltdowns following being hit by
  3. delayed because of a whole series
  4. high levels of
  5. this posed a significant
  6. a total of 1,573 spent and
  7. The rods will be transferred to
  8. I believe everything is
  9. proceed with the decommissioning
  10. Japan would do its best
  1. radiation
  2. going well so far
  3. unspent fuel rods
  4. safer storage pools
  5. rods
  6. work
  7. a massive earthquake
  8. to rebuild the area
  9. challenge for engineers
  10. of malfunctions

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
whole
operates
massive
posed
rods
removal
behind
meltdowns

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has started removing fuel (1) ____________ from Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company that (2) ____________ the nuclear power plant. It was badly damaged and suffered (3) ____________ following being hit by a (4) ____________ earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five years (5) ____________ schedule. The work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods was delayed because of a (6) ____________ series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed for the (7) ____________ operation. Another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said this (8) ____________ a "significant challenge" for engineers.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
stored
end
proceed
unspent
best
pools
carefully
far

Tepco said it is removing seven (9) ____________ nuclear fuel rods from the reactor's pool. There are a total of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods (10) ____________ at the power plant. The rods will be transferred to safer storage (11) ____________ at the plant. Tepco said the work would be completed by the (12) ____________ of March 2021. A company spokesman, Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going well so (13) ____________. We will watch the progress at the site as we put safety first. Our goal is not to rush the process but to carefully (14) ____________ with the decommissioning work." Another spokesman said: "Safety is our priority. We will (15) ____________ continue this work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its (16) ____________ to rebuild the area.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  started removing fuel rods from Japan's ______ No. 1
     a.  strychnine Fukushima
     b.  striking Fukushima
     c.  stricken Fukushima
     d.  sticking Fukushima
2)  damaged and suffered meltdowns following being hit ______ earthquake
     a.  by a missive
     b.  by a mass sieve
     c.  by amass sieve
     d.  by a massive
3)  started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five ______ schedule
     a.  years behind
     b.  years before
     c.  years be kind
     d.  years beyond
4)  The work to remove and relocate the hazardous ______
     a.  rods was displayed
     b.  rods was relayed
     c.  rods was delayed
     d.  rods was replayed
5)  Another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed ______
     a.  in the area
     b.  in the arena
     c.  in the aura
     d.  in the aurora

6)  Tepco said it is removing seven unspent nuclear fuel rods from ______
     a.  the reaction's pool
     b.  the reaction spool
     c.  the reacts are pool
     d.  the reactor's pool
7)  a total of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods stored at ______
     a.  the powers plant
     b.  the power plant
     c.  the powder plant
     d.  the powdered plant
8)  everything is going well so far. We will watch the progress at the site as we ______
     a.  put safely first
     b.  put safe tea first
     c.  puts safety first
     d.  put safety first
9)  Another spokesman said: "Safety ______
     a.  is our priority
     b.  is our prioritize
     c.  is a priori tee
     d.  is our prior rating
10)  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its best to ______
     a.  rebuilds the area
     b.  rebuilt the area
     c.  rebuild the area
     d.  rib build the area

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) (1) ___________________ fuel rods from Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company (2) ___________________ nuclear power plant. It was badly damaged and suffered meltdowns following (3) ___________________ a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, (4) ___________________ schedule. The work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods was delayed because of a whole series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed (5) ___________________ operation. Another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said (6) ___________________ "significant challenge" for engineers.

Tepco said it is removing seven (7) ___________________ rods from the reactor's pool. There are a total of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods stored at the power plant. The rods will be transferred (8) ___________________ pools at the plant. Tepco said the work would be completed by the end of March 2021. A company spokesman, Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going (9) ___________________. We will watch the progress at the site as we put safety first. Our goal is (10) ___________________ the process but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning work." Another spokesman said: "Safety (11) ___________________. We will carefully continue this work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its (12) ___________________ the area.

Comprehension questions

  1. Which Fukushima power plant is having fuel rods removed?
  2. What did the power plant suffer after a 2011 tsunami?
  3. How far behind schedule is the removal work?
  4. What happened to the devices that were designed for the removal?
  5. What did workers observe high levels of in the area?
  6. How many fuel rods are workers currently removing?
  7. How many spent and unspent fuel rods are there in total at the plant?
  8. When will the removal work be completed?
  9. What did a power company say they would put first?
  10. What did Japan's leader say the country would do its best to do?

