The Reading / Listening - Gifts - Level 6

A man in Singapore has lost a court case to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered on his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The two met during a flight in 2019. Mr X became besotted with Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to win her affection. He said he also gave her cash "loans". The court said the value of the presents and additional loans amounted to $369,200. The presiding judge said that Mr X had "displayed a consistent pattern of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been no expectation that Ms Y would have to repay any of the money or return the gifts.

The couple were involved in a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of having an affair. He argued in court that his ex-partner had requested interest-free loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance premiums, to pay for overseas trips, and to seek the advice of a feng shui master to assess her apartment. However, there was no documentary evidence to prove this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of love and affection". The judge concluded that Mr X had been "smitten" by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on a sour note, [Mr X] became embittered and was determined to extract a price from [Ms Y]."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Gifts - Level 4  or  Gifts - Level 5

Sources
  • https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/dbs-lawsuit-linked-to-jho-lows-associate-says-1mdb-taskforce-014754774.html
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/11/asia/ceo-sues-girlfriend-singapore-hnk-intl
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqxgzynk7o


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. GIFTS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about gifts. 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?
       court case / gifts / CEO / flight attendant / cash / loans / besotted / pattern / money /
       couple / romantic / relationship / having an affair / insurance / feng shui / affection
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. HAND-MADE GIFTS: Students A strongly believe hand-made gifts are best; Students B strongly believe they aren't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. RELATIONSHIPS: How can you keep a romantic relationship going? Do you do these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How?

You

Communication

 

 

Dating

 

 

Saying "Thank you"

 

 

Gifts

 

 

Shared housework

 

 

Trust

 

 

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

  • Expensive watch
  • Fine jewellery
  • Luxury hotel stay
  • Helicopter tour
  • Designer handbag
  • Diamond bracelet
  • 5-star restaurant meal
  • Made-to-order shoes

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. case a. Something that someone thinks will happen or should happen.
      2. showered b. A legal disagreement that is decided by a court.
      3. besotted c. The judge who leads a court case.
      4. lavish d. Gave someone a lot of something, like gifts or praise.
      5. presiding e. Very expensive or generous.
      6. consistent f. Very strongly attracted to someone and unable to think about much else.
      7. expectation g. Happening in the same way again and again.

    Paragraph 2

      8. involved h. Having a romantic relationship with someone.
      9. split up i. Feeling very angry and unhappy because of something that happened.
      10. suspected j. Ended a relationship.
      11. affair k. Information that shows whether something is true.
      12. premiums l. Thought that something was probably true.
      13. evidence m. A romantic relationship that one person has secretly had with someone else.
      14. embittered n. Money paid regularly for insurance.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. A man in Singapore gave his ex-girlfriend an expensive shower.     T / F
  2. The man's ex-girlfriend was an airline pilot.     T / F
  3. The man and the woman met on an airplane.     T / F
  4. The judge suggested the woman could return the gifts in the future.     T / F
  5. The couple dated for just over a year.     T / F
  6. The man said the woman asked for money for a feng shui assessment.    T / F
  7. The man produced documentary evidence, but it was not enough.     T / F
  8. The relationship ended on a sour note.     T / F

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

  1. get back
  2. showered
  3. besotted
  4. consistent
  5. lavish
  6. romantic
  7. premiums
  8. prove
  9. affection
  10. embittered
  1. regular payments
  2. steady
  3. fondness
  4. lavished
  5. demonstrate
  6. luxurious
  7. retrieve
  8. resentful
  9. in love
  10. intimate

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

  1. A man in Singapore has lost
  2. The two met
  3. started giving her lavish gifts to
  4. the value of the presents
  5. Mr X had displayed
  6. The couple were involved in a
  7. Mr X suspected Ms Y of
  8. life insurance
  9. there was no documentary evidence
  10. their relationship ended on a sour
  1. romantic relationship
  2. and additional loans
  3. to prove this
  4. win her affection
  5. premiums
  6. a consistent pattern
  7. a court case
  8. note
  9. during a flight in 2019
  10. having an affair

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
flight
expectation
lavish
presiding
case
repay
showered
additional

A man in Singapore has lost a court (1) _________________________________ to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had (2) _________________________________ on his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The two met during a (3) _________________________________ in 2019. Mr X became besotted with Ms Y and started giving her (4) _________________________________ gifts to win her affection. He said he also gave her cash "loans". The court said the value of the presents and (5) _________________________________ loans amounted to $369,200. The (6) _________________________________ judge said that Mr X had "displayed a consistent pattern of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been no (7) _________________________________ that Ms Y would have to (8) _________________________________ any of the money or return the gifts.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
premiums
evidence
involved
smitten
assess
sour
argued
affection

