Breaking News English

        

1. BULLFIGHTING: Walk around the class and talk to other students about bullfighting. 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.

come to an end / fans / region / spectators / spectacle / record speed / tradition / crowds / petition / barbaric / politicians / democratic / mainland / centuries / dozens

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

3. ANIMALS: Should we leave them alone? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Animals for…	Why yes	Why no
bullfighting
pets
medical research
the blind
zoos and circuses
eating

4. BANNED: Students A strongly believe bullfighting should be banned around the world; Students B strongly believe otherwise.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. TRADITIONS: How many are there in your country? Write a list below and rank them. Put the best at the top. Share your rankings with your partner(s).

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

6. BAN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘ban’. 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.	Bullfighting has been banned from September 25 in a part of Spain.	T / F
b.	Fewer than 2,000 spectators were at the final fights.	T / F
c.	Some of Spain’s top matadors performed at the final event.	T / F
d.	Crowds attending bullfights have been growing recently.	T / F
e.	Around 180,000 people signed a petition against bullfighting.	T / F
f.	Opponents of the ban have said the fight isn’t over.	T / F
g.	Catalonia is the first region on mainland Spain to ban bullfighting.	T / F
h.	Bullfighting started in Seville’s Maestranza bullring 500 years ago.	T / F

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

1.	come to an end	a.	a great deal of
2	actual	b.	leading
3.	spectators	c.	finished
4.	top	d.	prohibit
5.	in decline	e.	enthusiasts
6.	ban	f.	onlookers
7.	argued	g.	area
8.	fans	h.	dying
9.	plenty of	i.	real
10.	region	j.	claimed

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

1.	Bullfighting has come	a.	crowds each year
2	The actual ban comes into effect	b.	at the historic event
3.	Over 20,000	c.	twice
4.	top matadors performed	d.	spectators
5.	smaller and smaller	e.	region
6.	180,000 people signed	f.	to an end
7.	they have a chance of	g.	for centuries
8.	think	h.	on the first of January
9.	mainland	i.	a petition against it
10.	part of Spanish life	j.	getting it overturned

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Bullfighting has come to an (1) ____________ in northeastern Spain. Fans in the region of Catalonia saw their last fights on September 25. The (2) ____________ ban comes into effect on the first of January, 2012, but Sunday’s fighting was the last of the (3) ____________. Over 20,000 spectators packed Barcelona's Monumental arena to see this age-old spectacle (4) ____________ in the city for the last time. Spain’s top matadors performed at the historic event, which sold out at record (5) ____________. One matador, Julian Lopez, told the AP news agency: “This is such a beautiful (6) ____________, with a lot of tradition both for bullfighters and this (7) ____________ celebration.” Despite this, bullfighting at the arena has been on the decline, with smaller and smaller (8) ____________ each year.		national performed actual crowds speed end season arena
Catalonia (9) ____________ to ban bullfighting last year after 180,000 people signed a petition against it. They (10) ____________ the corrida was barbaric. Opponents of the ban believe they have a chance of getting it (11) ____________ next year. Bull breeder, Moeses Fraele said: "I think the politicians will think (12) ____________ about the ban and bullfighting will live on. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of (13) ____________ bullfighting fans.” He added that, “in a democratic country [fans] should be able to go to a bullfight." Catalonia is the first mainland (14) ____________ in Spain to ban bullfighting. The age-old sport has been part of Spanish life for (15) ____________. It has been held at La Maestranza arena in Seville since 1765. There are (16) ____________ of bullrings across the country.		region overturned serious dozens decided centuries argued twice

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Bullfighting has ____________________ northeastern Spain. Fans in the region of Catalonia saw their last fights on September 25. The actual ban ____________________ the first of January, 2012, but Sunday’s fighting was the last of the season. Over 20,000 ____________________ Barcelona's Monumental arena to see this age-old spectacle performed in the city for the last time. Spain’s top matadors ____________________ event, which sold ____________________. One matador, Julian Lopez, told the AP news agency: “This is such a beautiful arena, with a lot of tradition both for bullfighters and this national celebration.” Despite this, bullfighting at the arena has ____________________, with smaller and smaller crowds each year.

Catalonia decided to ban bullfighting last year after 180,000 people ____________________ against it. They argued the corrida was barbaric. Opponents of the ban believe they have a chance ____________________ next year. Bull breeder, Moeses Fraele said: "I think the politicians will ____________________ the ban and bullfighting will live on. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of serious bullfighting fans.” He added that, “in ____________________ [fans] should be able to go to a bullfight." Catalonia is the first mainland region in Spain to ban bullfighting. The age-old sport has been part of Spanish ____________________. It has been held at La Maestranza arena in Seville since 1765. There are dozens of ____________________ country.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

bull

fight

• 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:

come actual packed event both crowds

against chance twice plenty life dozens

STUDENT BULLFIGHTING SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about bullfighting 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.

