The Reading / Listening - Corpse Flower - Level 3

People who like foul-smelling flowers were in luck this week. They had a chance to see and smell the world's smelliest plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is a dead body. The flower gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh. The bloom attracted thousands of visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, just south of Melbourne, Australia. The plant began blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people visited the garden to see it. Some people had to hold their nose when they were near the flower. Others coughed and held their breath because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse or rotting garbage.

The corpse flower is extremely rare. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conservation group listed it as an endangered species. The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left in the wild. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down. Corporations are using the land to grow palm oil. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can grow to a height of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a decade and opens only for a day or two. The flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal. This smell attracts beetles and flies. The insects pollinate the flower so it can bloom again.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Corpse Flower - Level 0,  Corpse Flower - Level 1   or  Corpse Flower - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/travel/geelong-australia-corpse-flower-intl-hnk/index.html
  • https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-12/corpse-flower-rare-bloom-pungent-scent-geelong-botanic-gardens/104590534
  • https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/natural-wonders/thousands-turn-out-to-smell-the-foul-stench-of-a-rare-flower-at-the-geelong-botanic-garden/news-story/df29e2622f7330bf7490753fd2f14e0e


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. BAD SMELLS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about bad smells. 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?
       foul smells / flowers / luck / visitors / gardens / holding one's nose / rotting garbage
       rare / plant / conservation / endangered species / palm oil / beetles / flies / pollinate
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. FLOWERS: Students A strongly believe flowers are better than trees; Students B strongly believe trees are better. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SMELLS: What are the best and worst smells? Why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Best

Why

Worst

Why?

Flower

 

 

 

 

Food

 

 

 

 

Drink

 

 

 

 

In the home

 

 

 

 

In the city

 

 

 

 

In nature

 

 

 

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

  • Corpse flower
  • Lotus
  • Dandelion
  • Rose
  • Poppy
  • Magnolia
  • Orchid
  • Daisy

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. foul a. To stop breathing for a short time (for a challenge, for a bad smell, for an X-ray….
      2. rotting b. Very bad or unpleasant (often used to describe a strong, bad smell).
      3. flesh c. Made someone or something come closer.
      4. bloom d. Slowly breaking down and becoming bad; often has a bad smell (like old food or a dead plant).
      5. attracted e. A flower.
      6. hold one's nose f. The soft parts of an animal or human body, not the bones.
      7. hold their breath g. To close your nose with your fingers to avoid a bad smell.

    Paragraph 2

      8. extremely h. Very, very much.
      9. rare i. To move pollen from one flower to another to help it grow seeds.
      10. native j. Not often found or seen; uncommon.
      11. conservation k. In nature, not in a place made by people, like a zoo or a garden.
      12. endangered l. From a certain place; growing or living naturally in a certain area.
      13. in the wild m. Protecting nature and animals so they are safe and don’t disappear.
      14.

pollinate

 n.

At risk of disappearing forever.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. People who like bad-smelling flowers are lucky.     T / F
  2. The corpse flower is the world's smelliest flower.     T / F
  3. Fifteen thousand people waited to see the corpse flower.     T / F
  4. Someone said the corpse flower smelled like a dead mouse.     T / F
  5. There are thousands of corpse flowers growing in Indonesia.     T / F
  6. Forests where the corpse flower lives are being cut down for coconut oil. T / F
  7. Corpse flowers can live for 40 years.     T / F
  8. The corpse flower attracts butterflies and dragonflies.     T / F

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

  1. foul
  2. chance
  3. rotting
  4. blooming
  5. smell
  6. extremely
  7. endangered
  8. corporations
  9. decade
  10. attracts
  1. decaying
  2. companies
  3. odour
  4. opportunity
  5. threatened
  6. disgusting
  7. ten years
  8. flowering
  9. lures
  10. very

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

  1. People who like foul-
  2. The flower gets its name because it smells
  3. The plant began
  4. held their breath because
  5. like a dead mouse or rotting
  6. The corpse flower is extremely
  7. an endangered
  8. Corporations are using the land
  9. it blooms just once
  10. This smell attracts beetles
  1. rare
  2. of the foul smell
  3. to grow palm oil
  4. garbage
  5. and flies
  6. like rotting flesh
  7. a decade
  8. blooming on Monday
  9. species
  10. smelling flowers

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
began
luck
garbage
visited
coughed
dead
bloom
nose

