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Date: Oct 2, 2005
Level: Easier (Try the harder lesson.)
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1,000 IDEAS FOR ESL CLASSES: Breaking News English.com's e-Book

THE ARTICLE

Terror has returned to the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Six bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach and at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured. Doctors at the scene predicted both of these numbers will rise. Indonesia’s President Yudhyono has condemned the bombings and blamed terrorists. He warned of the possibility of other attacks and told people to stay alert. He said: “We will hunt down the [killers] and bring them to justice.”

The al-Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah is the prime suspect in the latest bombings. Terrorism experts believe it carried out the 2002 attack at Kuta, which killed 202 people. The group sees Bali as a soft target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received evidence that the group was planning an attack, but had no specific information as to where or when it might happen. The death tolls from the latest bombings could have been higher. Police found several unexploded bombs at both locations.

WARM-UPS

1. BALI SEARCH: Walk around the class and ask your classmates for all the information they know on Bali. After you have finished, sit down with your partner(s) and exchange your information. Talk about what you found out.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Bombs / Bali / steak houses / seafood restaurants / Indonesia / terrorists / justice / staying alert / al-Qaeda / foreign tourists / terrorism / Australian government

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

3. BALI: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Bali. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

4. THE MINUTES AFTER: What would you do if a bomb exploded near you? Would you panic or stay calm? Would you run away or stay to help? Talk with your partner(s) about what would you do in the minutes or hours after a bomb attack.

5. TERROR OPINIONS: Do you agree with these opinions on the Bali bombings and the war on terror? Talk about them with your partner(s).

  1. The recent attacks show the war on terror is not being won.
  2. The terrorists are attacking the whole of civilization, not just the West.
  3. Terror attacks like this will never disappear.
  4. I would never change my lifestyle because of terrorist activities.
  5. Terrorists don’t understand that bomb attacks do not achieve anything.
  6. The foreign media report too much on Western lives lost. We should remember that most victims in these bombings are Balinese.
  7. Terrorist attacks will happen in more of the world’s major tourist areas.
  8. It’s time for Western governments to try and talk with al-Qaeda to end terrorism and its causes together.

6. TERROR MEMORIES: In pairs / groups, write down five different terror attacks that you can remember. Where were you and what were you doing at the time you heard the news of these attacks? What details do you remember about the attacks?

Change partners and compare what you talked about.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
 

a.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up at a Balinese tourist spot.

T / F

b.

Six bombs exploded at two restaurants.

T / F

c.

Indonesia’s president warned of more attacks ahead.

T / F

d.

Indonesia’s president said the bombers would never be caught.

T / F

e.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant group, said it carried out the bombings.

T / F

f.

Jemaah Islamiyah sees Bali as a hard target.

T / F

g.

The Australian government knew Bali was going to be attacked.

T / F

h.

Police found a number of unexploded devices at both restaurants.

T / F

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

a.

exploded

increase

b.

figures

easy

c.

predicted

places

d.

rise

numbers

e.

alert

did

f.

prime

went off

g.

carried out

particular

h.

soft

vigilant

i.

specific

number one

j.

locations

forecast

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

a.

resort

are 25 people dead and …

b.

Six bombs

of other attacks

c.

Casualty figures so far

tolls

d.

He warned of the possibility

militant group

e.

hunt down the killers

exploded

f.

al-Qaeda linked

suspect in the latest bombings

g.

the prime

bombs

h.

a soft

island of Bali

i.

death

and bring them to justice

j.

unexploded

target

AFTER READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Terror returns to Bali

Terror has ________ to the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Six bombs ________ at a steak house in Kuta Beach and at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. ________ figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured. Doctors at the scene ________ both of these numbers will rise. Indonesia’s President Yudhyono has condemned the bombings and ________ terrorists. He warned of the possibility of other attacks and told people to stay ________. He said: “We will ________ down the [killers] and bring them to ________.”

 

 

predicted
alert
exploded
justice
casualty
hunt
returned
blamed

The al-Qaeda ________ militant group Jemaah Islamiyah is the ________ suspect in the latest bombings. Terrorism ________ believe it carried out the 2002 attack at Kuta, which killed 202 people. The group sees Bali as a ________ target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received ________ that the group was planning an attack, but had no ________ information as to where or when it might happen. The death ________ from the latest bombings could have been higher. Police found several unexploded ________ at both locations.

 

 

evidence
bombs
experts
specific
soft
linked
tolls
prime

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘death’ and ‘toll’.

