The Reading / Listening - Jeff Bezos - Level 3

The founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will step down from his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57, announced he will finish as CEO later this year. Instead of being CEO, he will take on the new role of Amazon's executive chair. He will pass on the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is currently head of Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in charge of Amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but turned into a global online marketplace. It branched out into streaming video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo devices.

Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most valuable. It is worth around $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented on his success. He said: "This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, 'What's the Internet?' Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also owns the Washington Post newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which aims to go to Mars.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Jeff Bezos - Level 0,  Jeff Bezos - Level 1   or  Jeff Bezos - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/02/tech/amazon-earnings-bezos/index.html
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/technology/jeff-bezos-amazon.html
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55912878


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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. AMAZON.COM: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Amazon.com. 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?
       founder / CEO / Amazon / executive / cloud / computing / business / garage / devices
       Internet / trillion / success / journey / frequently / customers / talented / space travel
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. INTERNET SHOPPING: Students A strongly believe Internet shopping is better than shopping in stores; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. AMAZON: What do you know about these Amazon products and services? How good are they? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What You Know

How Good They Are

Amazon shopping

 

 

Kindle e-reader

 

 

Fire Tablet

 

 

Amazon Web Services

 

 

Echo device

 

 

Amazon Prime

 

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

  • Amazon
  • Google
  • Wikipedia
  • eBay
  • BreakingNewsEnglish
  • Netflix
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. founder a. A person who starts a business.
      2. step down b. In control or with total responsibility.
      3. announced c. Resign from or quit an important position or job.
      4. role d. At the present time.
      5. currently e. Made a fact known to the public.
      6. in charge f. Job; the function or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation.
      7. device g. A thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.

    Paragraph 2

      8. valuable h. Giving all your effort to a task or purpose.
      9. success i. Regularly or habitually; often.
      10. journey j. Worth a lot of money.
      11. frequently k. Perform duties or services for another person or an organization.
      12. dedicated l. Finishing an aim or purpose as you planned or hoped.
      13. serve m. Has the plan to get something done.
      14. aims n. A long and often difficult process of personal change and development.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, will quit as CEO later this month.     T / F
  2. Jeff Bezos will become the company's executive chair.     T / F
  3. The new CEO is head of Amazon Web Services at the moment.     T / F
  4. Amazon branched out into consumer electronics.     T / F
  5. The article says Amazon is the world's most valuable company.     T / F
  6. Jeff Bezos started Amazon 37 years ago.     T / F
  7. Jeff Bezos knew the name of his company when he started Amazon.     T / F
  8. A Jeff Bezos company aims to travel to the planet Mars.     T / F

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

  1. founder
  2. announced
  3. role
  4. head
  5. branched out
  6. worth
  7. frequently
  8. dedicated
  9. recognised
  10. aims
  1. regularly
  2. boss
  3. declared
  4. expanded
  5. accepted
  6. enthusiastic
  7. creator
  8. valued at
  9. aspires
  10. position

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

  1. Jeff Bezos will step down from his
  2. he will finish as CEO
  3. Mr Bezos has been in
  4. It branched
  5. It also produces consumer
  6. one of the most
  7. This journey began
  8. The question I was asked most
  9. we employ 1.3 million talented,
  10. aims to
  1. charge of Amazon
  2. electronics
  3. go to Mars
  4. later this year
  5. frequently at that time
  6. dedicated people
  7. role as CEO
  8. valuable
  9. out into streaming video
  10. some 27 years ago

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
being
charge
founder
streaming
currently
devices
role
turned

The (1) _____________________ of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will step down from his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57, announced he will finish as CEO later this year. Instead of (2) _____________________ CEO, he will take on the new (3) _____________________ of Amazon's executive chair. He will pass on the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is (4) _____________________ head of Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in (5) _____________________ of Amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but (6) _____________________ into a global online marketplace. It branched out into (7) _____________________ video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo (8) _____________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
employ
success
valuable
owns
frequently
widely
aims
name

Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most (9) _____________________. It is worth around $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented on his (10) _____________________. He said: "This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no (11) _____________________. The question I was asked most (12) _____________________ at that time was, 'What's the Internet?' Today, we (13) _____________________ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are (14) _____________________ recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also (15) _____________________ the Washington Post newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which (16) _____________________ to go to Mars.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) The founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will step down from ______ CEO
     a.  his roll as
     b.  his lull as
     c.  his role as
     d.  his rule as
2)  Instead of being CEO, he will take on the new role of Amazon's ______
     a.  executive chair
     b.  execute tiff chair
     c.  speculative chair
     d.  exit a tiff chair
3)  Mr Jassy is currently head of Amazon Web Services - a ______ business
     a.  clout computing
     b.  clown computing
     c.  cloud computing
     d.  crowd computing
4)  The company started as an online bookseller but turned into a global ______
     a.  online mark it place
     b.  online mar kit place
     c.  online market peace
     d.  online marketplace
5)  consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets ______
     a.  and Echo devices
     b.  end Echo devices
     c.  and eco-devices
     d.  end eco-devices

6)  Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of ______
     a.  the most valuably
     b.  the most value able
     c.  the most value a ball
     d.  the most valuable
7)  one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented ______
     a.  in his success
     b.  on this success
     c.  on his success
     d.  on his successive
8)  Amazon was only an idea, and it ______
     a.  had not named
     b.  had no name
     c.  had known name
     d.  had none aim
9)  Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, ______
     a.  dedicate it people
     b.  dead dictated people
     c.  deed dictated people
     d.  dedicated people
10)  and the space travel company Blue Origin, which ______ to Mars
     a.  aims to go
     b.  aim stew go
     c.  aims two go
     d.  aim stow go

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will (1) ____________________ his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57, announced he will finish as CEO later this year. Instead of being CEO, he will take on the new role of Amazon's executive chair. He (2) ____________________ the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is (3) ____________________ Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in charge of Amazon (4) ____________________ company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but turned into a global online marketplace. (5) ____________________ into streaming video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets (6) ____________________.

Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most valuable. It (7) ____________________ $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented on his success. He said: "This (8) ____________________ 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it (9) ____________________. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, 'What's the Internet?' Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, (10) ____________________ millions of customers and businesses, (11) ____________________ recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also owns the Washington Post newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which (12) ____________________ to Mars.

Comprehension questions

  1. How old is the CEO of Amazon.com?
  2. What will Jeff Bezos' new role be in the company?
  3. What is Mr Andy Jassy currently head of?
  4. Where did Jeff Bezos start Amazon.com?
  5. What does the article say Amazon branched out into?
  6. How much does the article say Amazon is worth?
  7. What question was Jeff Bezos most frequently asked 27 years ago?
  8. How many employees does Amazon have today?
  9. What is the name of the newspaper Jeff Bezos owns?
  10. Where does Mr Bezos' company Blue Origin hope to go?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  How old is the CEO of Amazon.com?
a) 56
b) 57
c) 58
d) 55
2)  What will Jeff Bezos' new role be in the company?
a) advisor
b) president
c) executive chair
d) mascot
3)  What is Mr Andy Jassy currently head of?
a) Echo
b) Kindle
c) Amazon Prime
d) Amazon Web Services
4)  Where did Jeff Bezos start Amazon.com?
a) in his bedroom
b) in his garage
c) at university
d) in the back of his camper van
5)  What does the article say Amazon branched out into?
a) streaming
b) trees
c) financial services
d) fashion

6)  How much does the article say Amazon is worth?
a) around $1.7 trillion
b) around $1.5 trillion
c) around $1.6 trillion
d) around $1.8 trillion
7)  What question was Jeff Bezos most frequently asked 27 years ago?
a) What book do you recommend?
b) Will you be famous?
c) What's your company's name?
d) What's the Internet?
8)  How many employees does Amazon have today?
a) 1.2 million
b) 1.4 million
c) 1.3 million
d) 1.5 million
9)  What is the name of the newspaper Jeff Bezos owns?
a) Amazon Prime News
b) the Amazonian
c) the New York Times
d) the Washington Post
10)  Where does Mr Bezos' company Blue Origin hope to go?
a) the New York Stock Exchange
b) Mars
c) the bottom of the ocean
d) online

Role play

Role  A – Amazon
You think Amazon is the best website. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their websites. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): Wikipedia, BreakingNewsEnglish or YouTube.

