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Listening (1:42 - 201.2 KB - 16kbps)

THE ARTICLE

Two years of work on designing Freedom Tower, the replacement for New York’s World Trade Center, may have gone down the drain because of police fears that the building might be vulnerable to truck bomb attacks. This means it’s back to the drawing board for the proposed development on Ground Zero. The 1,776-foot (540 meters) skyscraper was intended to show the world New York’s ability to overcome the adversity of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was meant to be one of the world’s tallest buildings and a symbol of liberty. The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 4, 2004 and marked the reformation of the Twin Towers site.

Officials have said building designs are being revamped and new plans will be unveiled within weeks, although eventual completion will be delayed by at least a year. The building was due to be completed by 2009, but that is now in jeopardy. New York State Governor Pataki said he has every confidence designers will “come up with yet another magnificent design that will once again inspire the nation and serve as a fitting tribute to freedom.” Ground Zero site developer Larry Silverstein concurred: “It is crystal clear that we all share one goal: delivering a spectacular and secure Freedom Tower as quickly as possible.”

WARM UPS

1. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics look most interesting:

Freedom Tower / plans that have gone down the drain / back to the drawing board / Ground Zero / New York / adversity / 9-11 / world’s tallest buildings / freedom

Have a chat about the ones you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

2. 9-11: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with 9-11. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. NEW YORK: Have you ever been to New York? Do you want to go? What’s your image of this city? Is it one of the greatest cities in the world? Talk with your partner about New York. Here are some things you might like to talk about:

melting pot / Central Park / Statue of Liberty / Wall Street / Yankees / The Big Apple / Brooklyn Bridge / yellow cabs / Harlem / musicals

4. WTC OPINIONS: Talk with a partner about these comments made about the Freedom Tower’s planners going back to the drawing board.

1. Politicians always mess things up. Could have done better myself.
2. Heads should roll. This is an embarrassment for New York City.
3. This is just a hiccup. The Freedom Tower will be impressive when it’s finished.
4. Putting security issues first is the best thing to do.
5. I heard it’s a white elephant – there are no tenants for the building yet.
6. It will eventually restore the beauty of the Manhattan skyline.
7. If I were a New Yorker, I’d be pretty angry about this.
8. Whatever the design, it will always be a target for those who hate freedom.
9. Leave Ground Zero as it is now.
10. I feel sorry for the families of the 9-11 victims.

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Use your dictionary / computer to find word partners (collocates), other meanings, synonyms or more information on the words ‘ground’ and ‘zero’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

1. Plans for New York’s WTC replacement disappeared into the sewers.  T / F
2. New York police fear the building might be easy prey for terrorist attacks.  T / F
3. Freedom Tower was meant to be the world’s tallest skyscraper.  T / F
4. Construction on the site began on July 4, 2004.  T / F
5. The new plans will be unveiled some time towards the end of the year.  T / F
6. The 2009 completion date for the building is in jeopardy.  T / F
7. New York State Governor Pataki has lost confidence in the designers.  T / F
8. The site’s developer has said the building will be made from clear crystal.  T / F

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

4. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. WORD ORDER: Put the underlined words back in the correct order.

New York WTC redesign - again

Two years of work on designing Freedom Tower, the replacement for New York’s World Trade Center, may the drain have down gone because of police fears that the building might be attacks to bomb truck vulnerable. This means it’s back to the drawing board for the proposed development on Ground Zero. The 1,776-foot (540 meters) skyscraper show world was to intended the New York’s ability to overcome the adversity of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was meant to be one of the world’s tallest buildings and a symbol of liberty. The building was laid for the cornerstone on July 4, 2004 and marked the reformation of the Twin Towers site.

Officials have said building designs are being revamped and new unveiled weeks will be within plans, although eventual completion will be delayed by at least a year. The building was due to be completed by 2009, but jeopardy that now is in. New York State Governor Pataki said he has every confidence designers will “design magnificent come another with yet up that will once again inspire the nation and freedom to tribute serve as a fitting.” Ground Zero site developer Larry Silverstein concurred: “It is crystal clear that we all share one goal: delivering a spectacular and secure Freedom Tower as quickly as possible.”