  • 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 gap fill. 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. STUDENT “BALI TERROR” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about the two bombings in Bali.

  • Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
  • Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
  • Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

  • returned
  • nearby
  • casualty
  • rise
  • condemned
  • justice
  • militant
  • carried
  • soft
  • evidence
  • tolls
  • police

DISCUSSION

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

  1. What did you think when you first read this headline?
  2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
  3. Why do you think Bali has been targeted again?
  4. Do you think other tourist spots will become targets for terrorists?
  5. Most of the victims were Balinese Hindus. Why did the terrorists want to kill them?
  6. Do you think the terrorists want to close down Bali as a vacation spot?
  7. Do you think the terrorists could close down Bali?
  8. Has the war on terror changed your life in any way?
  9. Are you surprised Bali was targeted again?
  10. What message would you give to the Balinese people?

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

  1. How many newspaper reports have you read about bombs?
  2. What do you think about what you read?
  3. Are you surprised at anything you read in the article?
  4. Do you think the Australian government should have warned people about the possibility of an attack?
  5. Should governments tell the public more of what they know?
  6. What do you know about Jemaah Islamiyah?
  7. One news agency said the bombings were because of a doubling of Indonesia’s fuel prices. What do you think about this?
  8. Would you have holidayed in Bali, knowing what happened in 2002?
  9. Would you choose Bali as a vacation destination?
  10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

  1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
  2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
  3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
  4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
  5. What did you like talking about?
  6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
  7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

INCREASED SECURITY:

Imagine you are responsible for the safety and security of a major city. You must take actions to reduce the possibility of terrorist attacks. What changes will you make to the areas in the column on the left?

AREAS

  CHANGES

 

Public transport

 

Airports

 

Information on TV and in newspapers

 

Major tourist areas

 

Police force

 

Other

 

After you have finished, change partners and show each other your plans. Give each other advice on how to improve your plans.

Return to your original partners and use the advice you received to make your first plans better.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Terror returns to Bali

Terror has returned to the Indonesian _______ island of Bali. Six bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach and at a seafood restaurant in _______ Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 _______. Doctors at the scene __________ both of these numbers will rise. Indonesia’s President Yudhyono has __________ the bombings and blamed terrorists. He warned of the possibility of other attacks and told people to stay _______. He said: “We will hunt down the [killers] and bring them to _______.”

The al-Qaeda _______ militant group Jemaah Islamiyah is the _______ suspect in the latest bombings. Terrorism experts believe it _______ out the 2002 attack at Kuta, which killed 202 people. The group sees Bali as a soft target in its campaign of _______. The Australian government announced it had received _______ that the group was planning an attack, but had no specific information as to where or when it might happen. The death _______ from the latest bombings could have been higher. Police found _______ unexploded bombs at both locations.

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 more information on the Bali bombings. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. WHAT CAN BE DONE? Write an essay explaining what you think should be done to win the war on terror. What can world leaders do to prevent further attacks? Should world leaders negotiate with al-Qaeda? State the main points of your essay to your classmates in your next lesson. Did everyone have similar ideas?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to the planner of the terror attacks in Bali. Tell him / her what you think of their acts. Ask him / her some questions. Read your letter to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. F

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.

exploded

went off

b.

figures

numbers

c.

predicted

forecast

d.

rise

increase

e.

alert

vigilant

f.

prime

number one

g.

carried out

did

h.

soft

easy

i.

specific

particular

j.

locations

places

PHRASE MATCH:

a.

resort

island of Bali

b.

Six bombs

exploded

c.

Casualty figures so far

are 25 people dead and …

d.

He warned of the possibility

of other attacks

e.

hunt down the killers

and bring them to justice

f.

al-Qaeda linked

militant group

g.

the prime

suspect in the latest bombings

h.

a soft

target

i.

death

tolls

j.

unexploded

bombs

GAP FILL:

Terror returns to Bali

Terror has returned to the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Six bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach and at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured. Doctors at the scene predicted both of these numbers will rise. Indonesia’s President Yudhyono has condemned the bombings and blamed terrorists. He warned of the possibility of other attacks and told people to stay alert. He said: “We will hunt down the [killers] and bring them to justice.”

The al-Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah is the prime suspect in the latest bombings. Terrorism experts believe it carried out the 2002 attack at Kuta, which killed 202 people. The group sees Bali as a soft target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received evidence that the group was planning an attack, but had no specific information as to where or when it might happen. The death tolls from the latest bombings could have been higher. Police found several unexploded bombs at both locations.

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