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BBC Top Gear star 'punches' producer (14th March, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

BBC Television has suspended one of its biggest stars for reportedly punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the hugely popular programme Top Gear, got into a fight with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument about the lack of food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly got angry with Mr Tymon over this and hit him. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next two programmes. Clarkson is so popular worldwide that an online petition started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So far, more than 400,000 people have signed it.

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, did not think the incident was so serious. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved in a bit of a dust-up and I don't think it's that serious." Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was going as he got into his car. He said he was going to the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a fan to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the remaining episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans suffer?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history of making racist comments about other nationalities.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31832698
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11464430/Jeremy-Clarkson-suspended-after-punching-Top-Gear-producer-in-row-over-catering.html

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. CAR TV SHOWS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about car TV shows. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

BBC / stars / punching / hugely popular / argument / lack of food / online petition / serious / joked / reporters / remaining episodes / suffer / broadcast / racist comments

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

3. TV SHOWS: How can we make these shows better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How much do you like them?	How to make them better?
Chat shows
Soap operas
News
Interviews
Sports
Weather

4. CAR SHOWS: Students A strongly believe car shows on TV are better than fashion shows; Students B strongly believe the opposite. 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. PRESENTER: Rank these with your partner. Put the show you would most like to present at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• music show

• car show

• chat show

• cooking show

• movies show

• quiz show

• travel show

• gardening show

6. PUNCH: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "punch". 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 BBC has fired one of its stars for punching a producer.	T / F
b.	The TV presenter and the producer argued over a lack of food.	T / F
c.	The BBC decided it would not air the next few Top Gear shows.	T / F
d.	Over 400,000 people signed a petition to ask the BBC to fire Clarkson.	T / F
e.	A Top Gear co-presenter said this was a serious matter.	T / F
f.	Reporters tried to find Mr Clarkson but he was nowhere to be found.	T / F
g.	Mr Clarkson has 4.5 million followers on Twitter.	T / F
h.	More than 350 million watch Top Gear worldwide.	T / F

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

1.	stars	a.	globally
2.	hugely	b.	stated
3.	argument	c.	very
4.	announced	d.	bad
5.	worldwide	e.	background
6.	incident	f.	big names
7.	serious	g.	settled
8.	remaining	h.	happening
9.	resolved	i.	disagreement
10.	history	j.	last

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

1.	BBC Television has suspended one	a.	episodes of Top Gear
2.	the hugely	b.	the lack of food
3.	an argument about	c.	next two programmes
4.	they would not broadcast the	d.	over 200 countries
5.	an online	e.	comments
6.	involved in a bit of a dust-	f.	of its biggest stars
7.	retweeted a message	g.	up
8.	the remaining	h.	petition
9.	The show is broadcast in	i.	popular programme
10.	racist	j.	from a fan

GAP FILL

BBC Television has (1) ____________ one of its biggest stars for reportedly punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the (2) ____________ popular programme Top Gear, got into a (3) ____________ with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument about the (4) ____________ of food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson (5) ____________ got angry with Mr Tymon over this and hit him. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not (6) ____________ the next two programmes. Clarkson is so (7) ____________ worldwide that an online (8) ____________ started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So far, more than 400,000 people have signed it.

supposedly
popular
suspended
fight
petition
hugely
broadcast
lack

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, did not think the (9) ____________ was so serious. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been (10) ____________ in a bit of a dust-up and I don't think it's that (11) ____________." Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was going as he got into his car. He said he was going to the (12) ____________ centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a (13) ____________ to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the (14) ____________ episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans (15) ____________?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history of making (16) ____________ comments about other nationalities.