Role  B – Wikipedia
You think Wikipedia is the best website. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their websites. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): Amazon, BreakingNewsEnglish or YouTube.

Role  C – BreakingNewsEnglish
You think BreakingNewsEnglish is the best website. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their websites. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): Wikipedia, Amazon or YouTube.

Role  D – YouTube
You think YouTube is the best website. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their websites. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): Wikipedia, BreakingNewsEnglish or Amazon.

After reading / listening

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

'step'

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

    • and 'down'.

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

    • • 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:

    • founder
    • chair
    • cloud
    • garage
    • turned
    • devices
    • valuable
    • success
    • idea
    • frequently
    • widely
    • space

    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 - Jeff Bezos

    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 'Amazon'?
    3. What do you know about Amazon.com?
    4. How useful is Amazon.com?
    5. What do you know about Jeff Bezos?
    6. What does a CEO do?
    7. What would you do if you were Amazon's CEO?
    8. Have you ever used Amazon.com?
    9. Do you prefer Internet shopping or going to shops and malls?
    10. What advice do you have for Jeff Bezos?

    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 'CEO'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What would you do if you were one of the world's richest people?
    5. What does it take to make an Internet business successful?
    6. What is the Internet?
    7. What should Amazon do in the future?
    8. What do you think of the name 'Amazon'?
    9. How important is it for humans to go to Mars?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Jeff Bezos?

    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 founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will (1) ____ down from his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57, announced he will finish (2) ____ CEO later this year. Instead of being CEO, he will take on the new role (3) ____ Amazon's executive chair. He will pass on the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is currently (4) ____ of Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in charge of Amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but (5) ____ into a global online marketplace. It branched out into streaming video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces (6) ____ electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo devices.

    Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most (7) ____. It is worth around $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented (8) ____ his success. He said: "This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most (9) ____ at that time was, 'What's the internet?' Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, (10) ____ people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are (11) ____ recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also owns the Washington Post newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which (12) ____ to go to Mars.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     step     (b)     sit     (c)     hop     (d)     jump    
    2. (a)     was     (b)     has     (c)     as     (d)     ease    
    3. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     of     (d)     as    
    4. (a)     face     (b)     brain     (c)     skull     (d)     head    
    5. (a)     turned     (b)     twisted     (c)     swivelled     (d)     curved    
    6. (a)     assumer     (b)     consumer     (c)     amuser     (d)     user    
    7. (a)     worth     (b)     buying     (c)     priced     (d)     valuable    
    8. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     of     (d)     by    
    9. (a)     delinquently     (b)     recently     (c)     frequently     (d)     decency    
    10. (a)     dedicate     (b)     dedicated     (c)     dedication     (d)     dedicates    
    11. (a)     stately     (b)     racially     (c)     heighten     (d)     widely    
    12. (a)     fuels     (b)     aims     (c)     rockets     (d)     spaces

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. The oeundrf of Amazon.com
    2. CEO (Chief uceiveEtx Officer)
    3. Jassy is rurtclyne head of Amazon Web Services
    4. It crhdeban out into streaming video
    5. It also produces uocsmrne electronics
    6. Fire tablets and Echo escevdi

    Paragraph 2

    1. one of the most laelbavu
    2. It is owtrh around $1.7 trillion
    3. The question I was asked most ntfuyereql
    4. we oylmep 1.3 million
    5. talented, idaeecddt people
    6. one of the most lccufssues companies

    Put the text back together

    (...)  head of Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in
    (...)  consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo devices.
    (...)  into a global online marketplace. It branched out into streaming video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces
    (...)  charge of Amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but turned
    (...)  $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commented on his
    (  1  ) The founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will step down from his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57,
    (...)  successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also owns The Washington Post
    (...)  Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most valuable. It is worth around
    (...)  role of Amazon's executive chair. He will pass on the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is currently
    (...)  of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most
    (...)  success. He said: "This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most
    (...)  frequently at that time was, 'What's the Internet?' Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds
    (...)  newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which aims to go to Mars.
    (...)  announced he will finish as CEO later this year. Instead of being CEO, he will take on the new

