The Reading / Listening - Grand Egyptian Museum - Level 5

A stunning museum has opened in Egypt's capital, Cairo. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) held an inauguration ceremony on Saturday. A host of dignitaries attended it. Egypt's president said GEM "is set to become an international cultural and scientific hub, contributing to enhancing tourism…in Egypt". Authorities hailed the $1.2 billion museum as "Egypt's gift to the world". A local tour guide hopes it will "usher in a new golden age of Egyptology". The location of GEM will attract visitors. It is in Giza and offers panoramic vistas of the Sphinx and the Pyramids.

The museum is the world's largest archaeological site dedicated to an ancient civilisation. It has over 50,000 exhibits. These have been relocated from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and from across Egypt. A giant 3,200-year-old, 11-metre-tall statue of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great dominates the entrance. GEM also houses the whole Tutankhamun collection. This was unearthed in 1922 in the southern city of Luxor. Officials hope GEM will encourage the return of Egyptian antiquities held in other countries, especially the Rosetta Stone, which is currently in the British Museum.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Grand Egyptian Museum - Level 4 or  Grand Egyptian Museum - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.arabnews.com/node/2620817/middle-east
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/31/egypts-vast-1bn-museum-to-open-in-cairo-after-two-decade-build
  • https://phys.org/news/2025-10-delays-egypt-lavish-grand-museum.html


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

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. A stunning
  2. an inauguration
  3. A host of dignitaries
  4. an international cultural
  5. Egypt's gift
  6. usher in
  7. The location of GEM will
  8. panoramic
  1. attended it
  2. attract visitors
  3. ceremony
  4. a new golden age
  5. vistas
  6. museum has opened
  7. to the world
  8. and scientific hub

Paragraph 2

  1. the world's largest
  2. dedicated to an ancient
  3. It has over 50,000
  4. the pharaoh
  5. dominates the
  6. GEM also houses the whole
  7. This was unearthed
  8. the return of Egyptian
  1. in 1922
  2. exhibits
  3. entrance
  4. civilisation
  5. Ramesses the Great
  6. antiquities
  7. Tutankhamun collection
  8. archaeological site

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A stunning museum has opened (1) ________________________________________________, Cairo. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) held an inauguration ceremony on Saturday. A (2) ________________________________________________ attended it. Egypt's president said GEM "is set to become an international cultural (3) ________________________________________________, contributing to enhancing tourism...in Egypt". Authorities hailed the $1.2 billion museum as "Egypt's gift to the world". A (4) ________________________________________________ hopes it will "usher in a new (5) ________________________________________________ Egyptology". The location of GEM will attract visitors. It is in Giza and (6) ________________________________________________ of the Sphinx and the Pyramids.

The museum is the world's (7) ______________________________________________ dedicated to an ancient civilisation. It has (8) ________________________________________________. These have been relocated from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and from across Egypt. A giant 3,200-year-old, 11-metre-tall (9) ________________________________________________ pharaoh Ramesses the Great (10) ________________________________________________. GEM also houses the whole Tutankhamun collection. This was unearthed in 1922 in the southern city of Luxor. Officials hope GEM will (11) ________________________________________________ of Egyptian antiquities held in other countries, especially the Rosetta Stone, (12) ________________________________________________ in the British Museum.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

AstunningmuseumhasopenedinEgypt'scapital,Cairo.TheGrandEgyp
tianMuseum(GEM)heldaninaugurationceremonyonSaturday.Ahost
ofdignitariesattendedit.Egypt'spresidentsaidGEM"issettobecomean
internationalculturalandscientifichub,contributingtoenhancingtouri
sm...inEgypt".Authoritieshailedthe$1.2billionmuseumas"Egypt'sgiftto
theworld".Alocaltourguidehopesitwill"usherinanewgoldenageofEgy
ptology".ThelocationofGEMwillattractvisitors.ItisinGizaandofferspa
noramicvistasoftheSphinxandthePyramids.Themuseumistheworld'
slargestarchaeologicalsitededicatedtoanancientcivilisation.Ithasov
er50,000exhibits.ThesehavebeenrelocatedfromtheEgyptianMuseu
minCairoandfromacrossEgypt.Agiant3,200-year-old,11-metre-ta
llstatueofthepharaohRamessestheGreatdominatestheentrance.GE
MalsohousesthewholeTutankhamuncollection.Thiswasunearthedin
1922inthesoutherncityofLuxor.OfficialshopeGEMwillencouragether
eturnofEgyptianantiquitiesheldinothercountries,especiallytheRoset
taStone,whichiscurrentlyintheBritishMuseum.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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