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Date: March 21, 2005
Level: Pre-Intermediate +
Downloads: This Lesson (Word Doc) | Class Handout (Word Doc) | Class Handout (PDF)

THE ARTICLE

Having a drink has become a deadly business in Sudan. Over the past few days 21 people have died from drinking illegally produced alcohol. A further six people have been blinded. The government in Khartoum has vowed to crack down and punish the producers of the killer booze and close down the breweries. It has issued warnings to the public in newspapers of the dangers of drinking the homemade brew, and of the serious risks of making and selling it. There is a large black market for bootleg liquor in Sudan; it is widely sold in the streets and smuggled across its borders. Many illegal breweries exist to satisfy demand for alcohol, which was banned when Sharia law was introduced in 1983.

Beer and date brandy are very popular drinks in Sudan, even though it is dangerous for Muslims to be caught with them. Sharia law forbids the production, sale and consumption of alcohol. Punishments under Sharia can include beheading, amputating fingers or whole hands, and public flogging. Despite this, illegal breweries are common in Sudan, especially in the largely non-Muslim south. Non-Muslims are exempted from the alcohol ban, though they can be arrested for producing and selling it. It is OK for western diplomats to drink imported alcohol as long as they stay in their own homes or embassies.

WARM UPS

1. CHAT: Talk in pairs or groups about Sudan / having a drink / alcohol / breweries / Sharia law / beer / beheading / …

To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to increase conversation.

2. BEER BRAINSTORM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘beer’. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. ALCOHOL: In pairs/groups, talk about alcohol. Write down five questions about alcohol – one question under each of these headings:

  • Alcohol and children
  • Alcohol and driving
  • Alcohol and Sharia law
  • Alcohol on airplanes
  • Alcohol and bad behaviour
  • (Other headings?)

Ask them to your partner/group. If your group has two questions the same, you must think of another question under the same heading.

4. ALCOHOL OPINIONS: Talk about these with your partner:

  1. Alcohol is an important part of culture.
  2. Getting drunk is always great fun.
  3. Alcohol destroys many lives.
  4. Sharia law is spot on with alcohol: it should be banned.
  5. People who drink and drive should receive very severe punishments.
  6. Alcohol is a more dangerous drug than marijuana – it leads to general and domestic violence.
  7. Alcohol gives us confidence.
  8. It would be impossible to ban alcohol.
  9. Underage drinking is a serious social problem.
  10. A good red wine is heaven.
  11. Alcohol shouldn’t be so heavily taxed.

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘crack’ and ‘down’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the headline and guess whether these sentences are true or false:

  1. Someone in Sudan got drunk and killed 21 people.  T / F
  2. It is illegal to produce alcohol in Sudan.  T / F
  3. Sudan’s government warns against drinking alcohol when there’s a full moon.  T / F
  4. There is a large black market for bootleg liquor in Sudan.  T / F
  5. Alcohol has been banned in Sudan for over one hundred years.  T / F
  6. Muslims caught drinking alcohol in Sudan can be publicly flogged.  T / F
  7. Non-Muslims in Sudan are exempted from the alcohol ban.  T / F
  8. It is OK for western diplomats to drink alcohol in the parks and streets.  T / F

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

(a)

deadly

promised

(b)

vowed

illegal

(c)

booze

decapitation

(d)

brew

busted

(e)

bootleg

alcohol

(f)

banned

excused

(g)

beheading

lethal

(h)

amputating

forbidden

(i)

exempted

removing

(j)

arrested

alcohol

4. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a)

deadly

been blinded

(b)

Over the past

market for bootleg liquor

(c)

six people have

include beheading

(d)

close

few days

(e)

a large black

down the breweries

(f)

it is dangerous for Muslims

business

(g)

Punishments under Sharia can

flogging

(h)

public

exempted from the alcohol ban

(i)

the largely

non-Muslim south

(j)

Non-Muslims are

to be caught with them

 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the words on the right into the gaps.

Deadly alcohol kills 21 in Sudan

Having a drink has become a deadly __________ in Sudan. Over the past few days 21 people have died from drinking illegally produced alcohol. A __________ six people have been blinded. The government in Khartoum has vowed to crack down and punish the producers of the killer booze and close __________ the breweries. It has issued warnings to the public in newspapers of the dangers of drinking the homemade brew, and of the serious risks of making and selling it. There is a large black market for __________ liquor in Sudan; it is widely sold in the streets and smuggled across its borders. Many illegal breweries exist to __________ demand for alcohol, which was banned when Sharia law was introduced in 1983.

