The Reading / Listening - Hypersonic Missiles - Level 3

The U.S. military is worried about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the speed of sound. Both Russia and China are developing the missile a lot faster than the United States. A senior U.S. military official said this could be a security problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned that the USA has no defense that could stop the use of such weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons to stop Russia attacking the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not-too-distant future" with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the arms race.

Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile earlier this month. China tested its missiles last year and will soon have the weapons ready for use. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because of actions other countries have taken against it. He said "unlawful sanctions" by the USA and European countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failed to contain Russia." Mr Putin says the missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will "strike like a fireball". Tensions increased this week after the USA and many European countries expelled Russian diplomats after the reported poisoning of a Russian spy in England.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Hypersonic Missiles - Level 0,  Hypersonic Missiles - Level 1   or  Hypersonic Missiles - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/20/china-and-russia-aggressively-are-pursuing-hypersonic-weapons-general.html
  • https://www.livescience.com/62082-hypersonic-weapons-defense.html
  • http://thehill.com/policy/defense/380364-china-russia-eclipse-us-in-hypersonic-missiles-prompting-fears


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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. MISSILES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about missiles. 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?
       military / missiles / the speed of sound / faster / defense / weapons / plans / arms /
       successfully / actions / sanctions / development / fireball / tensions / poisoning / spy
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. PEACEKEEPER: Students A strongly believe the USA is a bigger peacekeeper than Russia; Students B strongly believe Russia is the bigger peacekeeper.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. WORLD COUNTRIES: Do these countries make the world more or less dangerous? Why do you think so? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

More dangerous

Less dangerous

USA

 

 

Russia

 

 

China

 

 

Saudi Arabia

 

 

Japan

 

 

United Kingdom

 

 
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. WEAPON: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "weapon". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. TALKS: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important things Presidents Putin and Trump need to talk about at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • the war on terror
  • climate change
  • the Russia World Cup
  • being President
  • the arms race
  • space travel
  • the world economy
  • Syria

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. military a. Resources or things to protect a country.
      2. developing b. Holding a high and authoritative position.
      3. senior c. Making; starting to make something new.
      4. official d. A contest between countries to develop missiles, bombs, etc. more quickly.
      5. defense e. Anything about soldiers, armies, etc.
      6. not-too-distant future f. A person holding public office or having official duties, especially as a representative of an organization or government department.
      7. arms race g. Soon.

    Paragraph 2

      8. weapons h. Against the law or against the rules.
      9. unlawful i. Hit hard.
      10. sanctions j. A person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy country or competitor company.
      11. contain k. Actions (e.g. no trade, bans from sports events, etc.) taken by a country or countries against another country to make it follow rules.
      12. strike l. Giving someone food, liquid or an injection that contains something bad, which damages their body or kills them.
      13. poisoning m. Control.
      14. spy n. A thing designed or used to damage people, buildings, cities or countries.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article said China is worried about Russia's hypersonic missiles.     T / F
  2. The missiles can travel up to 20 times the speed of sound.     T / F
  3. A U.S. General said the USA can defend itself against the missiles.     T / F
  4. Presidents Putin and Trump will meet soon to discuss the arms race.     T / F
  5. China tested hypersonic missiles in 2017.     T / F
  6. President Putin said sanctions against Russia were illegal.     T / F
  7. Hypersonic missiles cannot fly anywhere in the world.     T / F
  8. Russia said it poisoned a British spy in England.     T / F

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

  1. worried
  2. faster
  3. needed
  4. discuss
  5. arms
  6. tested
  7. use
  8. unlawful
  9. strike
  10. expelled
  1. operation
  2. weapons
  3. hit
  4. required
  5. concerned
  6. threw out
  7. trialed
  8. talk about
  9. illegal
  10. quicker

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

  1. twenty times the speed
  2. this could be a security
  3. the USA has no defense that could stop
  4. plans to get together in the not-
  5. discuss the arms
  6. unlawful
  7. hurt Russia's
  8. strike like a
  9. European countries expelled
  10. the reported poisoning
  1. the use of such weapons
  2. race
  3. fireball
  4. of sound
  5. of a Russian spy
  6. Russian diplomats
  7. sanctions
  8. too-distant future
  9. development
  10. problem for the USA

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
security
speed
arms
such
developing
distant
military
stop

