The Reading / Listening - Tortoises - Level 3

Everybody likes a birthday. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has just celebrated his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was born in 1832, but there are no official records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the invention of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun*.

Jonathan's vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also launched a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because he is blind. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of hearing, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core."

* revolver

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Tortoises - Level 0 Tortoises - Level 1   or  Tortoises - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/03/world/seychelles-tortoise-st-helena-jonathan-190-birthday-intl-hnk/index.html
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/02/worlds-oldest-recorded-tortoise-prepares-for-190th-birthday-party
  • https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/54483/20221206/jonathan-the-tortoise-worlds-oldest-land-animal-turns-190.htm


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. TORTOISES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about tortoises. 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?
       everybody / birthday / animal / turtle / zoologists / scientists / overseas / invention /
       vets / party / vegetables / stamps / blind / hearing / energy / relax / sunbathe / heat
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. LONG LIFE: Students A strongly believe everyone should live to be over 100; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. BEST AGE: What are the good and bad things about being at these ages? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

10

 

 

20

 

 

40

 

 

70

 

 

100

 

 

190

 

 

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. PARTY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "party". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. HISTORY: Rank these with your partner. Put the period of history you would to go back to at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • 1990s
  • 1960s
  • 1920s
  • 1830s
  • 1500s
  • 900s
  • 0
  • 10,000 years ago

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. celebrated a. The arrival of a baby from the body of its mother.
      2. giant b. An expert in or student of the behaviour of animals.
      3. zoologist c. Very, very, very big.
      4. records d. Something that is totally new and never made before.
      5. birth e. Did something fun because of a happy day, event or time.
      6. territory f. Pieces of information about the past that make sure we know about the past.
      7. invention g. An area of land under a ruler or state.

    Paragraph 2

      8. chef h. An animal doctor.
      9. launched i. Sit or lie in the sun, especially make the skin darker.
      10. blind j. Quite warm; less cold than expected.
      11. vet k. Introduced a new product to the public for the first time.
      12. mild l. Take in energy or a liquid by chemical or physical action.
      13. sunbathe m. A professional cook.
      14. absorb n. Unable to see.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article says many people live to be 120 years old.     T / F
  2. Official records say the tortoise was born in 1832.     T / F
  3. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles.     T / F
  4. The giant turtle was born before refrigeration was invented.     T / F
  5. Jonathan had a strawberry cake for his birthday.     T / F
  6. Jonathan is deaf, but he can see.     T / F
  7. Jonathan likes to sunbathe and relax in the sun.     T / F
  8. Jonathan likes to collect shells.     T / F

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

  1. celebrate
  2. official
  3. gift
  4. invention
  5. refrigeration
  6. favourite
  7. launched
  8. excellent
  9. plenty
  10. absorb
  1. most-liked
  2. cooling
  3. a lot of
  4. present
  5. superb
  6. honour
  7. creation
  8. soak up
  9. recognized
  10. created

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

  1. Some people live long
  2. there are no official
  3. Jonathan might actually
  4. taken to the British overseas
  5. before the invention of
  6. There was a three-
  7. He also has no sense
  8. He also likes to relax
  9. his long neck and legs stretched fully
  10. absorb
  1. heat
  2. the postage stamp
  3. out of his shell
  4. in the sun
  5. records of his birth
  6. of smell
  7. enough to have 120
  8. be ten years older
  9. day party for him
  10. territory of St Helena

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
born
just
code
official
gift
enough
giant
territory

Everybody likes a birthday. Some people live long (1) __________________ to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has (2) _____________________ celebrated his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles (3) _____________________ turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was born in 1832, but there are no (4) _____________________ records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was (5) _____________________ in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British overseas (6) _____________________ of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a (7) _____________________ for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the invention of the postage stamp, Morse (8) _____________________, refrigeration, and the gun*.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
sung
vets
blind
heat
full
mild
launched
hearing

