SESSION 24: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 24: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES.

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or False (F):

a. Poland’s President died as his plane approached Moscow airport.
b. There were few survivors in the tragedy.
c. Aviation officials believe the plane crashed due to mechanical failure.
d. Weather conditions were perfect as the plane landed.
e. A Pole said the crash was her country’s biggest tragedy in 5 decades.
f. There were at least 24 Polish politicians on board the airplane.
g. The Polish Prime Minister cried at the news of the air disaster.
h. An election for a new president must take place within 10 weeks.

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1. commemorate ........ a. well-known
2. massacre .............. b. crying
3. high-profile ........... c. because of
4. emerging .............. d. experiencing
5. due to ................. e. remember
6. anguish ................ f. disaster
7. facing .................. g. appearing
8. catastrophe ........... h. inside
9. in tears ................ i. slaughter
10. within ................ j. distress

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one option is possible):

1. commemorate the 70th anniversary .......... a. for the Polish people
2. Polish officials also died ........................ b. who lost their lives
3. The 96 ............................................. c. were on board
4. it might have been due ......................... d. the airport’s runway
5. thick fog as it approached ..................... e. worst political crisis
6. The crash has caused great .................... f. to human error
7. Poland is now facing its ........................ g. of the Katyn massacre
8. Two dozen of the country’s top politicians .. h. within two months
9. the crash was a catastrophe ................... i. in the air disaster
10. The poll will take place ....................... j. anguish in Poland

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

disaster - massacre - runway - cause - way - officials - profile - central

Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski died this morning in a plane crash in Russia. He was on his ____________ to the town of Smolensk to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn ____________. This was the killing of 22,000 Polish officers by Soviet security forces near Smolensk during WWII. Dozens of other high-____________ Polish officials also died in the air ____________, which no one survived. Among the 96 who lost their lives were Poland’s army chief, the governor of Poland’s ____________ bank, politicians, bishops and leading historians. Details are emerging of the ____________ of the crash. Safety ____________ believe it might have been due to human error. The plane hit trees in thick fog as it approached the airport’s ____________.

facing - within - saddened - anguish - board - disaster - tears - crisis

The crash has caused great ____________ in Poland. One comment on Twitter by a Polish woman said it was the biggest ____________ for Poland in the past 50 years. Another tweeter said Poland is now ____________ its worst political ____________ since it escaped from communism in 1989. Two dozen of the country’s top politicians were on ____________ the plane. The BBC's Adam Easton, reporting from Warsaw, said the crash was a catastrophe for the Polish people. He reported that Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk was in ____________ at the news of the tragedy. British leader Gordon Brown said the whole world was “____________”. The country must now announce a presidential election in the next two weeks. The poll will take place ____________ two months of the announcement.