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Thousands escaping from LebanonDate: July 18, 2006Level: Harder (Try the easier lesson.) Downloads: Word Doc | PDF Doc | Listening Audio: (2:02 - 238.8 KB - 16kbps)
THE ARTICLEThe current crisis enveloping the Middle East has resulted in the evacuation of thousands of bedraggled and bewildered citizens from America and European and Arab nations. Many of the evacuees flew from Lebanon, which is under continued Israeli bombardment, into nearby Cyprus. Britain has dispatched an aircraft carrier and another warship to take its citizens to safer shores if it is deemed necessary. Other countries have commandeered military transport planes to airlift their stranded compatriots to safety. U.S. military helicopters have already relocated 21 non-essential diplomatic staff from its fortified embassy in a Beirut suburb and are on standby to come to the aid of thousands of Americans residing in Lebanon. Many of those fleeing have been less fortunate and have had to make the overland trek to neighboring Syria, especially since Israel blockaded Lebanon’s ports. The tit-for-tat attacks by Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerillas are escalating events into a major crisis. Such is the seriousness of the situation that it has dominated the agenda of G8 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The opinions of the attending leaders are markedly divided. U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair were united in blaming Iran and Syria for the violence. Mr. Bush said Israel had every right to defend itself from missile attacks originating inside Lebanon. France, Italy and Russia have urged a ceasefire and called upon Israel to use “moderation” in its military reprisals. The European Union has called Israel's use of force “disproportionate” and condemned the killing of 114 Lebanese civilians. Eight Israelis were killed on Sunday and at least 20 injured when Hezbollah rockets struck the northern city of Haifa. WARM-UPS1. FLEEING: Imagine you are fleeing your country and are now an evacuee. Walk around the class and talk to as many other ‘evacuees’ as you can. Find out about their different situations and what they think of the future. Share your findings with new partners. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently. 3. PLAYERS: What do you know about the players (or alleged players) in the current Middle East crisis? Conduct a survey of your class members to find out about the players below. Share your findings with new partners
4. EVACUATION: Write down (or brainstorm) three items you would take with you if you were evacuated. Talk about them with your partner(s). Did you all choose the same things? 5. OPINIONS: With your partner(s), talk about the following opinions on the current Middle East crisis. Change partners and share your findings.
6. CRISIS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word crisis. 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. Thousands escaping from Lebanon
LISTENINGListen and fill in the spaces. Thousands escaping from LebanonThe current crisis __________ the Middle East has resulted in the evacuation of thousands of bedraggled and __________ citizens from America and European and Arab nations. Many of the evacuees flew from Lebanon, which is under __________ Israeli bombardment, into nearby Cyprus. Britain has dispatched an aircraft carrier and another warship to take its citizens to safer shores if it is __________ necessary. Other countries have commandeered military transport planes to airlift their stranded compatriots to safety. U.S. military helicopters have already relocated 21 non-essential diplomatic staff from its __________ embassy in a Beirut suburb and are on standby to come __________ of thousands of Americans residing in Lebanon. Many of those fleeing have been less fortunate and have had to make the overland __________ neighboring Syria, especially since Israel has blockaded Lebanon’s ports. The __________ attacks by Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerillas are escalating events into a major crisis. __________ gravity of the situation that it has dominated the agenda of G8 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The opinions of the attending leaders are __________ divided. U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair were united in blaming Iran and Syria for the violence. Mr. Bush said Israel had __________ to defend itself from missile attacks originating inside Lebanon. However, France, Italy and Russia have __________ a ceasefire and called upon Israel to use “moderation” in its military __________. The European Union has called Israel's use of force “disproportionate” and __________ the killing of 114 Lebanese civilians. Eight Israelis were killed on Sunday and at least 20 injured when Hezbollah rockets struck the northern city of Haifa. AFTER READING / LISTENING1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘current’ and ‘crisis’.
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 “MIDDLE EAST” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about events in Israel and Lebanon.
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.
SPEAKINGREPORT CARD: With your partner(s), complete the report card for each of the players (or alleged players) in the current Middle East crisis:
Change partners and share with each other your reports. Come to an agreement on any differences between you. 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 information about the background to the present conflict. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson. 3. EVACUATED: Imagine you were evacuated from your country. Write a diary/journal entry for your experience. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which entry was best and why? 4. LETTER: Write a letter to any of the leading players in the current crisis. Tell him/her what you think of his/her activities. Give him/her advice on how he/she should move forward. Ask him/her three questions. Show your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Your classmates will write a reply. ANSWERSTRUE / FALSE:
SYNONYM MATCH:
PHRASE MATCH:
GAP FILL: Thousands escaping from LebanonThe current crisis enveloping the Middle East has resulted in the evacuation of thousands of bedraggled and bewildered citizens from America and European and Arab nations. Many of the evacuees flew from Lebanon, which is under continued Israeli bombardment, into nearby Cyprus. Britain has dispatched an aircraft carrier and another warship to take its citizens to safer shores if it is deemed necessary. Other countries have commandeered military transport planes to airlift their stranded compatriots to safety. U.S. military helicopters have already relocated 21 non-essential diplomatic staff from its fortified embassy in a Beirut suburb and are on standby to come to the aid of thousands of Americans residing in Lebanon. Many of those fleeing have been less fortunate and have had to make the overland trek to neighboring Syria, especially since Israel has blockaded Lebanon’s ports. The tit-for-tat attacks by Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerillas are escalating events into a major crisis. Such is the gravity of the situation that it has dominated the agenda of G8 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The opinions of the attending leaders are markedly divided. U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair were united in blaming Iran and Syria for the violence. Mr. Bush said Israel had every right to defend itself from missile attacks originating inside Lebanon. However, France, Italy and Russia have urged a ceasefire and called upon Israel to use “moderation” in its military reprisals. The European Union has called Israel's use of force “disproportionate” and condemned the killing of 114 Lebanese civilians. Eight Israelis were killed on Sunday and at least 20 injured when Hezbollah rockets struck the northern city of Haifa.
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