Jonathan's (9) _____________________ say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was (10) _____________________ of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also (11) _____________________ a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because he is (12) _____________________. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of (13) _____________________, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being (14) _____________________. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On (15) _____________________ days, he will sunbathe - his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb (16) _____________________ and transfer it to his core."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Some people live long enough to have ______
     a.  120 of them
     b.  120 off them
     c.  120 of then
     d.  120 off then
2)  he was born in 1832, but there are no official ______
     a.  records of his birth
     b.  records of his births
     c.  records of his birthed
     d.  records of his berth
3)  He was taken to the ______
     a.  British overs ease territory
     b.  British over sees territory
     c.  British oversees territory
     d.  British overseas territory
4)  Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen ______
     a.  Victoria became queens
     b.  Victoria became queen
     c.  Victoria became quince
     d.  Victoria became clean
5)  the invention of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, ______
     a.  and the gum
     b.  end the gun
     c.  end a gun
     d.  and the gun

6)  Jonathan's vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day ______
     a.  party from him
     b.  par tee for him
     c.  part tea for him
     d.  party for him
7)  St Helena also launched a set of ______
     a.  specially postage stamps
     b.  special post age stamps
     c.  special postage stamp
     d.  special postage stamps
8)  Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because ______
     a.  he is blinds
     b.  he is blind
     c.  he is blinder
     d.  he is blindly
9)  Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has ______
     a.  plenty oft energy
     b.  plenty of energy
     c.  plenty off energy
     d.  plenty have energy
10)  stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it ______
     a.  to his corps
     b.  to his cor!
     c.  to his core
     d.  to his caw

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Everybody (1) ____________________. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal (2) _________________ his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was born in 1832, but there are no official records (3) ____________________. Some scientists think Jonathan might actually be ten years older. He (4) ____________________ old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British (5) ____________________ St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the invention of (6) ____________________, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun*.

Jonathan's vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day (7) ____________________. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also (8) ____________________ of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because (9) ____________________. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent (10) ____________________, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has (11) ____________________. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe - his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell (12) ____________________ and transfer it to his core."

Comprehension questions

  1. Who likes a birthday?
  2. Where was Jonathan born?
  3. What do we need so we are sure that Jonathan is 190?
  4. Where was Jonathan taken to in 1882?
  5. Who was born after Jonathan?
  6. How long was Jonathan's birthday party?
  7. What kind of birthday cake did Jonathan have?
  8. Which of Jonathan's senses is in good working order?
  9. Who is Joe Hollins?
  10. What does Jonathan absorb with his legs?

Multiple choice quiz

1) Who likes a birthday?
a) Jonathan
b) children
c) everyone
d) people who are over 100
2) Where was Jonathan born?
a) the Seychelles
b) on a beach
c) in a zoo
d) in the sea
3) What do we need so we are sure that Jonathan is 190?
a) someone who was there
b) official records
c) a DNA test
d) a blood test
4) Where was Jonathan taken to in 1882?
a) a beach
b) a jungle
c) a zoo
d) St Helena
5) Who was born after Jonathan?
a) Joe Hollins
b) everyone
c) Queen Victoria
d) Jonathan's mate

6) How long was Jonathan's birthday party?
a) three hours
b) three days
c) three weeks
d) three minutes
7) What kind of birthday cake did Jonathan have?
a) grass
b) coconut
c) strawberry
d) vegetable
8) Which of Jonathan's senses is in good working order?
a) sight
b) hearing
c) taste
d) smell
9) Who is Joe Hollins?
a) the Seychelles president
b) Jonathan's vet
c) the St Helena president
d) the head of the WWF
10) What does Jonathan absorb with his legs?
a) heat
b) ideas
c) DNA
d) CO2

Role play

Role  A – The 1990s
You think the 1990s is the best time to go back to visit. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the 1960s, the 1500s or 10,000 years ago.

Role  B – The 1960s
You think the 1960s is the best time to go back to visit. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the 1990s, the 1500s or 10,000 years ago.

