Media says Obama knew US spied on Merkel (29th October, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Several German news sources are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (NSA) started tapping Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. Bush administration. It says President Obama knew that the tap was still in place as early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the warm friendship that existed between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base for the surveillance.

The spying allegedly began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources were suspicious of his refusal to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known of the bugging. However, a media report cites an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "grave damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged in the sort of spying she thought was a relic of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the former East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.dw.de/media-reports-suggest-obama-knew-nsa-spied-on-merkel/a-17185662
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24690055
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/517190/20131027/nsa-snowden-germany-obama-merkel-spy-phone.htm?fs=2d762

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. SPYING: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about spying. Change partners often 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.

news sources / spying / mobile phone / administration / friendship / surveillance / intelligence sources / suspicious / bugging / escalated / Cold War / communism

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

3. ESPIONAGE: How can a country's leader protect themself against the following? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How damaging are they?	How can they be limited?
A tapped phone
Cyber-spying
A spy on staff
Spy vans
Whistleblowers
Foreign embassies

4. OBAMA: Students A strongly believe Barack Obama should resign over the spying; Students B strongly believe he shouldn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

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. SECURITY: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most important for state security at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• military security

• political security

• economic security

• security of borders

• environmental security

• food and water security

• energy security

• cybersecurity

6. BUG: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "bug". 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.	The article says American media is asking questions about the spying.	T / F
b.	The USA may have started tapping Merkel's phone in 2002.	T / F
c.	A magazine said President Obama knew about the spying from 2008.	T / F
d.	The White House was used as the base for spying on Angela Merkel.	T / F
e.	The spying supposedly began with Ms Merkel's predecessor.	T / F
f.	Obama told Merkel he had known nothing about her bugged telephone.	T / F
g.	A US agency warned spying could damage international relations.	T / F
h.	Angela Merkel spied on other people before the Berlin Wall came down.	T / F

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

1.	sources	a.	intensified
2.	tapping	b.	cordial
3.	administration	c.	headquarters
4.	warm	d.	supposedly
5.	base	e.	references
6.	allegedly	f.	serious
7.	suspicious	g.	ex-
8.	escalated	h.	monitoring
9.	grave	i.	doubtful
10.	former	j.	government

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

1.	questioning how much	a.	in the former E. Germany
2.	Obama knew that the tap was	b.	damage
3.	the warm	c.	for the surveillance
4.	the contents of	d.	was a relic of the Cold War
5.	used as a base	e.	of communism
6.	a media report cites	f.	Ms Merkel's SMS messages
7.	grave	g.	an NSA official
8.	the sort of spying she thought	h.	President Obama knows
9.	She was also spied on	i.	friendship that existed
10.	the collapse	j.	still in place

GAP FILL

Several German news (1) ____________ are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (NSA) started (2) ____________ Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, (3) ____________ the George W. Bush administration. It says President Obama knew that the (4) ____________ was still in (5) ____________ as early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the (6) ____________ friendship that existed between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the (7) ____________ of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a (8) ____________ for the surveillance.

place
tapping
base
sources
tap
contents
under
warm

The spying allegedly began when (9) ____________ German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources were suspicious of his (10) ____________ to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known of the (11) ____________. However, a media report (12) ____________ an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be (13) ____________. A document from the NSA warned of "(14) ____________ damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged in the sort of spying she thought was a (15) ____________ of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the (16) ____________ East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

relic
bugging
former
escalated
former
grave
refusal
cites

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	German ______ are questioning how much President Obama knows
	a. news sources b. news sauces c. news source is d. news sauce is
2)	started tapping Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. ______
	a. Bush administrative b. Bush administrating c. Bush administration d. Bush administrations
3)	It says President Obama knew that the tap was still in place as early as 2010
	a. in place was b. in place has c. in place as d. in place ease
4)	before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the warm ______
	a. friendship that exacted b. friendship that desisted c. friendship that resisted d. friendship that existed
5)	The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base for ______
	a. the survey lance b. the survey rents c. the surveillance d. the surveyed lance
6)	The spying allegedly began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ______
	a. was on office b. was in office c. was in off its d. was in a fix
7)	US intelligence sources were suspicious ______
	a. of his refusals b. of his refuse-all c. of his reef use all d. of his refusal
8)	Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known ______
	a. of the bugging b. of the bagging c. of the budging d. of the bug in
9)	A document from the NSA warned of "______ for relations"
	a. graves damage b. gravely damage c. gravy damage d. grave damage
10)	engaged in the sort of spying she thought was ______ the Cold War
	a. a relish of b. a re-lick of c. a relic of d. a relics of

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Several German news sources (1) ___________________ much President Obama knows about (2) ___________________ German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (3) ___________________ Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. Bush administration. It says President Obama knew that the tap was (4) ___________________ early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of (5) ___________________ that existed between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone (6) __________________ the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base for the surveillance.

