The Reading / Listening - Trillionaire - Level 3

A famous song and a quiz show ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, having a million dollars was the goal of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just issued a report that says in the next ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, followed by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and poor is growing. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."

Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an example, it said the world's five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet. He has a personal fortune of just under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same value as oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a "decade of division". It called for a "new era of public action" to reduce the wealth gap.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Trillionaire - Level 0,  Trillionaire - Level 1   or  Trillionaire - Level 2

Sources
  • https://apnews.com/article/income-inequality-billionaires-davos-85baf23e9a2a7d4d94da5aca11f3ca5e
  • https://time.com/6555516/first-trillionaire-oxfam-report-billionaire-inequality/
  • https://news.sky.com/story/worlds-richest-men-double-their-wealth-in-three-years-as-oxfam-warns-of-first-trillionaire-13048652


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. TRILLIONAIRES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about trillionaires. 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?
       famous song / quiz show / millionaire / goal / money / wealth gap / pandemic / gap /
       inequality / annual meeting / poor / the planet / personal fortune / decade / division
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. EVIL: Students A strongly believe the saying 'money id the root of all evil' is true; Students B strongly believe it isn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SUPER RICH: How would being super rich help you with these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How It Would Help

English

 

Friends

 

Hobbies

 

Looks

 

Lifestyle

 

Love

 
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. POVERTY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "poverty". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. SHOPPING: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to buy with a trillion dollars at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • A tropical island
  • A castle in the UK
  • Gold and diamonds
  • A jet plane
  • A luxury yacht
  • A tech company
  • Lots of chocolate
  • Love

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. quiz a. Very, very, very big.
      2. decade b. A difference (sometimes an unwanted one) between two things.
      3. poverty c. A test of what people know, especially as a competition between people or teams.
      4. charity d. A period of ten years.
      5. huge e. An organization that helps to get money for people or things in need (poor people, hungry people, etc.).
      6. equal f. Being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value.
      7. gap g. The state of being very, very, very poor.

    Paragraph 2

      8. inequality h. An important event in the development of something.
      9. annual i. Belonging to or affecting a particular person rather than anyone else.
      10. wealth j. Made twice as large.
      11. doubled k. The state of people not having the same status, rights or opportunities as others.
      12. personal l. Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.
      13. milestone m. Happening every year.
      14. reduce n. All the money and things owned by a person, company or country.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A well-known song asked about wanting to be a trillionaire.     T / F
  2. A trillion is a one, with 16 zeros after it.     T / F
  3. Coronavirus made the gap between the richest and poorest bigger.     T / F
  4. Oxfam said it would take 200 years to fight poverty.     T / F
  5. The top five richest people became $114 billion richer last year.     T / F
  6. Five billion people in the world became richer last year.     T / F
  7. Elon Musk is worth around a quarter of a billion dollars.     T / F
  8. A news agency said a trillionaire would be as rich as Saudi Arabia.     T / F

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

  1. famous
  2. goal
  3. issued
  4. huge
  5. fight
  6. annual
  7. increase
  8. richest
  9. start
  10. reduce
  1. go up
  2. released
  3. yearly
  4. very large
  5. beginning
  6. well known
  7. cut
  8. tackle
  9. aim
  10. wealthiest

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

  1. having a million dollars was the goal
  2. The anti-poverty
  3. A trillion is a huge
  4. A trillion is equal
  5. the wealth gap between the rich and
  6. He has a personal fortune of
  7. have the same value as oil-
  8. the world is now at the start of a decade
  9. It called for a new
  10. reduce the wealth
  1. to one million million
  2. gap
  3. era of public action
  4. charity Oxfam
  5. of division
  6. number
  7. just under $250 billion
  8. of the super-rich
  9. poor is growing
  10. rich Saudi Arabia

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
report
followed
whereas
quiz
pandemic
goal
huge
wealth

A famous song and a (1) _____________________ show ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, having a million dollars was the (2) _____________________ of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just issued a (3) _____________________ that says in the next ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a (4) _____________________ number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, (5) _____________________ by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal to one million million. The charity said the (6) _____________________ gap between the rich and poor is growing. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus (7) _____________________. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, (8) _____________________ to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
planet
wealth
division
reach
inequality
reduce
doubled
value

