IN A NUTSHELL - OPERATION CHILDREN
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
NO. 31
IN A NUTSHELL
•
20/21
YOUR WEEKLY DISCUSSION BOOSTER
OPERATION CHILDREN
FORTH BRIDGE NOT WELCOME
Prince Philip Housing estate only for adults
dies at 99 raises controversies
© Zbigniew Stępień, Andrei Makhnach
LEVEL 1
B1 - B2
Operation
Forth
Bridge
RETELL
Whenever a member of the Royal Family dies, a special
protocol dictates what should be done step by step. Each
senior member is given a codename which is always a
bridge. On April 9, 2021 Operation Forth Bridge was What happens when a member of the Royal Family dies?
launched, which meant Prince Philip, The Queen’s
Did Philip and the Queen have a happy marriage?
husband, passed away.
What will Philip be remembered for?
According to the protocol such information is firstly How did the British Empire change over Philip’s life?
announced by the Palace to the Press Association and
What funeral did Philip want to have?
the BBC. Later, a PM makes a statement. What follows is
national mourning.
The Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99. He had
been married to Elizabeth for 73 years and was the
longest serving royal consort in history (67 years). Their
marriage had its ups and downs. Initially, he found it
hard to accept the fact he would always be less DISCUSS
important than his wife, which led to problems in their
relationship. He must have regretted it for a long time
because in the last weeks before his death he apologised
Britain will always have
to the queen for being unfaithful. a royal family.
From the perspective of many years, Philip will surely be
remembered for supporting the Queen in all
circumstances and helping her keep monarchy a central
part of British life. This task must have been difficult ARGUMENT BANK
because over a single lifetime the British Empire lost
much of its once great importance. When he was born,
the Empire controlled almost one-fourth of all the land
Is it worth preserving such a long-lasting tradition?
and population on Earth.
Are many people interested in the lives of royalty?
Philip deserves credit also for serving in the Royal Navy Can royals help a country in any way?
during WWII. Being a very active person, he continued to
Does it cost a lot of money to pay for the Royal Family?
pilot aircraft into his 60s and stopped driving a car only
after he had a crash at the age of 97. Do they make any important decisions?
Has the time of monarchies passed?
The Duke should have had a big, state funeral but it was
his desire to have a ”no fuss,” simple one. The ceremony
took place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Make notes!
DEFINITIONS Write down 5 arguments FOR.
Put the right numbers next to the definitions.
....................................................................................................
A) to dictate; B) to pass away; C) mourning; D) royal consort;
E) ups and downs; F) to apologise; G) unfaithful; H) circumstances; ....................................................................................................
I) aircraft (sing. and pl.); J) funeral
....................................................................................................
1) burial ....................................................................................................
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2) a succession of both good and bad experiences
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
3) conditions ....................................................................................................
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
4) to die
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
5) sorrow for someone’s death
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
....................................................................................................
6) cheating
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
....................................................................................................
7) the spouse of a ruling king or queen
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
8) any machine capable of flight
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
9) to give orders
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
10) to say sorry
Write down 5 arguments AGAINST.
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
GAPS ....................................................................................................
Say/Write full sentences by filling in the gaps with
the correct forms of the phrases from the exercise above. ....................................................................................................
1) We are all still in __________ after the death of our beloved ....................................................................................................
priest.
2) He claimed he hadn’t been __________ to her during their ....................................................................................................
marriage. ....................................................................................................
3) Over ten thousand mourners attended the __________ of the
monarch. ....................................................................................................
4) I’ve had my __________, but life’s like that.
....................................................................................................
5) The new rule __________ that every employee wear smart
clothes every day of the working week.
6) We wanted to flee the country,
but it is impossible in such __________ . Write down the words you will
7) Attacks by a large fleet of enemy __________ forced the tanks use in your essay/speech.
to retreat from the capital.
8) When did his grandparents __________?
......................................................................................................
9) As the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip was the
......................................................................................................
longest-serving __________ in British history.
......................................................................................................
10) Kate __________ profusely for forgetting to pay me back the ......................................................................................................
money she’d borrowed.© Zbigniew Stępień, Andrei Makhnach
LEVEL 2
C1 - C2
Children
not
welcome
RETELL
Sick and tired of incessantly screaming kids on the playground
near your block of flats? Grab your bags and out you move! But
where to? To a housing estate where tenants are not supposed Who are the potential customers of the housing estate in Silesia?
to have children. Such a solution may soon be offered by one of
Why did the idea raise controversies?
the bold Silesian developers. It seems to present a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity for single people or childless couples who Why will the offered house not be attractive
would be fools not to tap into it. for families with children?
What tricks can be used to make sure
Although the groundbreaking project seems perfectly fair, it no children live in the apartments?
does, on the flipside, ruffle a lot of feathers so neatly and self-
Have similar residential areas (only for a particular group of people)
righteously kept sleek by their prim and proper owners. The
been constructed anywhere else?
law-abiding and all-of-a-sudden highly moral part of society sees
it as a potential threat to the rights of freedom and gradual
decomposition of family. They argue that it is inconceivable for
the developer to impose such restrictions on the customers.