 

 

further
satisfy
business
bootleg
down

Beer and date brandy are very popular drinks in Sudan, even though it is dangerous for Muslims to be __________ with them. Sharia law __________ the production, sale and consumption of alcohol. Punishments under Sharia can include beheading, amputating fingers or whole hands, and public flogging. Despite this, illegal breweries are __________ in Sudan, especially in the __________ non-Muslim south. Non-Muslims are exempted from the alcohol ban, though they can be arrested for producing and selling it. It is OK for western diplomats to drink imported alcohol as __________ as they stay in their own homes or embassies.

  

common
largely
long
forbids
caught

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonyms exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH:  Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

2. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT-GENERATED SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class.

5. ‘CRACK’ / ‘DOWN’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

6. DISCUSSION:

  1. What was interesting in this article?
  2. Were you surprised by anything in this article?
  3. Do you like alcohol?
  4. What part does alcohol play in your life?
  5. What are the bad things for society about drinking alcohol?
  6. Do you think Sharia law banning alcohol is a good thing for society?
  7. How often, when and where do you drink?
  8. Do you get hangovers?
  9. What is the worst hangover you’ve ever had?
  10. When was the first time you drank alcohol?
  11. What do you think of really drunk people?
  12. Is alcohol dangerous?
  13. What’s your opinion on drinking alcohol and driving?
  14. What is the most sensible minimum legal age for drinking?
  15. Have you tasted bootleg liquor or bought bootleg CDs, computer software, videos etc?
  16. What do you think of being flogged for drinking alcohol?
  17. Should non-Muslims be allowed to drink alcohol in countries that have Islamic law?
  18. How important is alcohol in your culture?
  19. Do you know any alcoholics?
  20. Did you like this discussion?
  21. Teacher / Student additional questions.

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 information on Sharia law. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. ALCOHOL CULTURE: Write a short essay on the history and position of alcohol in your country’s culture.

4. SHARIA LAW: Is banning alcohol, as under Sharia law, a good thing or a bad thing? Write down five pros and five cons of such a law. Use these in an activity in your next class.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

  1. Someone in Sudan got drunk and killed 21 people.  F
  2. It is illegal to produce alcohol in Sudan.  T
  3. Sudan’s government warns against drinking alcohol when there’s a full moon.  F
  4. There is a large black market for bootleg liquor in Sudan.  T
  5. Alcohol has been banned in Sudan for over one hundred years.  F
  6. Muslims caught drinking alcohol in Sudan can be publicly flogged.  T
  7. Non-Muslims in Sudan are exempted from the alcohol ban.  T
  8. It is OK for western diplomats to drink alcohol in the parks and streets.  F

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a)

deadly

lethal

(b)

vowed

promised

(c)

booze

alcohol

(d)

brew

alcohol

(e)

bootleg

illegal

(f)

banned

forbidden

(g)

beheading

decapitation

(h)

amputating

removing

(i)

exempted

excused

(j)

arrested

busted

PHRASE MATCH:

(a)

deadly

business

(b)

Over the past

few days

(c)

six people have

been blinded

(d)

close

down the breweries

(e)

a large black

market for bootleg liquor

(f)

it is dangerous for Muslims

to be caught with them

(g)

Punishments under Sharia can

include beheading

(h)

public

flogging

(i)

the largely

non-Muslim south

(j)

Non-Muslims are

exempted from the alcohol ban

GAP FILL:

Deadly alcohol kills 21 in Sudan

Having a drink has become a deadly business in Sudan. Over the past few days 21 people have died from drinking illegally produced alcohol. A further six people have been blinded. The government in Khartoum has vowed to crack down and punish the producers of the killer booze and close down the breweries. It has issued warnings to the public in newspapers of the dangers of drinking the homemade brew, and of the serious risks of making and selling it. There is a large black market for bootleg liquor in Sudan; it is widely sold in the streets and smuggled across its borders. Many illegal breweries exist to satisfy demand for alcohol, which was banned when Sharia law was introduced in 1983.

Beer and date brandy are very popular drinks in Sudan, even though it is dangerous for Muslims to be caught with them. Sharia law forbids the production, sale and consumption of alcohol. Punishments under Sharia can include beheading, amputating fingers or whole hands, and public flogging. Despite this, illegal breweries are common in Sudan, especially in the largely non-Muslim south. Non-Muslims are exempted from the alcohol ban, though they can be arrested for producing and selling it. It is OK for western diplomats to drink imported alcohol as long as they stay in their own homes or embassies.

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