Oxfam spoke about (9) _____________________ at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an example, it said the world's five richest people have seen their (10) _____________________ increase by 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have (11) _____________________ their wealth. On the other hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the (12) _____________________. He has a personal fortune of just under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does (13) _____________________ that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same (14) _____________________ as oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a "decade of (15) _____________________". It called for a "new era of public action" to (16) _____________________ the wealth gap.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) For decades, having a million dollars ______
     a.  was the goals
     b.  was the goal
     c.  was the goalie
     d.  was the gall
2)  The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just ______
     a.  issued a report
     b.  issued a reap port
     c.  issued a rip port
     d.  issued a reports
3)  A trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable ______
     a.  amounts of money
     b.  a mount of money
     c.  a mint of money
     d.  amount of money
4)  The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and ______
     a.  poor is growth
     b.  poor is growl
     c.  poor is growling
     d.  poor is growing
5)  We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas ______
     a.  to blight poverty
     b.  to flight poverty
     c.  to fight poverty
     d.  to fright poverty

6)  Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic ______
     a.  Forum's annually meeting
     b.  Forum's annul meeting
     c.  Forum's annual meeting
     d.  Forum's renewal meeting
7)  the world's five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per ______
     a.  sent sins 2020
     b.  cent since 2020
     c.  cent cents 2020
     d.  sent since 2020
8)  The top five billionaires have ______
     a.  doubled their wealth
     b.  doubled their wealthy
     c.  doubled their welt
     d.  doubled their weal
9)  he or she would have the same value as oil-______
     a.  ditch Saudi Arabia
     b.  hitch Saudi Arabia
     c.  stitch Saudi Arabia
     d.  rich Saudi Arabia
10)  Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a ______
     a.  decade of subtraction
     b.  decade of division
     c.  decade of multiplication
     d.  decade of addition

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A famous song and a (1) ____________________, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, having a million dollars was the goal (2) ____________________. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just issued a report that says in (3) ____________________ years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable (4) ____________________. It is a one, followed by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and (5) ____________________. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas (6) ____________________, we need more than 200 years."

Oxfam spoke (7) ____________________ the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an example, it said the world's five richest people have seen their (8) ____________________ 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have (9) ____________________. On the other hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet. He has a personal (10) ____________________ under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the (11) ____________________ oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a "decade of division". It called for a "(12) ____________________ public action" to reduce the wealth gap.

Comprehension questions

  1. What two things ask who wants to be a millionaire?
  2. What is the goal for today's super-rich?
  3. How many zeros follows the one in one trillion?
  4. What does Oxfam say is happening to the gap between rich and poor?
  5. How long did Oxfam say it would take to fight poverty?
  6. By how much did the wealth of the world's richest five people go up?
  7. How many people have become poorer?
  8. How much is the personal fortune of Elon Musk?
  9. What might a trillionaire be as valuable as?
  10. What does Oxfam want to reduce with public action?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What two things ask who wants to be a millionaire?
a) the super-rich and a charity
b) Oxfam and a rich person
c) a quiz show and a singer
d) a famous song and a quiz show
2) What is the goal for today's super-rich?
a) buying a private jet
b) a billion dollars
c) to be the richest person
d) to live to be 100
3) How many zeros follows the one in one trillion?
a) 16
b) 14
c) 10
d) 12
4) What does Oxfam say is happening to the gap between rich and poor?
a) very little
b) It's getting smaller.
c) It's growing.
d) No one knows.
5) How long did Oxfam say it would take to fight poverty?
a) 300 years
b) 100 years
c) 250 years
d) 200 years

6) By how much did the wealth of the world's richest five people go up?
a) by 116%
b) by 118%
c) by 114%
d) by 113%
7) How many people have become poorer?
a) almost five billion
b) exactly five billion
c) around five billion
d) just under five billion
8) How much is the personal fortune of Elon Musk?
a) around $250 billion
b) exactly $250 billion
c) almost $250 billion
d) over $250 billion
9) What might a trillionaire be as valuable as?
a) the USA
b) Saudi Arabia
c) all the gold in the world
d) 90% of the world
10) What does Oxfam want to reduce with public action?
a) the wealth gap
b) the decade of division
c) a new era
d) oil

Role play

Role  A – A Tropical Island
You think a tropical island is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why): gold, chocolate or love.