The U.S. (1) ____________ is worried about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the (2) ____________ of sound. Both Russia and China are (3) ____________ the missile a lot faster than the United States. A senior U.S. military official said this could be a (4) ____________ problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned that the USA has no defense that could stop the use of (5) ____________ weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons to (6) ____________ Russia attacking the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not-too-(7) ____________ future" with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the (8) ____________ race.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
other
earlier
contain
spy
ready
expelled
sanctions
strike

Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile (9) ____________ this month. China tested its missiles last year and will soon have the weapons (10) ____________ for use. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because of actions (11) ____________ countries have taken against it. He said "unlawful (12) ____________ " by the USA and European countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failed to (13) ____________ Russia." Mr Putin says the missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will "(14) ____________ like a fireball". Tensions increased this week after the USA and many European countries (15) ____________ Russian diplomats after the reported poisoning of a Russian (16) ____________ in England.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  These are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the ______
     a.  speedy of sound
     b.  speed as sound
     c.  speed of sound
     d.  speeds of sounds
2)  A senior U.S. military official said this could be a security ______ USA
     a.  problem for them
     b.  problem for then
     c.  problem for the
     d.  problem for these
3) warned that the USA has no defense that could stop the ______ weapons against it
     a.  uses off such
     b.  use of such
     c.  used of such
     d.  use off such
4)  he has "plans to get together in the not-______"
     a.  too-distance future
     b.  too-distant future
     c.  too-distantly future
     d.  too-distains future
5)  with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ______
     a.  the arms race
     b.  the legs race
     c.  the feet race
     d.  the hands race

6)  Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile ______
     a.  early a this month
     b.  early that month
     c.  earlier these months
     d.  earlier this month
7)  China tested its missiles last year and will soon have the weapons ______
     a.  readied for use
     b.  ready for use
     c.  readies for use
     d.  readily for use
8)  He said "unlawful sanctions" by the USA and European ______
     a.  countries have hurt
     b.  countries has hurting
     c.  countries have hurts
     d.  countries has hurt
9)  missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will "______ fireball"
     a.  strike likes a
     b.  strike liked a
     c.  strike like a
     d.  strike like the
10)  expelled Russian diplomats after the reported poisoning of a Russian ______
     a.  spied in England
     b.  spy in England
     c.  spry in England
     d.  pie in England

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The U.S. (1) ___________________ about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the (2) ___________________. Both Russia and China are developing the missile a lot faster than the United States. A senior U.S. (3) ___________________ this could be a security problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned that the USA has no defense that could stop the (4) ___________________ weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons to stop Russia attacking the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not- (5) ___________________ " with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss (6) ___________________.

Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile (7) ___________________. China tested its missiles last year and will soon have the weapons (8) ___________________. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because of actions other countries have taken against it. He said (9) ___________________ the USA and European countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failed to contain Russia." Mr Putin says the missiles will be able (10) ___________________ in the world and will "strike like a fireball". (11) ___________________ week after the USA and many European countries expelled Russian diplomats after the (12) ___________________ a Russian spy in England.

Comprehension questions

  1. What can hypersonic missiles travel 20 times faster than?
  2. What rank in the military does John Hyten hold?
  3. What did John Hyten say the US needed?
  4. When will presidents Trump and Putin meet?
  5. What will presidents Trump and Putin discuss?
  6. When did China successfully test its hypersonic missiles?
  7. What did President Putin say was unlawful?
  8. What did President Putin say America had failed to contain?
  9. What did President Putin say the missiles could strike like?
  10. Who did the US and European countries expel?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What can hypersonic missiles travel 20 times faster than?
a) a bullet train
b) the speed of light
c) the speed of sound
d) a nuclear missile
2) What rank in the military does John Hyten hold?
a) General
b) Captain
c) Lieutenant
d) Major
3) What did John Hyten say the US needed?
a) a missile shield
b) peace
c) friends
d) nuclear missiles
4) When will presidents Trump and Putin meet?
a) July
b) in the not-too-distant future
c) next weekend
d) when and if they can
5) What will presidents Trump and Putin discuss?
a) the 2016 US election
b) Syria
c) the arms race
d) the soccer World Cup

