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WARM-UPS

1. HANOI: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Hanoi and Vietnam. Change partners often. Sit with your first 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.

birthdays / 1,000 / millennium / climax / dressing up / waste of money / chaotic / confident / celebration / telecommunication / festivities / parades / lasting impressions

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

3. CELEBRATIONS: What’s the best way to celebrate? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	How do you celebrate?	How would you really like to?
Birthdays
Weddings
Graduations
Births
New Year
National day

4. BIRTHDAYS: Students A strongly believe birthdays are great; Students B strongly believe they’re not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. FESTIVALS: What’s most important? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most important at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

parades fireworks food music

exhibitions speeches dancing alcohol

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Hanoi has been called Hanoi for more than 1,000 years.	T / F
b.	City officials have been on a tight budget for the city’s celebrations.	T / F
c.	Hanoi citizens would rather money be spent on making the city better.	T / F
d.	A 65-year-old suggested the city’s transport will make the city proud.	T / F
e.	The city has put lots of its overhead cables underground.	T / F
f.	Exactly 10,000 turtles will be a part of the celebrations.	T / F
g.	Several new museums will open during the celebrations.	T / F
h.	More than 30,000 people will march in the streets in a big parade.	T / F

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

1.	mark	a.	ugly
2	climax	b.	contributors
3.	share	c.	disorder
4.	congestion	d.	recognize
5.	chaos	e.	positive
6.	confident	f.	portion
7.	unsightly	g.	images
8.	rare	h.	peak
9.	participants	i.	uncommon
10.	impressions	j.	blockage

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

1.	Hanoi is to mark its	a.	share of problems
2	the climax	b.	effort
3.	Officials have spared	c.	to the city
4.	has its fair	d.	no expense
5.	bring chaos	e.	telecommunications cables
6.	the transfer of unsightly overhead	f.	1,000th birthday
7.	festivities will include hundreds	g.	of new bridges
8.	The city will see the opening	h.	of 10 days of celebrations
9.	We must spare no	i.	on our citizens
10.	make lasting impressions	j.	of cultural performances

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Hanoi is to ____________ its 1,000th birthday on October 10th. The city was chosen as Vietnam’s capital one millennium ago and was first called Thanglong. The party will be the ____________ of 10 days of celebrations. Officials have spared no expense in dressing up the city, but many residents believe the event is a ____________ of money. Hanoi is ____________ to more than six million people and has its fair ____________ of problems. Many of its citizens believe the money would have been better spent on easing traffic ____________ or providing flood defences. Nguyen Thi Lan, 44, told reporters: "Our capital is dirty and ____________. Not many tourists return after the first trip.” Tran Van Lam, 65, said the party would bring chaos to the city: "Transport will be a ____________,” he said.		share chaotic waste mess mark congestion climax home
City authorities are ____________ the celebrations will be a great success. They ____________ to many projects that have already made the city more attractive. Among these is the transfer of ____________ overhead telecommunications cables underground. The festivities will include hundreds of cultural performances and events, like exhibitions of 1,000 ____________ turtles and 1,000 farm tools. The city will see the ____________ of new bridges, monuments, and a new museum, as well as Vietnam's biggest-ever ____________; over 30,000 participants will march through the streets. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: "We must spare no ____________ to make ____________ impressions on our citizens and foreign guests.”		rare lasting point parade unsightly confident opening effort

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Hanoi ________________ 1,000th birthday on October 10th. The city was chosen as Vietnam’s capital one millennium ago and was first called Thanglong. The party ________________ of 10 days of celebrations. Officials have ____________________ dressing up the city, but many residents believe the event is a waste of money. Hanoi is home to more than six million people and ________________ of problems. Many of its citizens believe the money would have been better spent on ____________________ or providing flood defences. Nguyen Thi Lan, 44, told reporters: "Our capital is dirty and chaotic. Not many tourists return after the first trip.” Tran Van Lam, 65, said the party ____________________ the city: "Transport will be a mess,” he said.

City authorities are ____________________ will be a great success. They point to many projects that have already made the city more attractive. Among these is the ____________________ overhead telecommunications cables underground. The festivities will include hundreds of cultural ______________________, like exhibitions of 1,000 rare turtles and 1,000 farm tools. The city ____________________ new bridges, monuments, and a new museum, as well as Vietnam's biggest-ever parade; over 30,000 participants ____________________ streets. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: "We must spare no effort to ____________________ our citizens and foreign guests.”

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

birthday

celebration

• 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:

mark climax dressing fair traffic bring

point attractive cables rare see effort

STUDENT HANOI AND VIETNAM SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Hanoi and Vietnam 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.