Role  B – Gold
You think gold is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why): tropical island, chocolate or love.

Role  C – Chocolate
You think chocolate is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why): gold, tropical island or love.

Role  D – Love
You think love is the best thing to buy with a trillion dollars. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these to buy (and why): gold, chocolate or tropical island.

After reading / listening

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

'trillion'

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

    • and 'poor'.

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

    • • 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:

    • quiz
    • goal
    • huge
    • equal
    • growing
    • 200
    • meeting
    • increase
    • doubled
    • hand
    • oil
    • new

    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 - Trillionaire

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'trillionaire'?
    3. What do you think of quiz shows?
    4. What would life be like if you had $1,000,000,000,000?
    5. What do you think of the super-rich?
    6. What is your goal in life?
    7. What's the best way to get rich?
    8. How can we make the wealth gap smaller?
    9. How much tax should the super-rich pay?
    10. Why do we have poverty in 2024?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'poor'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What can we do about inequality?
    5. What do you think of Elon Musk?
    6. What would the world be like if we all had the same salary?
    7. Will there ever be equality in the world?
    8. What would you spend $1 trillion on?
    9. What public action is needed to reduce the wealth gap?
    10. What questions would you like to ask a trillionaire?

    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)

    A famous song and a quiz show (1) ____, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, (2) ____ a million dollars was the goal of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just (3) ____ a report that says in the next ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, followed (4) ____ 12 zeros. A trillion is equal to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and poor is (5) ____. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire (6) ____ a decade, whereas to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."

    Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an (7) ____, it said the world's five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have (8) ____ their wealth. On the other (9) ____, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet. He has a (10) ____ fortune of just under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same value (11) ____ oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of a "decade of division". It called for a "new (12) ____ of public action" to reduce the wealth gap.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     order     (b)     tell     (c)     ask     (d)     voice    
    2. (a)     having     (b)     has     (c)     had     (d)     have    
    3. (a)     issued     (b)     felled     (c)     timed     (d)     system    
    4. (a)     by     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     at    
    5. (a)     growth     (b)     grows     (c)     grown     (d)     growing    
    6. (a)     wither     (b)     without     (c)     with     (d)     within    
    7. (a)     example     (b)     sample     (c)     exit     (d)     ample    
    8. (a)     dual     (b)     twice     (c)     twice     (d)     doubled    
    9. (a)     hand     (b)     head     (c)     knee     (d)     elbow    
    10. (a)     personality     (b)     personal     (c)     personally     (d)     person    
    11. (a)     has     (b)     as     (c)     was     (d)     is    
    12. (a)     era     (b)     ore     (c)     roe     (d)     are

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A famous song and a uqzi show
    2. an unbelievable untmoa of money
    3. A trillion is qlaue to one million million
    4. the talhwe gap
    5. since the coronavirus emicnpda
    6. fight orveytp

    Paragraph 2

    1. lnuaan meeting
    2. A hyricat spokesperson
    3. billionaires have bddoule
    4. the richest man on the pnetal
    5. the same eluva as oil-rich Saudi Arabia
    6. a dadece of division

    Put the text back together

    (...)   start of a "decade of division". It called for a "new era of public action" to reduce the wealth gap. 
    (...)   that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same value as oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the
    (...)   a million dollars was the goal of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charity Oxfam has just
    (...)   number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, followed by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal
    (  1  )   A famous song and a quiz show ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, having
    (...)   planet. He has a personal fortune of just under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach
    (...)   pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."
    (...)   growing. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since the coronavirus
    (...)   2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have doubled their wealth. On the other
    (...)   hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on the
    (...)   example, it said the world's five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per cent since
    (...)   issued a report that says in the next ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge
    (...)   Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. As an
    (...)   to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich and poor is

