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Car interiors a breeding ground for deadly bacteria (27th July, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Many people feel safer in their own cars than risk getting germs while travelling on public transport. The truth for many car drivers and passengers is the opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a potential breeding ground for bacteria such as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried out by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand brakes, foot wells and seats to find out what bacteria might be lurking there. They found that most cars were dirty enough to harbour the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very little thought to the importance of keeping their car interior hygienic.

Cars are an ideal place for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, while a third have spilt drinks. Other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite this, only a quarter or owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and drink at the wheel. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used tissues in storage areas and rotting food on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's really worrying to see just how dirty people are letting their cars get. We were expecting to find some bad stuff from the University of Nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating to E.coli in there."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www. dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3173386/How-clean-car-Deadly-bugs-E-coli-lurking-steering-wheels-handbrakes-caused-people-eating-drinking-move.html
http://www. express.co.uk/life-style/health/593581/Car-staphylococcus-eColi-British-germs-dangerous
https:// home.bt.com/lifestyle/motoring/motoring-news/dirty-cars-breeding-ground-for-bacteria-11363994273687

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. BACTERIA: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about bacteria. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

feel safer / risk / germs / public transport / the opposite / steering wheel / bacteria / ideal place / spilt drinks / accidents / wheel / common problems / dirty / testing

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. RISK: What are the health risks of these places? How can we make them safer? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Health risks	How to make them safer
Cars
Stores
Trains
Schools
Hospitals
Parks

4. DANGEROUS: Students A strongly believe cars are dangerous; Students B strongly believe they are not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. GERMS: Rank these with your partner. Put the riskiest things for germs at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• car steering wheel

• computer keyboard

• supermarket cart

• toilet seat

• hospital waiting room

• train

• restaurant toilet

• school canteen

6. CAR: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "car". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	People feel safer on public transport than in cars.	T / F
b.	All cars are dirty enough to breed dangerous bacteria.	T / F
c.	Microbiologists checked hand brakes and steering wheels.	T / F
d.	Most car owners gave little thought to hygiene in cars.	T / F
e.	More than half of car owners have dropped food on car seats.	T / F
f.	Around 30% of car owners have spilt drinks inside their car.	T / F
g.	Researchers said rotting food and used tissues were a problem.	T / F
h.	Someone said they expected a university to find bad staff.	T / F

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

1.	opposite	a.	hide
2.	potential	b.	decomposing
3.	deadly	c.	germ-free
4.	harbour	d.	mishaps
5.	hygienic	e.	anticipate
6.	ideal	f.	possible
7.	accidents	g.	concerning
8.	rotting	h.	contrary
9.	worrying	i.	perfect
10.	expect	j.	lethal

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	travelling on public	a.	germs to live
2.	a potential breeding	b.	areas
3.	bacteria might be	c.	interior hygienic
4.	dirty enough to harbour the	d.	food
5.	the importance of keeping their car	e.	lurking there
6.	an ideal place for	f.	transport
7.	only a quarter	g.	to E.coli
8.	storage	h.	deadly bacteria
9.	rotting	i.	of owners
10.	bacteria relating	j.	ground

GAP FILL

Many people (1) ____________ safer in their own cars than risk getting germs while travelling on public transport. The (2) ____________ for many car drivers and passengers is the opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a (3) ____________ breeding ground for bacteria such as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried out by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand (4) ____________, foot wells and seats to find out what bacteria might be (5) ____________ there. They found that most cars were dirty (6) ____________ to harbour the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very little (7) ____________ to the importance of keeping their car interior (8) ____________.

potential
enough
feel
lurking
hygienic
truth
thought
brakes

Cars are an (9) ____________ place for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, while a third have (10) ____________ drinks. Other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite this, only a (11) ____________ of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and drink at the (12) ____________. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used tissues in storage areas and (13) ____________ food on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's really worrying to see (14) ____________ how dirty people are letting their cars get. We were expecting to find some bad (15) ____________ from the University of Nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria (16) ____________ to E.coli in there."