From a legal point of view, they might be right. That’s why the
initial idea of the project was to offer terraced houses which
would simply be too small for families with children. DISCUSS
Additionally, no infrastructure for kids is supposed to put such
customers off. It is true that a developer can choose not to sell
such a house to a family with children, but once a flat is sold to
two singles he cannot stop them from getting married and
Building a housing estate where having
having offspring. Another trick to keep children away from the children is not allowed should be illegal.
list of residents could be to let rather than sell houses to
customers and not prolong contracts with those who fail to
comply with the rules.
ARGUMENT BANK
The question is: why did the idea cause so much controversy
despite being utterly transparent and just in its essence? Similar
buildings first emerged around 100 years ago and were far from
being vituperatively criticized. Conversely, the US is reported
to be one of the countries with the biggest number of such Is it Okay to offer services only for a specific group of people
(e.g. a club for teenagers or adults only)?
construction projects mainly dedicated to retired, lonely people
who can not only enjoy their final domicile but also be taken Can families with children be difficult neighbours? Why?
care of by nurses on duty and other services indispensable for
Can families with children just choose a different place to live in?
the elderly.
Can you imagine a housing estate
However, people tend to look askance at everything new or where people of colour are not allowed?
unusual, be it a political reform, a social outcry or a small local Doesn’t it portray children as something negative, unwanted?
innovation. The old adage unwaveringly preserves its
formidable truth: you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. … Is it Doesn’t it restrict some basic human rights?
neophobia gaining momentum, or people trying to isolate
themselves even further?Make notes!
DEFINITIONS Write down 5 arguments FOR.
Put the right letters next to the definitions.
....................................................................................................
A) to tap into; B) to ruffle (sb's) feathers; C) prim and proper;
D) inconceivable; E) vituperative; F) domicile; G) indispensable; ....................................................................................................
H) to look askance at; I) unwaveringly; J) to gain momentum
....................................................................................................
1) to happen more quickly ....................................................................................................
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2) absolutely necessary
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
3) steadily ....................................................................................................
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
4) to take advantage of
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
5) unbelievable
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
....................................................................................................
6) to look with disapproval
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
....................................................................................................
7) to cause someone to be upset
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ....................................................................................................
8) full of angry criticism
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
9) home; house; residence
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
10) always behaving in the correct way
Write down 5 arguments AGAINST.
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
GAPS ....................................................................................................
Say/Write full sentences by filling in the gaps with
the correct forms of the phrases from the exercise above. ....................................................................................................
1) She’s so __________ that I bet she’s never even jaywalked ....................................................................................................
before.
2) It would be __________ for him to betray his Fatherland. ....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
3) The shop assistant __________ our cheap clothes and rolled
her eyes in disbelief.
....................................................................................................
4) It would be silly of you not to __________ your potential as a
musician.
....................................................................................................
5) My father __________ believed in patriotism.
6) I need to hire a few builders to renovate my new __________ .
7) Greg’s long experience in teaching Chinese makes him Write down the words you will
__________ to our faculty.
use in your essay/speech.
8) Claire __________ a few __________ when she suggested cutting
the salaries of some employees.
9) Hopefully, things will start looking up soon since the ......................................................................................................
economy is __________.
......................................................................................................
10) It was embarrassing for everyone to witness the boss’s ......................................................................................................
__________ attack on the sales manager for the unimpressive ......................................................................................................
sales figures.How to use
this magazine? THE TEACHER
CHOOSING THE LEVEL
THE LEARNER Use the right text with the right learners. The first article will
work with teenagers (grade 7 and higher) and adults at B1 -
B2 levels. The second one is for high-schoolers and adults at
C1 - C2 levels.
READING
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL Get the students to read the text at home. Pick one to retell
Choose a text which is fairly easy for you to understand. the story in class. Reading in class is possible, but takes away
Continue reading articles at this level until you are ready for precious time.
more advanced reading.
READ THE TEXT CHECKING THE VOCABULARY
Read the text and check if you can answer the questions in Ask your students to look up the bolded words before the
the box. Try to retell the text to yourself or find someone you lesson. They can prepare definitions or translations.
can talk to in English.
RETELLING THE STORY
CHECK THE VOCABULARY At the beginning of class, a chosen student retells the story.
Words are the essence of any language. Look them up on He or she should do it well, trying to use as many bolded
your own. This extra effort pays off! Make your own notes. lexical items from the text as possible.
Don't check every single word you don't understand.
DISCUSSION
DISCUSS/WRITE Get your students to discuss the subject. Make them find at
Find somebody to discuss the subject with. If you work alone, least 5 arguments for and 5 against. They should note the
try to find arguments and write an essay about the subject. If arguments down for later use.
you can get it checked by someone - perfect!
REVISE WRITING
Never read a text only once. Always come back to it - next Ask your students to write an essay based on their
day, after a week, after a month. Try to retell the text to arguments. Discuss it with them. Give constructive feedback.
yourself using the bolded words. Make sentences with the
bolded words. Practise, practise, practise!
REVISION
During the next meetings, ask your students to retell the
story in pairs. Also, they can try to write their own sentences
with the bolded words. Practice is key, and there are many
ways to do it!
EVERY WEEK
IN A NUTSHELL, a weekly discussion booster for teachers and learners of English.
Authors: Zbigniew Stępień, Andrei Makhnach.
stepien.edu.plYou can also read