The couple were (9) _________________________________ in a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of having an affair. He (10) _________________________________ in court that his ex-partner had requested interest-free loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance (11) _________________________________, to pay for overseas trips, and to seek the advice of a feng shui master to (12) _________________________________ her apartment. However, there was no documentary (13) _________________________________ to prove this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of love and (14) _________________________________". The judge concluded that Mr X had been "(15) _________________________________ " by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on a (16) _________________________________ note, [Mr X] became embittered and was determined to extract a price from [Ms Y]."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered ______
     a.  on his ex-girlfriend
     b.  in his ex-girlfriend
     c.  and ex-girlfriend
     d.  to ex-girlfriend
2)  Mr X became besotted with Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to ______
     a.  win her affection
     b.  wine her affection
     c.  winner affection
     d.  win the affection
3)  The court said the value of the presents and additional loans ______
     a.  amounted too $369,200
     b.  amounted two $369,200
     c.  amounted to $369,200
     d.  amounted at $369,200
4)  Mr X had displayed a consistent pattern of showering Ms Y ______
     a.  with slavish gifts
     b.  with latish gifts
     c.  with lavish gifts
     d.  with lava gifts
5)  no expectation that Ms Y would have to repay any of the money or ______
     a.  returns the gifts
     b.  return the gifts
     c.  returned the gifts
     d.  returning the gifts

6)  They split up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of ______
     a.  having an affair
     b.  having an afar
     c.  having an after
     d.  having an affront
7)  seek the advice of a feng shui master to ______
     a.  asses her apartment
     b.  excess her apartment
     c.  abscess her apartment
     d.  assess her apartment
8)  Ms Y said all gifts were made out of ______
     a.  love end affection
     b.  loves and affection
     c.  loved and affection
     d.  love and affection
9)  Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on ______
     a.  a soar note
     b.  as hour note
     c.  a sour note
     d.  as our note
10)  Mr X became embittered and was determined to ______
     a.  exact a price
     b.  extract a price
     c.  exactly a price
     d.  excerpt a price

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A man in Singapore has lost a (1) _______________________________________________ get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered on his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The (2) _______________________________________________ a flight in 2019. Mr X became besotted with Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to (3) _______________________________________________. He said he also gave her cash "loans". The court said the value of the presents and (4) _______________________________________________ to $369,200. The presiding judge said that Mr X had "(5) _______________________________________________ pattern of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been (6) _______________________________________________ Ms Y would have to repay any of the money or return the gifts.

The couple (7) _______________________________________________ a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of (8) _______________________________________________. He argued in court that his ex-partner had requested interest-free loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance premiums, to pay for overseas trips, and to (9) _______________________________________________ of a feng shui master to assess her apartment. However, there was no documentary evidence to prove this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of (10) _______________________________________________". The judge concluded that Mr X had been "smitten" by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on (11) _______________________________________________, [Mr X] became embittered and (12) _______________________________________________ extract a price from [Ms Y]."

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the man's job?
  2. Where did the couple in the article meet?
  3. What did the man want to win?
  4. What did the man say he gave the woman besides gifts?
  5. Who said the man had showered the woman with lavish gifts?
  6. For how long did the couple date?
  7. What did the man suspect the woman of having?
  8. What did the woman want a feng shui master to assess?
  9. What did the man not have to prove his case?
  10. On what kind of note did the relationship end?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is the man's job?
a) flight attendant
b) airline pilot
c) company CEO
d) relationship counsellor
2) Where did the couple in the article meet?
a) on an airplane
b) on a ship
c) at a party
d) in Singapore
3) What did the man want to win?
a) the woman's affection
b) a running race
c) the lottery
d) the woman's hand in marriage
4) What did the man say he gave the woman besides gifts?
a) his love
b) cash loans
c) an apartment
d) a luxury car
 
5) Who said the man had showered the woman with lavish gifts?
a) a flight attendant
b) a jewellery shop
c) a financial advisor
d) the presiding judge

6) For how long did the couple date?
a) two years
b) just over a year
c) six months
d) just a few weeks
7) What did the man suspect the woman of having?
a) an affair
b) a secret bank account
c) designs on his job
d) huge debts
8) What did the woman want a feng shui master to assess?
a) her chances of love
b) her life
c) her apartment
d) her career opportunities
9) What did the man not have to prove his case?
a) recordings
b) video footage
c) time
d) documentary evidence
10) On what kind of note did the relationship end?
a) a sour note
b) a brief note
c) a mental note
d) a ransom note

Role play

Role  A – Expensive Watch
You think an expensive watch is the best present. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a luxury hotel stay, a helicopter tour or a designer handbag.