    Put the words in the right order

    1. was   a   million   goal   .   dollars   decades,   For   the
    2. its   will   world   The   have   first   soon   trillionaire   .
    3. trillion   equal   is   million   .   to   one   million   A
    4. The   has   gap   the   been   pandemic   .   "supercharged"   since
    5. fight   years   .   over   we   need   poverty   To   200
    6. richest   wealth   have   people   their   The   seen   increase   .
    7. top   billionaires   their   wealth   .   doubled   five   have   The
    8. the   value   as   Saudi   oil-rich   Have   same   Arabia   .
    9. a   At   decade   of   the   of   division   .   start
    10. era   of   for   called   It   public   an   action   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A famous song and a quiz show asking / ask, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" For decades, have / having a million dollars was the goal of the super-rich. Now, the goal is a billion dollars. The anti-poverty charitable / charity Oxfam has just issued a report that says in the next / future ten years, the world will have its first trillionaire. A trillion is a huge / hugely number and an unbelievable amount of money. It is a one, followed after / by 12 zeros. A trillion is equal / equals to one million million. The charity said the wealth gap between the rich / wealth and poor is growing. It said the gap has been "supercharged" since / for the coronavirus pandemic. It added: "We will have a trillionaire within a decade, whereas / as to fight poverty, we need more than 200 years."

    Oxfam spoke about inequality at the World Economic Forum's year / annual meeting. As an example, it said the world's five richly / richest people have seen / looked their wealth increase by 114 per cent since 2020. A charity spokesperson said: "The top five billionaires have doubling / doubled their wealth. On the other foot / hand, almost five billion people have become poorer." Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest man on / in the planet. He has a personal fortune of just / justly under $250 billion. The AP news agency said: "If someone does reach what / that trillion-dollar milestone, he or she would have the same value as / has oil-rich Saudi Arabia." Oxfam said the world is now at the start of / at a "decade of division". It called for a "new era of public action" to reduce the wealth gap.

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

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _  f_m__s  s_ng  _nd  _  q__z  sh_w  _sk,  "Wh_  w_nts  t_  b_  _  m_ll__n__r_?"  F_r  d_c_d_s,  h_v_ng  _  m_ll__n  d_ll_rs  w_s  th_  g__l  _f  th_  s_p_r-r_ch.  N_w,  th_  g__l  _s  _  b_ll__n  d_ll_rs.  Th_  _nt_-p_v_rty  ch_r_ty  _xf_m  h_s  j_st  _ss__d  _  r_p_rt  th_t  s_ys  _n  th_  n_xt  t_n  y__rs,  th_  w_rld  w_ll  h_v_  _ts  f_rst  tr_ll__n__r_.  _  tr_ll__n  _s  _  h_g_  n_mb_r  _nd  _n  _nb_l__v_bl_  _m__nt  _f  m_n_y.  _t  _s  _  _n_,  f_ll_w_d  by  12  z_r_s.  _  tr_ll__n  _s  _q__l  t_  _n_  m_ll__n  m_ll__n.  Th_  ch_r_ty  s__d  th_  w__lth  g_p  b_tw__n  th_  r_ch  _nd  p__r  _s  gr_w_ng.  _t  s__d  th_  g_p  h_s  b__n  "s_p_rch_rg_d"  s_nc_  th_  c_r_n_v_r_s  p_nd_m_c.  _t  _dd_d:  "W_  w_ll  h_v_  _  tr_ll__n__r_  w_th_n  _  d_c_d_,  wh_r__s  t_  f_ght  p_v_rty,  w_  n__d  m_r_  th_n  200  y__rs."