involved
fan
suffer
incident
job
racist
serious
remaining

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	suspended one of its biggest stars ______ punching a producer
	a. for reportedly b. for report idly c. for rapport idly d. for report it lean
2)	Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of ______ programme…
	a. the hugely populist b. the hugely popular c. the hugely populate d. the hugely polar
3)	There was an argument about the ______
	a. luck of food b. lack of food c. rack of food d. ruck of food
4)	suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast ______ programmes
	a. the next too b. the next two c. then next two d. then next too
5)	Clarkson is so popular worldwide that ______
	a. an online petition b. the online petition c. anon line petition d. anon lined petition
6)	James May, did not think the incident ______
	a. wasn't so serious b. was so serious c. was soon serious d. wasn't soon serious
7)	He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved ______ dust-up"
	a. in a bit of a b. in a bit off a c. in a bite of a d. inner bit of a
8)	How can the BBC not show the remaining ______ Top Gear?
	a. episode of b. episodes off c. episode off d. episodes of
9)	Can't this be resolved without making ______?
	a. the fans suffers b. the fan suffer c. the fan suffers d. the fans suffer
10)	Clarkson has a history of making racist comments ______ nationalities
	a. about others b. about another c. about other d. about the other

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

BBC Television has suspended (1) ___________________ stars for reportedly punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the hugely popular programme Top Gear, (2) ___________________ with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument (3) ___________________ food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly got angry with Mr Tymon (4) ___________________. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next two programmes. Clarkson (5) ___________________ that an online petition started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So far, more than 400,000 (6) ___________________.

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, (7) ___________________ incident was so serious. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved in (8) ___________________ and I don't think it's that serious." Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was (9) ___________________ his car. He said he was going to the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted (10) ___________________ a fan to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the remaining episodes of Top Gear? Can't (11) ___________________ without making the fans suffer?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson (12) ___________________ making racist comments about other nationalities.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What has the BBC done to Jeremy Clarkson?
2.	What was the argument with the producer about?
3.	How many shows did the BBC say it would not broadcast?
4.	What did people start online?
5.	How many people signed to say they want Jeremy Clarkson to stay?
6.	What is the job of the man who did not think the incident was serious?
7.	What did James May say Jeremy Clarkson was involved in?
8.	Where did Mr Clarkson tell reporters he was going?
9.	How many followers on Twitter does Mr Clarkson have?
10.	How many people watch Top Gear around the world?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What has the BBC done to Jeremy Clarkson?	6.	What is the job of the man who did not think the incident was serious?
	a) promoted him b) rewarded him c) suspended him d) fired him		a) stunt driver b) co-presenter c) car mechanic d) lawyer
2.	What was the argument with the producer about?	7.	What did James May say Jeremy Clarkson was involved in?
	a) a lack of food b) money c) a car d) politics		a) a dust-up b) cleaning c) dusting d) a showdown
3.	How many shows did the BBC say it would not broadcast?	8.	Where did Mr Clarkson tell reporters he was going?
	a) two b) three c) four d) five		a) home b) to his office c) the job centre d) to see a lawyer
4.	What did people start online?	9.	How many followers on Twitter does Mr Clarkson have?
	a) a discussion b) a petition c) a website d) a fundraising event		a) 45,000 b) 450,000 c) 45 million d) 4.5 million
5.	How many people signed to say they want Jeremy Clarkson to stay?	10.	How many people watch Top Gear around the world?
	a) over 40 million b) over 40, 000 c) over 4 million d) over 400,000		a) more than 350 million b) just under 350 million c) exactly 350 million d) around 350 million

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Music show host

You think being a music show host would be best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their host jobs aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): car show host, travel show host or quiz show host.

Role B – Car show host

You think being a car show host would be best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their host jobs aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): music show host, travel show host or quiz show host.

Role C – Travel show host

You think being a travel show host would be best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their host jobs aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): car show host, music show host or quiz show host.

Role D – Quiz show host

You think being a quiz show host would be best. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their host jobs aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): car show host, travel show host or music show host.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

top

gear

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:

biggest
hugely
lack
immediately
next
400,000

serious
reporters
job
fan
4.5
350

CAR TV SHOWS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about car TV shows 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.

