The Reading / Listening - Mutant Virus - Level 0

Forty countries blocked travel to the UK because of a new kind of COVID-19. It is a mutant. It changed from the original virus. Some nations blocked links to the UK for a few days; others for two weeks. Many countries may change this. A travel ban by France is causing big problems. The UK gets a lot of food from France.

The new virus is 70% more infectious than the original one. It is spreading fast. It is out of control. A lot of the UK is in lockdown. Most people can only spend Christmas with people they live with. They cannot meet other people. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled. The UK said there would be enough food.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Mutant Virus - Level 1,  Mutant Virus - Level 2   or  Mutant Virus - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/coronavirus-latest-britain-cut-off-by-30-countries-as-mutant-covid-strain-out-of-control-1.1098247
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55391289
  • https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain/wrapup-1-world-closes-borders-to-britain-as-new-coronavirus-strain-breeds-panic-idUSL1N2J10IW


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Forty countries blocked
  2. It is a
  3. It changed from the original
  4. Some nations blocked links
  5. Many countries may
  6. A travel ban
  7. causing big
  8. The UK gets a lot
  1. virus
  2. problems
  3. change this
  4. of food from France
  5. mutant
  6. to the UK
  7. by France
  8. travel

Paragraph 2

  1. The new virus is 70%
  2. It is spreading
  3. It is out
  4. A lot of the UK is
  5. spend Christmas with people
  6. They cannot meet
  7. The number of coronavirus cases has
  8. there would be enough
  1. other people
  2. of control
  3. food
  4. fast
  5. nearly doubled
  6. more infectious
  7. they live with
  8. in lockdown

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Forty countries blocked (1) ___________________ UK because of a new kind of COVID-19. It (2) ___________________. It changed from the original virus. Some (3) ___________________ to the UK for (4) ___________________; others for two weeks. Many countries (5) ___________________. A travel ban by France is causing big problems. The UK gets (6) ___________________ food from France.

The (7) ___________________ 70% more infectious than (8) ___________________. It is spreading fast. It is (9) ___________________. A lot of the UK is in lockdown. Most people (10) ___________________ Christmas with people they live with. They cannot (11) ___________________. The number of coronavirus cases has nearly doubled. The UK said there would (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

FortycountriesblockedtraveltotheUKbecauseofanewkindofCOVID-
19.Itisamutant.Itchangedfromtheoriginalvirus.Somenationsblocke
dlinkstotheUKforafewdays;othersfortwoweeks.Manycountriesmayc
hangethis.AtravelbanbyFranceiscausingbigproblems.TheUKgetsalo
toffoodfromFrance.Thenewvirusis70%moreinfectiousthantheorigin
alone.Itisspreadingfast.Itisoutofcontrol.AlotoftheUKisinlockdown.M
ostpeoplecanonlyspendChristmaswithpeopletheylivewith.Theycan
notmeetotherpeople.Thenumberofcoronaviruscaseshasnearlydoub
led.TheUKsaidtherewouldbeenoughfood.

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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