    _xf_m  sp_k_  _b__t  _n_q__l_ty  _t  th_  W_rld  _c_n_m_c  F_r_m's  _nn__l  m__t_ng.  _s  _n  _x_mpl_,  _t  s__d  th_  w_rld's  f_v_  r_ch_st  p__pl_  h_v_  s__n  th__r  w__lth  _ncr__s_  by  114  p_r c_nt  s_nc_  2020.  _  ch_r_ty  sp_k_sp_rs_n  s__d:  "Th_  t_p  f_v_  b_ll__n__r_s  h_v_  d__bl_d  th__r  w__lth.  _n  th_  _th_r  h_nd,  _lm_st  f_v_  b_ll__n  p__pl_  h_v_  b_c_m_  p__r_r."  T_sl_  C__  _l_n  M_sk  _s  th_  r_ch_st  m_n  _n  th_  pl_n_t.  H_  h_s  _  p_rs_n_l  f_rt_n_  _f  j_st  _nd_r  $250  b_ll__n.  Th_  _P  n_ws  _g_ncy  s__d:  "_f  s_m__n_  d__s  r__ch  th_t  tr_ll__n-d_ll_r  m_l_st_n_,  h_  _r  sh_  w__ld  h_v_  th_  s_m_  v_l__  _s  __l-r_ch  S__d_  _r_b__."  _xf_m  s__d  th_  w_rld  _s  n_w  _t  th_  st_rt  _f  _  "d_c_d_  _f  d_v_s__n".  _t  c_ll_d  f_r  _  "n_w  _r_  _f  p_bl_c  _ct__n"  t_  r_d_c_  th_  w__lth  g_p.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a famous song and a quiz show ask who wants to be a millionaire for decades having a million dollars was the goal of the superrich now the goal is a billion dollars the antipoverty charity oxfam has just issued a report that says in the next ten years the world will have its first trillionaire a trillion is a huge number and an unbelievable amount of money it is a one followed by 12 zeros a trillion is equal to one million million the charity said the wealth gap between the rich and poor is growing it said the gap has been supercharged since the coronavirus pandemic it added we will have a trillionaire within a decade whereas to fight poverty we need more than 200 years

    oxfam spoke about inequality at the world economic forums annual meeting as an example it said the worlds five richest people have seen their wealth increase by 114 per cent since 2020 a charity spokesperson said the top five billionaires have doubled their wealth on the other hand almost five billion people have become poorer tesla ceo elon musk is the richest man on the planet he has a personal fortune of just under 250 billion the ap news agency said if someone does reach that trilliondollar milestone he or she would have the same value as oilrich saudi arabia oxfam said the world is now at the start of a decade of division it called for a new era of public action to reduce the wealth gap

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Afamoussongandaquizshowask,"Whowantstobeamillionaire?"Ford
    ecades,havingamilliondollarswasthegoalofthesuper-rich.Now,theg
    oalisabilliondollars.Theanti-povertycharityOxfamhasjustissuedarep
    ortthatsaysinthenexttenyears,theworldwillhaveitsfirsttrillionaire.At
    rillionisahugenumberandanunbelievableamountofmoney.Itisaone,f
    ollowedby12zeros.Atrillionisequaltoonemillionmillion.Thecharitysai
    dthewealthgapbetweentherichandpoorisgrowing.Itsaidthegaphasb
    een"supercharged"sincethecoronaviruspandemic.Itadded:"Wewill
    haveatrillionairewithinadecade,whereastofightpoverty,weneedmor
    ethan200years."OxfamspokeaboutinequalityattheWorldEconomicF
    orum'sannualmeeting.Asanexample,itsaidtheworld'sfiverichestpeo
    plehaveseentheirwealthincreaseby114percentsince2020.Acharitys
    pokespersonsaid:"Thetopfivebillionaireshavedoubledtheirwealth.O
    ntheotherhand,almostfivebillionpeoplehavebecomepoorer."TeslaC
    EOElonMuskistherichestmanontheplanet.Hehasapersonalfortuneofj
    ustunder$250billion.TheAPnewsagencysaid:"Ifsomeonedoesreacht
    hattrillion-dollarmilestone,heorshewouldhavethesamevalueasoil-
    richSaudiArabia."Oxfamsaidtheworldisnowatthestartofa"decadeofd
    ivision".Itcalledfora"neweraofpublicaction"toreducethewealthgap.

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    All rich people should pay much more tax. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. TRILLIONAIRES: Make a poster about trillionaires. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. TAX: Write a magazine article about making rich people may much, much, much more tax. 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 the super-rich. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on what you would do if you were super-rich. 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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