People who like foul-smelling flowers were in (1) ______________________________________________ this week. They had a chance to see and smell the world's smelliest plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is a (2) ______________________________________________ body. The flower gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh. The (3) ______________________________________________ attracted thousands of visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, just south of Melbourne, Australia. The plant (4) ______________________________________________ blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people (5) ______________________________________________ the garden to see it. Some people had to hold their (6) ______________________________________________ when they were near the flower. Others (7) ______________________________________________ and held their breath because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse or rotting (8) ______________________________________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
cut
species
attracts
height
pollinate
rare
wild
decade

The corpse flower is extremely (9) ______________________________________________. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conservation group listed it as an endangered (10) ______________________________________________. The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left in the (11) ______________________________________________. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been (12) ______________________________________________ down. Corporations are using the land to grow palm oil. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can grow to a (13) ______________________________________________ of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a (14) ______________________________________________ and opens only for a day or two. The flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal. This smell (15) ______________________________________________ beetles and flies. The insects (16) ______________________________________________ the flower so it can bloom again.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) People who like foul-smelling flowers were in ______
     a.  lack this week
     b.  luck this week
     c.  lick this week
     d.  lock this week
2)  They had a chance to see and smell the ______
     a.  world's smallest plant
     b.  world's smell lest plant
     c.  world's smelliest plant
     d.  world's smell least plant
3)  The flower gets its name because it smells ______
     a.  like rotting flesh
     b.  like rotting fresh
     c.  like rotting flash
     d.  like rotting flush
4)  Some people had to hold their nose when they were ______
     a.  nears the flower
     b.  rear the flower
     c.  mere the flower
     d.  near the flower
5)  reported that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse ______
     a.  of rotting garbage
     b.  or rotting garbage
     c.  ore rotting garbage
     d.  a rotting garbage

6)  An international conservation group listed it as ______
     a.  an endangered specials
     b.  an endangered speeches
     c.  an endangered peaches
     d.  an endangered species
7)  The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left ______
     a.  in the wired
     b.  in a wild
     c.  on the wild
     d.  in the wild
8)  Corporations are using the land to ______
     a.  grow hand oil
     b.  grow palm oil
     c.  grow thumb oil
     d.  grow back oil
9)  a height of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just ______
     a.  once the decade
     b.  once add decade
     c.  once add arcade
     d.  once a decade
10)  The insects pollinate the flower so it ______
     a.  can broom again
     b.  can gloom again
     c.  can bloom again
     d.  can groom again

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

People who like foul-smelling flowers (1) __________________________________________________ this week. They had a chance to see and smell the world's smelliest plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is (2) __________________________________________________. The flower gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh. The bloom attracted thousands of visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, (3) __________________________________________________ Melbourne, Australia. The plant began blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people visited the garden to see it. Some people had to (4) __________________________________________________ when they were near the flower. Others coughed and (5) __________________________________________________ because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse (6) __________________________________________________.

The corpse flower (7) __________________________________________________. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conservation group listed it as an endangered species. The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left (8) __________________________________________________. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down. Corporations are using the land to (9) __________________________________________________. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can grow to (10) __________________________________________________ three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a decade and opens only for a (11) __________________________________________________. The flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal. This smell attracts beetles and flies. The insects pollinate the flower so it (12) __________________________________________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. Who does the article say was in luck?
  2. In what kind of garden do people go to see the corpse flower?
  3. How many people visited the garden?
  4. What two things did people hold when they were near the flower?
  5. What dead animal did someone say the flower smelled like?
  6. Where does the corpse flower usually grow?
  7. How many corpse plants are growing in the wild?
  8. What is land being used for where corpse flowers used to grow?
  9. For how long can a corpse flower grow?
  10. What do beetles and flies do to the corpse flower?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Who does the article say was in luck?
a) people who grow flowers
b) people who like foul-smelling flowers
c) workers in a botanic garden
d) people with green fingers
2)  In what kind of garden do people go to see the corpse flower?
a) a flower garden
b) a rose garden
c) a botanic garden
d) a wild garden
3)  How many people visited the garden?
a) fewer than five thousand
b) around five thousand
c) exactly five thousand
d) more than five thousand
4)  What two things did people hold when they were near the flower?
a) their trowel and hose
b) their nose and breath
c) the handrail and their friend
d) two seeds of the corpse plant
5)  What dead animal did someone say the flower smelled like?
a) a mouse
b) an elephant
c) a skunk
d) a stink bug

