The Reading / Listening - Level 3

On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The visit is a huge event for both the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. forces dropped on the city in August of 1945 killed an estimated 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped bring an end to the Second World War. Others say it should never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to focus on the future. An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not apologise for the bombing. The advisor said Obama, "will offer a forward-looking vision" that focuses on the shared future of the USA and Japan.

Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he would one day like to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many people in Japan and the USA talking about the bombs that fell on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki, which killed so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time to think about how horrible war is and to remember the terrible loss of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remind people that war causes unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again. He said: "Part of my goal is to recognise that innocent people caught in war can suffer tremendously." He added: "And that's not just the thing of the past. That is happening today in many parts of the world."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Level 0,  Level 1   or  Level 2

Sources
  • http://www.newsday.com/opinion/obama-s-hiroshima-trip-just-more-of-the-same-1.11823516
  • http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/23/national/politics-diplomacy/71-years-debate-bombs-shows-no-sign-resolution/#.V0LZUNeFic1
  • http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605230021.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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. HIROSHIMA: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Hiroshima. 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?

       president / Hiroshima / visit / suffer / estimated / focus / future / apologise / Japan /
       hinted / horrible / terrible / nuclear weapons / loss of life / innocent / happening today

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

3. APOLOGISE: Students A strongly believe an American president should apologise to Japan over Hiroshima; Students B strongly believe they shouldn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. WAR CITIES: What do you know about these war-torn cities? Change partners often and share what you wrote.

  • Hiroshima, Japan
  • Aleppo, Syria
  • Sarajevo, Bosnia
  • Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Dresden, Germany
  • Mogadishu, Somalia
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ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. BOMB: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "bomb". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. WARS / CONFLICTS: Rank these with your partner. Put the most difficult to end at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Yemen
  • Ukraine
  • Israel / Palestine
  • Somalia
  • Syria
  • War on terror
  • Drugs wars
  • Cyber wars

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Barack Obama is the second U.S. president to visit Hiroshima.     T / F
  2. The event is big in Japan but not so big in the USA.     T / F
  3. President Obama said he would focus on the future during his visit.     T / F
  4. An advisor said the president would not apologise for Hiroshima.     T / F
  5. Mr Obama suggested in 2009 that he wanted to visit Hiroshima.     T / F
  6. Obama said he wanted his visit to remind people of the horror of war.     T / F
  7. President Obama said no one in war is innocent.     T / F
  8. Mr Obama said there is not so much suffering in the world today.     T / F

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

  1. huge
  2. end
  3. focus
  4. apologise
  5. offer
  6. hinted
  7. fell
  8. horrible
  9. remember
  10. happening
  1. suggested
  2. awful
  3. provide
  4. dropped
  5. close
  6. not forget
  7. very big
  8. taking place
  9. concentrate
  10. say sorry

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

  1. the first American president to visit
  2. The visit is a huge
  3. helped bring an end to the
  4. his visit is to focus
  5. Obama will offer a forward-
  6. he would one day like
  7. a time to think about how
  8. nuclear
  9. innocent
  10. happening today in many
  1. to visit
  2. weapons
  3. looking vision
  4. parts of the world
  5. event
  6. Second World War
  7. people
  8. the Japanese city
  9. horrible war is
  10. on the future

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
estimated
huge
apologise
become
dropped
vision
suffer
focus

On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will (1) ____________ the first American president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The visit is a (2) ____________ event for both the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world to (3) ____________ from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. forces (4) ____________ on the city in August of 1945 killed an (5) ____________ 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped bring an end to the Second World War. Others say it should never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to (6) ____________ on the future. An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not (7) ____________ for the bombing. The advisor said Obama, "will offer a forward-looking (8) ____________ " that focuses on the shared future of the USA and Japan.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
talking
remind
day
loss
past
horrible
innocent
goal

Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he would one (9) ____________ like to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many people in Japan and the USA (10) ____________ about the bombs that fell on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki, which killed so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time to think about how (11) ____________ war is and to remember the terrible (12) ____________ of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would (13) ____________ people that war causes unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again. He said: "Part of my (14) ____________ is to recognise that (15) ____________ people caught in war can suffer tremendously." He added: "And that's not just the thing of the (16) ____________. That is happening today in many parts of the world."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  Hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer from ______
     a.  atom mike weapons
     b.  a tonic weapons
     c.  a tomb mike weapons
     d.  atomic weapons