6) When did China successfully test its hypersonic missiles?
a) last week
b) last year
c) in 2016
d) it hasn't done so yet
7) What did President Putin say was unlawful?
a) an election
b) nuclear missiles
c) the USA
d) sanctions
8) What did President Putin say America had failed to contain?
a) missiles
b) Russia
c) Hillary Clinton
d) inflation
9) What did President Putin say the missiles could strike like?
a) a fireball
b) a dragon
c) an asteroid
d) a million punches
10) Who did the US and European countries expel?
a) a chess player
b) a spy
c) an inventor
d) Russian diplomats

Role play

Role  A – The Arms Race
You think the arms race should be top of the list of things Presidents Trump and Putin should talk about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Syria, space travel or the world economy.

Role  B – Syria
You think Syria should be top of the list of things Presidents Trump and Putin should talk about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): the arms race, space travel or the world economy.

Role  C – Space Travel
You think space travel should be top of the list of things Presidents Trump and Putin should talk about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Syria, the arms race or the world economy.

Role  D – The World Economy
You think the world economy should be top of the list of things Presidents Trump and Putin should talk about. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why):  Syria, space travel or the arms race.

After reading / listening

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

'weapon'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'missile'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • earlier
    • soon
    • taken
    • hurt
    • strike
    • spy
    • worried
    • between
    • lot
    • stop
    • small
    • race

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - China and Russia lead race to make hypersonic missiles

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'missile'?
    3. What do you know about hypersonic missiles?
    4. Why is the USA worried about Russia having hypersonic missiles?
    5. Which country is more dangerous - the USA, China or Russia?
    6. Which president do you like better - Putin or Trump?
    7. What are the chances of a war between the USA and Russia?
    8. Why are there sanctions against Russia?
    9. What are the problems between the USA and Russia?
    10. What will Presidents Trump and Putin discuss?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'weapon'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How dangerous might hypersonic missiles be?
    5. Why is Russia faster than the USA in developing the missiles?
    6. Why are US-Russian relations so difficult?
    7. What do you know about the poisoning incident?
    8. How dangerous is an arms race?
    9. How can we stop an arms race from happening?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the U.S. military?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The U.S. military is (1) ____ about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the (2) ____ of sound. Both Russia and China are developing the missile (3) ____ lot faster than the United States. A senior U.S. military official said this could be a security problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned (4) ____ the USA has no defense that could stop the use of such weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons to stop Russia attacking the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not-(5) ____-distant future" with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the (6) ____ race.

    Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile (7) ____ this month. China tested its missiles last year and will (8) ____ have the weapons ready for use. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because of actions (9) ____ countries have taken against it. He said "unlawful sanctions" by the USA and European countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failed to (10) ____ Russia." Mr Putin says the missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will "strike like a (11) ____". Tensions increased this week after the USA and many European countries expelled Russian diplomats after the reported (12) ____ of a Russian spy in England.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     worried     (b)     worries     (c)     worry     (d)     worrier    
    2. (a)     sped     (b)     speedy     (c)     speed     (d)     speediness    
    3. (a)     the     (b)     whole     (c)     a     (d)     much    
    4. (a)     thus     (b)     which     (c)     what     (d)     that    
    5. (a)     to     (b)     true     (c)     too     (d)     through    
    6. (a)     legs     (b)     arms     (c)     feet     (d)     running    
    7. (a)     earl     (b)     earlier     (c)     earlies     (d)     earliest    
    8. (a)     then     (b)     soon     (c)     after     (d)     so    
    9. (a)     another     (b)     others     (c)     other     (d)     the others    
    10. (a)     contest     (b)     consent     (c)     content     (d)     contain    
    11. (a)     eight-ball     (b)     highball     (c)     football     (d)     fireball    
    12. (a)     poison     (b)     poisoner     (c)     poisoned     (d)     poisoning

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. The U.S. ytimliar is worried
    2. twenty times the speed of undos
    3. this could be a tuiyscre problem
    4. stop the use of such naewpso
    5. in the not-too-ntdtisa future
    6. sdcsius the arms race

    Paragraph 2

    1. it uuefcsllssyc tested a hypersonic missile
    2. taken snaagti it
    3. unlawful connissat
    4. iketrs like a fireball
    5. countries expelled Russian dpilamtos
    6. oipsgnion of a Russian spy

