The Reading / Listening - Tennis Stars - Level 5

Australians are angry at the sight of special treatment being given to dozens of tennis stars playing in the Australian Open tennis tournament. Open Organisers are chartering flights so players and staff members can attend the event. Meanwhile, around 37,000 Australians are stranded around the world waiting to return home. Many are frustrated at why they cannot return, while sports stars can enter Australia to play tennis. The tennis stars must have tested negative for coronavirus and stay in special COVID-safe hotels. Some stars tested positive and so could not come.

The special treatment given to the stars has drawn criticism and ire. There is particular anger because Australia's government recently cut the number of citizens allowed to return. One Aussie told the BBC: "I can't comprehend the fact that one week they announce they're halving the caps for citizens and the following week they announce they've found 1,200 spaces for tennis players." A Twitter user wrote: "Letting in...tennis players...is a risky choice, and what hurts is that they'd take that risk for sport but not for stranded Aussies." He said the government can't say it's about the science.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Tennis Stars - Level 4 or  Tennis Stars - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55683035
  • https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-australians-angry-as-elite-tennis-players-arrive-in-country-despite-travel-restrictions-12189231
  • https://sg.news.yahoo.com/two-test-positive-virus-australian-041050971.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. special
  2. chartering
  3. staff
  4. Australians are stranded
  5. Many are frustrated at why
  6. sports stars can
  7. tested negative
  8. stay in special COVID-
  1. safe hotels
  2. around the world
  3. treatment
  4. for coronavirus
  5. members can attend
  6. they cannot return
  7. flights
  8. enter Australia to play

Paragraph 2

  1. The special treatment given
  2. criticism and
  3. cut the number of citizens
  4. they're halving the caps
  5. they've found
  6. Letting in tennis players
  7. they'd take that risk
  8. it's about the
  1. for citizens
  2. for sport
  3. 1,200 spaces
  4. science
  5. to the stars
  6. allowed to return
  7. is a risky choice
  8. ire

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Australians are angry at (1) ___________________ special treatment being (2) ___________________ of tennis stars playing in the Australian Open tennis tournament. Open Organisers are chartering (3) ___________________ and staff members can attend the event. Meanwhile, around 37,000 Australians are stranded around the world waiting to return home. Many (4) ___________________ why they cannot return, while sports stars can enter Australia to play tennis. The tennis stars (5) ___________________ negative for coronavirus and stay in special COVID-safe hotels. Some (6) ___________________ and so could not come.

The special treatment given to the stars has drawn (7) ___________________. There is particular anger because Australia's government (8) ___________________ number of citizens allowed to return. One Aussie told the BBC: "I can't (9) ___________________ that one week they announce they're (10) ___________________ for citizens and the following week they announce they've found 1,200 spaces for tennis players." A Twitter user wrote: "Letting in...tennis players...is (11) ___________________, and what hurts is that they'd take that (12) ___________________ but not for stranded Aussies." He said the government can't say it's about the science.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Australiansareangryatthesightofspecialtreatmentbeinggiventodoze
nsoftennisstarsplayingintheAustralianOpentennistournament.Open
Organisersarecharteringflightssoplayersandstaffmemberscanatten
dtheevent.Meanwhile,around37,000Australiansarestrandedaround
theworldwaitingtoreturnhome.Manyarefrustratedatwhytheycannot
return,whilesportsstarscanenterAustraliatoplaytennis.Thetennissta
rsmusthavetestednegativeforcoronavirusandstayinspecialCOVID-
safehotels.Somestarstestedpositiveandsocouldnotcome.Thespecial
treatmentgiventothestarshasdrawncriticismandire.Thereisparticula
rangerbecauseAustralia'sgovernmentrecentlycutthenumberofcitize
nsallowedtoreturn.OneAussietoldtheBBC:"Ican'tcomprehendthefac
tthatoneweektheyannouncethey'rehalvingthecapsforcitizensandth
efollowingweektheyannouncethey'vefound1,200spacesfortennispl
ayers."ATwitteruserwrote:"Lettingin...tennisplayers...isariskychoic
e,andwhathurtsisthatthey'dtakethatriskforsportbutnotforstranded
Aussies."Hesaidthegovernmentcan'tsayit'saboutthescience.

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

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

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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