Role  C – The 1500s
You think the 1500s is the best time to go back to visit. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the 1960s, the 1990s or 10,000 years ago.

Role  D – 10,000 Years Ago
You think 10,000 years ago is the best time to go back to visit. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their times. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): the 1960s, the 1500s or the 1990s.

After reading / listening

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

'land'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'animal'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • 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:

    • everybody
    • giant
    • records
    • 200
    • born
    • gun
    • good
    • full
    • set
    • smell
    • still
    • fully

    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 - Tortoises

    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 'animal'?
    3. What do you think of birthdays?
    4. What was your best birthday?
    5. How long would you like to live?
    6. What is the best present to buy a tortoise?
    7. What would you like as a birthday present?
    8. What would it be like to live to 190?
    9. What important things were invented after you were born?
    10. What advice do you have for Jonathan?

    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 'tortoise'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Have you ever had a birthday party?
    5. What do you think of vegetable birthday cakes?
    6. What do you think of the song 'Happy Birthday'?
    7. Do you always have plenty of energy?
    8. Do you like to relax in the sun?
    9. What do you know about tortoises?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Jonathan?

    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)

    Everybody (1) ____ a birthday. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has just (2) ____ his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was born in 1832, but there are no official records (3) ____ his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was (4) ____ in the Seychelles. He was taken to the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift (5) ____ the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before the (6) ____ of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun*.

    Jonathan's (7) ____ say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also (8) ____ a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because he is (9) ____. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of hearing, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being (10) ____. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On (11) ____ days, he will sunbathe - his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his (12) ____."

    * revolver

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     likely     (b)     like     (c)     likes     (d)     liking    
    2. (a)     celebrated     (b)     celebrates     (c)     celebration     (d)     celebrate    
    3. (a)     of     (b)     on     (c)     at     (d)     by    
    4. (a)     born     (b)     birth     (c)     birthed     (d)     births    
    5. (a)     on     (b)     of     (c)     at     (d)     in    
    6. (a)     invent     (b)     invents     (c)     inventive     (d)     invention    
    7. (a)     bets     (b)     lets     (c)     vets     (d)     pets    
    8. (a)     latched     (b)     lurched     (c)     lunched     (d)     launched    
    9. (a)     blind     (b)     blinds     (c)     blindly     (d)     blinder    
    10. (a)     sing     (b)     sung     (c)     sang     (d)     song    
    11. (a)     mid     (b)     mild     (c)     mood     (d)     mold    
    12. (a)     case     (b)     rind     (c)     core     (d)     peel

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. there are no fafciloi records of his birth
    2. ntsestscii think Jonathan might
    3. He was taken to the British overseas yirrroett
    4. a gift for the St Helena envororg
    5. before the ietnivnno of the postage stamp
    6. Morse code, ieoiegrfrnatr, and the gun

    Paragraph 2

    1. vtes say he had a good birthday
    2. leuhcand a set of special postage stamps
    3. he has an xleeneclt sense of hearing
    4. the giant tortoise still has entlyp of energy
    5. On mild days, he will uanesthb
    6. rsobba heat and transfer it to his core

    Put the text back together

    (...)  born in 1832, but there are no official records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might
    (...)  hearing, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty
    (...)  because he is blind. He also has no sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of
    (...)  to the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a
    (...)  cake that was full of his favourite vegetables. St Helena also launched a set of special postage
    (...)  just celebrated his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists believe he was
    (...)  the invention of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun.
    (...)  neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core."
    (...)  stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations
    1  ) Everybody likes a birthday. Some people live long enough to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has
    (...)  actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken
    (...)  Jonathan's vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday
    (...)  of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On mild days, he will sunbathe - his long
    (...)  gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria became queen, and before

