Breaking News English

Level: Easier (Try the harder lesson.)

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Audio: (1:58 - 231.9 KB - 16kbps)

THE ARTICLE

Two Japanese soldiers from World War II have been found in a jungle in the Philippines. Amazingly, Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 83, have spent the past 60 years in the mountains of the southern island of Mindanao. They were posted there in the early 1940s when Japan invaded the Philippines. Reports say they do not know that the war ended six decades ago and that Japan surrendered. The two octogenarians were still wearing their WWII army uniforms and had military equipment, including rifles and swords.

WARM-UPS

1. SURVIVAL: Half of the class has just spent 10 years living in the jungle, the other half has spent the same time living in the desert. Jungle survivors and desert survivors talk to each other to describe how they lived and what they did each day.

2. JUNGLE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “jungle”. Share your words with your partner / group and talk about them.

3. TOUGH CONDITIONS:

1. Rank these places in order of which is the most difficult to survive in for a year.
2. Talk about the difficulties of surviving in each one.
3. If you had to spend a month in one of the places, which one would you choose and which one would you absolutely never choose?

A Philippine jungle

Baghdad

Sahara Desert

Antarctica

Siberia

Grand Canyon

Mountain Everest

4. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

World War II / soldiers / Philippines / mountains / jungles / military equipment

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

5. I’M HOME: Imagine you have been in the jungle for 60 years. Think about how the world has changed.

• Talk with your partner / group about the changes you have seen and experienced since returning home. What are the most surprising, saddest and most amazing things?
• Make a list of the changes or surprises and write them on the board or on a piece of paper. Look at the things other students have written and talk about them.
• Which new things do you like about life today?
• Talk about which is better, life in 1945 or life today.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

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

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

WHILE READING / LISTENING

Japanese WW2 soldiers found in jungle

Two Japanese soldiers / officers / samurai from World War II have been found in a jungle in the Philippines. Amazingly, Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 83, have spent the ex / last / past 60 years in the mountains of the southern island of Mindanao. They were posted / mailed / stationed there in the early 1940s when Japan invaded the Philippines. Reports say they do not know that the war ended six decades ago and that Japan gave up / surrendered / won. The two octogenarians were still wearing their WWII army uniforms and had military equipment / gear / equip, including rifles and swords.

The two war veterans / vets / veterinarians were discovered by a Japanese citizen who was looking for the names / remains / bodies of war dead in the mountains. Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily newspaper said the elderly vets desperately want to return to Japan. Officials from the Japanese Embassy met the men Friday, May 27, to try to prove / confirm / reform their identities. Reports indicate another 40 former Japanese soldiers may still be living in the same area / vicinity / aura. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said: “It is a surprise if it’s true. We are checking it now.” The last WWII-era soldier to appear / emerge / merge from the Philippine jungles was Mr. Hiroo Oona in 1974.

AFTER READING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘jungle’ and ‘survival’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. ODD WORD OUT: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about possible relationships the “odd” words out might have with the correct words.

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

5. STUDENT JUNGLE SURVEY: In pairs / groups write down questions about jungles and survival.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make a mini-presentation to another group / the class on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

 DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What did you think when you first saw the headline to this article?
2. Have you heard similar stories before?
3. How surprised are you at this news?
4. How do you think the old soldiers are feeling right now?
5. Do you think they still believe America is their enemy?
6. Would their story be a good story for a movie?
7. Should the Japanese government have looked for them?
8. How long could you survive in the jungle?
9. What would you do to survive?
10. What will the old men think of the 21^st Century?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading the article?
2. Did you want to read the article when you saw the headline?
3. What did you think of this news?
4. How did the soldiers stay cut off from the world for so long?
5. Should they receive a hero’s welcome when they arrive back in Japan?
6. Should they get paid for their 60 years of military service?
7. Should they get a medal?
8. Do you think there are other soldiers fighting wars that have finished?
9. What would you want to do after a long time in the jungle?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

WELCOME TO THE 21^st CENTURY: You are head of the “Welcome Home Committee” for the two old soldiers. They have had no contact with the outside world for 60 years. Your job is to bring them up to date on the important events of the past six decades.

In pairs / groups, decide on the two most important things they need to know about the following five areas (you must decide the fifth category):

Change partners / groups and compare your choices. Discuss which of your choices are best and combine them so that you both / all agree.

Role play the conversation between the “Welcome Home Committee” member an old soldier who only knows about the world before 1940 (and who will have many questions!).

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Japanese WW2 soldiers found in jungle

Two Japanese soldiers from _____ ___ ___ have been found in a jungle in the Philippines. Amazingly, Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 83, ___ ____ __ ____ 60 years in the mountains of the southern island of Mindanao. They were posted there
__ ___ ____ 1940s when Japan invaded the Philippines. Reports say they do not know that the ___ _____ ___ _______ ago and that Japan surrendered. The two octogenarians were still wearing their WWII army uniforms and had _______ __________, including rifles and swords.

The two ___ _______ were discovered by a Japanese citizen who was looking ___ ___ _______ of war dead in the mountains. Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily newspaper said the elderly vets __________ _____ ___ return to Japan. Officials from the Japanese Embassy met the men Friday, May 27, to try to confirm their identities. Reports _________ ________ 40 former Japanese soldiers may still be living in the same area. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said: “It is a surprise if it’s true. We are checking it now.” The last WWII-___ _______ __ _______ from the Philippine jungles was Mr. Hiroo Oona in 1974.

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 story of the old Japanese soldiers. Keep updated with the news of them and share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. JUNGLE SURVIVAL KIT: Write an emergency guide for a jungle survival kit. List the ten most essential things necessary for survival, with an explanation of how to use them. Show it to your classmates in your next lesson.

4. DIARY: Imagine you are one of the old Japanese soldiers. You have been back at home for one week. Write your diary / journal entry. Explaining how it feels to be home. Describe what you have done in your first seven days. Write also about the things that have surprised and saddened you. Show your diary / journal entry to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you write about the same things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

PHRASE MATCH:

GAP FILL:

Japanese WW2 soldiers found in jungle

Two Japanese soldiers / officers / samurai from World War II have been found in a jungle in the Philippines. Amazingly, Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 83, have spent the ex / last / past 60 years in the mountains of the southern island of Mindanao. They were posted / mailed / stationed there in the early 1940s when Japan invaded the Philippines. Reports say they do not know that the war ended six decades ago and that Japan gave up / surrendered / won. The two octogenarians were still wearing their WWII army uniforms and had military equipment / gear / equip, including rifles and swords.

The two war veterans / vets / veterinarians were discovered by a Japanese citizen who was looking for the names / remains / bodies of war dead in the mountains. Japan’s Sankei Shimbun daily newspaper said the elderly vets desperately want to return to Japan. Officials from the Japanese Embassy met the men Friday, May 27, to try to prove / confirm / reform their identities. Reports indicate another 40 former Japanese soldiers may still be living in the same area / vicinity / aura. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said: “It is a surprise if it’s true. We are checking it now.” The last WWII-era soldier to appear / emerge / merge from the Philippine jungles was Mr. Hiroo Oona in 1974.