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Date: April 17, 2007
THE ARTICLEPrince William quiet on royal romance endBritain’s media is having a field day reporting on Prince William's split with longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The nation’s newspapers and TV stations are desperate for news on "what really happened" and why the two split up. Competition for news is fierce and the paparazzi and journalists are hungry for any kind of scoop or scandal. It seems they are not content with William’s version of events – that he and Kate simply decided their romance was going nowhere and it was time to go their separate ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed this on a TV show, saying the media reports are “complete nonsense” and that the couple should be given breathing space, out of the media spotlight, to get on with their lives. "They're a young couple. We've had the announcement. Fine. They should be left alone," said Blair. The media has followed William and Kate ever since they first started dating at university five years ago. Rumours of marriage hit the headlines as soon as they decided to live together. Their decision to split, while staying “good friends”, has now sparked speculation of a different kind. Some newspapers have blamed the British queen, while others report William’s military career is at the centre of things. The latest “exclusive” is that Kate’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship. The Daily Telegraph newspaper even reported that Kate’s mother’s use of English was not sophisticated enough for royalty. In particular, she said "toilet" rather than "lavatory", and "pleased to meet you" instead of "how do you do?" Kate has refused to comment and has turned down $10 million to tell her story. WARM-UPS1. PAPARAZZI: Imagine you are a member of the paparazzi. Write down three famous people you have photographed. Walk around the class and talk to the other “paparazzi” about your job and photographs. After you finish, sit with different “paparazzi” and share the stories you heard. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 3. HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE: With your partner(s), talk about the differences in the language of your native tongue. Use these to help you:
4. DATING: What are the biggest problems of dating? Put these in order of the biggest causes of couples to break up:
5. QUICK DEBATE: Have this quick debate with your partner(s). Students A think princes should only marry princesses; students B think princes can marry anyone, even commoners. Change partners and topics every two minutes. 6. PRINCE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “prince”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text. Prince William quiet on royal romance end
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Britain’s media is having a ________ day reporting on Prince William's split with longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The nation’s newspapers and TV stations are ________ for news on "what really happened" and why the two split up. Competition for news is fierce and the paparazzi and journalists are ________ for any kind of scoop or scandal. It seems they are not content with William’s ________ of events – that he and Kate simply decided their romance was going ________ and it was time to go their separate ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed this on a TV show, saying the media reports are “complete ________” and that the couple should be given breathing ________, out of the media ________, to get on with their lives. "They're a young couple. We've had the announcement. Fine. They should be left alone," said Blair.
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nonsense |
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The media has followed William and Kate ever ________ they first started dating at university five years ago. Rumours of marriage ________ the headlines as soon as they decided to live together. Their decision to split, while staying “good friends”, has now sparked ________ of a different kind. Some newspapers have ________ the British queen, while others report William’s military career is at the centre of ________. The latest “exclusive” is that Kate’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship. The Daily Telegraph newspaper even reported that Kate’s mother’s ________ of English was not sophisticated enough for royalty. In particular, she said "toilet" rather than "________ ", and "pleased to meet you" instead of "how do you do?" Kate has refused to comment and has ________ down $10 million to tell her story. |
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use |
Listen and fill in the spaces.
Britain’s media ______________________ reporting on Prince William's split with longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The nation’s newspapers and TV stations are desperate for ______________________ happened" and why the two split up. Competition for news is fierce and the paparazzi and journalists are hungry ______________________ scandal. It seems they are not content with William’s version of events – that he and Kate simply decided their romance was going nowhere and it was time to go their separate ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair __________________ TV show, saying the media reports are “complete nonsense” and that the couple should be given breathing space, out of the media spotlight, to get on with their lives. "They're a young couple. We've had the announcement. Fine. They __________________," said Blair.
The media has followed William and Kate __________________ started dating at university five years ago. Rumours of marriage hit the headlines __________________ to live together. Their decision to split, while staying “good friends”, has now __________________ a different kind. Some newspapers have blamed the British queen, while others report William’s military career is __________________. The latest “exclusive” is that Kate’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship. The Daily Telegraph newspaper even reported that Kate’s __________________ English was not sophisticated enough for royalty. In particular, she said "toilet" rather than "lavatory", and "__________________ " instead of "how do you do?" Kate has refused to comment __________________ $10 million to tell her story.
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘field’ and ‘day’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
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. STUDENT “ROMANCE” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about dating and romance.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
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STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
ROYAL BREAK-UP:
With your partner(s), speculate on how each of these people might have caused the break-up of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Give the reason given to the public (a lie) and the “exclusive” real reason.
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The people |
The reasons given to the public |
The real, hidden reasons |
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The British Queen |
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Prince William |
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Kate Middleton’s mother |
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Kate’s old boyfriend |
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Tony Blair |
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After you finish, change partners and tell each other what you decided. Who has the best stories?
CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.
Britain’s media is having a field (1) ____ reporting on Prince William's split with longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The nation’s newspapers and TV stations are desperate for news (2) ____ "what really happened" and why the two split up. Competition for news is (3) ____ and the paparazzi and journalists are hungry for any kind of scoop or scandal. It seems they are not (4) ____ with William’s version of events – that he and Kate simply decided their romance was going nowhere and it was time to go their separate ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair (5) ____ this on a TV show, saying the media reports are “complete nonsense” and that the couple should be given breathing (6) ____, out of the media spotlight, to get on with their lives. "They're a young couple. We've had the announcement. Fine. They should be left alone," said Blair.