CAR TV SHOWS DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'argument'?
3)	What do you know about the TV show Top Gear?
4)	What do you think of TV shows about cars?
5)	Is the BBC right to suspend Jeremy Clarkson?
6)	What are the pros and cons of firing Jeremy Clarkson?
7)	Why would a rich and famous person fight over food?
8)	Is the BBC being unfair to fans by not showing Top Gear?
9)	When have you signed (or would you sign) a petition?
10)	Who is your favourite TV presenter, and why?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	How serious do you think this incident is?
13)	What kind of TV shows do you like?
14)	Have you ever had a "dust up" at work or school?
15)	How important do you think Jeremy Clarkson is to the BBC?
16)	What are the good things about Jeremy Clarkson's job?
17)	What's your favourite car, and why?
18)	What can fans do to get the BBC to show the programmes?
19)	What might happen to Top Gear's popularity without Mr Clarkson?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Jeremy Clarkson?

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

BBC Television has suspended one of its biggest stars for (1) ____ punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the (2) ____ popular programme Top Gear, got into a fight with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument about the (3) ____ of food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly got angry with Mr Tymon (4) ____ this and hit him. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next two programmes. Clarkson is so (5) ____ worldwide that an online petition started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So (6) ____, more than 400,000 people have signed it.

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, did not think the incident was (7) ____ serious. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved in a bit of a dust-(8) ____ and I don't think it's that serious." Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was going as he got into his car. He said he was going to the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a (9) ____ to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the (10) ____ episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans (11) ____?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history of making (12) ____ comments about other nationalities.

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

1.	(a)	reportedly	(b)	reporters	(c)	reports	(d)	reporting
2.	(a)	largely	(b)	biggish	(c)	hugely	(d)	grossly
3.	(a)	rack	(b)	luck	(c)	lack	(d)	ruck
4.	(a)	higher	(b)	more than	(c)	above	(d)	over
5.	(a)	popular	(b)	nice	(c)	lovely	(d)	populace
6.	(a)	thus	(b)	far	(c)	for	(d)	this
7.	(a)	such	(b)	by	(c)	of	(d)	so
8.	(a)	down	(b)	up	(c)	in	(d)	over
9.	(a)	fun	(b)	fin	(c)	fan	(d)	fine
10.	(a)	remainder	(b)	reminding	(c)	remains	(d)	remaining
11.	(a)	server	(b)	supper	(c)	surfer	(d)	suffer
12.	(a)	racism	(b)	racist	(c)	racially	(d)	radical

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	dpusedsne one of its biggest stars
2.	the hgueyl popular programme
3.	the lack of food valailaeb
4.	stdarbaoc the next two programmes
5.	an online ipteniot
6.	atirsente him
Paragraph 2
7.	One of Mr Clarkson's co-teerrsenps
8.	I don't think it's that ierusso
9.	the remaining spioseed
10.	making the fans erufsf
11.	caarobdst in over 200 countries
12.	making isctar comments

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( 1 )	BBC Television has suspended one of its biggest stars for reportedly punching
( )	of food available after filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly got angry with Mr Tymon over this and
( )	for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So far, more than 400,000 people have signed it.
( )	One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, did not think the incident was so
( )	two programmes. Clarkson is so popular worldwide that an online petition started, calling
( )	popular programme Top Gear, got into a fight with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument about the lack
( )	fan to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the remaining
( )	200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history of making racist comments about other nationalities.
( )	into his car. He said he was going to the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a
( )	serious. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved in a bit of a dust-up and I don't think it's that
( )	a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the hugely
( )	serious." Mr Clarkson joked with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was going as he got
( )	hit him. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next
( )	episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans suffer?" The show is broadcast in over

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	has of stars Television one biggest BBC suspended its .
2.	popular Gear presenter hugely Top The the programme of .
3.	of There argument lack an the food was about .
4.	BBC The host show's the suspended immediately .
5.	signed than far it people 400,000 have , more So .
6.	think was Mr not incident serious did the so May .
7.	retweeted fan a message Clarkson from also a .
8.	the show episodes can not remaining How BBC the?
9.	in The over show 200 is countries broadcast .
10.	nationalities Making comments other racist about .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

