Pre-Reading Activities

A: Brainstorming

When you think of the word "Christmas", what words or ideas do you think of? Write a list of your answers here in note-form: colored lights, roast turkey, shopping,

Now tell your words and ideas to someone else in the class.

B: Predicting from headlines

Here are the headlines from the two articles in this lesson. They are both about Christmas. Read the headlines. What do you think each article will be about? Tell someone else in the class.

Desperately Seeking Fat Santas

Norway to standardize its Christmas trees

You will now be divided into two groups. Students in Group A will read the Desperately Seeking Fat Santas article and students in Group B will read the Norway to standardize its Christmas trees article.

 

Reading Activities

Here are the two worksheets for the Reading:

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Worksheet for Group A

A: Vocabulary

Before you begin reading, match each word in the table with its meaning. Use your dictionary if necessary.

Words 1. to seek 2. to don 3. a plea 4. to outstrip 5. a cast

Meanings a. to put on clothing b. all the actors in a play c. an urgent request d. to look for something e. to become more than or bigger than

Suggested answer 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-e, 5-b,

B: Choose the best answer

As you read the article, choose the best answer from the list of choices offered:

1. Fat actors...

1. eat salads and work out at the gym.
2. play the role of Santa in British stores.
3. are elderly men.
   Suggested answer 1-b

2. Actors playing Santa...

1. put on white beards and red robes.
2. eat salads and work out at the gym.
3. don't have to be fat.
   Suggested answer 2-a

3. The Ministry of Fun Entertainment Agency...

1. has had no applicants for the Santa jobs.
2. has had few suitable applicants for the Santa jobs.
3. has had no suitable applicants for the Santa jobs.
   Suggested answer 3-c

4. The demand for Santas this year is

1. equal to the number of fat elderly actors available.
2. less than the number of fat elderly actors available.
3. more than the number of fat elderly actors available.
   Suggested answer 4-c

Desperately Seeking Fat Santas LONDON November 23 (Reuters) - British stores are desperately seeking fat elderly men to play Santa in their Christmas grottos. Salads and workouts at the gym have taken their toll on the cast of seasonal actors who usually don white beards and red robes to bring Father Christmas alive for millions of children. ``We just cannot find any suitable actors who are still, shall we say, on the porky side. All the applicants seem to live on salads and look after their bodies,'' said a spokesman for the Ministry of Fun entertainment agency Saturday. ``They're too thin. You cannot just strap a cushion on them and hope to fool the kids because they'll suss it out (realize it) straightaway,'' he added, The agency has sent out a plea for fat actors to come forward after demand for Santas from stores and shopping malls outstripped supply. Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited.

C: Language work  

Match the words in bold from the article with their meanings:

Words 1. have taken their toll 2. live on salads 3. on the porky side 4. demand for Santas from stores ... outstripped supply

Meanings a. to only eat one thing b. fat c. the number of something needed is greater than the available supply d. caused damage

Suggested answer 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 

D: Asking questions

Wait until Group B have completed their worksheet, then pair up with a person from Group B and ask them the questions below and write down their answers.

1. What is the Norwegian Standards Authority doing with Christmas trees?
   
   Suggested answer 1. The Authority is setting up a three class system under which Christmas trees will be rated according to specified standards.
   
   
2. Why is it doing this?
   
   Suggested answer 2. To guarantee quality and encourage exports. (If Norwegian trees are of good quality they will be more able to compete with trees from Denmark.)
   
   
3. What kind of trees will be rated `first class'?
   
   Suggested answer 3. Trees that are straight, with a single tip, a regular shape and color and free of insecticides and fertilizers.
   
   
4. How many trees does Norway use each year? How many does it import from Denmark?
   
   Suggested answer 4. Norway uses 1.5 million trees a year. 500 000 are imported from Denmark.
   
   
5. What kind of faults will third-class trees have?
   
   Suggested answer 5. Curved trunks or uneven branches.
   
   

 

End of worksheet for Group A

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Worksheet for Group B

 

A: Vocabulary

Before you begin reading, match each word in the table with its meaning. Use your dictionary if necessary.

Words 1. to standardize 2. to rate 3. to fell (a tree) 4. to curb 5. to consume

Meanings a. to limit or stop something b. to make something fit a fixed measurement, shape or quality c. to cut down d. to use e. to group things according to similarities or according to a set of rules

Suggested answer 1-b, 2-e, 3-c, 4-a, 5-d,

B: Choose the best answer

As you read the article, choose the best answer from the list of choices offered:

1. First class Christmas trees must be...

1. color-free with a single tip.
2. straight and regular.
3. sprayed with insecticides or fertilizers.

2. Norway...

1. produces 1 million more Christmas trees a year than Denmark.
2. harvests 1.5 million Christmas trees a year.
3. uses 1 million of its own Christmas trees.

3. The article tells us...

1. that second class trees should not have curved trunks or uneven color.
2. nothing about second class trees.
3. the number of tips on a tree doesn't matter.

4. Norway...

1. has just introduced a new three class system of rating for Christmas trees.
2. has copied Denmark's rating system for Christmas trees.
3. has just introduced a new first class to its rating system for Christmas trees.

 

Norway to standardize its Christmas trees OSLO Tuesday October 13 (Reuters) - Christmas trees are getting standardized in Norway, a nation largely blanketed by pine forests, as part of a battle to curb imports from neighboring Denmark. Under the new three-class system, only straight trees with a single tip, regular shape and color and free of artificial insecticides or fertilizers will be rated ``first class.'' ``We want to rate our trees to guarantee quality for consumers and stimulate exports,'' Finn Hjalmar Andersen, spokesman of the Norwegian Standards Association, said on Monday. ``Christmas trees have never had standards before in Norway.'' Norway consumes 1.5 million trees a year but 500,000 of them are imported from Denmark. Trees grow better on Danish farmland and are cheaper to harvest than in Norwegian mountains. Under the voluntary guidelines, Christmas trees should be felled after November 20 and have a label showing the date of harvest. Trees with curved trunks or uneven branches would be rated ``third class.'' The Association sets standards for everything from cycle safety helmets to food packaging. Next year it plans to set guidelines for earthquake-proof buildings -- even though quakes hardly ever happen in Norway. Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited.

C: Language work

Match the words in bold from the article with their meanings:

Words 1. largely blanketed by pine forests 2. to curb imports from Denmark 3. regular shape and color 4. the date of harvest

Meanings a. the date when the tree was felled b. normal c. covered d. to stop or decrease imports

Suggested answer 1-c, 2-d, 3-b, 4-a,

D: Asking questions  

Wait until Group A have completed their worksheet, then pair up with a person from Group A and ask them the questions below and write down their answers.

1. What is the Ministry of Fun?
   
   Suggested answer 1. An entertainment agency which is currently looking for actors.
   
   
2. What kind of actors are needed in December? What role will they play?
   
   Suggested answer 2. Fat elderly actors who will be Santa in stores and shopping malls.
   
   
3. Why aren't there enough of these actors?
   
   Suggested answer 3. Because most actors are too thin: they go to the gym and look after their bodies.
   
   
4. What do the actors wear?
   
   Suggested answer 4. A red robe and a white beard.
   
   
5. Why is it important to get the right kind of people?
   
   Suggested answer 5. Because children can tell if something is artificial. (If Santas are pretending to be fat by wearing a cushion, children will be able to detect this.)