The spying (7) ___________________ former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources (8) ___________________ his refusal to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not (9) ___________________. However, a media report cites an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "(10) ___________________ relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged (11) ___________________ spying she thought was a relic of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the former East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin Wall (12) ___________________ communism in Eastern Europe.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Who is asking questions?
2.	When was Angela Merkel's phone first tapped?
3.	When did Obama supposedly know that Ms Merkel's phone was tapped?
4.	What did Obama talk about in Berlin?
5.	What was used as the headquarters to spy on Angela Merkel?
6.	When did the spying first start?
7.	What did Chancellor Gerhard Schröder refuse to do?
8.	What did Obama allegedly do to the programme?
9.	When did Ms Merkel think spying such as this had disappeared?
10.	Where was Angela Merkel spied on before?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Who is asking questions?	6.	When did the spying first start?
	a) the White House b) German newspapers and magazines c) Spies d) German phone companies		a) the day George W. Bush was elected b) when digital bugs went on sale c) When Gerhard Schröder was leader d) 1938
2.	When was Angela Merkel's phone first tapped?	7.	What did Chancellor Gerhard Schröder refuse to do?
	a) 2005 b) 2004 c) 2003 d) 2002		a) upgrade to a new hone system b) meet George W. Bush c) spend money on security d) support the Iraq War
3.	When did Obama supposedly know that Ms Merkel's phone was tapped?	8.	What did Obama allegedly do to the programme?
	a) 2010 b) 2009 c) 2008 d) 2007		a) ask for it to be heightened b) extend it to other leaders c) listen to it every day d) originate it
4.	What did Obama talk about in Berlin?	9.	When did Ms Merkel think spying such as this had disappeared?
	a) spying b) football c) friendship d) the Munich beer festival		a) during the Cold War b) a few years ago c) after talking to Barack Obama d) she didn't
5.	What was used as the headquarters to spy on Angela Merkel?	10.	Where was Angela Merkel spied on before?
	a) the White House b) the US Embassy in Berlin c) a McDonald's restaurant opposite Ms Merkel's office d) a Volkswagen truck		a) the White House b) East Germany c) a G20 Summit d) on vacation in Paris

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Angela Merkel

You are furious with Barack Obama. Tell the others three reasons why. You want Mr Obama to apologise for his and his country's actions. He must appear in Berlin and say sorry to German people live on TV. He must also release all details of how the US spied on you.

Role B – Barack Obama

The spying is no big deal. All governments do it. You do not think you have to give any big apologies. The US did nothing wrong. Tell the others three reasons why you think so. Tell Ms Merkel she is over-reacting. Her government also spies on other leaders.

Role C – Head of US intelligence

You are angry the world found out about the tap on Angela Merkel's phone. Tell the others three reasons why. You think Barack Obama should stay silent on this issue. It will go away. Tell Ms Merkel that the tapping was OK because you didn't hear any of her secrets.

Role D – Head of German security

You are angry your security services did not prevent the tap on Angela Merkel's phone. Tell the others three reasons why. You think the USA must now give all details of its spying programme. Tell Barack Obama he must resign for agreeing to the tapping of Ms Merkel's phone.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

tap

bug

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:

questioning
started
tap
existed
contents
base

began
refusal
last
ordered
sort
fall

SPYING SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about spying 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.

SPYING 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 'spying'?
c)	What do you think about what you read?
d)	What should Barack Obama do to apologise?
e)	What do you think of the USA for spying on Germany's leaders?
f)	Should Germans be angry about this scandal?
g)	How damaging might the information from Ms Merkel's calls be?
h)	Should the German government move the US Embassy in Berlin?
i)	What questions would you like to ask Barack Obama?
j)	What do you think his answers might be?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Is not following the USA into war a reason to be spied upon?
c)	How might relations between Obama and Merkel be from now?
d)	What do you think the two would say to each other if they met?
e)	What "grave damages" might there be for the USA?
f)	Don't all countries spy on other leaders?
g)	Is spying today more prevalent than before?
h)	When do you think countries will stop spying on each other?
i)	What questions would you like to ask Angela Merkel?
j)	What do you think her answers might be?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Several German news (1) ____ are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying (2) ____ German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (NSA) started (3) ____ Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. Bush administration. It says President Obama knew that the (4) ____ was still in place as early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the warm friendship that (5) ____ between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a (6) ____ for the surveillance.