    Put the text back together

    (...)  countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failed to contain Russia." Mr Putin
    (...)  says the missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will "strike like a
    (...)  fireball". Tensions increased this week after the USA and many European countries
    (...)  the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not-too-
    (...)  than the United States. A senior U.S. military official said this could be a security
    (...)  Russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile earlier this month. China tested its missiles last
    (...)  weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons to stop Russia attacking
    (...)  distant future" with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the arms race.
    (...) problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned that the USA has no defense that could stop the use of such
    (...)  year and will soon have the weapons ready for use. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because
    (...)  expelled Russian diplomats after the reported poisoning of a Russian spy in England.
    (...)  of actions other countries have taken against it. He said "unlawful sanctions" by the USA and European
    (...)  between five and twenty times the speed of sound.  Both Russia and China are developing the missile a lot faster
    (  1  ) The U.S. military is worried about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel

    Put the words in the right order

    1. of   sound   .   Travel   the   twenty   times   speed   at
    2. US   .   faster   the   the   than   missile   Developing   much
    3. military   security   said   a   is   The   this   problem   .
    4. use   of   such   against   it   .   weapons   Stop   the
    5. get   future   .   in   near   together   Plans   to   the
    6. a   says   missile   .   tested   successfully   Russia   it   hypersonic
    7. taken   against   countries   Actions   other   have   it   .
    8. hurt   Russia's   development   .   countries   have   European
    9. missiles   fly   will   able   be   anywhere   .   The   to
    10. poisoning   England   .   in   of   a   The   spy   Russian

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The U.S. military / militarily is worried about China and Russia developing hypersonic missiles. These are missiles that can travel among / between five and twenty times the speed / speedy of sound. Both Russia and China are developing / development the missile a lot faster than the United States. A seniority / senior U.S. military official said this could be a security problem for the USA. General John Hyten warned what / that the USA has no defense that could stop the use of such / much weapons against it. He said the USA needed small nuclear weapons for / to stop Russia attacking the USA. President Donald Trump said he has "plans to get together in the not-too-distant / not-to-distant future" with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the arms / legs race.

    Russia says it successfully / success tested a hypersonic missile earlier this month. China tested its missiles first / last year and will soon have the weapons readily / ready for use. President Putin explained that Russia needs the weapons because / due to of actions other countries have taken for / against it. He said "unlawful sanctions" by the USA and European countries have hurt Russia's development. He added: "You have failure / failed to contain Russia." Mr Putin says the missiles will be able / ability to fly anywhere in the world and will "strike / struck like a fireball". Tensions increased this week after the USA and many European countries excelled / expelled Russian diplomats after the reported poisoning / poison of a Russian spy in England.

    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)

    T h_ U . S . m_l_t_r y _s w_r r__ d _b__ t C h_n_ _n d R_s s__ d_v_l_p_n g h y p_r s_n_c m_s s_l_s . T h_s_ _r_ m_s s_l_s t h_t c_n t r_v_l b_t w__ n f_v_ _n d t w_n t y t_m_s t h_ s p__ d _f s__ n d . B_t h R_s s__ _n d C h_n_ _r_ d_v_l_p_n g t h_ m_s s_l_ _ l_t f_s t_r t h_n t h_ U n_t_d S t_t_s . A s_n__ r U . S . m_l_t_r y _f f_c__ l s__ d t h_s c__ l d b_ _ s_c_r_t y p r_b l_m f_r t h_ U S A . G_n_r_l J_h n H y t_n w_r n_d t h_t t h_ U S A h_s n_ d_f_n s_ t h_t c__ l d s t_p t h_ _s_ _f s_c h w__ p_n s _g__ n s t _t . H_ s__ d t h_ U S A n__ d_d s m_l l n_c l__ r w__ p_n s t_ s t_p R_s s__ _t t_c k_n g t h_ U S A . P r_s_d_n t D_n_l d T r_m p s__ d h_ h_s " p l_n s t_ g_t t_g_t h_r _n t h_ n_t - t__ - d_s t_n t f_t_r_" w_t h R_s s__ n P r_s_d_n t V l_d_m_r P_t_n t_ d_s c_s s t h_ _r m s r_c_.