The media has followed William and Kate ever (7) ____ they first started dating at university five years ago. Rumours of marriage (8) ____ the headlines as soon as they decided to live together. Their decision to split, while staying “good friends”, has now sparked speculation of a different kind. Some newspapers have blamed the British queen, while others report William’s military career is at the centre of (9) ____. The latest “exclusive” is that Kate’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship. The Daily Telegraph newspaper (10) ____ reported that Kate’s mother’s use of English was not sophisticated enough for royalty. In particular, she said "toilet" rather than "lavatory", and "pleased to meet you" instead of "how do you (11) ____?" Kate has refused to comment and has turned (12) ____ $10 million to tell her story.
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1. |
(a) |
week |
(b) |
month |
(c) |
year |
(d) |
day |
|
2. |
(a) |
with |
(b) |
at |
(c) |
on |
(d) |
in |
|
3. |
(a) |
fierce |
(b) |
fiercely |
(c) |
fiend |
(d) |
fire |
|
4. |
(a) |
content |
(b) |
index |
(c) |
contents |
(d) |
happiness |
|
5. |
(a) |
echoing |
(b) |
echoed |
(c) |
vetoed |
(d) |
voted |
|
6. |
(a) |
trace |
(b) |
space |
(c) |
pace |
(d) |
face |
|
7. |
(a) |
while |
(b) |
after |
(c) |
for |
(d) |
since |
|
8. |
(a) |
hit |
(b) |
hitting |
(c) |
hits |
(d) |
hit and miss |
|
9. |
(a) |
anything |
(b) |
things |
(c) |
stuff |
(d) |
goods |
|
10. |
(a) |
so |
(b) |
odd |
(c) |
ever |
(d) |
even |
|
11. |
(a) |
speak |
(b) |
know |
(c) |
do |
(d) |
go |
|
12. |
(a) |
in |
(b) |
up |
(c) |
forward |
(d) |
down |
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 more information about Prince William. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. PRINCES POSTER: Make a poster about different princes or young royals around the world. How are they different? Show your poster to your class in the next lesson. Vote on the best one(s).
4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the break up of William and Kate. In particular, write about the possible reasons for the split. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?
5. LETTER: Write a letter to Prince William. Ask him/her three questions about why he split up with his girlfriend. Give him three pieces of advice about his future romances. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
TRUE / FALSE:
|
a. F |
b. T |
c. T |
d. F |
e. F |
f. F |
g. F |
h. T |
SYNONYM MATCH:
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a. |
split |
break-up |
|
b. |
desperate |
dying for |
|
c. |
fierce |
cut-throat |
|
d. |
version |
description |
|
e. |
nonsense |
rubbish |
|
f. |
rumours |
stories |
|
g. |
sparked |
triggered |
|
h. |
exclusive |
scoop |
|
i. |
sophisticated |
refined |
|
j. |
refused |
declined |
PHRASE MATCH:
|
a. |
Britain’s media is having a field |
day reporting on Prince William |
|
b. |
TV stations are desperate |
for news on "what really happened" |
|
c. |
journalists are hungry for |
any kind of scoop or scandal |
|
d. |
not content with |
William’s version of events |
|
e. |
the couple should be given breathing |
space |
|
f. |
ever |
since they first started dating |
|
g. |
Rumours of marriage hit |
the headlines |
|
h. |
sparked |
speculation of a different kind |
|
i. |
not sophisticated |
enough for royalty |
|
j. |
turned |
down $10 million to tell her story |
GAP FILL:
Britain’s media is having a field day reporting on Prince William's split with longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. The nation’s newspapers and TV stations are desperate for news on "what really happened" and why the two split up. Competition for news is fierce and the paparazzi and journalists are hungry for any kind of scoop or scandal. It seems they are not content with William’s version of events – that he and Kate simply decided their romance was going nowhere and it was time to go their separate ways. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed this on a TV show, saying the media reports are “complete nonsense” and that the couple should be given breathing space, out of the media spotlight, to get on with their lives. "They're a young couple. We've had the announcement. Fine. They should be left alone," said Blair.
The media has followed William and Kate ever since they first started dating at university five years ago. Rumours of marriage hit the headlines as soon as they decided to live together. Their decision to split, while staying “good friends”, has now sparked speculation of a different kind. Some newspapers have blamed the British queen, while others report William’s military career is at the centre of things. The latest “exclusive” is that Kate’s mother told her daughter to end the relationship. The Daily Telegraph newspaper even reported that Kate’s mother’s use of English was not sophisticated enough for royalty. In particular, she said "toilet" rather than "lavatory", and "pleased to meet you" instead of "how do you do?" Kate has refused to comment and has turned down $10 million to tell her story.
LANGUAGE WORK
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1 - d |
2 - c |
3 - a |
4 -a |
5 - b |
6 -b |
7 - d |
8 -a |
9 -b |
10 - d |
11 -c |
12 - d |
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