BBC Television has suspended / suspending one of its biggest stars for reportedly punching a producer. Reporters say Jeremy Clarkson, 54, the presenter of the huge / hugely popular programme Top Gear, got into a fight with the producer, Oisin Tymon. There was an argument / argue about the lack of / for food available after filmed / filming one of the shows. Mr Clarkson supposedly / supposes got angry with Mr Tymon over this and hit him. The BBC immediately suspended the show's host / heist and announced they would not broadcast the next too / two programmes. Clarkson is so popular / populated worldwide that an online petition started, calling for the BBC to "reinstate" him. So for / far, more than 400,000 people have signed it.

One of Mr Clarkson's co-presenters, James May, did not think the accident / incident was so serious / seriously. He told BBC News: "I think [Clarkson has] been involved / involving in a bit of a dust-up and I don't think it's that serious." Mr Clarkson joked / jokes with reporters yesterday. They asked him where he was going as he got / gets into his car. He said he was going to / for the job centre. Clarkson also retweeted a message from a fun / fan to his 4.5 million Twitter followers. It read: "How can the BBC not show the remaining / remains episodes of Top Gear? Can't this be resolved without making the fans supper / suffer?" The show is broadcast in over 200 countries. Over 350 million people watch it. Clarkson has a history of making racially / racist comments about other nationalities.

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)

BBC T_l_v_s__n h_s s_sp_nd_d _n_ _f _ts b_gg_st st_rs f_r r_p_rt_dly p_nch_ng _ pr_d_c_r. R_p_rt_rs s_y J_r_my Cl_rks_n, 54, th_ pr_s_nt_r _f th_ h_g_ly p_p_l_r pr_gr_mm_ T_p G__r, g_t _nt_ _ f_ght w_th th_ pr_d_c_r, __s_n Tym_n. Th_r_ w_s _n _rg_m_nt _b__t th_ l_ck _f f__d _v__l_bl_ _ft_r f_lm_ng _n_ _f th_ sh_ws. Mr Cl_rks_n s_pp_s_dly g_t _ngry w_th Mr Tym_n _v_r th_s _nd h_t h_m. Th_ BBC _mm_d__t_ly s_sp_nd_d th_ sh_w's h_st _nd _nn__nc_d th_y w__ld n_t br__dc_st th_ n_xt tw_ pr_gr_mm_s. Cl_rks_n _s s_ p_p_l_r w_rldw_d_ th_t _n _nl_n_ p_t_t__n st_rt_d, c_ll_ng f_r th_ BBC t_ "r__nst_t_" h_m. S_ f_r, m_r_ th_n 400,000 p__pl_ h_v_ s_gn_d _t.

_n_ _f Mr Cl_rks_n's c_-pr_s_nt_rs, J_m_s M_y, d_d n_t th_nk th_ _nc_d_nt w_s s_ s_r___s. H_ t_ld BBC N_ws: "_ th_nk [Cl_rks_n h_s] b__n _nv_lv_d _n _ b_t _f _ d_st-_p _nd _ d_n't th_nk _t's th_t s_r___s." Mr Cl_rks_n j_k_d w_th r_p_rt_rs y_st_rd_y. Th_y _sk_d h_m wh_r_ h_ w_s g__ng _s h_ g_t _nt_ h_s c_r. H_ s__d h_ w_s g__ng t_ th_ j_b c_ntr_. Cl_rks_n _ls_ r_tw__t_d _ m_ss_g_ fr_m _ f_n t_ h_s 4.5 m_ll__n Tw_tt_r f_ll_w_rs. _t r__d: "H_w c_n th_ BBC n_t sh_w th_ r_m__n_ng _p_s_d_s _f T_p G__r? C_n't th_s b_ r_s_lv_d w_th__t m_k_ng th_ f_ns s_ff_r?" Th_ sh_w _s br__dc_st _n _v_r 200 c__ntr__s. _v_r 350 m_ll__n p__pl_ w_tch _t. Cl_rks_n h_s _ h_st_ry _f m_k_ng r_c_st c_mm_nts _b__t _th_r n_t__n_l_t__s.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

