SESSION 13: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 13: 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. The article says the world believes 2012 will be better than 2011.

b. Over three-quarters of Americans believe their family life will be better.
c. Less than a third of Americans said 2011 was a poor year.
d. One American suggested politicians only cared about their own wallets.
e. In January, people power fell to the Tunisian government.
f. Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi died at the end of September 2011.
g. Japan’s earthquake and tsunami officially killed fewer than 16,000.
h. The world’s population rose above 7 billion in 2011.

1.2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
1. poll .................. a. showed
2. conducted .......... b. rolled out
3. revealed ............ c. historic
4. hard to come by ... d. carried out
5. faith ................. e. passed away
6. momentous ......... f. survey
7. spread ............... g. destroyed
8. resign ................ h. belief
9. devastated .......... i. difficult to get
10. died ................ j. leave office


1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):
1. The study revealed that 62 per cent ....... a. in Washington politics
2. they are glad to see the back ............... b. nuclear disasters
3. Jobs were hard to ............................ c. their pockets
4. lost faith ....................................... d. one around the world
5. how they are going to line .................. e. of 2011
6. the year 2011 was a momentous ........... f. Japan’s northern coastline
7. popular uprisings spread .................... g. come by
8. devastated much of ......................... h. hit 7 billion
9. one of the world’s worst ................... i. are optimistic
10. The world population officially .......... j. across the Arab world

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

FAITH - DESCRIBED - BELIEVE - BACK - POCKETS - CONDUCTED - RISE - OPTIMISTIC

A poll (1) ____________ by the Associated Press (AP) shows almost two-thirds of Americans (2) ____________ 2012 will be better than 2011. The study revealed that 62 per cent are (3) ____________ about what 2012 will bring for their country, and 78 per cent believe 2012 will bring better times for their family. Over two-thirds of those polled (4) ____________ 2011 as a poor year. Many said they are glad to see the (5) ____________ of 2011 because of the poor economy. Jobs were hard to come by and prices for things like healthcare, food and fuel continued to (6) ____________. South Carolina resident Mary Burke told the AP she had lost (7) ____________ in Washington politics, saying: “They don't care about me and you. They only care about how they are going to line their (8) ____________."

SPREAD - PEOPLE - WORST - COMPLETED - MOMENTOUS - HIT - RESIGN - DEVASTATED

The year 2011 was a (9) ____________ one around the world. The shape of the Middle East changed after the Tunisian government fell to (10) ____________ power in January. This event started the Arab Spring that saw Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak (11) ____________ and popular uprisings (12) ____________ across the Arab world. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s murder in October (13) ____________ his country’s successful uprising. There were many natural disasters in 2011. The biggest was the earthquake and tsunami that (14) ____________ much of Japan’s northern coastline. It killed 15,840 people and created one of the world’s (15) ____________ nuclear disasters. Floods in Rio de Janeiro and Thailand killed thousands. The world population officially (16) ____________ 7 billion, although Osama bin Laden, Apple’s Steve Jobs and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died.