Role  B – Luxury Hotel Stay
You think a luxury hotel stay is the best present. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): an expensive watch, a helicopter tour or a designer handbag.

Role  C – A Helicopter Tour
You think a helicopter tour is the best present. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a luxury hotel stay, an expensive watch or a designer handbag.

Role  D – A Designer Handbag
You think a designer handbag is the best present. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): a luxury hotel stay, a helicopter tour or an expensive watch.

After reading / listening

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

'gift'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'romantic'.

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

    • lost
    • met
    • win
    • value
    • displayed
    • repay
    • involved
    • split
    • free
    • seek
    • prove
    • sour

    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 - Gifts

    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 'gift'?
    3. How often do you receive gifts?
    4. What gifts do you give to other people?
    5. What are the best kinds of gifts?
    6. Are gifts that you make yourself best?
    7. What really expensive gift would you like to receive?
    8. How important is it to give gifts?
    9. Have you ever received a gift you didn't like?
    10. What advice do you have for Mr X?

    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 'relationship'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Is it better to give or receive?
    5. What's the best gift you've ever been given?
    6. Is it OK to keep the gifts from ex-partners?
    7. What is the culture of gift-giving in your country?
    8. Is money or a present the best gift?
    9. Should Ms Y have returned the gifts?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Mr X?

    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)

    A man in Singapore has lost a court (1) ____ to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered (2) ____ his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The two met during a flight in 2019. Mr X became besotted (3) ____ Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to win her affection. He said he also gave her (4) ____ "loans". The court said the value of the presents and additional loans (5) ____ to $369,200. The presiding judge said that Mr X had "displayed a consistent pattern of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been (6) ____ expectation that Ms Y would have to repay any of the money or return the gifts.

    The couple were involved (7) ____ a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of having an (8) ____. He argued in court that his ex-partner had requested interest-free loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance premiums, to pay for overseas trips, and to (9) ____ the advice of a feng shui master to assess her apartment. However, there was no documentary evidence to (10) ____ this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of love and affection". The judge concluded that Mr X had been "(11) ____" by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on a sour note, [Mr X] became (12) ____ and was determined to extract a price from [Ms Y]."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     bag     (b)     box     (c)     case     (d)     file    
    (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     under     (d)     among    
    (a)     with     (b)     at     (c)     as     (d)     on    
    (a)     cash     (b)     encash     (c)     cashed     (d)     cashes    
    (a)     upped     (b)     amounted     (c)     plussed     (d)     additional    
    (a)     none     (b)     not     (c)     never     (d)     no    
    (a)     up     (b)     as     (c)     in     (d)     of    
    (a)     undertaking     (b)     incident     (c)     ordeal     (d)     affair    
    (a)     seek     (b)     reek     (c)     meek     (d)     leek    
    (a)     proof     (b)     prove     (c)     improve     (d)     improvise    
    (a)     mitten     (b)     smitten     (c)     smite     (d)     molten    
    (a)     bittered     (b)     bitten     (c)     embittered     (d)     bitters

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. gifts that he had srheowde on his ex-girlfriend
    2. Mr X became tsetdbeo with Ms Y
    3. lvshai gifts
    4. win her econffita
    5. Mr X had displayed a osntceinst pattern
    6. there had been no eaioteptcnx

    Paragraph 2

    1. The couple were nveodvli in a romantic relationship
    2. life insurance mrmpiues
    3. no tconuyamder evidence to prove this
    4. The judge concluded that Mr X had been nstietm by Ms Y
    5. Mr X became erdtieemtb
    6. enemreditd to extract a price from Ms Y