The spying (7) ____ began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources were suspicious of his (8) ____ to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known of the bugging. However, a media report (9) ____ an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "(10) ____ damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged (11) ____ the sort of spying she thought was a relic of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the former East Germany, before the (12) ____ of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

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

1.	(a)	sauces	(b)	sources	(c)	source	(d)	sauce
2.	(a)	of	(b)	on	(c)	by	(d)	for
3.	(a)	tape	(b)	tapped	(c)	taps	(d)	tapping
4.	(a)	spigot	(b)	tap	(c)	faucet	(d)	lever
5.	(a)	consisted	(b)	existed	(c)	exacted	(d)	detracted
6.	(a)	basic	(b)	basing	(c)	base	(d)	basis
7.	(a)	duly	(b)	tangibly	(c)	allegedly	(d)	preferably
8.	(a)	ritual	(b)	residual	(c)	refusal	(d)	rebuttal
9.	(a)	sates	(b)	sights	(c)	sites	(d)	cites
10.	(a)	grave	(b)	crypt	(c)	tomb	(d)	plinth
11.	(a)	in	(b)	on	(c)	by	(d)	of
12.	(a)	drop	(b)	topple	(c)	fall	(d)	decrease

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	German news cuesors
2.	German acnrloheCl Angela Merkel
3.	the George W. Bush motiianrsditan
4.	the warm friendship that estxeid
5.	Ms Merkel's SMS smaseesg
6.	used as a base for the ialeuvnesrlc
Paragraph 2
7.	The spying lgaeldeyl began when…
8.	sicssiuuop of his refusal
9.	a media report siect an NSA official
10.	ordered the programme to be acdleaest
11.	a lrcei of the Cold War
12.	the collapse of oinucmsmm

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	in the sort of spying she thought was a relic of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the
( )	programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged
( )	administration. It says President Obama knew that the tap was still in place as early as 2010, before he
( )	visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the warm friendship that existed
( )	escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "grave damage for relations" if its spying
( )	office. US intelligence sources were suspicious of his refusal to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week
( )	straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base for the surveillance.
( 1 )	Several German news sources are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying
( )	that he had not known of the bugging. However, a media report cites an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be
( )	Agency (NSA) started tapping Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. Bush
( )	former East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe
( )	on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security
( )	between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went
( )	The spying allegedly began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	Obama questioning knows how much Sources President are.
2.	that was place knew tap in Obama the still.
3.	friendship Germans that of existed the warm Tell.
4.	calls to House phone straight White and went the Messages.
5.	was a US Berlin as The in used base Embassy.
6.	second Iraq War Suspicious of his refusal to support the.
7.	be Obama to Mr programme the escalated ordered.
8.	NSA for warned relations of grave The damage.
9.	was a relic of the Cold War Spying she thought.
10.	also spied on in the former East Germany She was.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Several German news sauces / sources are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying by / on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (NSA) started trapping / tapping Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, over / under the George W. Bush administered / administration. It says President Obama knew that the tap was still on / in place as early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of this / that year to tell Germans of the warm friendship that existence / existed between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the index / contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base / basis for the surveillance.

The spying alleged / allegedly began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources were suspicions / suspicious of his refusal / rebuttal to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known / knowing of the bugging. However, a media report sites / cites an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be escalator / escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "grave / tomb damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have married / engaged in the sort of spying she thought was a relic / relish of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the former East Germany, before the drop / fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

S_v_r_l G_rm_n n_ws s__rc_s _r_ q__st__n_ng h_w m_ch Pr_s_d_nt _b_m_ kn_ws _b__t th_ _S spy_ng _n G_rm_n Ch_nc_ll_r _ng_l_ M_rk_l. Th_ 'Sp__g_l' m_g_z_n_ r_p_rt_d th_t th_ _S_'s N_t__n_l S_c_r_ty _g_ncy (NS_) st_rt_d t_pp_ng Ms M_rk_l's m_b_l_ t_l_ph_n_ _n 2002, _nd_r th_ G__rg_ W. B_sh _dm_n_str_t__n. _t s_ys Pr_s_d_nt _b_m_ kn_w th_t th_ t_p w_s st_ll _n pl_c_ _s __rly _s 2010, b_f_r_ h_ v_s_t_d B_rl_n _n J_n_ _f th_t y__r t_ t_ll G_rm_ns _f th_ w_rm fr__ndsh_p th_t _x_st_d b_tw__n th__r tw_ c__ntr__s. _ n_wsp_p_r r_p_rt_d th_t th_ c_nt_nts _f Ms M_rk_l's SMS m_ss_g_s _nd ph_n_ c_lls w_nt str__ght t_ th_ Wh_t_ H__s_. Th_ _S _mb_ssy _n B_rl_n w_s _s_d _s _ b_s_ f_r th_ s_rv__ll_nc_.