2)  The bomb that U.S. forces dropped on the city in August of 1945 killed ______
     a.  an estimates 140,000
     b.  an estimated 140,000
     c.  an guessed mated 140,000
     d.  an estimating 140,000

3)  President Obama said his visit is to focus ______
     a.  on the future
     b.  in the future
     c.  on a future
     d.  on the futures

4)  An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not apologise ______
     a.  from the bombing
     b.  for a bomb in
     c.  for the bombing
     d.  for a bombing

5)  The advisor said Obama will offer a ______
     a.  forward-looking version
     b.  forward-look in version
     c.  forwarded-look in vision
     d.  forward-looking vision

6)  Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he would one day like ______
     a.  for visit Hiroshima
     b.  to visit Hiroshima
     c.  too visit Hiroshima
     d.  to visiting Hiroshima

7)  talking about the bombs that fell on Hiroshima, ______
     a.  and lately Nagasaki
     b.  and later Nagasaki
     c.  and lates Nagasaki
     d.  and latish Nagasaki

8)  a time to think about how horrible war is and to remember the ______
     a.  terribly loss of life
     b.  terrible lost of life
     c.  terribly lost of life
     d.  terrible loss of life

9)  he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remind people that war causes ______
     a.  unnecessarily death
     b.  an necessary death
     c.  unnecessary deaths
     d.  unnecessary death

10)  recognise that innocent people caught in war can ______
     a.  suffer tremendous
     b.  suffers tremendously
     c.  suffered tremendously
     d.  suffer tremendously

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will (1) ___________________ American president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The visit is a (2) ___________________ the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. forces dropped on the city in August of 1945 killed (3) ___________________ 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped (4) ___________________ to the Second World War. Others say it should never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to focus on the future. (5) ___________________ the president said Mr Obama would not apologise for the bombing. The advisor said Obama, "will offer (6) ___________________ vision" that focuses on the shared future of the USA and Japan.

Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he (7) ___________________ like to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many people in Japan and the USA talking about the (8) ___________________ on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki, which killed so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time to think about (9) ___________________ is and to remember the terrible loss of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remind people (10) ___________________ unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again. He said: "Part of my goal is to recognise that (11) ___________________ caught in war can suffer tremendously." He added: "And that's not just the thing of the past. That is happening today (12) ___________________ the world."

Comprehension questions

  1. How many U.S. presidents have visited Hiroshima before Barack Obama?
  2. What kind of event did the article call President Obama's visit?
  3. How many people died in 1945 because of the Hiroshima bombing?
  4. What do some historians say happened because of the bombing?
  5. What did an advisor to the president say Mr Obama would not do?
  6. When did Barack Obama hint that he wanted to visit Hiroshima?
  7. Which other Japanese city is mentioned in the article?
  8. What terrible thing did Mr Obama say his visit is to remember?
  9. What did President Obama say about nuclear weapons?
  10. What did President Obama say can happen to innocent people in wars?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How many U.S. presidents have visited Hiroshima before Barack Obama?
a) 3
b) 2
c) 1
d) 0

2) What kind of event did the article call President Obama's visit?
a) an overdue one
b) a huge one
c) a nice one
d) a private one

3) How many people died in 1945 because of the Hiroshima bombing?
a) slightly over 140,000
b) just less than 140,000
c) exactly 140,000
d) around 140,000

4) What do some historians say happened because of the bombing?
a) bigger nuclear weapons
b) more bombing
c) the end of WWII
d) a U.S president visited Hiroshima

5) What did an advisor to the president say Mr Obama would not do?
a) eat sushi
b) visit a temple
c) go sightseeing
d) apologise

6) When did Barack Obama hint that he wanted to visit Hiroshima?
a) next week
b) when he was a child
c) in 2009
d) last week

7) Which other Japanese city is mentioned in the article?
a) Nagasaki
b) Kyoto
c) Sapporo
d) Nagano

8) What terrible thing did Mr Obama say his visit is to remember?
a) bombs
b) history
c) the loss of life
d) the war in Syria

9) What did President Obama say about nuclear weapons?
a) they are too powerful
b) they should never be used again
c) they are useful to defend a country
d) there are too many

10) What did President Obama say can happen to innocent people in wars?
a) they can suffer
b) they become refugees
c) they lose loved ones
d) they have painful memories

Role play

Role A — Syria

You think the war in Syria is the most difficult to bring to an end. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things why their wars are easier to end. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these to end (and why): drugs wars, the Israel-Palestine conflict or cyber wars.