    Put the text back together

    (  1  )   A man in Singapore has lost a court case to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had
    (    )   amounted to $369,200. The presiding judge said that Mr X had "displayed a consistent pattern
    (    )   affection. He said he also gave her cash "loans". The court said the value of the presents and additional loans
    (    )   concluded that Mr X had been "smitten" by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on a sour
    (    )   evidence to prove this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of love and affection". The judge
    (    )   free loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance premiums, to pay for overseas
    (    )   met during a flight in 2019. Mr X became besotted with Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to win her
    (    )   note, [Mr X] became embittered and was determined to extract a price from [Ms Y]."
    (    )   of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been no expectation
    (    )   showered on his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The two
    (    )   that Ms Y would have to repay any of the money or return the gifts.
    (    )   The couple were involved in a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split
    (    )   trips, and to seek the advice of a feng shui master to assess her apartment. However, there was no documentary
    (    )   up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of having an affair. He argued in court that his ex-partner had requested interest-

    Put the words in the right order

    1. man   A   a   case   court   in   lost   Singapore   .
    2. affection   Giving   her   lavish   to   win   gifts   her   .
    3. additional   and   loans   presents   The   of   value   the   .
    4. A   gifts   her   lavish   of   pattern   showering   with   .
    5. any   money   or   Repay   return   the   gifts   .
    6. a   couple   involved   relationship   The   were   in   romantic   .
    7. affair   He   having   her   of   suspected   an   .
    8. advice   a   feng   master   of   shui   Seek   the   .
    9. by   concluded   He   smitten   that   Mr X   was   Ms Y   .
    10. ended   Unfortunately,   on   relationship   sour   their   note   a   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A man in Singapore has lost a court casing / case to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered / showed on his ex-girlfriend. The man, Mr X, is a company CEO. His ex, Ms Y, was a flight attendant. The two met among / during a flight in 2019. Mr X became belittled / besotted with Ms Y and started giving her lavish gifts to beat / win her affection. He said he also gave her cash / encash "loans". The court said the value of / at the presents and additional loans amounted for / to $369,200. The presiding judge said that Mr X had "displayed a consistent pattern to / of showering [Ms Y] with lavish gifts". The judge said there had been no expectation that Ms Y would have to repay many / any of the money or return the gifts.

    The couple were involved on / in a romantic relationship for just over a year. They split down / up after Mr X suspected Ms Y of having an affair. He argued in / on court that his ex-partner had requested interest-free loans to repay her credit cards and life / live insurance premiums, to pay for overseas trips, and to seek / meek the advice of a feng shui master to excess / assess her apartment. However, there was no documentary evidence to prove / proof this. Ms Y said all gifts were "made out of love and infection / affection". The judge concluded that Mr X had been "smitten" by Ms Y. He added: "Unfortunately, when their relationship ended on / in a sour note, [Mr X] became embittered and was determining / determined to extract a price from [Ms Y]."

    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)

    _  m_n  _n  S_ng_p_r_  h_s  l_st  _  c__rt  c_s_  t_  g_t  b_ck  h_ndr_ds  _f  th__s_nds  _f  d_ll_rs  _f  g_fts  th_t  h_  h_d  sh_w_r_d  _n  h_s  _x-g_rlfr__nd.  Th_  m_n,  Mr  X,  _s  _  c_mp_ny  C__.  H_s  _x,  Ms  Y,  w_s  _  fl_ght  _tt_nd_nt.  Th_  tw_  m_t  d_r_ng  _  fl_ght  _n  2019.  Mr  X  b_c_m_  b_s_tt_d  w_th  Ms  Y  _nd  st_rt_d  g_v_ng  h_r  l_v_sh  g_fts  t_  w_n  h_r  _ff_ct__n.  H_  s__d  h_  _ls_  g_v_  h_r  c_sh  "l__ns".  Th_  c__rt  s__d  th_  v_l__  _f  th_  pr_s_nts  _nd  _dd_t__n_l  l__ns  _m__nt_d  t_  $369,200.  Th_  pr_s_d_ng  j_dg_  s__d  th_t  Mr  X  h_d  "d_spl_y_d  _  c_ns_st_nt  p_tt_rn  _f  sh_w_r_ng  [Ms  Y]  w_th  l_v_sh  g_fts".  Th_  j_dg_  s__d  th_r_  h_d  b__n  n_  _xp_ct_t__n  th_t  Ms  Y  w__ld  h_v_  t_  r_p_y  _ny  _f  th_  m_n_y  _r  r_t_rn  th_  g_fts.