ideal
relating
quarter
stuff
rotting
just
spilt
wheel

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Many people feel safer in their own cars than ______
	a. risk getting germ b. risk getting gems c. risk getting germs d. risk getting jeans
2)	discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a ______
	a. potential breed in ground b. potential breeding ground c. potential breeding in ground d. potential breeds in ground
3)	Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand brakes, foot ______
	a. wells and seats b. wheels and seats c. whales and seats d. welts and seats
4)	They found that most cars were dirty enough to harbour ______
	a. the deadly bacteria b. the deathly bacteria c. the deadlier bacteria d. the deadliest bacteria
5)	owners gave very little thought to the importance of keeping their ______
	a. car interior hygiene b. car interior hi jean it c. car interiors hygienic d. car interior hygienic
6)	Over half of car owners have dropped ______
	a. food into seats b. food on to seats c. food on two seats d. food onto seats
7)	only a quarter of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once ______
	a. all three months b. every three months c. both three months d. each three months
8)	drink bottles under seats, used tissues in storage areas ______
	a. and rot in food b. and rotting food c. and rotten food d. and rot tin food
9)	It's really worrying to see just how dirty people are ______ get
	a. letting their cars b. let ting their cars c. letting in their cars d. letting them cars
10)	…but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating ______
	a. to E.coli in there b. to E.coli on there c. to E.coli up there d. to E.coli down there

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Many people feel safer (1) ___________________ than risk getting germs while travelling on public transport. The (2) ___________________ car drivers and passengers is the opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they (3) ___________________ breeding ground for bacteria such as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried out by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand brakes, foot wells (4) ___________________ out what bacteria might be lurking there. They found that most cars (5) ___________________ to harbour the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very little (6) ___________________ importance of keeping their car interior hygienic.

Cars (7) ___________________ for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, (8) ___________________ spilt drinks. Other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite this, only a quarter of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and (9) ___________________. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used tissues in storage areas (10) ___________________ on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's really worrying (11) ___________________ dirty people are letting their cars get. We were expecting to find some bad stuff from the University of Nottingham's testing (12) ___________________ expect to find bacteria relating to E.coli in there."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Where do people think is safer than public transport?
2.	What is a potential breeding ground for bacteria?
3.	Who analysed steering wheels?
4.	What were most cars dirty enough to harbour?
5.	What did most car owners give little thought to the importance of?
6.	What fraction of car owners dropped food on car seats?
7.	How many car owners clean the inside of their cars every 3 months?
8.	What did researchers find under car seats?
9.	What did researchers find on seat covers?
10.	What kind of bacteria did researchers not expect to find in cars?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Where do people think is safer than public transport?	6.	What fraction of car owners dropped food on car seats?
	a) their own cars b) airplanes c) walking d) bicycles		a) 48% b) two-thirds c) 22% d) over half
2.	What is a potential breeding ground for bacteria?	7.	How many car owners clean the inside of their cars every 3 months?
	a) labs b) hospitals c) dirty cars d) roads		a) seven-eighths b) a third c) a quarter d) three-fifths
3.	Who analysed steering wheels?	8.	What did researchers find under car seats?
	a) psychologists b) macroeconomists c) pathologists d) microbiologists		a) pizza b) bottles c) pets d) children
4.	What were most cars dirty enough to harbour?	9.	What did researchers find on seat covers?
	a) pets b) deadly bacteria c) rotting food d) ships		a) patterns b) maps c) rotting food d) children
5.	What did most car owners give little thought to the importance of?	10.	What kind of bacteria did researchers not expect to find in cars?
	a) hygiene b) speed c) mobile phones d) car washes		a) harmless bacteria b) that relating to E.coli c) interesting bacteria d) cheesy bacteria

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Car steering wheel

You think a car steering wheel is the riskiest place for germs. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so risky. Also, tell the others which is the cleanest of these (and why): a computer keyboard, a hospital waiting room or a restaurant toilet.

Role B – Computer keyboard

You think a computer keyboard is the riskiest place for germs. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so risky. Also, tell the others which is the cleanest of these (and why): a car steering wheel, a hospital waiting room or a restaurant toilet.

Role C – Hospital waiting room

You think a hospital waiting room is the riskiest place for germs. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so risky. Also, tell the others which is the cleanest of these (and why): a computer keyboard, a car steering wheel or a restaurant toilet.