Role B — Drugs wars

You think drugs wars are the most difficult to bring to an end. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things why their wars are easier to end. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these to end (and why): the war in Syria, the Israel-Palestine conflict or cyber wars.

Role C — Israel - Palestine

You think the Israel-Palestine conflict is the most difficult to bring to an end. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things why their wars are easier to end. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these to end (and why): drugs wars, the war in Syria or cyber wars.

Role D — Cyberwars

You think cyber wars are the most difficult to bring to an end. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things why their wars are easier to end. Also, tell the others which is the easiest of these to end (and why):  drugs wars, the Israel-Palestine conflict or the war in Syria.

After reading / listening

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

'atom'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'bomb'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • like
    • fell
    • later
    • remind
    • goal
    • parts
    • huge
    • dropped
    • 140,000
    • never
    • apologise
    • shared

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - President Obama to visit Hiroshima

    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 'Hiroshima'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about Hiroshima?
    5. Why is President Obama's visit a 'huge event'?
    6. Why are there still nuclear weapons in the world?
    7. Should President Obama apologise about the bombing of Hiroshima?
    8. How likely is it nuclear weapons will be used again?
    9. What would happen if terrorists got nuclear weapons?
    10. What will happen in the ' shared future of the USA and Japan'?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. Why do countries go to war?
    3. What do you know about the end of World War II?
    4. How important is President Obama's visit?
    5. How can we put an end to nuclear weapons?
    6. Are you for or against nuclear weapons?
    7. How can ordinary people stop leaders deciding to go to war?
    8. What do you know about the wars happening today?
    9. When will we stop going to war?
    10. What questions would you like to ask President Obama?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit the Japanese city (1) ____ Hiroshima. The visit is a (2) ____ event for both the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. (3) ____ dropped on the city in August of 1945 killed an estimated 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped bring an (4) ____ to the Second World War. Others say it should never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to focus (5) ____ the future. An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not apologise for the bombing. The advisor said Obama, "will offer a forward-looking (6) ____" that focuses on the shared future of the USA and Japan.

    Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he would (7) ____ day like to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many people in Japan and the USA talking about the bombs that fell on Hiroshima, and (8) ____ Nagasaki, which killed so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time to think about how horrible war is and to remember the terrible (9) ____ of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remind people that war (10) ____ unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again. He said: "Part of my goal is to recognise that (11) ____ people caught in war can suffer tremendously." He added: "And that's not (12) ____ the thing of the past. That is happening today in many parts of the world."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     of     (b)     by     (c)     for     (d)     as    
    2. (a)     enormous     (b)     medium     (c)     huge     (d)     size    
    3. (a)     forcing     (b)     forced     (c)     forces     (d)     enforces    
    4. (a)     ends     (b)     ended     (c)     endless     (d)     end    
    5. (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     of     (d)     by    
    6. (a)     looked     (b)     vision     (c)     watch     (d)     seeing    
    7. (a)     only     (b)     once     (c)     on     (d)     one    
    8. (a)     lately     (b)     later     (c)     latish     (d)     late    
    9. (a)     lost     (b)     loser     (c)     loss     (d)     loses    
    10. (a)     cases     (b)     creases     (c)     chaos     (d)     causes    
    11. (a)     innocently     (b)     innocents     (c)     innocence     (d)     innocent    
    12. (a)     suffering     (b)     just     (c)     part     (d)     all

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. suffer from atomic owespan
    2. killed an dteieamst 140,000
    3. saoihntsir say it helped bring an end
    4. Obama would not iosoapgel (UK) / poloaiegz (USA)
    5. offer a forward-looking snivoi
    6. the shared ufuret of the USA and Japan

    Paragraph 2

    1. Obama idehtn in 2009
    2. talking about the mbbos that fell
    3. think about how rholeirb war is
    4. remember the rtilreeb loss of life
    5. enoctnin people caught in war
    6. That is apngnhepi today

    Put the text back together

    (    ).....Barack Obama hinted in 2009 that he would one day like to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many

    (    )....."will offer a forward-looking vision" that focuses on the shared future of the USA and Japan.

