A series of near-simultaneous bomb blasts has rocked the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Three bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach, while a further three bombs went off at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured, with both numbers set to rise. Indonesia’s President Suslio Bambang Yudhyono has condemned the latest atrocities and said terrorists were to blame. He gave a chilling warning that other attacks might be imminent. He promised the bombers would be caught, announcing: “We will hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.” He also expressed the need for vigilance.

The al-Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, thought to be responsible for the October 12 2002 attack at Kuta, which took the lives of 202 people, is suspected over the latest bombings. It sees Bali, with its hordes of foreign tourists thronging seafront cafes and restaurants, as a soft target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received evidence that the group was plotting an attack and that it was in the advanced stages of planning but had no specific information as to where or when it might take place. The death tolls from the latest atrocities could have been higher. Local media report that police discovered a number of unexploded devices 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.

Bomb blasts / Bali / steak houses / seafood restaurants / Indonesia / terrorists / justice / vigilance / al-Qaeda / foreign tourists / terrorism / atrocities

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 you were caught up in a major terrorist strike? 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 experiencing a bomb attack.

5. TERROR OPINIONS: In pairs / groups, talk about how far you agree with these opinions on the Bali bombings and the war on terror.

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. It must be remembered 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 and try 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 more or less simultaneously at two restaurants.	T / F
c.	Indonesia’s president gave a chilling warning of more attacks ahead.	T / F
d.	Indonesia’s president said the restaurant proprietors would be caught.	T / F
e.	Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant group, said it carried out the bombings.	T / F
f.	Hordes of foreign tourists throng Bali’s seafront cafes and restaurants.	T / F
g.	Jemaah Islamiyah sees Bali as a hard target.	T / F
h.	Police discovered a number of unexploded devices at both locations.	T / F

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

a.	simultaneous	disturbing
b.	rocked	alertness
c.	chilling	crowding
d.	perpetrators	planning
e.	vigilance	villains
f.	responsible for	synchronous
g.	hordes	behind
h.	thronging	bombs
i.	plotting	shocked
j.	devices	crowds

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

a.	A series of near-	target
b.	a further three bombs	for vigilance
c.	a chilling	devices
d.	hunt down the perpetrators	simultaneous bomb blasts
e.	He also expressed the need	be responsible for
f.	thought to	and bring them to justice
g.	hordes of	warning
h.	a soft	from the latest atrocities
i.	The death tolls	went off
j.	unexploded	foreign tourists

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

Terror returns to Bali

A series of _______-simultaneous bomb blasts has rocked the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Three bombs _______ at a steak house in Kuta Beach, while a further three bombs _______ off at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured, with both numbers _______ to rise. Indonesia’s President Suslio Bambang Yudhyono has _______ the latest atrocities and said terrorists were to blame. He gave a chilling warning that other attacks might be _______. He promised the bombers would be caught, announcing: “We will hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to _______.” He also expressed the need for _______.		condemned went justice near set vigilance exploded imminent
The al-Qaeda linked _______ group Jemaah Islamiyah, thought to be responsible for the October 12 2002 attack at Kuta, which _______ the lives of 202 people, is suspected over the latest bombings. It sees Bali, with its _______ of foreign tourists thronging seafront cafes and restaurants, as a soft _______ in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received _______ that the group was plotting an attack and that it was in the advanced stages of planning but had no _______ information as to where or when it might take place. The death tolls from the latest _______ could have been higher. Local media report that police discovered a number of _______ devices at both locations.		evidence unexploded took target specific militant atrocities hordes

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:

near further set condemned chilling perpetrators

militant took hordes soft specific devices

DISCUSSION

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

1. What were your initial thoughts on 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. What do you think this says about the terrorists’ motivation for the attacks?
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 inform the public more of what they know?
6. What do you know about Jemaah Islamiyah?
7. One news agency reported the bombings were in response to 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

HEIGHTENED SECURITY:

Imagine you are responsible for implementing safety precautions in a major city. You must take measures to reduce the possibilities of terrorism. 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. Find flaws or problems and give each other advice on how to improve your plans.

Return to your original partners and incorporate the advice you received into revising your original plans.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Terror returns to Bali

A series of near-simultaneous bomb ______ has rocked the Indonesian ______ island of Bali. Three bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach, while a further three bombs _____ ____ at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured, with both numbers ____ ___ _____. Indonesia’s President Suslio Bambang Yudhyono has condemned the latest atrocities and said terrorists were to blame. He gave a _________ warning that other attacks might be _________. He promised the bombers would be caught, announcing: “We will hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.” He also expressed the need for _________.

The al-Qaeda linked _________ group Jemaah Islamiyah, thought to be responsible for the October 12 2002 attack at Kuta, which _____ the lives of 202 people, is suspected over the latest bombings. It sees Bali, with its _______ of foreign tourists ___________ seafront cafes and restaurants, as a soft target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received evidence that the group was ___________ an attack and that it was in the advanced stages of planning but had no specific information as to where or when it might take place. The death tolls from the latest ___________ could have been higher. Local media report that police discovered a number of ___________ devices 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 outlining 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. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	simultaneous	synchronous
b.	rocked	shocked
c.	chilling	disturbing
d.	perpetrators	villains
e.	vigilance	alertness
f.	responsible for	behind
g.	hordes	crowds
h.	thronging	crowding
i.	plotting	planning
j.	devices	bombs

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	A series of near-	simultaneous bomb blasts
b.	a further three bombs	went off
c.	a chilling	warning
d.	hunt down the perpetrators	and bring them to justice
e.	He also expressed the need	for vigilance
f.	thought to	be responsible for
g.	hordes of	foreign tourists
h.	a soft	target
i.	The death tolls	from the latest atrocities
j.	unexploded	devices

GAP FILL:

Terror returns to Bali

A series of near-simultaneous bomb blasts has rocked the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Three bombs exploded at a steak house in Kuta Beach, while a further three bombs went off at a seafood restaurant in nearby Jimbaran Beach. Casualty figures so far are 25 people dead and at least 100 injured, with both numbers set to rise. Indonesia’s President Suslio Bambang Yudhyono has condemned the latest atrocities and said terrorists were to blame. He gave a chilling warning that other attacks might be imminent. He promised the bombers would be caught, announcing: “We will hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.” He also expressed the need for vigilance.

The al-Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, thought to be responsible for the October 12 2002 attack at Kuta, which took the lives of 202 people, is suspected over the latest bombings. It sees Bali, with its hordes of foreign tourists thronging seafront cafes and restaurants, as a soft target in its campaign of terror. The Australian government announced it had received evidence that the group was plotting an attack and that it was in the advanced stages of planning but had no specific information as to where or when it might take place. The death tolls from the latest atrocities could have been higher. Local media report that police discovered a number of unexploded devices at both locations.

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