Breaking News English

        

1. PILOTS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about pilots. Change partners often. Share your findings with your first partner.

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

arrested / fake identity / cockpit / check-in counter / uniform / impersonation / discovered / scam / pull off / flight details / airport / inspired / con artist / movie

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. FAKE: What are the pros and cons? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Pros	Cons
Pilot ID
iPad
Picasso
University degree
Rolex watch
Driving license

4. FORGERY: Students A strongly believe forgeries will soon be a thing of the past because of technology; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. FAKE: Which would be the scariest fakes? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the scariest at the top. Change partners often.

pilot surgeon politician teacher

chef boyfriend / girlfriend car mechanic police officer

6. AIRPORT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'airport'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Italian police arrested a pilot who was giving away free airline tickets.	T / F
b.	The man is employed by Turin airport as a security guard.	T / F
c.	Police have not revealed the name of the fake pilot.	T / F
d.	The man was found with a bag of pilot clothes and false documents.	T / F
e.	Police said this is the first time the man has attempted such a scam.	T / F
f.	A website showed the guy flew as a fake pilot over 10 times last year.	T / F
g.	The guy took his inspiration from a movie about a real-life fake pilot.	T / F
h.	A real-life con artist flew over a million miles impersonating a pilot.	T / F

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

1.	arrested	a.	false
2.	identity	b.	follows
3.	assumed	c.	violation
4.	permit (noun)	d.	fraud
5.	breach	e.	ID
6.	scam	f.	pretended to be
7.	posed as	g.	motivated
8.	tracks (verb)	h.	pass
9.	inspired	i.	fraudster
10.	con artist	j.	detained

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	a 32-year-old man who used	a.	parking permit
2.	the cockpit	b.	airport security
3.	part of Germany's national	c.	off his scam
4.	an airport staff	d.	artist
5.	a breach of	e.	carrier Lufthansa
6.	successfully pulled	f.	a fake identity
7.	he posed	g.	flight details
8.	a website that tracks	h.	of a plane
9.	a real-life con	i.	on over 250 flights
10.	one million miles	j.	as a pilot

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Italian police have arrested a 32-year-old man who used a        (1) ____________ identity to try to get to fly in the                  (2) ____________ of a plane at Turin airport. The unemployed Italian was apprehended at the check-in counter while trying to        (3) ____________ an Air Dolomiti flight as the third pilot. The airline is part of Germany's national carrier Lufthansa. Police have yet to name the man, but he was (4) ____________ under the assumed name of Andrea Sirlo. He was wearing a pilot's uniform and was carrying forged (5) ____________ cards that claimed he was a qualified (6) ____________. Police searched his bag and found more pilot uniforms as well as fake resumes, airline badges and an airport staff parking (7) ____________. He has been charged with a (8) ____________ of airport security and impersonation.		aviator operating cockpit breach fake permit board identity
Investigators have discovered that "Mr Sirlo" has successfully    (9) ____________ off his scam at least once before. Police said: "On at least one occasion in 2012, he (10) ____________ as a pilot of a foreign commercial airline, and with a fake name       (11) ____________ in flying as the third pilot in the cockpit." A search of MyFlightBook.com, a website that (12) ____________ flight details, also shows that a pilot named Andrea Sirlo flew from Munich airport to Turin on 23 October, 2011. Sirlo said he was (13) ____________ by the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "Catch Me If You Can". In the film, DiCaprio plays a real-life               (14) ____________ artist who flew over one million miles on over 250 (15) ____________ in the 1960s. "I saw that film and I wanted to be like [that guy]," Sirlo (16) ____________ told police.		tracks con posed flights pulled inspired reportedly succeeded

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Italian police have arrested a 32-year-old man who (1) _______________ to try to get to fly in the cockpit of a plane at Turin airport. The unemployed Italian was apprehended at the check-in counter while (2) _______________ an Air Dolomiti flight as the third pilot. The airline is part of Germany's national carrier Lufthansa. Police (3) _______________ the man, but he was operating under the assumed name of Andrea Sirlo. He was wearing a pilot's uniform and (4) _______________ identity cards that claimed he was a qualified aviator. Police searched his bag and found more pilot uniforms as well (5) _______________, airline badges and an airport staff parking permit. He has been charged (6) _______________ of airport security and impersonation.

Investigators have discovered that "Mr Sirlo" has successfully (7) _______________ at least once before. Police said: "On at least one occasion in 2012, (8) _______________ pilot of a foreign commercial airline, and with a fake name succeeded in flying as the third pilot in the cockpit." A search of MyFlightBook.com, a website (9) _______________ details, also shows that a pilot named Andrea Sirlo flew from Munich airport to Turin on 23 October, 2011. Sirlo said (10) _______________ the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "Catch Me If You Can". In the film, DiCaprio plays a real-life (11) _______________ over one million miles on over 250 flights in the 1960s. "I saw that film and I wanted to be like [that guy]," Sirlo (12) _______________.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'fake' and 'identity'.

fake

identity

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

arrested unemployed part carrying badges security

pulled least search inspired artist reportedly

PILOTS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about pilots in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

 
 

PILOTS DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'pilot'?
c)	What do you think of pilots?
d)	Do you think being a pilot is a good job?
e)	Are you surprised a fake pilot could get into a plane's cockpit?
f)	Should airlines or airports be fined if impersonators get on planes with fake IDs?
g)	What do you think of pilots' uniforms?
h)	How easy or difficult do you think it is to breach airport security?
i)	What punishment should the fraudster pilot receive?