Multiple choice quiz

6) How many fuel rods are workers currently removing?
a) 5
b) 7
c) 3
d) 6
7) How many spent and unspent fuel rods are there in total at the plant?
a) 1,537
b) 1,753
c) 1,357
d) 1,573
8) When will the removal work be completed?
a) by the end of April 2022
b) by the end of March 2021
c) by the end of May 2020
d) by the end of August 2023
9) What did a power company say they would put first?
a) safety
b) profits
c) workers
d) residents
10) What did Japan's leader say the country would do its best to do?
a) move forward
b) pay compensation
c) build more power stations
d) rebuild the area

1) Which Fukushima power plant is having fuel rods removed?
a) No. 2
b) No. 4
c) No. 1
d) No. 3
2) What did the power plant suffer after a 2011 tsunami?
a) meltdowns
b) power surges
c) power outages
d) rust
3) How far behind schedule is the removal work?
a) two years
b) four years
c) three years
d) five years
4) What happened to the devices that were designed for the removal?
a) they wouldn't start
b) they malfunctioned
c) they got lost
d) they needed software updates
5) What did workers observe high levels of in the area?
a) panic
b) sea water
c) radiation
d) salt

Role play

Role  A – Nuclear Waste Remover
You think a nuclear waste remover is the most dangerous job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their jobs aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): F1 driver, deep-sea diver or crocodile farmer.

Role  B – F1 Driver
You think an F1 driver is the most dangerous job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their jobs aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): nuclear waste remover, deep-sea diver or crocodile farmer.

Role  C – Deep-Sea Diver
You think a deep-sea diver is the most dangerous job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their jobs aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): F1 driver, nuclear waste remover or crocodile farmer.

Role  D – Crocodile Farmer
You think a crocodile farmer is the most dangerous job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their jobs aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): F1 driver, deep-sea diver or nuclear waste remover.

After reading / listening

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

'nuclear'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'fuel'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • seven
    • total
    • end
    • far
    • priority
    • area
    • started
    • badly
    • five
    • whole
    • another
    • posed

    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 - Japan starts nuclear fuel removal from Fukushima

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'nuclear'?
    3. What do you think of nuclear power?
    4. What do you know about the Fukushima accident?
    5. How safe is nuclear power?
    6. How comfortable would you feel living next to a nuclear reactor?
    7. Would you work at a nuclear power plant?
    8. How dangerous is the work of removing the fuel rods?
    9. How scary is radiation?
    10. What do you know about nuclear power?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'power'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What kind of power does your country use?
    5. What is the best form of alternative energy?
    6. What do you know about the history of nuclear power?
    7. Would you rather have nuclear power or coal power?
    8. How can the company make sure its workers are totally safe?
    9. What advice do you have for the people of Fukushima?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the Tepco engineers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has started removing fuel rods from Japan's (1) ____ Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company that operates the nuclear power plant. It was (2) ____ damaged and suffered meltdowns following being hit (3) ____ a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five years behind schedule. The work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods was (4) ____ because of a whole series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed (5) ____ the removal operation. Another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said this posed a "(6) ____ challenge" for engineers.

    Tepco said it is removing seven unspent nuclear fuel rods from the reactor's pool. There are a (7) ____ of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods stored at the power plant. The rods will be transferred to safer (8) ____ pools at the plant. Tepco said the work would be completed by the end of March 2021. A company spokesman, Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going (9) ____ so far. We will watch the progress at the site (10) ____ we put safety first. Our goal is not to rush the process but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning work." Another spokesman said: "Safety is our (11) ____. We will carefully continue this work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its best to rebuild the (12) ____.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     striking     (b)     stricken     (c)     stuck     (d)     sticking    
    2. (a)     bad     (b)     badly     (c)     badass     (d)     baddie    
    3. (a)     to     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     by    
    4. (a)     deployed     (b)     delayed     (c)     relayed     (d)     displayed    
    5. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     for    
    6. (a)     significantly     (b)     significance     (c)     significant     (d)     signifying    
    7. (a)     total     (b)     totality     (c)     total     (d)     totally    
    8. (a)     stored     (b)     stores     (c)     storage     (d)     storing    
    9. (a)     so     (b)     far     (c)     good     (d)     well    
    10. (a)     as     (b)     was     (c)     is     (d)     has    
    11. (a)     priority     (b)     prioritize     (c)     priories     (d)     privets    
    12. (a)     area     (b)     aura     (c)     aurora     (d)     arena

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. Japan's kitcnesr power plant
    2. badly damaged and suffered wodnstelm
    3. hit by a avissme earthquake
    4. relocate the raazuhosd rods
    5. high levels of traiadion
    6. posed a cgaitsfinni challenge