Role D – Restaurant toilet

You think a restaurant toilet is the riskiest place for germs. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so risky. Also, tell the others which is the cleanest of these (and why): a computer keyboard, a hospital waiting room or a car steering wheel.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'breeding' and 'ground'.

breeding

ground

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. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

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

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

risk
opposite
so
carried
might
thought

place
drinks
bottles
covers
stuff
expect

BACTERIA SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about bacteria in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

BACTERIA DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'bacteria'?
3)	How clean is the world around you?
4)	What do you do to avoid germs?
5)	What do you think about what you read?
6)	How dirty do you think cars are inside?
7)	What should people do to make sure their cars are hygienic?
8)	Will you think about germs next time you get in a car?
9)	Why are many cars so dirty inside?
10)	How often should drivers clean steering wheels?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	Why are germs an ideal place for germs to live and breed?
13)	Will you think twice about eating in cars in future?
14)	What other everyday things can carry germs?
15)	How hygienic is your car?
16)	What do you think of drivers who eat and drink at the wheel?
17)	Where are the dirtiest places in cars?
18)	How can car makers make cars more hygienic?
19)	What does the inside of a car say about the car owner?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Many people feel safer in their own cars than (1) ____ getting germs while travelling on public transport. The (2) ____ for many car drivers and passengers is the opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a potential breeding ground (3) ____ bacteria such as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried (4) ____ by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand brakes, foot wells and seats to find out what bacteria might be (5) ____ there. They found that most cars were dirty enough to harbour the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very little (6) ____ to the importance of keeping their car interior hygienic.

Cars are an (7) ____ place for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, while a third have spilt drinks. Other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite (8) ____, only a quarter of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and drink at the (9) ____. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used tissues in storage areas and (10) ____ food on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's really worrying to see just how dirty people are letting their cars (11) ____. We were expecting to find some bad (12) ____ from the University of Nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating to E.coli in there."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	riskiness	(b)	risque	(c)	risk	(d)	risky
2.	(a)	truth	(b)	truthful	(c)	truly	(d)	truism
3.	(a)	for	(b)	at	(c)	by	(d)	to
4.	(a)	out	(b)	to	(c)	in	(d)	up
5.	(a)	leaking	(b)	lurking	(c)	liking	(d)	linking
6.	(a)	think	(b)	thinkers	(c)	thinking	(d)	thought
7.	(a)	ideally	(b)	idealistic	(c)	ideal	(d)	idealism
8.	(a)	many	(b)	much	(c)	then	(d)	this
9.	(a)	wheel	(b)	tyre	(c)	axle	(d)	seat
10.	(a)	cooking	(b)	rotting	(c)	preparing	(d)	simmering
11.	(a)	have	(b)	get	(c)	do	(d)	be
12.	(a)	staff	(b)	stiff	(c)	stuff	(d)	strafe

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	while travelling on public ntrsatpor
2.	drivers and gasenepsrs
3.	a atpltnioe breeding ground
4.	bacteria might be ikrglun there
5.	dirty enough to rruoahb the deadly bacteria
6.	keeping their car interior egyihicn
Paragraph 2
7.	an ideal place for egsrm to live
8.	children's mtvio
9.	pet ectdcisna
10.	used sstiseu
11.	asteogr areas
12.	ntxcepieg to find some bad stuff

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	out by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand brakes, foot wells and seats to find
( 1 )	Many people feel safer in their own cars than risk getting germs while travelling on public transport. The truth
( )	worrying to see just how dirty people are letting their cars get. We were expecting to find some bad
( )	stuff from the University of Nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating to E.coli in there."
( )	drink at the wheel. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used
( )	of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and
( )	drinks. Other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite this, only a quarter
( )	for many car drivers and passengers is the opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so
( )	tissues in storage areas and rotting food on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's really
( )	dirty inside that they are a potential breeding ground for bacteria such as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried
( )	little thought to the importance of keeping their car interior hygienic.
( )	enough to harbour the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very
( )	Cars are an ideal place for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, while a third have spilt
( )	out what bacteria might be lurking there. They found that most cars were dirty