2. TRUE/FALSE: Check your answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH: Check your answers to this exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Make notes for questions you would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

POST READING IDEAS

1. WORD ORDER: Check your answers to this exercise.

2. QUESTIONS: Ask the discussion questions you thought of above to your partner / group / class. Pool the questions for everyone to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT 9-11 SURVEY: In pairs/groups write down questions about 9-11. Ask other classmates your questions and report back to your original partner/ group to compare your findings.

5. ‘GROUND’ / ‘ZERO’: Make questions based on your findings from pre-reading activity #1. Ask your partner / group your questions.

6. DISCUSSION:

1. Were you surprised at the news in this article?
2. What did you think after reading the article?
3. Did you like any of the words or idioms used in the article?
4. Are you interested in what will become of the Ground Zero site?
5. What do you think should happen with the site?
6. Will whatever is completed be a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives?
7. Should designers go for building the tallest skyscraper in the world?
8. Is Freedom Tower a good name for the building?
9. Do you think the New York politicians responsible for this delay are inept?
10. No tenants have signed up to rent space. Might the project be a white elephant?
11. Would you like to work in the new building once it’s finished?
12. Would you like to live or work on the 100^th floor of a skyscraper?
13. Where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news of 9-11?
14. What images can you recall of the news reports of that New York morning?
15. Were you glued to the TV in the days and weeks following 9-11?
16. How do you think 9-11 changed the world?
17. Has 9-11 changed your world?
18. Do you think something similar to 9-11 will happen again?
19. What kind of building do you think would be best for Ground Zero?
20. Do you think the new building will again become a prime target for terrorists?
21. Did you like this discussion?
22. Teacher / Student additional questions.

7. GROUND ZERO PLAN: In pairs, create plans for the new design for the Ground Zero building. Complete the following table. When you have finished, show your plan to other classmates to see what they think. Have a class vote on the best ideas.

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 information on the Freedom Tower. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. DOWN THE DRAIN: Write a story about a time when plans of yours went down the drain and you had to go back to the drawing board. Share it with your classmates in your next lesson.

4. NEW YORKER: Imagine you are a New Yorker. Write a letter to the New York Times expressing your feelings about the delay in constructing the Freedom Tower. Show your classmates your letter in your next lesson.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

1. Plans for New York’s WTC replacement disappeared into the sewers.  F
2. New York police fear the building might be easy prey for terrorist attacks.  T
3. Freedom Tower was meant to be the world’s tallest skyscraper.  F
4. Construction on the site began on July 4, 2004.  T
5. The new plans will be unveiled some time towards the end of the year.  F
6. The 2009 completion date for the building is in jeopardy.  T
7. New York State Governor Pataki has lost confidence in the designers.  F
8. The site’s developer has said the building will be made from clear crystal.  F

SYNONYM MATCH:

PHRASE MATCH:

WORD ORDER:

New York WTC redesign - again

Two years of work on designing Freedom Tower, the replacement for New York’s World Trade Center, may have gone down the drain because of police fears that the building might be vulnerable to truck bomb attacks. This means it’s back to the drawing board for the proposed development on Ground Zero. The 1,776-foot (540 meters) skyscraper was intended to show the world New York’s ability to overcome the adversity of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was meant to be one of the world’s tallest buildings and a symbol of liberty. The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 4, 2004 and marked the reformation of the Twin Towers site.

Officials have said building designs are being revamped and new plans will be unveiled within weeks, although eventual completion will be delayed by at least a year. The building was due to be completed by 2009, but that is now in jeopardy. New York State Governor Pataki said he has every confidence designers will “come up with yet another magnificent design that will once again inspire the nation and serve as a fitting tribute to freedom.” Ground Zero site developer Larry Silverstein concurred: “It is crystal clear that we all share one goal: delivering a spectacular and secure Freedom Tower as quickly as possible.”