6)  Where does the corpse flower usually grow?
a) Indonesia
b) Australia
c) Brazil
d) Madagascar
7)  How many corpse plants are growing in the wild?
a) thousands
b) around 1,000
c) 852
d) a few hundred
8)  What is land being used for where corpse flowers used to grow?
a) hotels
b) housing
c) palm oil
d) botanic gardens
9)  For how long can a corpse flower grow?
a) 25 years
b) 30 years
c) 35 years
d) 40 years
10)  What do beetles and flies do to the corpse flower?
a) eat it
b) pollinate it
c) nest in it
d) bathe in it

Role play

Role  A – Corpse Flowers
You think corpse flowers are the best flowers. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their flowers. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): lotus flowers, roses or dandelions.

Role  B – Lotus Flowers
You think lotus flowers are the best flowers. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their flowers. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why):: corpse flowers, roses or dandelions.

Role  C – Roses
You think roses are the best flowers. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their flowers. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why):: lotus flowers, corpse flowers or dandelions.

Role  D – Dandelions
You think dandelions are the best flowers. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their flowers. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why):: lotus flowers, roses or corpse flowers.

After reading / listening

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

'smell'

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

    • and 'flower'.

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

    • • 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:

    • luck
    • name
    • attracted
    • began
    • held
    • mouse
    • native
    • few
    • cut
    • biggest
    • three
    • flies

    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 - Corpse Flower

    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 'smell'?
    3. What are the worst smells in the world?
    4. What do you think of a foul-smelling flower?
    5. When was the last time you were in luck?
    6. What are your favourite flowers?
    7. Would you like to smell the corpse flower?
    8. What do you think of botanic gardens?
    9. When was the last time you held your breath?
    10. Would you like to study botany and be a botanist?

    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 'flower'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What are the sweetest-smelling flowers?
    5. What can we do to help the corpse flower survive?
    6. What do you think of deforestation?
    7. What do you think of gardens?
    8. What are the world's most interesting flowers?
    9. What do you know about pollination?
    10. What questions would you like to ask an expert on the corpse flower?

    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)

    People who like foul-smelling flowers were (1) ____ luck this week. They had a chance to see and smell the world's smelliest plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is a (2) ____ body. The flower gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh. The bloom attracted thousands (3) ____ visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, just south (4) ____ Melbourne, Australia. The plant began blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people visited the garden to see it. Some people had to (5) ____ their nose when they were near the flower. Others coughed and held their breath because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported that visitors described the smell (6) ____ being like a dead mouse or rotting garbage.

    The corpse flower is extremely (7) ____. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conservation group listed it as an (8) ____ species. The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left (9) ____ the wild. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down. Corporations are using the land to grow palm oil. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can grow to a (10) ____ of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a decade and (11) ____ only for a day or two. The flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal. This smell attracts beetles and flies. The insects (12) ____ the flower so it can bloom again.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     down     (d)     up    
    2. (a)     deathly     (b)     death     (c)     deadly     (d)     dead    
    3. (a)     on     (b)     of     (c)     at     (d)     to    
    4. (a)     to     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     on    
    5. (a)     hold     (b)     grip     (c)     grasp     (d)     clutch    
    6. (a)     as     (b)     is     (c)     was     (d)     has    
    7. (a)     raw     (b)     roar     (c)     rarity     (d)     rare    
    8. (a)     endangered     (b)     dangerous     (c)     danger     (d)     engendered    
    9. (a)     at     (b)     in     (c)     on     (d)     to    
    10. (a)     high     (b)     highly     (c)     height     (d)     heighten    
    11. (a)     openings     (b)     opener     (c)     opens     (d)     open    
    12. (a)     pollination     (b)     pollinate     (c)     pollinates     (d)     pollen

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. the world's lestlsemi plant
    2. it smells like rotting ehlsf
    3. The bloom tttcardae thousands of visitors
    4. Others eghoudc and held their breath
    5. Australia's Nine News cnnahle
    6. like a dead mouse or rotting raggbea

    Paragraph 2

    1. The corpse flower is emteylxre rare
    2. an endangered cpisese
    3. oorinoscatrp are using the land
    4. it blooms just once a eecdad
    5. This smell ttrctasa beetles and flies
    6. The insects elliaotpn the flower