bbc television has suspended one of its biggest stars for reportedly punching a producer reporters say jeremy clarkson 54 the presenter of the hugely popular programme top gear got into a fight with the producer oisin tymon there was an argument about the lack of food available after filming one of the shows mr clarkson supposedly got angry with mr tymon over this and hit him the bbc immediately suspended the show's host and announced they would not broadcast the next two programmes clarkson is so popular worldwide that an online petition started calling for the bbc to "reinstate" him so far more than 400000 people have signed it

one of mr clarkson's co-presenters james may did not think the incident was so serious he told bbc news "i think [clarkson has] been involved in a bit of a dust-up and i don't think it's that serious" mr clarkson joked with reporters yesterday they asked him where he was going as he got into his car he said he was going to the job centre clarkson also retweeted a message from a fan to his 45 million twitter followers it read "how can the bbc not show the remaining episodes of top gear can't this be resolved without making the fans suffer" the show is broadcast in over 200 countries over 350 million people watch it clarkson has a history of making racist comments about other nationalities

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

BBCTelevisionhassuspendedoneofitsbiggeststarsforreportedlypunc
hingaproducer.ReporterssayJeremyClarkson,54,thepresenterofthe
hugelypopularprogrammeTopGear,gotintoafightwiththeproducer,O
isinTymon.Therewasanargumentaboutthelackoffoodavailableafterf
ilmingoneoftheshows.MrClarksonsupposedlygotangrywithMrTymo
noverthisandhithim.TheBBCimmediatelysuspendedtheshow'shosta
ndannouncedtheywouldnotbroadcastthenexttwoprogrammes.Clar
ksonissopopularworldwidethatanonlinepetitionstarted,callingforthe
BBCto"reinstate"him.Sofar,morethan400,000peoplehavesignedit.
OneofMrClarkson'sco-presenters,JamesMay,didnotthinktheincide
ntwassoserious.HetoldBBCNews:"Ithink[Clarksonhas]beeninvolve
dinabitofadust-upandIdon'tthinkit'sthatserious."MrClarksonjok
edwithreportersyesterday.Theyaskedhimwherehewasgoingashego
tintohiscar.Hesaidhewasgoingtothejobcentre.Clarksonalsoretweet
edamessagefromafantohis4.5millionTwitterfollowers.Itread:"Howc
antheBBCnotshowtheremainingepisodesofTopGear?Can'tthisberes
olvedwithoutmakingthefanssuffer?"Theshowisbroadcastinover200
countries.Over350millionpeoplewatchit.Clarksonhasahistoryofmak
ingracistcommentsaboutothernationalities.

FREE WRITING

Write about car TV shows for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

TV shows about cars are better than TV shows about fashion. 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 car TV shows. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. TOP GEAR: Write a magazine article about Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear. Include imaginary interviews with people who think the BBC should fire him and with those who think that would be wrong.

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 an expert on car TV shows. Ask him/her three questions about car TV shows. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make them better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

F

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	stars	a.	big names
2	hugely	b.	very
3.	argument	c.	disagreement
4.	announced	d.	stated
5.	worldwide	e.	globally
6.	incident	f.	happening
7.	serious	g.	bad
8.	remaining	h.	last
9.	resolved	i.	settled
10.	history	j.	background

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Suspended him
2.	A lack of food
3.	Two
4.	A petition
5.	Over 400,000
6.	Co-presenter (of Top Gear)
7.	A (bit of a) dust-up
8.	The job centre
9.	Over 400,000
10.	Over 350 million

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

a

4.

b

5.

d

6.

b

7.

a

8.

c

9.

d

10.

a

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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BBC Top Gear star 'punches' producer (14th March, 2015)

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