    Th_  c__pl_  w_r_  _nv_lv_d  _n  _  r_m_nt_c  r_l_t__nsh_p  f_r  j_st  _v_r  _  y__r.  Th_y  spl_t  _p  _ft_r  Mr  X  s_sp_ct_d  Ms  Y  _f  h_v_ng  _n  _ff__r.  H_  _rg__d  _n  c__rt  th_t  h_s  _x-p_rtn_r  h_d  r_q__st_d  _nt_r_st-fr__  l__ns  t_  r_p_y  h_r  cr_d_t  c_rds  _nd  l_f_  _ns_r_nc_  pr_m__ms,  t_  p_y  f_r  _v_rs__s  tr_ps,  _nd  t_  s__k  th_  _dv_c_  _f  _  f_ng  sh__  m_st_r  t_  _ss_ss  h_r  _p_rtm_nt.  H_w_v_r,  th_r_  w_s  n_  d_c_m_nt_ry  _v_d_nc_  t_  pr_v_  th_s.  Ms  Y  s__d  _ll  g_fts  w_r_  "m_d_  __t  _f  l_v_  _nd  _ff_ct__n".  Th_  j_dg_  c_ncl_d_d  th_t  Mr  X  h_d  b__n  "sm_tt_n"  by  Ms  Y.  H_  _dd_d:  "_nf_rt_n_t_ly,  wh_n  th__r  r_l_t__nsh_p  _nd_d  _n  _  s__r  n_t_,  [Mr  X]  b_c_m_  _mb_tt_r_d  _nd  w_s  d_t_rm_n_d  t_  _xtr_ct  _  pr_c_  fr_m  [Ms  Y]."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a man in singapore has lost a court case to get back hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts that he had showered on his exgirlfriend the man mr x is a company ceo his ex ms y was a flight attendant the two met during a flight in 2019 mr x became besotted with ms y and started giving her lavish gifts to win her affection he said he also gave her cash loans the court said the value of the presents and additional loans amounted to 369200 the presiding judge said that mr x had displayed a consistent pattern of showering ms y with lavish gifts the judge said there had been no expectation that ms y would have to repay any of the money or return the gifts

    the couple were involved in a romantic relationship for just over a year they split up after mr x suspected ms y of having an affair he argued in court that his expartner had requested interestfree loans to repay her credit cards and life insurance premiums to pay for overseas trips and to seek the advice of a feng shui master to assess her apartment however there was no documentary evidence to prove this ms y said all gifts were made out of love and affection the judge concluded that mr x had been smitten by ms y he added unfortunately when their relationship ended on a sour note mr x became embittered and was determined to extract a price from ms y

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AmaninSingaporehaslostacourtcasetogetbackhundredsofthousand
    sofdollarsofgiftsthathehadshoweredonhisex-girlfriend.Theman,Mr
    X,isacompanyCEO.Hisex,MsY,wasaflightattendant.Thetwometduri
    ngaflightin2019.MrXbecamebesottedwithMsYandstartedgivingherl
    avishgiftstowinheraffection.Hesaidhealsogavehercash"loans".Thec
    ourtsaidthevalueofthepresentsandadditionalloansamountedto$369
    ,200.ThepresidingjudgesaidthatMrXhad"displayedaconsistentpatte
    rnofshowering[MsY]withlavishgifts".Thejudgesaidtherehadbeenno
    expectationthatMsYwouldhavetorepayanyofthemoneyorreturntheg
    ifts.Thecouplewereinvolvedinaromanticrelationshipforjustoverayea
    r.TheysplitupafterMrXsuspectedMsYofhavinganaffair.Hearguedinco
    urtthathisex-partnerhadrequestedinterest-freeloanstorepayhercre
    ditcardsandlifeinsurancepremiums,topayforoverseastrips,andtosee
    ktheadviceofafengshuimastertoassessherapartment.However,ther
    ewasnodocumentaryevidencetoprovethis.MsYsaidallgiftswere"mad
    eoutofloveandaffection".ThejudgeconcludedthatMrXhadbeen"smitt
    en"byMsY.Headded:"Unfortunately,whentheirrelationshipendedon
    asournote,[MrX]becameembitteredandwasdeterminedtoextractapr
    icefrom[MsY]."

    Free writing

    Write about lavish gifts for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Home-made cakes and sweets are the best gifts. 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. GIFTS: Make a poster about gifts. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. HOME-MADE GIFTS: Write a magazine article about home-made gifts being best. Include imaginary interviews with people who agree with this and people who disagree with 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 gifts. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on the best gifts. 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

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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