    Paragraph 2

    1. unspent ulef rods
    2. transferred to safer rageost pools
    3. watch the eopgrssr at the site
    4. Our goal is not to rush the soseprc
    5. to carefully deoperc
    6. Safety is our toriiypr

    Put the text back together

    (...)  Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company that operates the nuclear power plant. It was badly
    (...)  of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said this posed a "significant challenge" for engineers.
    (...)  Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going well so far. We will watch the progress at the site as we put safety
    (...)  work." Another spokesman said: "Safety is our priority. We will carefully continue this
    (...)  and unspent fuel rods stored at the power plant. The rods will be transferred to safer storage
    (...)  devices that had been designed for the removal operation. Another factor that caused delays was high levels
    (...)  in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five years behind schedule. The work to
    (...)  pools at the plant. Tepco said the work would be completed by the end of March 2021. A company spokesman,
    (...)  first. Our goal is not to rush the process but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning
    (...)  work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its best to rebuild the area.
    (  1  ) The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has started removing fuel rods from Japan's stricken
    (...)  remove and relocate the hazardous rods was delayed because of a whole series of malfunctions of the
    (...)  damaged and suffered meltdowns following being hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami
    (...)  Tepco said it is removing seven unspent nuclear fuel rods from the reactor's pool. There are a total of 1,573 spent

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   the   nuclear   power   that   company   operates   plant   .
    2. the   Tepco   started   fuel   .   removal   the   of   nuclear
    3. malfunctions   of   the   whole   devices   .   A   of   series
    4. observed   High   in   of   levels   the   radiation   area   .
    5. engineers   .   challenge   This   for   a   posed   significant
    6. nuclear   removing   It   seven   rods   .   fuel   is   unspent
    7. rods   fuel   the   power   plant   .   stored   at   Unspent
    8. believe   so   everything   going   is   far   .   I   well
    9. goal   process   .   the   is   not   Our   rush   to
    10. rebuild   .   its   would   Japan   do   best   to

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has started removal / removing fuel rods from Japan's stricken / struck Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco is the company that operates / operate the nuclear power plant. It was badly damaged and suffered / suffering meltdowns following being hit by a massive / massively earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on Monday, five years back / behind schedule. The work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods were / was delayed because of a whole / hole series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed for the removal operation. Another factor that caused delays was high / height levels of radiation observed in the area. Tepco said this posted / posed a "significant challenge" for engineers.

    Tepco said it is removing seven unspent / spend nuclear fuel rods from the reactor's pool. There are a totally / total of 1,573 spent and unspent fuel rods storage / stored at the power plant. The rods will be transferred to safer storage pools / pool at the plant. Tepco said the work would be competed / completed by the end of March 2021. A company spokesman, Tomohiko Isogai, said: "I believe everything is going well so for / far. We will watch the progress at the site as we put safety / safe first. Our goal is not to rush the process / proceeds but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning work." Another spokesman said: "Safety / Safe is our priority. We will carefully continue this work." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would do its best to rebuild the area / arena.

    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)

    T h_ T_k y_ E l_c t r_c P_w_r C_m p_n y ( T_p c_) h_s s t_r t_d r_m_v_n g f__ l r_d s f r_m J_p_n ' s s t r_c k_n F_k_s h_m_ N_. 1 n_c l__ r p_w_r p l_n t . T_p c_ _s t h_ c_m p_n y t h_t _p_r_t_s t h_ n_c l__ r p_w_r p l_n t . I t w_s b_d l y d_m_g_d _n d s_f f_r_d m_l t d_w n s f_l l_w_n g b__ n g h_t b y _ m_s s_v_ __ r t h q__ k_ _n d t s_n_m_ _n 2 0 1 1 . T_p c_ s t_r t_d t h_ r_m_v_l _f t h_ n_c l__ r f__ l _n M_n d_y , f_v_ y__ r s b_h_n d s c h_d_l_. T h_ w_r k t_ r_m_v_ _n d r_l_c_t_ t h_ h_z_r d__ s r_d s w_s d_l_y_d b_c__ s_ _f _ w h_l_ s_r__ s _f m_l f_n c t__ n s _f t h_ d_v_c_s t h_t h_d b__ n d_s_g n_d f_r t h_ r_m_v_l _p_r_t__ n . A n_t h_r f_c t_r t h_t c__ s_d d_l_y s w_s h_g h l_v_l s _f r_d__ t__ n _b s_r v_d _n t h_ _r__ . T_p c_ s__ d t h_s p_s_d _ " s_g n_f_c_n t c h_l l_n g_" f_r _n g_n__ r s .