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	germs transport while travelling Risk on getting public .
2.	opposite the is passengers and drivers car many for truth The .
3.	ground are for a bacteria potential breeding They .
4.	lurking what there bacteria might Find be out .
5.	keeping their The car importance interior of hygienic .
6.	to for Cars live ideal are germs place an .
7.	of their cars once every three months Cleaned the inside .
8.	areas and rotting food on carpets Used tissues in storage .
9.	cars get See just how dirty people are letting their .
10.	expect in relating didn't coli bacteria We find E to there to .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Many people feel safer in their own cars than risky / risk getting germs while travelling on public transport. The truth / true for many car drivers and passengers is the opposition / opposite. A British survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a potentially / potential breeding ground for bacteria such was / as the deadly E.Coli. The survey was carried out / in by the University of Nottingham. Microbiologists analysed steering wheels, hand breaks / brakes, foot wells and seats to find out what bacteria might have / be lurking there. They found that most cars were dirty enough to harbour / port the deadly bacteria. They also discovered that most car owners gave very little thought to the importance / important of keeping their car interior hygienic.

Cars are an ideal / idea place for germs to live. Over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats, while a / the third have spilt drinks. Other owners spoke for / of children's vomit and 'pet accidents'. Despite / Dispute this, only a quarter of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once most / every three months and most drivers still eat and drink at the tyre / wheel. Common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats, used tissues in stoppage / storage areas and rotting food on carpets and seat covers. A spokeswoman said: "It's real / really worrying to see just how dirty people are letting their cars get / got. We were expecting to find some bad stuff / staff from the University of Nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating to E.coli in there."

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

M_ny p__pl_ f__l s_f_r _n th__r _wn c_rs th_n r_sk g_tt_ng g_rms wh_l_ tr_v_ll_ng _n p_bl_c tr_nsp_rt. Th_ tr_th f_r m_ny c_r dr_v_rs _nd p_ss_ng_rs _s th_ _pp_s_t_. _ Br_t_sh s_rv_y d_sc_v_r_d th_t m_st c_rs _r_ s_ d_rty _ns_d_ th_t th_y _r_ _ p_t_nt__l br__d_ng gr__nd f_r b_ct_r__ s_ch _s th_ d__dly _.C_l_. Th_ s_rv_y w_s c_rr__d __t by th_ _n_v_rs_ty _f N_tt_ngh_m. M_cr_b__l_g_sts _n_lys_d st__r_ng wh__ls, h_nd br_k_s, f__t w_lls _nd s__ts t_ f_nd __t wh_t b_ct_r__ m_ght b_ l_rk_ng th_r_. Th_y f__nd th_t m_st c_rs w_r_ d_rty _n__gh t_ h_rb__r th_ d__dly b_ct_r__. Th_y _ls_ d_sc_v_r_d th_t m_st c_r _wn_rs g_v_ v_ry l_ttl_ th__ght t_ th_ _mp_rt_nc_ _f k__p_ng th__r c_r _nt_r__r hyg__n_c.

C_rs _r_ _n _d__l pl_c_ f_r g_rms t_ l_v_. _v_r h_lf _f c_r _wn_rs h_v_ dr_pp_d f__d _nt_ s__ts, wh_l_ _ th_rd h_v_ sp_lt dr_nks. _th_r _wn_rs sp_k_ _f ch_ldr_n's v_m_t _nd 'p_t _cc_d_nts'. D_sp_t_ th_s, _nly _ q__rt_r _f _wn_rs cl__n_d th_ _ns_d_ _f th__r c_rs _nc_ _v_ry thr__ m_nths _nd m_st dr_v_rs st_ll __t _nd dr_nk _t th_ wh__l. C_mm_n pr_bl_ms th_ r_s__rch_rs f__nd w_r_ dr_nk b_ttl_s _nd_r s__ts, _s_d t_ss__s _n st_r_g_ _r__s _nd r_tt_ng f__d _n c_rp_ts _nd s__t c_v_rs. _ sp_k_sw_m_n s__d: "_t's r__lly w_rry_ng t_ s__ j_st h_w d_rty p__pl_ _r_ l_tt_ng th__r c_rs g_t. W_ w_r_ _xp_ct_ng t_ f_nd s_m_ b_d st_ff fr_m th_ _n_v_rs_ty _f N_tt_ngh_m's t_st_ng b_t w_ d_dn't _xp_ct t_ f_nd b_ct_r__ r_l_t_ng t_ _.c_l_ _n th_r_."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

