Breaking News English

WARM-UPS

1. PIRATES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about pirates. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

getting old / wrinkles / going grey / natural hair colour / shampoo / hair dye / bald / researchers / illness / stress / reversing a process / details / a thing of the past

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. HIJACKED: Do you think you’d be good in a hijack situation? Complete the table below. Share what you wrote with your partner(s).

Kind of hijack	Your biggest worries	What you would do to stay safe
Airplane
Car
Ship
Your identity
A plan
A train

4. PIRACY: Students A strongly believe companies and governments should never, ever, ever talk to hijackers; Students B strongly believe people must talk to hijackers and pay ransoms to free hostages. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. WHO GOES?: With your partner(s), discuss the order in which you would release these people. Share your ideas with other students. Try to agree as a class.

_____  The U.S. President     _____  A world-famous doctor     _____  A soldier

_____  The boss of McDonalds     _____  A poor woman from a poor country     _____  A really cute and intelligent little boy

6. HIJACK: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘hijack’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The Indian navy has sunk a Somali pirate ship in the River Ganges.	T / F
b.	The mother of the ship’s captain was on board the Somali ship.	T / F
c.	The pirates attacked the Indian navy ship first.	T / F
d.	There was hardly a sound when the pirate ship sank.	T / F
e.	One company has already paid over $30 million in ransom this year.	T / F
f.	The pirates got a prize for hijacking a huge oil tanker.	T / F
g.	There are twelve hijacked ships docked in Somali ports.	T / F
h.	Some of the pirates drive expensive Toyota Land Cruisers.	T / F

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

1.	destroyed	a.	so far
2	encountered	b.	ship
3.	investigation	c.	happening
4.	opened fire on	d.	check
5.	vessel	e.	stop
6.	incident	f.	got
7.	gained	g.	wiped out
8.	to date	h.	came across
9.	prevent	i.	most expensive
10.	top-of-the-range	j.	shot at

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1.	a pirate ship off the	a.	explosions were heard
2	The captain of	b.	at sea
3.	the pirates opened	c.	lawless
4.	Fire broke out... and	d.	prize to date
5.	ammunition that was stored	e.	coast of Somalia
6.	a week of hijackings and high tension	f.	fire on the naval ship
7.	Over $30 million in ransoms has	g.	Toyota Land Cruisers
8.	the pirates gained their biggest	h.	in the vessel
9.	The country is almost completely	i.	the Indian ship
10.	top-of-the-range	j.	already been paid

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

An Indian warship has __________ a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia. The sinking is the first the first __________ against the Somali pirates. The Indian navy ship INS Tabar encountered the Somali “mother ship” off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden. The captain of the Indian ship __________ the pirate ship to stop for an investigation. The pirate ship __________ by threatening to blow up the Indian warship if it got any __________. After the pirates opened fire on the naval ship, the Indian sailors retaliated and __________ the Somali vessel. An Indian navy statement said there were many explosions as the pirate ship went down. "Fire broke out...and __________ were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the __________," an Indian navy spokesman said.		sank requested vessel responded destroyed nearer victory explosions
This incident comes after a week of hijackings and high __________ at sea. Piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is __________ companies and governments more and more money. Over $30 million in __________ has already been paid to the Somali pirates this year. At the weekend, the pirates gained their biggest __________ to date. They boarded and captured a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying oil __________ $100 million. Since then, the pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing vessel, an Iranian cargo ship and a Chinese fishing boat. There are now __________ of hijacked ships in Somali ports. The country is almost completely __________. There is no one able to prevent the pirates, who are now driving around in top-of-the-__________ Toyota Land Cruisers and building luxury villas for themselves.		dozens  prize ransoms range tension lawless worth costing

LISTENING:  Listen and fill in the spaces.

An Indian warship has destroyed a pirate ship ______________ Somalia. The sinking is the first the first ______________ Somali pirates. The Indian navy ship INS Tabar encountered the Somali “mother ship” off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden. The captain of the Indian ship requested the pirate _________________ an investigation. The pirate ship responded by threatening to blow up the Indian warship ______________ nearer. After the pirates opened fire on the naval ship, the Indian sailors retaliated and sank the Somali vessel. An Indian navy statement ______________ many explosions as the pirate ship went down. "Fire broke out...and explosions were heard, ______________ exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," an Indian navy spokesman said.

This incident ___________________ of hijackings and high tension at sea. Piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is costing companies and governments more and more money. Over $30 million ______________ already been paid to the Somali pirates this year. At the weekend, the pirates gained their biggest ______________. They boarded and captured a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying oil worth $100 million. Since then, the pirates _______________ Thai fishing vessel, an Iranian cargo ship and a Chinese fishing boat. There are now dozens of hijacked ships in Somali ports. The country is almost completely lawless. There ______________ prevent the pirates, who are now driving around in ______________ Toyota Land Cruisers and building luxury villas for themselves.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘high’ and ‘tension’.

high

tension

• 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:

destroyed victory captain nearer fire spokesman

incident more paid worth dozens prevent

STUDENT PIRACY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about piracy 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

PIRACY DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘pirates’?
c)	Did you think pirates only belonged in adventure stories and action movies?
d)	Have you been following the news of the Somali pirates?
e)	What do you think of the hijacking of the Saudi Arabian supertanker?
f)	Do you think the recent sinking of the Somali ship is the beginning of the end for the pirates?
g)	Do you think the international community should fight the pirates?
h)	What would the world have done if the pirates sank the Indian warship?
i)	How would you negotiate with the pirates?
j)	Do you know of any piracy in the rest of the world?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you think of the pirates?
c)	Do you think governments should pay ransoms to pirates?
d)	Do you think the pirates could interrupt the world’s oil supply?
e)	What do you think will happen to the Saudi Arabian supertanker?
f)	Do you think all ships should avoid the Gulf of Aden?
g)	What should the international community do to return law to Somalia?
h)	Would you sail on a ship that cruises the Gulf of Aden?
i)	Do you think the Land Cruiser-driving pirates will be arrested one day?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the pirates?