    (    ).....from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. forces dropped on the city in August of 1945 killed an

    (    ).....people in Japan and the USA talking about the bombs that fell on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki, which killed

    (    ).....tremendously." He added: "And that's not just the thing of the past. That is happening today in many parts of the world."

    (    ).....On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit the Japanese

    (    ).....on the future. An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not apologise for the bombing. The advisor said Obama,

    (    ).....city of Hiroshima. The visit is a huge event for both the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer

    (    ).....causes unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used

    (    ).....Second World War. Others say it should never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to focus

    (    ).....again. He said: "Part of my goal is to recognise that innocent people caught in war can suffer

    (    ).....the terrible loss of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remind people that war

    (    ).....estimated 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped bring an end to the

    (    ).....so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time to think about how horrible war is and to remember

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   visit   first   the   American   Japanese   president   city   to   .
    2. in   the   world   to   suffer   from   atomic   weapons   The   first   city  .
    3. say  Historians  War  World  Second  the  to  end  an  bring  helped  it  .
    4. to   the   said   is   on   Obama   visit   focus   future   his   .
    5. forward   -  looking  vision  that   focuses  on  the  shared   future   A   .
    6. Hiroshima   visit   to   like   day   one   would   He   .
    7. war   think   is   about   A   how   time   horrible   to   .
    8. people   war   unnecessary   Remind   that   causes   death   .
    9. tremendously   suffer   can   war   in   caught   people   Innocent   .
    10. happening   many   the   is   in   of   That   today   parts   world   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit the Japanese city of / in Hiroshima. The visit is a huge event / eventuality for both the USA and Japan. Hiroshima is the first city in the world for / to suffer from atomic weapons. The bomb that U.S. forces dropped on a/ the city in August of 1945 killed an estimation / estimated 140,000 in that year. Many historians say it helped bring / brought an end to the Second World War. Others say it should ever / never have happened. President Obama said his visit is to focus / focal on the future. An advisor to the president said Mr Obama would not apologies / apologise for the bombing. The advisor said Obama, "will offer a forward-looking vision" that focuses on the shares / shared future of the USA and Japan.

    Barack Obama hinted / tinted in 2009 that he would one day like / liken to visit Hiroshima. His trip to the city has got many people in Japan and the USA talking about the bombs what / that fell on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki, which killed / killing so many people. Mr Obama said his visit would be a time / timely to think about how horrible war is and to remember the terrible loss of life. He said he hoped his time in Hiroshima would remember / remind people that war causes unnecessary / unnecessarily death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again. He said: "Partly / Part of my goal is to recognise that innocent people caught in war can suffer tremendously / tremendous." He added: "And that's not just the thing of the past. That is happening / happened today in many parts of the world."

    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)

    _n Fr_d_y, _.S. Pr_s_d_nt B_r_ck _b_m_ w_ll b_c_m_ th_ f_rst _m_r_c_n pr_s_d_nt t_ v_s_t th_ J_p_n_s_ c_ty _f H_r_sh_m_. Th_ v_s_t _s _ h_g_ _v_nt f_r b_th th_ _S_ _nd J_p_n. H_r_sh_m_ _s th_ f_rst c_ty _n th_ w_rld t_ s_ff_r fr_m _t_m_c w__p_ns. Th_ b_mb th_t _.S. f_rc_s dr_pp_d _n th_ c_ty _n __g_st _f 1945 k_ll_d _n _st_m_t_d 140,000 _n th_t y__r. M_ny h_st_r__ns s_y _t h_lp_d br_ng _n _nd t_ th_ S_c_nd W_rld W_r. _th_rs s_y _t sh__ld n_v_r h_v_ h_pp_n_d. Pr_s_d_nt _b_m_ s__d h_s v_s_t _s t_ f_c_s _n th_ f_t_r_. _n _dv_s_r t_ th_ pr_s_d_nt s__d Mr _b_m_ w__ld n_t _p_l_g_s_ f_r th_ b_mb_ng. Th_ _dv_s_r s__d _b_m_, "w_ll _ff_r _ f_rw_rd-l__k_ng v_s__n" th_t f_c_s_s _n th_ sh_r_d f_t_r_ _f th_ _S_ _nd J_p_n.