    Put the words in the right order

    1. CEO   He   later   this   will   as   year   .   finish
    2. In   founding   the   of   charge   Amazon   since   company   .
    3. online   company   as   started   bookseller   .   The   an
    4. branched   music   .   and   out   into   It   video   streaming
    5. e-readers  .  electronics,  consumer  It  produces  also  including  Kindle
    6. of   biggest   companies   .   world's   the   one   is   Amazon
    7. years   27   began   journey   This   ago   .   some
    8. we   Today,   people   .   employ   1.3 million   talented,   dedicated
    9. recognized   successful   .   of   the   Widely   as   most   one
    10. space   Bezos   Blue Origin   owns   the   company   .   travel

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The founder / finding of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, will step down from his role as CEO (Chief Executive Officer). Mr Bezos, 57, announced he will finish as / has CEO later this year. Instead to / of being CEO, he will take on / off the new role of Amazon's executive seat / chair. He will pass on the position of CEO to Andy Jassy. Mr Jassy is currently head / face of Amazon Web Services - a cloud computing business. Mr Bezos has been in change / charge of Amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995. The company started as an online bookseller but turned onto / into a global online marketplace. It branched / twigged out into streaming video, music, and audiobooks. It also produces consumer electronics, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and Echo devises / devices.

    Amazon is one of the world's biggest Internet companies and one of the most valuation / valuable. It is worth around $1.7 trillion. The company has made Mr Bezos one of the world's richest people. Bezos commanded / commented on his success. He said: "This journey beginning / began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an / the idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently / frequency at that time was, 'What's the Internet?' Today, we comply / employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, reserve / serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely / wisely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world." Mr Bezos also owns / owning the Washington Post newspaper and the space travel company Blue Origin, which alms / aims to go to Mars.

    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)

    Th_  f__nd_r  _f  _m_z_n.c_m,  J_ff  B_z_s,  w_ll  st_p  d_wn  fr_m  h_s  r_l_  _s  C__  (Ch__f  _x_c_t_v_  _ff_c_r).  Mr  B_z_s,  57,  _nn__nc_d  h_  w_ll  f_n_sh  _s  C__  l_t_r  th_s  y__r.  _nst__d  _f  b__ng  C__,  h_  w_ll  t_k_  _n  th_  n_w  r_l_  _f  _m_z_n's  _x_c_t_v_  ch__r.  H_  w_ll  p_ss  _n  th_  p_s_t__n  _f  C__  t_  _ndy  J_ssy.  Mr  J_ssy  _s  c_rr_ntly  h__d  _f  _m_z_n  W_b  S_rv_c_s  -  _  cl__d  c_mp_t_ng  b_s_n_ss.  Mr  B_z_s  h_s  b__n  _n  ch_rg_  _f  _m_z_n  s_nc_  f__nd_ng  th_  c_mp_ny  _n  h_s  g_r_g_  _n  1995.  Th_  c_mp_ny  st_rt_d  _s  _n  _nl_n_  b__ks_ll_r  b_t  t_rn_d  _nt_  _  gl_b_l  _nl_n_  m_rk_tpl_c_.  _t  br_nch_d  __t  _nt_  str__m_ng  v_d__,  m_s_c,  _nd  __d__b__ks.  _t  _ls_  pr_d_c_s  c_ns_m_r  _l_ctr_n_cs,  _ncl_d_ng  K_ndl_  _-r__d_rs,  F_r_  t_bl_ts  _nd  _ch_  d_v_c_s.