LANGUAGE

An Indian warship has (1) ____ a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia. The sinking is the first the first victory against the Somali pirates. The Indian navy ship INS Tabar encountered the Somali “mother ship” (2) ____ the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden. The captain of the Indian ship (3) ____ the pirate ship to stop for an investigation. The pirate ship responded by threatening to blow (4) ____ the Indian warship if it got any nearer. After the pirates opened fire on the naval ship, the Indian sailors retaliated and sank the Somali vessel. An Indian navy statement said there were many explosions (5) ____ the pirate ship went down. "Fire broke out...and explosions were heard, possibly due (6) ____ exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," an Indian navy spokesman said.

This incident comes after a week of hijackings and high (7) ____ at sea. Piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is costing companies and governments more and (8) ____ money. Over $30 million in ransoms has already been paid to the Somali pirates this year. At the weekend, the pirates gained their biggest prize to (9) ____. They boarded and captured a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying oil worth $100 million. Since then, the pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing vessel, an Iranian cargo ship and a Chinese fishing boat. There are now (10) ____ of hijacked ships in Somali ports. The country is almost completely lawless. There is no one able to (11) ____ the pirates, who are now driving around in top-of-the-(12) ____ Toyota Land Cruisers and building luxury villas for themselves.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	destroy	(b)	destruction	(c)	destroying	(d)	destroyed
2.	(a)	at	(b)	in	(c)	off	(d)	next
3.	(a)	requests	(b)	requested	(c)	requesting	(d)	request
4.	(a)	up	(b)	in	(c)	down	(d)	on
5.	(a)	has	(b)	was	(c)	as	(d)	us
6.	(a)	for	(b)	from	(c)	with	(d)	to
7.	(a)	tense	(b)	tension	(c)	tents	(d)	tenses
8.	(a)	more	(b)	most	(c)	much	(d)	many
9.	(a)	dates	(b)	date	(c)	dating	(d)	dated
10.	(a)	dozen	(b)	twelve	(c)	dozens	(d)	doze off
11.	(a)	prevent	(b)	prevention	(c)	prevents	(d)	preventing
12.	(a)	list	(b)	mountain	(c)	morning	(d)	range

WRITING: 

Write about pirates for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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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 the Somali pirates. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PIRACY: Make a poster about different types of piracy. Describe pirates of old and modern day pirates. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. PIRATES: Write a magazine article about the pirates. Include imaginary interviews with the chief pirate and the owner of the Saudi Arabian supertanker.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to the boss of the company that owns the supertanker. Ask her/him three questions about the situation in Somalia. Give her/him your three ideas on what to do to get the supertanker and its crew back. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

6. DIARY / JOURNAL: You are a pirate. Write a diary entry about an average day in your life at sea. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. F

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	destroyed	a.	wiped out
2	encountered	b.	came across
3.	investigation	c.	check
4.	opened fire on	d.	shot at
5.	vessel	e.	ship
6.	incident	f.	happening
7.	gained	g.	got
8.	to date	h.	so far
9.	prevent	i.	stop
10.	top-of-the-range	j.	most expensive

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a pirate ship off the	a.	coast of Somalia
2	The captain of	b.	the Indian ship
3.	the pirates opened	c.	fire on the naval ship
4.	Fire broke out... and	d.	explosions were heard
5.	ammunition that was stored	e.	in the vessel
6.	a week of hijackings and high tension	f.	at sea
7.	Over $30 million in ransoms has	g.	already been paid
8.	the pirates gained their biggest	h.	prize to date
9.	The country is almost completely	i.	lawless
10.	top-of-the-range	j.	Toyota Land Cruisers

GAP FILL:

Indian navy sinks Somali pirate ship

An Indian warship has destroyed a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia. The sinking is the first the first victory against the Somali pirates. The Indian navy ship INS Tabar encountered the Somali “mother ship” off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden. The captain of the Indian ship requested the pirate ship to stop for an investigation. The pirate ship responded by threatening to blow up the Indian warship if it got any nearer. After the pirates opened fire on the naval ship, the Indian sailors retaliated and sank the Somali vessel. An Indian navy statement said there were many explosions as the pirate ship went down. "Fire broke out...and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," an Indian navy spokesman said.

This incident comes after a week of hijackings and high tension at sea. Piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is costing companies and governments more and more money. Over $30 million in ransoms has already been paid to the Somali pirates this year. At the weekend, the pirates gained their biggest prize to date. They boarded and captured a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying oil worth $100 million. Since then, the pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing vessel, an Iranian cargo ship and a Chinese fishing boat. There are now dozens of hijacked ships in Somali ports. The country is almost completely lawless. There is no one able to prevent the pirates, who are now driving around in top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers and building luxury villas for themselves.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - c

3 - b

4 - a

5 - c

6 - d

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 -c

11 - a

12 - d

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