    Put the text back together

    (..1..) People who like foul-smelling flowers were in luck this week. They had a chance to see and smell the world's smelliest
    (...)  that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse or rotting garbage.
    (...)  group listed it as an endangered species. The group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left in the
    (...)  of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a decade and
    (...)  plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is a dead body. The flower gets its name because it smells
    (...)  to see it. Some people had to hold their nose when they were near the flower. Others coughed
    (...)  using the land to grow palm oil. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can grow to a height
    (...)  and held their breath because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported
    (...)  attracts beetles and flies. The insects pollinate the flower so it can bloom again.
    (...)  wild. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down. Corporations are
    (...)  like rotting flesh. The bloom attracted thousands of visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, just south
    (...)  The corpse flower is extremely rare. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conservation
    (...)  of Melbourne, Australia. The plant began blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people visited the garden
    (...)  opens only for a day or two. The flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal. This smell

    Put the words in the right order

    1. luck   .   foul-smelling   flowers   People   who   were   like   in
    2. smell   smelliest   See   and   world's   plant   .   the
    3. five   the   garden   .   than   visited   people   More   thousand
    4. to   hold   people   had   nose   .   their   Some
    5. held   Other   breath   .   their   and   people   coughed
    6. international   An   conservation   it   listed   as   group   endangered   .
    7. a   plants   the   hundred   left   .   few   Only   of
    8. which   forest   in   The   the   grows   .   plant
    9. flesh   dead   animal   .   the   Like   of   a   rotting
    10. the   Insects   flower   bloom   .   can   it   so   pollinate

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    People who like foul-smelling flowers were in lucky / luck this week. They had a chance / change to see and smell the world's smelliest plant, called the corpse flower. A corpse is a death / dead body. The flower gets its name because they / it smells like rotting flesh. The bloom attracted thousands of / to visitors to the Geelong Botanic Garden, just south of / on Melbourne, Australia. The plant began bloomed / blooming on Monday. More than five thousand people visited the garden to see it. Some people had to hold / grip their nose when they were near the flower. Others coughed and held their breath / breathe because of the foul smell. Australia's Nine News channel reported that visitors described the smell as being / been like a dead mouse or rotting garbage.

    The corpse flower is extreme / extremely rare. The plant is native to Indonesia. An international conversation / conservation group listed it as an endangered species. The group says there are only a few / two hundred of the plants left in / on the wild. A lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down / off. Corporations are using the land to grow / glow palm oil. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It can growth / grow to a height of three metres and live over 40 years. However, it blooms just once a decade and opening / opens only for a day or two. The flower smells like the rotting fresh / flesh of a dead animal. This smell attracts beetles and flies. The insects pollinate / pollen the flower so it can bloom again.

    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)

    P__pl_  wh_  l_k_  f__l-sm_ll_ng  fl_w_rs  w_r_  _n  l_ck  th_s  w__k.  Th_y  h_d  _  ch_nc_  t_  s__  _nd  sm_ll  th_  w_rld's  sm_ll__st  pl_nt,  c_ll_d  th_  c_rps_  fl_w_r.  _  c_rps_  _s  _  d__d  b_dy.  Th_  fl_w_r  g_ts  _ts  n_m_  b_c__s_  _t  sm_lls  l_k_  r_tt_ng  fl_sh.  Th_  bl__m  _ttr_ct_d  th__s_nds  _f  v_s_t_rs  t_  th_  G__l_ng  B_t_n_c  G_rd_n,  j_st  s__th  _f  M_lb__rn_,  __str_l__.  Th_  pl_nt  b_g_n  bl__m_ng  _n  M_nd_y.  M_r_  th_n  f_v_  th__s_nd  p__pl_  v_s_t_d  th_  g_rd_n  t_  s__  _t.  S_m_  p__pl_  h_d  t_  h_ld  th__r  n_s_  wh_n  th_y  w_r_  n__r  th_  fl_w_r.  _th_rs  c__gh_d  _nd  h_ld  th__r  br__th  b_c__s_  _f  th_  f__l  sm_ll.  __str_l__'s  N_n_  N_ws  ch_nn_l  r_p_rt_d  th_t  v_s_t_rs  d_scr_b_d  th_  sm_ll  _s  b__ng  l_k_  _  d__d  m__s_  _r  r_tt_ng  g_rb_g_.