    _m_z_n  _s  _n_  _f  th_  w_rld's  b_gg_st  _nt_rn_t  c_mp_n__s  _nd  _n_  _f  th_  m_st  v_l__bl_.  _t  _s  w_rth  _r__nd  $1.7  tr_ll__n.  Th_  c_mp_ny  h_s  m_d_  Mr  B_z_s  _n_  _f  th_  w_rld's  r_ch_st  p__pl_.  B_z_s  c_mm_nt_d  _n  h_s  s_cc_ss.  H_  s__d:  "Th_s  j__rn_y  b_g_n  s_m_  27  y__rs  _g_.  _m_z_n  w_s  _nly  _n  _d__,  _nd  _t  h_d  n_  n_m_.  Th_  q__st__n  _  w_s  _sk_d  m_st  fr_q__ntly  _t  th_t  t_m_  w_s,  'Wh_t's  th_  _nt_rn_t?'  T_d_y,  w_  _mpl_y  1.3  m_ll__n  t_l_nt_d,  d_d_c_t_d  p__pl_,  s_rv_  h_ndr_ds  _f  m_ll__ns  _f  c_st_m_rs  _nd  b_s_n_ss_s,  _nd  _r_  w_d_ly  r_c_gn_z_d  _s  _n_  _f  th_  m_st  s_cc_ssf_l  c_mp_n__s  _n  th_  w_rld."  Mr  B_z_s  _ls_  _wns  th_  W_sh_ngt_n  P_st  n_wsp_p_r  _nd  th_  sp_c_  tr_v_l  c_mp_ny  Bl__  _r_g_n,  wh_ch  __ms  t_  g_  t_  M_rs.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the founder of amazoncom jeff bezos will step down from his role as ceo chief executive officer mr bezos 57 announced he will finish as ceo later this year instead of being ceo he will take on the new role of amazons executive chair he will pass on the position of ceo to andy jassy mr jassy is currently head of amazon web services  a cloud computing business mr bezos has been in charge of amazon since founding the company in his garage in 1995 the company started as an online bookseller but turned into a global online marketplace it branched out into streaming video music and audiobooks it also produces consumer electronics including kindle ereaders fire tablets and echo devices

    amazon is one of the worlds biggest internet companies and one of the most valuable it is worth around 17 trillion the company has made mr bezos one of the worlds richest people bezos commented on his success he said this journey began some 27 years ago amazon was only an idea and it had no name the question i was asked most frequently at that time was whats the internet today we employ 13 million talented dedicated people serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world mr bezos also owns the washington post newspaper and the space travel company blue origin which aims to go to mars

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    ThefounderofAmazon.com,JeffBezos,willstepdownfromhisroleasCE
    O(ChiefExecutiveOfficer).MrBezos,57,announcedhewillfinishasCEO
    laterthisyear.InsteadofbeingCEO,hewilltakeonthenewroleofAmazo
    n'sexecutivechair.HewillpassonthepositionofCEOtoAndyJassy.MrJa
    ssyiscurrentlyheadofAmazonWebServices-acloudcomputingbusin
    ess.MrBezoshasbeeninchargeofAmazonsincefoundingthecompanyi
    nhisgaragein1995.Thecompanystartedasanonlinebooksellerbuttur
    nedintoaglobalonlinemarketplace.Itbranchedoutintostreamingvide
    o,music,andaudiobooks.Italsoproducesconsumerelectronics,includi
    ngKindlee-readers,FiretabletsandEchodevices.Amazonisoneofth
    eworld'sbiggestInternetcompaniesandoneofthemostvaluable.Itisw
    ortharound$1.7trillion.ThecompanyhasmadeMrBezosoneoftheworl
    d'srichestpeople.Bezoscommentedonhissuccess.Hesaid:"Thisjourn
    eybegansome27yearsago.Amazonwasonlyanidea,andithadnoname
    .ThequestionIwasaskedmostfrequentlyatthattimewas,'What'stheIn
    ternet?'Today,weemploy1.3milliontalented,dedicatedpeople,serve
    hundredsofmillionsofcustomersandbusinesses,andarewidelyrecogn
    izedasoneofthemostsuccessfulcompaniesintheworld."MrBezosalsoo
    wnstheWashingtonPostnewspaperandthespacetravelcompanyBlue
    Origin,whichaimstogotoMars.

    Free writing

    Write about Jeff Bezos for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Amazon is the most useful company in the world. Discuss.

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    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. AMAZON.COM: Make a poster about Amazon.com. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. MARS: Write a magazine article about companies spending more money to get to Mars. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    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 Amazon.com. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on Amazon. 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.)

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