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What are the pros and cons of being a pilot?
c)	Will this story make you worry about fake pilots the next time you fly?
d)	How do you think Sirlo could have made a flight in a cockpit without the other pilots suspecting he was a fake?
e)	How much of a danger do you think Sirlo posed to passengers on the flight he was the third pilot of?
f)	Do you think airports need to tighten their security because of this incident?
g)	What do you think the actor Leonardo DiCaprio might think of this?
h)	Would you like to be a pilot?
i)	What questions would you like to ask "Andea Sirlo"?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Italian police have arrested a 32-year-old man who used a fake (1) ____ to try to get to fly in the cockpit of a plane at Turin airport. The unemployed Italian was apprehended at the check-in counter while trying to (2) ____ an Air Dolomiti flight as the third pilot. The airline is part of Germany's national (3) ____ Lufthansa. Police have yet to name the man, but he was operating under the (4) ____ name of Andrea Sirlo. He was wearing a pilot's uniform and was carrying (5) ____ identity cards that claimed he was a qualified aviator. Police searched his bag and found more pilot uniforms as well as fake resumes, airline badges and an airport staff parking permit. He has been charged with a (6) ____ of airport security and impersonation.

Investigators have discovered that "Mr Sirlo" has successfully (7) ____ off his scam at least once before. Police said: "On at least one occasion in 2012, he (8) ____ as a pilot of a foreign commercial airline, and with a fake name succeeded (9) ____ flying as the third pilot in the cockpit." A search of MyFlightBook.com, a website that tracks flight details, also shows that a pilot named Andrea Sirlo flew from Munich airport to Turin on 23 October, 2011. Sirlo said he was inspired (10) ____ the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "Catch Me If You Can". In the film, DiCaprio plays a real-life con (11) ____ who flew over one million miles on over 250 flights in the 1960s. "I saw that film and I wanted to be like [that guy]," Sirlo (12) ____ told police.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	identity	(b)	identify	(c)	identified	(d)	IDs
2.	(a)	wood	(b)	plank	(c)	board	(d)	timber
3.	(a)	carriage	(b)	carry on	(c)	carry out	(d)	carrier
4.	(a)	bemoaned	(b)	assumed	(c)	resumed	(d)	charmed
5.	(a)	forgeries	(b)	forge	(c)	forgery	(d)	forged
6.	(a)	birch	(b)	broach	(c)	breach	(d)	beech
7.	(a)	took	(b)	pulled	(c)	taxied	(d)	flew
8.	(a)	posed	(b)	proposed	(c)	posted	(d)	posited
9.	(a)	in	(b)	out	(c)	up	(d)	of
10.	(a)	at	(b)	of	(c)	by	(d)	to
11.	(a)	painter	(b)	designer	(c)	maestro	(d)	artist
12.	(a)	reports	(b)	reportedly	(c)	reporting	(d)	report

WRITING

Write about pilots for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

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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 out more about the life of a pilot. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PILOTS: Make a poster about pilots. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. FAKE: Write a magazine article about the fake pilot. Include imaginary interviews with him, a passenger, the airline boss and a police officer.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the fake pilot. Ask him three questions about his attempts to fly for free. Give him three opinions on his actions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

T

d.

T

e.

F

f.

F

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	arrested	a.	detained
2.	identity	b.	ID
3.	assumed	c.	false
4.	permit (noun)	d.	pass
5.	breach	e.	violation
6.	scam	f.	fraud
7.	posed as	g.	pretended to be
8.	tracks (verb)	h.	follows
9.	inspired	i.	motivated
10.	con artist	j.	fraudster

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	a 32-year-old man who used	a.	a fake identity
2.	the cockpit	b.	of a plane
3.	part of Germany's national	c.	carrier Lufthansa
4.	an airport staff	d.	parking permit
5.	breach of	e.	airport security
6.	successfully pulled	f.	off his scam
7.	he posed	g.	as a pilot
8.	a website that tracks	h.	flight details
9.	a real-life con	i.	artist
10.	one million miles	j.	on over 250 flights

GAP FILL:

Fly-for-free fake pilot arrested

Italian police have arrested a 32-year-old man who used a (1) fake identity to try to get to fly in the (2) cockpit of a plane at Turin airport. The unemployed Italian was apprehended at the check-in counter while trying to (3) board an Air Dolomiti flight as the third pilot. The airline is part of Germany's national carrier Lufthansa. Police have yet to name the man, but he was (4) operating under the assumed name of Andrea Sirlo. He was wearing a pilot's uniform and was carrying forged (5) identity cards that claimed he was a qualified (6) aviator. Police searched his bag and found more pilot uniforms as well as fake resumes, airline badges and an airport staff parking (7) permit. He has been charged with a (8) breach of airport security and impersonation.

Investigators have discovered that "Mr Sirlo" has successfully (9) pulled off his scam at least once before. Police said: "On at least one occasion in 2012, he (10) posed as a pilot of a foreign commercial airline, and with a fake name (11) succeeded in flying as the third pilot in the cockpit." A search of MyFlightBook.com, a website that (12) tracks flight details, also shows that a pilot named Andrea Sirlo flew from Munich airport to Turin on 23 October, 2011. Sirlo said he was (13) inspired by the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio movie "Catch Me If You Can". In the film, DiCaprio plays a real-life (14) con artist who flew over one million miles on over 250 (15) flights in the 1960s. "I saw that film and I wanted to be like [that guy]," Sirlo (16) reportedly told police.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a

2 - c

3 - d

4 - b

5 - d

6 - c

7 - b

8 - a

9 -a

10 - c

11 - d

12 - b

 

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