    T_p c_ s__ d _t _s r_m_v_n g s_v_n _n s p_n t n_c l__ r f__ l r_d s f r_m t h_ r__ c t_r ' s p__ l . T h_r_ _r_ _ t_t_l _f 1 , 5 7 3 s p_n t _n d _n s p_n t f__ l r_d s s t_r_d _t t h_ p_w_r p l_n t . T h_ r_d s w_l l b_ t r_n s f_r r_d t_ s_f_r s t_r_g_ p__ l s _t t h_ p l_n t . T_p c_ s__ d t h_ w_r k w__ l d b_ c_m p l_t_d b y t h_ _n d _f M_r c h 2 0 2 1 . A c_m p_n y s p_k_s m_n , T_m_h_k_ I s_g__ , s__ d : " I b_l__ v_ _v_r y t h_n g _s g__ n g w_l l s_ f_r . W_ w_l l w_t c h t h_ p r_g r_s s _t t h_ s_t_ _s w_ p_t s_f_t y f_r s t . O_r g__ l _s n_t t_ r_s h t h_ p r_c_s s b_t t_ c_r_f_l l y p r_c__ d w_t h t h_ d_c_m m_s s__ n_n g w_r k . " A n_t h_r s p_k_s m_n s__ d : " S_f_t y _s __ r p r__ r_t y . W_ w_l l c_r_f_l l y c_n t_n__ t h_s w_r k . " P r_m_ M_n_s t_r S h_n z_ A b_ s__ d J_p_n w__ l d d_ _t s b_s t t_ r_b__ l d t h_ _r__ .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the tokyo electric power company tepco has started removing fuel rods from japans stricken fukushima no 1 nuclear power plant tepco is the company that operates the nuclear power plant it was badly damaged and suffered meltdowns following being hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 tepco started the removal of the nuclear fuel on monday five years behind schedule the work to remove and relocate the hazardous rods was delayed because of a whole series of malfunctions of the devices that had been designed for the removal operation another factor that caused delays was high levels of radiation observed in the area tepco said this posed a significant challenge for engineers

    tepco said it is removing seven unspent nuclear fuel rods from the reactors pool there are a total of 1573 spent and unspent fuel rods stored at the power plant the rods will be transferred to safer storage pools at the plant tepco said the work would be completed by the end of march 2021 a company spokesman tomohiko isogai said i believe everything is going well so far we will watch the progress at the site as we put safety first our goal is not to rush the process but to carefully proceed with the decommissioning work another spokesman said safety is our priority we will carefully continue this work prime minister shinzo abe said japan would do its best to rebuild the area.

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheTokyoElectricPowerCompany(Tepco)hasstartedremovingfuelro
    dsfromJapan'sstrickenFukushimaNo.1nuclearpowerplant.Tepcoisth
    ecompanythatoperatesthenuclearpowerplant.Itwasbadlydamaged
    andsufferedmeltdownsfollowingbeinghitbyamassiveearthquakeand
    tsunamiin2011.TepcostartedtheremovalofthenuclearfuelonMonday
    ,fiveyearsbehindschedule.Theworktoremoveandrelocatethehazard
    ousrodswasdelayedbecauseofawholeseriesofmalfunctionsofthedevi
    cesthathadbeendesignedfortheremovaloperation.Anotherfactortha
    tcauseddelayswashighlevelsofradiationobservedinthearea.Tepcosa
    idthisposeda"significantchallenge"forengineers.Tepcosaiditisremov
    ingsevenunspentnuclearfuelrodsfromthereactor'spool.Thereareato
    talof1,573spentandunspentfuelrodsstoredatthepowerplant.Therod
    swillbetransferredtosaferstoragepoolsattheplant.Tepcosaidthework
    wouldbecompletedbytheendofMarch2021.Acompanyspokesman,T
    omohikoIsogai,said:"Ibelieveeverythingisgoingwellsofar.Wewillwat
    chtheprogressatthesiteasweputsafetyfirst.Ourgoalisnottorushthepr
    ocessbuttocarefullyproceedwiththedecommissioningwork."Another
    spokesmansaid:"Safetyisourpriority.Wewillcarefullycontinuethiswo
    rk."PrimeMinisterShinzoAbesaidJapanwoulddoitsbesttorebuildthea
    rea.

    Free writing

    Write about nuclear reactor for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    Do we need nuclear power?

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. FUKUSHIMA: Make a poster about Fukushima. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. NUCLEAR POWER: Write a magazine article about nuclear power. Include imaginary interviews with people 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. 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 an expert on nuclear power. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You