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Date: Dec 18, 2005
Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (1:54 - 224.8 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEIn his regular address to the nation on Saturday, President George W. Bush confirmed reports that he authorized and condoned spying in the USA. He admitted to recentlysurfaced allegations that he had signed a secret order in the wake of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, authorizing the surveillance of phone calls and e-mails without obtaining court orders. He reiterated his belief that spying is a “vital tool” in keeping America free from terrorist attack and that his authorization was and is “critical to saving American lives.” He added: “The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am President of the United States.” His confession has sparked outrage among libertarians for violating civil liberties. Senator Edward Kennedy stated Mr. Bush’s tactics were “Big Brother run amok”. Senator Russell Feingold admonished the President for abusing his power. “I tell you, he’s President Bush, not King Bush,” he said. Another senator said the “shocking revelation… ought to send a chill down the spine of every American”. Mr. Bush said the surveillance program was narrow in scope and “consistent with US law.” He said it is used only to intercept the messages of those with “a clear link to al-Qaeda”. The President also criticized the leaking of the information to the media, saying: “This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security.” WARM-UPS1. 007: You are now a secret agent. You are working on a top-secret mission for your government. Talk to the other “spies” in your class about your job and your life. What dangers do you face at work? What do you think of James Bond? What’s your favorite gadget? Introduce yourselves James Bond-style - “Hi. I’m Bond. James Bond”. 2. CIVIL LIBERTIES: What civil liberties are important to you? How would you feel if your civil liberties were abused or violated by others? How would you feel if your civil liberties were abused or violated by your government? Talk about this with your partner(s), with reference to this list of civil liberties:
3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 4. SECRET AGENTS: In pairs / groups, discuss the merits and demerits of the following types of secret agent. Which ones do you think would be exciting or dull? Which ones would you like to do?
5. SPYING OPINIONS: Discuss these opinions with your partner(s).
6. SPY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “spy”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text. President Bush OK'd spying in America
LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. President Bush OK'd spying in AmericaIn his _________ address to the nation on Saturday, President George W. Bush confirmed reports that he authorized and _________ spying in the USA. He admitted to recentlysurfaced allegations that he had signed a secret order in the _________ of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, authorizing the surveillance of phone calls and e-mails without obtaining court orders. He _________ his belief that spying is a “vital tool” in keeping America free from terrorist attack and that his authorization was and is “_________ to saving American lives.” He added: “The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their _________ liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am President of the United States.” His confession has _________ outrage among libertarians for violating civil liberties. Senator Edward Kennedy stated Mr. Bush’s tactics were “Big Brother ____ _____”. Senator Russell Feingold _________ the President for abusing his power. “I tell you, he’s President Bush, not King Bush,” he said. Another senator said the “shocking revelation… ought to send a _________ down the _________ of every American”. Mr. Bush said the surveillance program was narrow in scope and “consistent with US law.” He said it is used only to _________ the messages of those with “a clear link to al-Qaeda”. The President also criticized the _________ of the information to the media, saying: “This is a highly classified program that is _________ to our national security.” AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘secret’ and ‘order’.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
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. STUDENT “SPYING” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about spying, state security and civil liberties.
6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
DISCUSSIONSTUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
SPEAKINGSPYING ROLE PLAY: Should George W. Bush call a halt to spying in the US?
Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays. Discuss whether or not the spying should stop immediately. HOMEWORK1. 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 spying scandal. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things? 3. CIVIL LIBERTIES: Make a poster outlining the civil liberties that are an important part of your country’s way of life. Include a section about what other civil liberties you feel your country should legislate for. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things? 4. LETTER: Write a letter to US President George W. Bush. Tell him what you think of the spying issue. Give him advice on what to do about it from now. Show what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Did everyone write about similar things? Did you all have the same advice? ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: President Bush OK'd spying in AmericaIn his regular address to the nation on Saturday, President George W. Bush confirmed reports that he authorized and condoned spying in the USA. He admitted to recentlysurfaced allegations that he had signed a secret order in the wake of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, authorizing the surveillance of phone calls and e-mails without obtaining court orders. He reiterated his belief that spying is a “vital tool” in keeping America free from terrorist attack and that his authorization was and is “critical to saving American lives.” He added: “The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am President of the United States.” His confession has sparked outrage among libertarians for violating civil liberties. Senator Edward Kennedy stated Mr. Bush’s tactics were “Big Brother run amok”. Senator Russell Feingold admonished the President for abusing his power. “I tell you, he’s President Bush, not King Bush,” he said. Another senator said the “shocking revelation… ought to send a chill down the spine of every American”. Mr. Bush said the surveillance program was narrow in scope and “consistent with US law.” He said it is used only to intercept the messages of those with “a clear link to al-Qaeda”. The President also criticized the leaking of the information to the media, saying: “This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security.”
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