    R_s s__ s_y s _t s_c c_s s f_l l y t_s t_d _ h y p_r s_n_c m_s s_l_ __ r l__ r t h_s m_n t h . C h_n_ t_s t_d _t s m_s s_l_s l_s t y__ r _n d w_l l s__ n h_v_ t h_ w__ p_n s r__ d y f_r _s_. P r_s_d_n t P_t_n _x p l__ n_d t h_t R_s s__ n__ d s t h_ w__ p_n s b_c__ s_ _f _c t__ n s _t h_r c__ n t r__ s h_v_ t_k_n _g__ n s t _t . H_ s__ d "_n l_w f_l s_n c t__ n s " b y t h_ U S A _n d E_r_p__ n c__ n t r__ s h_v_ h_r t R_s s__ ' s d_v_l_p m_n t . H_ _d d_d : " Y__ h_v_ f__ l_d t_ c_n t__ n R_s s__ . " M r P_t_n s_y s t h_ m_s s_l_s w_l l b_ _b l_ t_ f l y _n y w h_r_ _n t h_ w_r l d _n d w_l l " s t r_k_ l_k_ _ f_r_b_l l " . T_n s__ n s _n c r__ s_d t h_s w__ k _f t_r t h_ U S A _n d m_n y E_r_p__ n c__ n t r__ s _x p_l l_d R_s s__ n d_p l_m_t s _f t_r t h_ r_p_r t_d p__ s_n_n g _f _ R_s s__ n s p y _n E n g l_n d .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the us military is worried about china and russia developing hypersonic missiles these are missiles that can travel between five and twenty times the speed of sound both russia and china are developing the missile a lot faster than the united states a senior us military official said this could be a security problem for the usa general john hyten warned that the usa has no defense that could stop the use of such weapons against it he said the usa needed small nuclear weapons to stop russia attacking the usa president donald trump said he has plans to get together in the nottoodistant future with russian president vladimir putin to discuss the arms race

    russia says it successfully tested a hypersonic missile earlier this month china tested its missiles last year and will soon have the weapons ready for use president putin explained that russia needs the weapons because of actions other countries have taken against it he said unlawful sanctions by the usa and european countries have hurt russias development he added you have failed to contain russia mr putin says the missiles will be able to fly anywhere in the world and will strike like a fireball tensions increased this week after the usa and many european countries expelled russian diplomats after the reported poisoning of a russian spy in england

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheU.S.militaryisworriedaboutChinaandRussiadevelopinghyperson
    icmissiles.Thesearemissilesthatcantravelbetweenfiveandtwentytim
    esthespeedofsound.BothRussiaandChinaaredevelopingthemissileal
    otfasterthantheUnitedStates.AseniorU.S.militaryofficialsaidthiscoul
    dbeasecurityproblemfortheUSA.GeneralJohnHytenwarnedthattheU
    SAhasnodefensethatcouldstoptheuseofsuchweaponsagainstit.Hesa
    idtheUSAneededsmallnuclearweaponstostopRussiaattackingtheUS
    A.PresidentDonaldTrumpsaidhehas"planstogettogetherinthenot-t
    oo-distantfuture"withRussianPresidentVladimirPutintodiscussthea
    rmsrace.Russiasaysitsuccessfullytestedahypersonicmissileearlierth
    ismonth.Chinatesteditsmissileslastyearandwillsoonhavetheweapon
    sreadyforuse.PresidentPutinexplainedthatRussianeedstheweapons
    becauseofactionsothercountrieshavetakenagainstit.Hesaid"unlawf
    ulsanctions"bytheUSAandEuropeancountrieshavehurtRussia'sdeve
    lopment.Headded:"YouhavefailedtocontainRussia."MrPutinsaysthe
    missileswillbeabletoflyanywhereintheworldandwill"strikelikeafireba
    ll".TensionsincreasedthisweekaftertheUSAandmanyEuropeancount
    riesexpelledRussiandiplomatsafterthereportedpoisoningofaRussian
    spyinEngland.

    Free writing

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

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    Why do countries need such powerful weapons? How can we stop another arms race?

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. MISSILES: Make a poster about missiles. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ARMS RACE: Write a magazine article about countries needing powerful and fast missiles to stop other countries attacking them. Include imaginary interviews with people who agree and disagree with this.
    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 hypersonic missiles. Ask him/her three questions about then. Give him/her three of your ideas on how we can stop another arms race. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You