    Put the words in the right order

    1. enough   long   to   have   people   live   Some   120   .
    2. are   his   There   birth   .   official   records   no   of
    3. might   Jonathan   actually   years   be   ten   older   .
    4. taken   British   the   overseas   He   was   territory   .   to
    5. of   postage   Before   the   the   stamp   .   invention
    6. good   Jonathan's   birthday   .   had   say   he   vets   a
    7. birthday   Chefs   made   cake   .   tortoise   a   special   him
    8. to   get   not   Jonathan   did   see   any   celebrations   .
    9. has   still   giant   tortoise   of   The   plenty   energy   .
    10. it   to   heat   core   .   his   Absorb   and   transfer

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Everybody likes a / the birthday. Some people live long enough / plenty to have 120 of them. The world's oldest land animal has just celebration / celebrated his 190th birthday. The animal is a Seychelles giant turtle called Jonathan. Zoologists / Zoology believe he was born / birth in 1832, but there are no officially / official records of his birth. Some scientists think Jonathan might actual / actually be ten years older. He could be as old as 200. Jonathan was born in the Seychelles. He was taken to / at the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1882 as a gift for the St Helena governor. Jonathan was born before Britain's Queen Victoria got / became queen, and before the invention at / of the postage stamp, Morse code, refrigeration, and the gun.

    Jonathan's vest / vets say he had a good birthday. There was a three-day party for his / him. Chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of / at his favourite vegetables. St Helena also launched / lunched a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not get / look to see any of the celebrations because he is blind. He also has no cents / sense of smell. However, he has an excellent sense of hearing / hear, so he could hear "Happy Birthday" being sung. Jonathan's vet, Joe Hollins, said the giant tortoise still has plenty on / of energy. He also likes to relax in the sun. Mr Hollins said: "On mild / mid days, he will sunbathe - his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat / cold and transfer it to his core."

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

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _v_ryb_dy  l_k_s  _  b_rthd_y.  S_m_  p__pl_  l_v_  l_ng  _n__gh  t_  h_v_  120  _f  th_m.  Th_  w_rld's  _ld_st  l_nd  _n_m_l  h_s  j_st  c_l_br_t_d  h_s  190th  b_rthd_y.  Th_  _n_m_l  _s  _  S_ych_ll_s  g__nt  t_rtl_  c_ll_d  J_n_th_n.  Z__l_g_sts  b_l__v_  h_  w_s  b_rn  _n  1832,  b_t  th_r_  _r_  n_  _ff_c__l  r_c_rds  _f  h_s  b_rth.  S_m_  sc__nt_sts  th_nk  J_n_th_n  m_ght  _ct__lly  b_  t_n  y__rs  _ld_r.  H_  c__ld  b_  _s  _ld  _s  200.  J_n_th_n  w_s  b_rn  _n  th_  S_ych_ll_s.  H_  w_s  t_k_n  t_  th_  Br_t_sh  _v_rs__s  t_rr_t_ry  _f  St  H_l_n_  _n  th_  S__th  _tl_nt_c  _c__n  _n  1882  _s  _  g_ft  f_r  th_  St  H_l_n_  g_v_rn_r.  J_n_th_n  w_s  b_rn  b_f_r_  Br_t__n's  Q___n  V_ct_r__  b_c_m_  q___n,  _nd  b_f_r_  th_  _nv_nt__n  _f  th_  p_st_g_  st_mp,  M_rs_  c_d_,  r_fr_g_r_t__n,  _nd  th_  g_n.

