The Reading / Listening - Sushi Pranksters - Level 5

Pranksters are posing health issues and harming the reputation of Japan's conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. Several diners have posted prank videos on social media. These include people licking soy sauce bottles and chopsticks, and licking their fingers and then touching the food on the revolving belt. This has shocked people in Japan. They are calling it "sushi terrorism". The incidents made the share prices of a leading sushi chain plummet. Many restaurants have taken action to combat the pranksters. They have installed security cameras and provided disinfected eating utensils.

Sushi restaurants are ubiquitous in Japan. They offer good quality, cheap food in an informal, spotlessly clean, casual setting. Industry analysts are saying sushi terrorism could threaten the future of revolving sushi restaurants. One video clip has been viewed 40 million times. The restaurant the prankster targeted has filed a lawsuit against him. It is claiming compensation for damages. A newspaper reported that there is a lot of outrage on social media from Japanese people. They believe the pranksters are showing "contempt for the country's high standards of hygiene".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Sushi Pranksters - Level 4 or  Sushi Pranksters - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/03/wave-of-sushi-terrorism-grips-japans-restaurant-world
  • https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230201/p2g/00m/0na/039000c
  • https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2023/02/02/digital/sushi-terrorism-tiktok-instagram-trends/


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. posing health
  2. harming the
  3. Several diners
  4. people licking
  5. licking their
  6. share
  7. taken action to
  8. disinfected eating
  1. prices
  2. soy sauce bottles
  3. fingers
  4. combat the pranksters
  5. issues
  6. utensils
  7. reputation
  8. have posted

Paragraph 2

  1. Sushi restaurants are ubiquitous
  2. spotlessly
  3. Industry
  4. filed a
  5. It is claiming compensation
  6. there is a lot
  7. the pranksters are showing
  8. high standards of
  1. of outrage
  2. contempt
  3. hygiene
  4. for damages
  5. clean
  6. analysts
  7. lawsuit
  8. in Japan

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Pranksters are posing health (1) ___________________ the reputation of Japan's conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. Several diners have posted (2) ___________________ social media. These include people licking soy sauce bottles and chopsticks, and (3) ___________________ and then touching the food on the revolving belt. This has shocked people in Japan. They are calling it "sushi terrorism". The incidents made (4) ___________________ of a leading sushi chain plummet. Many restaurants have taken (5) ___________________ the pranksters. They have installed security cameras and provided (6) ___________________.

Sushi restaurants (7) ___________________ Japan. They offer good quality, cheap food (8) ___________________, spotlessly clean, casual setting. Industry analysts are saying sushi terrorism could threaten the (9) ___________________ sushi restaurants. One video clip has been viewed 40 million times. The restaurant the prankster targeted has (10) ___________________ against him. It is claiming compensation for damages. A newspaper reported that there is a (11) ___________________ on social media from Japanese people. They believe the pranksters are showing "contempt for the country's high (12) ___________________".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

PrankstersareposinghealthissuesandharmingthereputationofJapan'
sconveyor-beltsushirestaurants.Severaldinershavepostedprankvi
deosonsocialmedia.Theseincludepeoplelickingsoysaucebottlesandc
hopsticks,andlickingtheirfingersandthentouchingthefoodontherevo
lvingbelt.ThishasshockedpeopleinJapan.Theyarecallingit"sushiterr
orism".Theincidentsmadethesharepricesofaleadingsushichainplum
met.Manyrestaurantshavetakenactiontocombatthepranksters.The
yhaveinstalledsecuritycamerasandprovideddisinfectedeatingutensi
ls.SushirestaurantsareubiquitousinJapan.Theyoffergoodquality,che
apfoodinaninformal,spotlesslyclean,casualsetting.Industryanalysts
aresayingsushiterrorismcouldthreatenthefutureofrevolvingsushires
taurants.Onevideocliphasbeenviewed40milliontimes.Therestauran
ttheprankstertargetedhasfiledalawsuitagainsthim.Itisclaimingcom
pensationfordamages.Anewspaperreportedthatthereisalotofoutrag
eonsocialmediafromJapanesepeople.Theybelievetheprankstersare
showing"contemptforthecountry'shighstandardsofhygiene".

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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