    B_r_ck _b_m_ h_nt_d _n 2009 th_t h_ w__ld _n_ d_y l_k_ t_ v_s_t H_r_sh_m_. H_s tr_p t_ th_ c_ty h_s g_t m_ny p__pl_ _n J_p_n _nd th_ _S_ t_lk_ng _b__t th_ b_mbs th_t f_ll _n H_r_sh_m_, _nd l_t_r N_g_s_k_, wh_ch k_ll_d s_ m_ny p__pl_. Mr _b_m_ s__d h_s v_s_t w__ld b_ _ t_m_ t_ th_nk _b__t h_w h_rr_bl_ w_r _s _nd t_ r_m_mb_r th_ t_rr_bl_ l_ss _f l_f_. H_ s__d h_ h_p_d h_s t_m_ _n H_r_sh_m_ w__ld r_m_nd p__pl_ th_t w_r c__s_s _nn_c_ss_ry d__th _nd th_t n_cl__r w__p_ns sh__ld n_v_r b_ _s_d _g__n. H_ s__d: "P_rt _f my g__l _s t_ r_c_gn_s_ th_t _nn_c_nt p__pl_ c__ght _n w_r c_n s_ff_r tr_m_nd__sly." H_ _dd_d: "_nd th_t's n_t j_st th_ th_ng _f th_ p_st. Th_t _s h_pp_n_ng t_d_y _n m_ny p_rts _f th_ w_rld."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    on friday us president barack obama will become the first american president to visit the japanese city of hiroshima the visit is a huge event for both the usa and japan hiroshima is the first city in the world to suffer from atomic weapons the bomb that us forces dropped on the city in august of 1945 killed an estimated 140000 in that year many historians say it helped bring an end to the second world war others say it should never have happened president obama said his visit is to focus on the future an advisor to the president said mr obama would not apologise for the bombing the advisor said obama "will offer a forward-looking vision" that focuses on the shared future of the usa and japan

    barack obama hinted in 2009 that he would one day like to visit hiroshima his trip to the city has got many people in japan and the usa talking about the bombs that fell on hiroshima and later nagasaki which killed so many people mr obama said his visit would be a time to think about how horrible war is and to remember the terrible loss of life he said he hoped his time in hiroshima would remind people that war causes unnecessary death and that nuclear weapons should never be used again he said "part of my goal is to recognise that innocent people caught in war can suffer tremendously" he added "and that's not just the thing of the past that is happening today in many parts of the world"

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    OnFriday,U.S.PresidentBarackObamawillbecomethefirstAmericanp
    residenttovisittheJapanesecityofHiroshima.Thevisitisahugeeventfo
    rboththeUSAandJapan.Hiroshimaisthefirstcityintheworldtosufferfro
    matomicweapons.ThebombthatU.S.forcesdroppedonthecityinAugu
    stof1945killedanestimated140,000inthatyear.Manyhistorianssayit
    helpedbringanendtotheSecondWorldWar.Otherssayitshouldneverh
    avehappened.PresidentObamasaidhisvisitistofocusonthefuture.An
    advisortothepresidentsaidMrObamawouldnotapologiseforthebombi
    ng.TheadvisorsaidObama,"willofferaforward-lookingvision"th
    atfocusesonthesharedfutureoftheUSAandJapan.BarackObamahinte
    din2009thathewouldonedayliketovisitHiroshima.Histriptothecityha
    sgotmanypeopleinJapanandtheUSAtalkingaboutthebombsthatfello
    nHiroshima,andlaterNagasaki,whichkilledsomanypeople.MrObama
    saidhisvisitwouldbeatimetothinkabouthowhorriblewarisandtoreme
    mbertheterriblelossoflife.HesaidhehopedhistimeinHiroshimawouldr
    emindpeoplethatwarcausesunnecessarydeathandthatnuclearweap
    onsshouldneverbeusedagain.Hesaid:"Partofmygoalistorecogniseth
    atinnocentpeoplecaughtinwarcansuffertremendously."Headded:"A
    ndthat'snotjustthethingofthepast.Thatishappeningtodayinmanypar
    tsoftheworld."

    Free writing

    Write about Hiroshima for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    All countries should apologise for their acts of war. Discuss.

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

    3. NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Make a poster about nuclear weapons. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

    4. APOLOGY: Write a magazine article about whether or not a U.S. president should apologise to Japan over Hiroshima. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.

    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 Hiroshima. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to rid the world of the nuclear threat. 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

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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