many people feel safer in their own cars than risk getting germs while travelling on public transport the truth for many car drivers and passengers is the opposite a british survey discovered that most cars are so dirty inside that they are a potential breeding ground for bacteria such as the deadly ecoli the survey was carried out by the university of nottingham microbiologists analysed steering wheels hand brakes foot wells and seats to find out what bacteria might be lurking there they found that most cars were dirty enough to harbour the deadly bacteria they also discovered that most car owners gave very little thought to the importance of keeping their car interior hygienic

cars are an ideal place for germs to live over half of car owners have dropped food onto seats while a third have spilt drinks other owners spoke of children's vomit and 'pet accidents' despite this only a quarter of owners cleaned the inside of their cars once every three months and most drivers still eat and drink at the wheel common problems the researchers found were drink bottles under seats used tissues in storage areas and rotting food on carpets and seat covers a spokeswoman said "it's really worrying to see just how dirty people are letting their cars get we were expecting to find some bad stuff from the university of nottingham's testing but we didn't expect to find bacteria relating to ecoli in there"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Manypeoplefeelsaferintheirowncarsthanriskgettinggermswhiletrav
ellingonpublictransport.Thetruthformanycardriversandpassengersi
stheopposite.ABritishsurveydiscoveredthatmostcarsaresodirtyinsid
ethattheyareapotentialbreedinggroundforbacteriasuchasthedeadly
E.Coli.ThesurveywascarriedoutbytheUniversityofNottingham.Micro
biologistsanalysedsteeringwheels,handbrakes,footwellsandseatsto
findoutwhatbacteriamightbelurkingthere.Theyfoundthatmostcarsw
eredirtyenoughtoharbourthedeadlybacteria.Theyalsodiscoveredtha
tmostcarownersgaveverylittlethoughttotheimportanceofkeepingth
eircarinteriorhygienic.Carsareanidealplaceforgermstolive.Overhalf
ofcarownershavedroppedfoodontoseats,whileathirdhavespiltdrinks
.Otherownersspokeofchildren'svomitand'petaccidents'.Despitethis,
onlyaquarterofownerscleanedtheinsideoftheircarsonceeverythree
monthsandmostdriversstilleatanddrinkatthewheel.Commonproble
mstheresearchersfoundweredrinkbottlesunderseats,usedtissuesins
torageareasandrottingfoodoncarpetsandseatcovers.Aspokeswoma
nsaid:"It'sreallyworryingtoseejusthowdirtypeoplearelettingtheircar
sget.WewereexpectingtofindsomebadstufffromtheUniversityofNott
ingham'stestingbutwedidn'texpecttofindbacteriarelatingtoE.coliinthere."

FREE WRITING

Write about bacteria for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Public transport is safer and more germ-free than cars. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 out more about E.Coli. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. BACTERIA: Make a poster about bacteria. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. HYGIENE: Write a magazine article about increasing hygiene in cars. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on bacteria. Ask him/her three questions about bacteria. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can protect ourselves from germs every day. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

T

f

T

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	opposite	a.	contrary
2	potential	b.	possible
3.	deadly	c.	lethal
4.	harbour	d.	hide
5.	hygienic	e.	germ-free
6.	ideal	f.	perfect
7.	accidents	g.	mishaps
8.	rotting	h.	decomposing
9.	worrying	i.	concerning
10.	expect	j.	anticipate

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Their own cars
2.	Dirty cars
3.	Microbiologists
4.	Deadly bacteria
5.	Car hygiene
6.	Over half
7.	A quarter
8.	Drink bottles
9.	Rotting food
10.	That relating to E.coli

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

a

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

d

7.

c

8.

b

9.

c

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Car interiors a breeding ground for deadly bacteria (27th July, 2015)

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