    Th_  c_rps_  fl_w_r  _s  _xtr_m_ly  r_r_.  Th_  pl_nt  _s  n_t_v_  t_  _nd_n_s__.  _n  _nt_rn_t__n_l  c_ns_rv_t__n  gr__p  l_st_d  _t  _s  _n  _nd_ng_r_d  sp_c__s.  Th_  gr__p  s_ys  th_r_  _r_  _nly  _  f_w  h_ndr_d  _f  th_  pl_nts  l_ft  _n  th_  w_ld.  _  l_t  _f  th_  f_r_st  _n  wh_ch  th_  pl_nt  gr_ws  h_s  b__n  c_t  d_wn.  C_rp_r_t__ns  _r_  _s_ng  th_  l_nd  t_  gr_w  p_lm  __l.  Th_  fl_w_r  _s  _n_  _f  th_  b_gg_st  _n  th_  w_rld.  _t  c_n  gr_w  t_  _  h__ght  _f  thr__  m_tr_s  _nd  l_v_  _v_r  40  y__rs.  H_w_v_r,  _t  bl__ms  j_st  _nc_  _  d_c_d_  _nd  _p_ns  _nly  f_r  _  d_y  _r  tw_.  Th_  fl_w_r  sm_lls  l_k_  th_  r_tt_ng  fl_sh  _f  _  d__d  _n_m_l.  Th_s  sm_ll  _ttr_cts  b__tl_s  _nd  fl__s.  Th_  _ns_cts  p_ll_n_t_  th_  fl_w_r  s_  _t  c_n  bl__m  _g__n.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    people who like foulsmelling flowers were in luck this week they had a chance to see and smell the worlds smelliest plant called the corpse flower a corpse is a dead body the flower gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh the bloom attracted thousands of visitors to the geelong botanic garden just south of melbourne australia the plant began blooming on monday more than five thousand people visited the garden to see it some people had to hold their nose when they were near the flower others coughed and held their breath because of the foul smell australias nine news channel reported that visitors described the smell as being like a dead mouse or rotting garbage

    the corpse flower is extremely rare the plant is native to indonesia an international conservation group listed it as an endangered species the group says there are only a few hundred of the plants left in the wild a lot of the forest in which the plant grows has been cut down corporations are using the land to grow palm oil the flower is one of the biggest in the world it can grow to a height of three metres and live over 40 years however it blooms just once a decade and opens only for a day or two the flower smells like the rotting flesh of a dead animal this smell attracts beetles and flies the insects pollinate the flower so it can bloom again

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Peoplewholikefoul-smellingflowerswereinluckthisweek.Theyhadac
    hancetoseeandsmelltheworld'ssmelliestplant,calledthecorpseflowe
    r.Acorpseisadeadbody.Theflowergetsitsnamebecauseitsmellslikero
    ttingflesh.ThebloomattractedthousandsofvisitorstotheGeelongBota
    nicGarden,justsouthofMelbourne,Australia.Theplantbeganbloomin
    gonMonday.Morethanfivethousandpeoplevisitedthegardentoseeit.
    Somepeoplehadtoholdtheirnosewhentheywereneartheflower.Other
    scoughedandheldtheirbreathbecauseofthefoulsmell.Australia'sNine
    Newschannelreportedthatvisitorsdescribedthesmellasbeinglikeade
    admouseorrottinggarbage.Thecorpseflowerisextremelyrare.Thepla
    ntisnativetoIndonesia.Aninternationalconservationgrouplisteditasa
    nendangeredspecies.Thegroupsaysthereareonlyafewhundredofthe
    plantsleftinthewild.Alotoftheforestinwhichtheplantgrowshasbeencu
    tdown.Corporationsareusingthelandtogrowpalmoil.Theflowerisone
    ofthebiggestintheworld.Itcangrowtoaheightofthreemetresandliveo
    ver40years.However,itbloomsjustonceadecadeandopensonlyforad
    ayortwo.Theflowersmellsliketherottingfleshofadeadanimal.Thissme
    llattractsbeetlesandflies.Theinsectspollinatetheflowersoitcanbloom
    again.

    Free writing

    Write about corpse flower for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    All countries should create more botanic gardens.  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. BAD SMELLS: Make a poster about bad smells. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. BOTANIC GARDENS: Write a magazine article about every city creating a botanic garden. 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 bad smells. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your experiences of bad smells. 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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