BULLFIGHTING 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 ‘bullfighting’?
c)	Some say it’s a sport; others an art. What do you think?
d)	Is bullfighting cruel?
e)	Why do people fight bulls? What’s the purpose of the sport?
f)	Should any animals be used in sport?
g)	Do you agree with the ban in Catalonia?
h)	Do you think illegal bullfighting will start up in Catalonia?
i)	Why are matadors treated as heroes?
j)	Do you think it’s sad that a national celebration is coming to an end?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Have you ever signed a petition?
c)	Do you think the opponents of the ban will get it overturned?
d)	If there are fans who want to see it, why ban bullfighting?
e)	Do you think there’ll be no bullfighting in Spain one day?
f)	Will countries lose their tradition if they keep abandoning traditions?
g)	What would you think if you were in the ring with the red cape and an angry bull was staring at you?
h)	[Have you ever seen / would you ever go to see] bullfighting?
i)	Why do people become matadors?
j)	What questions would you like to ask a top matador?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Bullfighting has come to an (1) ____ in northeastern Spain. Fans in the region of Catalonia saw their last fights on September 25. The (2) ____ ban comes into effect on the first of January, 2012, but Sunday’s fighting was the last of the season. Over 20,000 spectators (3) ____ Barcelona's Monumental arena to see this age-old (4) ____ performed in the city for the last time. Spain’s top matadors performed at the historic event, which sold out at record speed. One matador, Julian Lopez, told the AP news agency: “This is such a beautiful arena, with a lot of tradition (5) ____ for bullfighters and this national celebration.” Despite this, bullfighting at the arena has been (6) ____ the decline, with smaller and smaller crowds each year.

Catalonia decided to ban bullfighting last year after 180,000 people signed a petition against it. They argued the corrida was (7) ____. Opponents of the ban believe they have a chance of getting it overturned next year. Bull breeder, Moeses Fraele said: "I think the politicians will think (8) ____ about the ban and bullfighting will live (9) ____. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of serious bullfighting fans.” He added that, “in a democratic country [fans] should be (10) ____ to go to a bullfight." Catalonia is the first mainland region in Spain to ban bullfighting. The age-(11) ____ sport has been part of Spanish life for centuries. It has been held at La Maestranza arena in Seville since 1765. There are (12) ____ of bullrings across the country.

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

1.	(a)	ends	(b)	ended	(c)	ending	(d)	end
2.	(a)	assure	(b)	activate	(c)	actual	(d)	articulate
3.	(a)	backed	(b)	packed	(c)	parked	(d)	peaked
4.	(a)	spectacle	(b)	speculate	(c)	spectacles	(d)	specked
5.	(a)	every	(b)	all	(c)	both	(d)	whole
6.	(a)	in	(b)	of	(c)	by	(d)	on
7.	(a)	stoic	(b)	barbaric	(c)	prosaic	(d)	tumeric
8.	(a)	twice	(b)	totally	(c)	timing	(d)	three
9.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	by	(d)	of
10.	(a)	could	(b)	can	(c)	able	(d)	ability
11.	(a)	old	(b)	long	(c)	year	(d)	centuries
12.	(a)	dozen	(b)	dozers	(c)	dozes	(d)	dozens

 
 

WRITING

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

3. BULLFIGHTING: Make a poster about bullfighting. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. BAN: Write a magazine article about the bullfighting ban. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against bullfighting.

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 a bullfighting matador. Ask him/her three questions about bullfighting. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. 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.

T

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	come to an end	a.	finished
2	actual	b.	real
3.	spectators	c.	onlookers
4.	top	d.	leading
5.	in decline	e.	dying
6.	ban	f.	prohibit
7.	argued	g.	claimed
8.	fans	h.	enthusiasts
9.	plenty of	i.	a great deal of
10.	region	j.	area

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Bullfighting has come	a.	to an end
2	The actual ban comes into effect	b.	on the first of January
3.	Over 20,000	c.	spectators
4.	top matadors performed	d.	at the historic event
5.	smaller and smaller	e.	crowds each year
6.	180,000 people signed	f.	a petition against it
7.	they have a chance of	g.	getting it overturned
8.	think	h.	twice
9.	mainland	i.	region
10.	part of Spanish life	j.	for centuries

GAP FILL:

Bullfighting ends in Catalonia, Spain

Bullfighting has come to an (1) end in northeastern Spain. Fans in the region of Catalonia saw their last fights on September 25. The (2) actual ban comes into effect on the first of January, 2012, but Sunday’s fighting was the last of the (3) season. Over 20,000 spectators packed Barcelona's Monumental arena to see this age-old spectacle (4) performed in the city for the last time. Spain’s top matadors performed at the historic event, which sold out at record (5) speed. One matador, Julian Lopez, told the AP news agency: “This is such a beautiful (6) arena, with a lot of tradition both for bullfighters and this (7) national celebration.” Despite this, bullfighting at the arena has been on the decline, with smaller and smaller (8) crowds each year.

Catalonia (9) decided to ban bullfighting last year after 180,000 people signed a petition against it. They (10) argued the corrida was barbaric. Opponents of the ban believe they have a chance of getting it (11) overturned next year. Bull breeder, Moeses Fraele said: "I think the politicians will think (12) twice about the ban and bullfighting will live on. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of (13) serious bullfighting fans.” He added that, “in a democratic country [fans] should be able to go to a bullfight." Catalonia is the first mainland (14) region in Spain to ban bullfighting. The age-old sport has been part of Spanish life for (15) centuries. It has been held at La Maestranza arena in Seville since 1765. There are (16) dozens of bullrings across the country.

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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