SESSION 16: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 16: 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. Tens of thousands of Egyptians are protesting in the streets.

b. Riot police have so far held back and not used tear gas.

c. Police in the city of Suez no longer have control of their police station.

d. The protests are only happening in Cairo and the north of Egypt.

e. Egypt’s government tried but failed to shut the country’s Internet.

f. Authorities aren’t letting journalists into the country.

g. An opposition leader is surrounded by police in a mosque.

h. The UN Secretary General told protestors to listen to Egypt’s leaders.

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

1. rule .................... a. system of government

2. demonstrations ...... b. events
3. batons ................ c. attacked
4. raided ................ d. sticks
5. scenes ................ e. officials
6. authorities ........... f. leadership
7. broadcasts ........... g. cornered
8. trapped .............. h. protests
9. regime ............... i. posters
10. banners ............. j. programmes

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):
1. Egyptians are continuing ............................... a. in Egyptian history

2. the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations ......... b. by riot police

3. fighting protestors with their ......................... c. the past 48 hours

4. freed protestors jailed in .............................. d. regime change

5. Similar scenes are happening .......................... e. their angry protests

6. the government shut ................................... f. filming the unrest

7. trying to stop journalists ............................... g. down Egypt’s Internet

8. shut down Al Jazeera’s television .................... h. batons and tear gas

9. surrounded ............................................... i. broadcasts

10. Egyptians are calling for .............................. j. all over the country

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

HISTORY - RAIDED - STRUCK - RULE - SCENES - CONTINUING - FORCE - FREED

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are (1) ____________ their angry protests against the (2) ____________ of President Hosni Mubarak. Al Jazeera news said the unrest could be the biggest pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian (3) ____________. Riot police are out in (4) ____________ and fighting protestors with their batons and tear gas. One young woman is reported to have been killed after being (5) ____________ on the head by a tear-gas canister. In Suez, demonstrators took over the main police station and (6) ____________ protestors jailed in the past 48 hours. The police have lost control of the city. Forty thousand people in Mansoura, north of Cairo, are reported to have (7) ____________ and destroyed the ruling party’s headquarters. Similar (8) ____________ are happening all over the country.

TRAPPED - REGIME - SHUT - BROADCASTS - BANNERS - BEST - CALLED -UNREST

Egypt’s leaders have done their (9) ____________ to stop people communicating with each other. At midnight, Thursday, the government (10) ____________ down Egypt’s Internet. Authorities are refusing entry to Arab and non-Arab journalists at Egypt’s international airport and the police are also trying to stop journalists filming the (11) ____________. They smashed CNN cameras and shut down Al Jazeera’s television (12) ____________ in Egypt of the protests. Opposition leader Mohamed El-Baradei is (13) ____________ in a mosque surrounded by riot police. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has (14) ____________ on Egypt’s leaders to listen to their people. Egyptians are calling for (15) ____________ change and are carrying (16) ____________ that say, “We hate you Mubarak”.