    J_n_th_n's  v_ts  s_y  h_  h_d  _  g__d  b_rthd_y.  Th_r_  w_s  _  thr__-d_y  p_rty  f_r  h_m.  Ch_fs  m_d_  h_m  _  sp_c__l  t_rt__s_  b_rthd_y  c_k_  th_t  w_s  f_ll  _f  h_s  f_v__r_t_  v_g_t_bl_s.  St  H_l_n_  _ls_  l__nch_d  _  s_t  _f  sp_c__l  p_st_g_  st_mps  t_  c_l_br_t_  h_s  b_rthd_y.  _nf_rt_n_t_ly,  J_n_th_n  d_d  n_t  g_t  t_  s__  _ny  _f  th_  c_l_br_t__ns  b_c__s_  h_  _s  bl_nd.  H_  _ls_  h_s  n_  s_ns_  _f  sm_ll.  H_w_v_r,  h_  h_s  _n  _xc_ll_nt  s_ns_  _f  h__r_ng,  s_  h_  c__ld  h__r  "H_ppy  B_rthd_y"  b__ng  s_ng.  J_n_th_n's  v_t,  J__  H_ll_ns,  s__d  th_  g__nt  t_rt__s_  st_ll  h_s  pl_nty  _f  _n_rgy.  H_  _ls_  l_k_s  t_  r_l_x  _n  th_  s_n.  Mr  H_ll_ns  s__d:  "_n  m_ld  d_ys,  h_  w_ll  s_nb_th_  -  h_s  l_ng  n_ck  _nd  l_gs  str_tch_d  f_lly  __t  _f  h_s  sh_ll  t_  _bs_rb  h__t  _nd  tr_nsf_r  _t  t_  h_s  c_r_."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    everybody likes a birthday some people live long enough to have 120 of them the worlds oldest land animal has just celebrated his 190th birthday the animal is a seychelles giant turtle called jonathan zoologists believe he was born in 1832 but there are no official records of his birth some scientists think jonathan might actually be ten years older he could be as old as 200 jonathan was born in the seychelles he was taken to the british overseas territory of st helena in the south atlantic ocean in 1882 as a gift for the st helena governor jonathan was born before britains queen victoria became queen and before the invention of the postage stamp morse code refrigeration and the gun

    jonathans vets say he had a good birthday there was a threeday party for him chefs made him a special tortoise birthday cake that was full of his favourite vegetables st helena also launched a set of special postage stamps to celebrate his birthday unfortunately jonathan did not get to see any of the celebrations because he is blind he also has no sense of smell however he has an excellent sense of hearing so he could hear happy birthday being sung jonathans vet joe hollins said the giant tortoise still has plenty of energy he also likes to relax in the sun mr hollins said on mild days he will sunbathe  his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Everybodylikesabirthday.Somepeoplelivelongenoughtohave120oft
    hem.Theworld'soldestlandanimalhasjustcelebratedhis190thbirthda
    y.TheanimalisaSeychellesgiantturtlecalledJonathan.Zoologistsbelie
    vehewasbornin1832,buttherearenoofficialrecordsofhisbirth.Somes
    cientiststhinkJonathanmightactuallybetenyearsolder.Hecouldbeaso
    ldas200.JonathanwasbornintheSeychelles.HewastakentotheBritish
    overseasterritoryofStHelenaintheSouthAtlanticOceanin1882asagift
    fortheStHelenagovernor.JonathanwasbornbeforeBritain'sQueenVic
    toriabecamequeen,andbeforetheinventionofthepostagestamp,Mors
    ecode,refrigeration,andthegun.Jonathan'svetssayhehadagoodbirth
    day.Therewasathree-daypartyforhim.Chefsmadehimaspecialtortoi
    sebirthdaycakethatwasfullofhisfavouritevegetables.StHelenaalsola
    unchedasetofspecialpostagestampstocelebratehisbirthday.Unfortu
    nately,Jonathandidnotgettoseeanyofthecelebrationsbecauseheisbli
    nd.Healsohasnosenseofsmell.However,hehasanexcellentsenseofhe
    aring,sohecouldhear"HappyBirthday"beingsung.Jonathan'svet,Joe
    Hollins,saidthegianttortoisestillhasplentyofenergy.Healsolikestorel
    axinthesun.MrHollinssaid:"Onmilddays,hewillsunbathe-hislongne
    ckandlegsstretchedfullyoutofhisshelltoabsorbheatandtransferittohi
    score."

    Free writing

    Write about world's oldest animal for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    It would be great to live to be 190. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    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. TORTOISES: Make a poster about tortoises. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. LONG LIFE: Write a magazine article about science making us all live to be over 100. 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 tortoises. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on what it would be like to be 190. 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.)

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You