Th_ spy_ng _ll_g_dly b_g_n wh_n f_rm_r G_rm_n Ch_nc_ll_r G_rh_rd Schröd_r w_s _n _ff_c_. _S _nt_ll_g_nc_ s__rc_s w_r_ s_sp_c___s _f h_s r_f_s_l t_ s_pp_rt th_ s_c_nd _r_q W_r. _b_m_ t_ld Ms M_rk_l l_st w__k th_t h_ h_d n_t kn_wn _f th_ b_gg_ng. H_w_v_r, _ m_d__ r_p_rt c_t_s _n NS_ _ff_c__l wh_ s__d Mr _b_m_ _rd_r_d th_ pr_gr_mm_ t_ b_ _sc_l_t_d. _ d_c_m_nt fr_m th_ NS_ w_rn_d _f "gr_v_ d_m_g_ f_r r_l_t__ns" _f _ts spy_ng pr_gr_mm_ w_s d_sc_v_r_d. Ms M_rk_l _s sh_ck_d th_t th_ _S_ m_y h_v_ _ng_g_d _n th_ s_rt _f spy_ng sh_ th__ght w_s _ r_l_c _f th_ C_ld W_r. Sh_ w_s _ls_ sp__d _n _n th_ f_rm_r __st G_rm_ny, b_f_r_ th_ f_ll _f th_ B_rl_n W_ll _nd th_ c_ll_ps_ _f c_mm_n_sm _n __st_rn __r_p_.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

several german news sources are questioning how much president obama knows about the us spying on german chancellor angela merkel the 'spiegel' magazine reported that the usa's national security agency (nsa) started tapping ms merkel's mobile telephone in 2002 under the george w bush administration it says president obama knew that the tap was still in place as early as 2010 before he visited berlin in june of that year to tell germans of the warm friendship that existed between their two countries a newspaper reported that the contents of ms merkel's sms messages and phone calls went straight to the white house the us embassy in berlin was used as a base for the surveillance

the spying allegedly began when former german chancellor gerhard schröder was in office us intelligence sources were suspicious of his refusal to support the second iraq war obama told ms merkel last week that he had not known of the bugging however a media report cites an nsa official who said mr obama ordered the programme to be escalated a document from the nsa warned of "grave damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered ms merkel is shocked that the usa may have engaged in the sort of spying she thought was a relic of the cold war she was also spied on in the former east germany before the fall of the berlin wall and the collapse of communism in eastern europe

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

SeveralGermannewssourcesarequestioninghowmuchPresidentObamakno
wsabouttheUSspyingonGermanChancellorAngelaMerkel.The'Spiegel'maga
zinereportedthattheUSA'sNationalSecurityAgency(NSA)startedtappingMs
Merkel'smobiletelephonein2002,undertheGeorgeW.Bushadministration.Its
aysPresidentObamaknewthatthetapwasstillinplaceasearlyas2010,beforehe
visitedBerlininJuneofthatyeartotellGermansofthewarmfriendshipthatexiste
dbetweentheirtwocountries.AnewspaperreportedthatthecontentsofMsMerk
el'sSMSmessagesandphonecallswentstraighttotheWhiteHouse.TheUSEmb
assyinBerlinwasusedasabaseforthesurveillance.Thespyingallegedlybeganw
henformerGermanChancellorGerhardSchröderwasinoffice.USintelligences
ourcesweresuspiciousofhisrefusaltosupportthesecondIraqWar.Obamatold
MsMerkellastweekthathehadnotknownofthebugging.However,amediarepor
tcitesanNSAofficialwhosaidMrObamaorderedtheprogrammetobeescalated.
AdocumentfromtheNSAwarnedof"gravedamageforrelations"ifitsspyingpro
grammewasdiscovered.MsMerkelisshockedthattheUSAmayhaveengagedin
thesortofspyingshethoughtwasarelicoftheColdWar.Shewasalsospiedoninth
eformerEastGermany,beforethefalloftheBerlinWallandthecollapseofcommu
nisminEasternEurope.

FREE WRITING

Write about spying for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Countries should never spy on the leaders of other countries. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

4. SURVEILLANCE: Write a magazine article about the surveillance of Angela Merkel. Include imaginary interviews with Angela Merkel and Barack Obama.

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 Barack Obama. Ask him three questions about spying on Angela Merkel. Give him three pieces of advice on what to do from now. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

F

d

F

e

T

f

T

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	sources	a.	references
2	tapping	b.	monitoring
3.	administration	c.	government
4.	warm	d.	cordial
5.	base	e.	headquarters
6.	allegedly	f.	supposedly
7.	suspicious	g.	doubtful
8.	escalated	h.	intensified
9.	grave	i.	serious
10.	former	j.	ex-

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	German news sources
2.	2002
3.	2010
4.	The warm friendship that existed between the USA and Germany
5.	The US Embassy in Berlin
6.	When former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office
7.	Support the second Iraq War
8.	Ask for it to be escalated
9.	During the Cold War
10.	The former East Germany

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

c

7.

d

8.

a

9.

a

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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