HANOI AND VIETNAM 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 ‘celebration’?
c)	What do you know about Hanoi?
d)	What would you like your city to do to celebrate its history?
e)	Do you think Hanoi should spend so much on the celebrations if many of its citizens are unhappy about it?
f)	Does you city spend its money wisely?
g)	Have you ever spared no expense on dressing up?
h)	Should Hanoi citizens relax and enjoy the fun, despite the traffic chaos?
i)	What’s your ideal birthday celebration?
j)	Would you like to visit Hanoi as a tourist?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Do you think the celebrations are a good idea?
c)	How unsightly is your city? What would you like to do to improve it?
d)	Do you like attending celebrations?
e)	What does your city do to celebrate its history and traditions?
f)	When was the last time you spared no effort to do something?
g)	What do you think you would enjoy most about the Hanoi celebrations (if you went)?
h)	What is the best parade you’ve ever been?
i)	When was the last time a country had a lasting impression on you?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Hanoi is to mark its 1,000th birthday on October 10th. The city was (1) ____ as Vietnam’s capital one millennium ago and was first called Thanglong. The party will be the (2) ____ of 10 days of celebrations. Officials have (3) ____ no expense in dressing up the city, but many residents believe the event is a waste of money. Hanoi is home to more than six million people and has its (4) ____ share of problems. Many of its citizens believe the money would have been better spent (5) ____ easing traffic congestion or providing flood defences. Nguyen Thi Lan, 44, told reporters: "Our capital is dirty and chaotic. Not many tourists return after the first trip.” Tran Van Lam, 65, said the party would bring chaos to the city: "Transport will be a (6) ____,” he said.

City authorities are confident the celebrations will be a great success. They (7) ____ to many projects that have already made the city more attractive. Among these is the transfer of (8) ____ overhead telecommunications cables underground. The festivities will include hundreds of cultural performances and events, (9) ____ exhibitions of 1,000 rare turtles and 1,000 farm tools. The city will see the (10) ____ of new bridges, monuments, and a new museum, as well as Vietnam's biggest-ever parade; over 30,000 participants will (11) ____ through the streets. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: "We must spare no effort to make (12) ____ impressions on our citizens and foreign guests.”

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

1.	(a)	choice	(b)	choose	(c)	chooses	(d)	chosen
2.	(a)	climate	(b)	climax	(c)	climb	(d)	clinic
3.	(a)	spared	(b)	shared	(c)	shaved	(d)	speared
4.	(a)	fare	(b)	fear	(c)	four	(d)	fair
5.	(a)	in	(b)	by	(c)	on	(d)	at
6.	(a)	mass	(b)	miss	(c)	mess	(d)	moss
7.	(a)	highlight	(b)	point	(c)	indicate	(d)	nudge
8.	(a)	unsightly	(b)	sightseeing	(c)	sighted	(d)	sighting
9.	(a)	likely	(b)	like	(c)	likeness	(d)	likelihood
10.	(a)	opening	(b)	opens	(c)	opened	(d)	opener
11.	(a)	much	(b)	mach	(c)	charm	(d)	march
12.	(a)	lasts	(b)	lasted	(c)	lastly	(d)	lasting

WRITING

Write about Hanoi and Vietnam 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 Hanoi and Vietnam. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. HANOI AND VIETNAM: Make a poster about Hanoi and Vietnam. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. 1,000: Write a magazine article about the millennium celebrations for your town. What would the town do? Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against them.

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 Hanoi’s leader. Ask him/her three questions about Hanoi. Give him/her three ideas on what to do in the next 1,000 years. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

T

d.

F

e.

T

f.

F

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	mark	a.	recognize
2	climax	b.	peak
3.	share	c.	portion
4.	congestion	d.	blockage
5.	chaos	e.	disorder
6.	confident	f.	positive
7.	unsightly	g.	ugly
8.	rare	h.	uncommon
9.	participants	i.	entrants
10.	impressions	j.	images

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Hanoi is to mark its	a.	1,000th birthday
2	the climax	b.	of 10 days of celebrations
3.	Officials have spared	c.	no expense
4.	has its fair	d.	share of problems
5.	bring chaos	e.	to the city
6.	the transfer of unsightly overhead	f.	telecommunications cables
7.	festivities will include hundreds	g.	of cultural performances
8.	The city will see the opening	h.	of new bridges
9.	We must spare no	i.	effort
10.	make lasting impressions	j.	on our citizens

GAP FILL:

Hanoi to celebrate its 1,000th birthday

Hanoi is to mark its 1,000th birthday on October 10th. The city was chosen as Vietnam’s capital one millennium ago and was first called Thanglong. The party will be the climax of 10 days of celebrations. Officials have spared no expense in dressing up the city, but many residents believe the event is a waste of money. Hanoi is home to more than six million people and has its fair share of problems. Many of its citizens believe the money would have been better spent on easing traffic congestion or providing flood defences. Nguyen Thi Lan, 44, told reporters: "Our capital is dirty and chaotic. Not many tourists return after the first trip.” Tran Van Lam, 65, said the party would bring chaos to the city: "Transport will be a mess,” he said.

City authorities are confident the celebrations will be a great success. They point to many projects that have already made the city more attractive. Among these is the transfer of unsightly overhead telecommunications cables underground. The festivities will include hundreds of cultural performances and events, like exhibitions of 1,000 rare turtles and 1,000 farm tools. The city will see the opening of new bridges, monuments, and a new museum, as well as Vietnam's biggest-ever parade; over 30,000 participants will march through the streets. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said: "We must spare no effort to make lasting impressions on our citizens and foreign guests.”

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - c

2 - b

3 - a

4 - d

5 - c

6 - c

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 - a

11 - d

12 - d

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