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FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Toxic Waste
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Toxic Waste Kills 4, Threatens Danube (7th October, 2010)

Authorities in Hungary are racing against the clock to stop an environmental catastrophe getting bigger. A toxic red flood is causing great damage in the south west of the country. Four people have died and at least six elderly people are missing. The flood started when a chemical lake overflowed on Monday. The water contained dangerous chemicals which can burn the skin. There are now fears the red water will get into the River Danube. A Hungarian disaster management spokesman said a large scale clean-up is under way.

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It seems there are more and more disasters every year. They always cause so much damage to people and the environment. It is always impossible to calculate the cost of the damage. It is also difficult for people’s lives to get back to normal. Families lose loved ones, people’s business and houses disappear and the countryside takes decades to recover. The big problem for the future is that no one seems to learn lessons. This kind of thing will happen again. There is no way companies can stop accidents from happening.

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PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

1.	racing against	a.	west of the country
2	stop an environmental	b.	burn the skin
3.	in the south	c.	under way
4.	at least six elderly	d.	the clock
5.	chemicals which can	e.	people are missing
6.	a large scale clean-up is	f.	catastrophe

Paragraph 2

1.	there are more and more	a.	of the damage
2	They always cause so	b.	to learn lessons
3.	calculate the cost	c.	disasters every year
4.	get back	d.	much damage
5.	no one seems	e.	happening
6.	stop accidents from	f.	to normal

LISTENING GAP FILL

Authorities in Hungary ____________________ the clock to stop an environmental catastrophe getting bigger. A toxic red flood is ____________________ in the south west of the country. Four people have ____________________ elderly people are missing. The flood started when a chemical ____________________ Monday. The water contained dangerous chemicals ____________________ skin. There are now fears the red water will get into the River Danube. A Hungarian disaster management spokesman said ____________________-up is under way.

____________________ more and more disasters every year. They ____________________ much damage to people and the environment. It is always impossible ____________________ of the damage. It is also difficult for people’s lives to get back to normal. Families ____________________, people’s business and houses disappear and the countryside takes ____________________. The big problem for the future is that no one seems to learn lessons. This kind of thing will happen again. There is no way companies ____________________ from happening.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Authorities in Hungary are racing (1) ____ the clock to stop an environmental catastrophe getting bigger. A toxic red flood is (2) ____ great damage in the south west of the country. Four people have died and at least six (3) ____ people are missing. The flood started when a chemical lake overflowed on Monday. The water contained dangerous chemicals which can (4) ____ the skin. There are now (5) ____ the red water will get into the River Danube. A Hungarian disaster management spokesman said a large scale clean-up is (6) ____ way.

It seems there are more and more disasters every year. They always (7) ____ so much damage to people and the environment. It is always impossible to calculate the cost (8) ____ the damage. It is also difficult for people’s lives to get back to normal. Families lose (9) ____ ones, people’s business and houses (10) ____ and the countryside takes decades to recover. The big problem for the future is that no one seems to learn lessons. This (11) ____ of thing will happen again. There is no (12) ____ companies can stop accidents from happening.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

1.	(a)	up	(b)	against	(c)	from
2.	(a)	casing	(b)	ceasing	(c)	causing
3.	(a)	elderly	(b)	olden	(c)	age
4.	(a)	burn	(b)	burns	(c)	burnt
5.	(a)	afraid	(b)	frighten	(c)	fears
6.	(a)	over	(b)	under	(c)	around
7.	(a)	cause	(b)	case	(c)	course
8.	(a)	by	(b)	at	(c)	of
9.	(a)	love	(b)	loved	(c)	loves
10.	(a)	disappear	(b)	disappearance	(c)	disappearing
11.	(a)	kindness	(b)	kind	(c)	kindly
12	(a)	weigh	(b)	why	(c)	way

SPELLING

Spell the jumbled words (from the text) correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	cingar against the clock
2.	causing great mdeaga
3.	elrelyd people
4.	dangerous calsmcehi
5.	estrdsai management
6.	a large laces clean-up
Paragraph 2
7.	It eessm there are more
8.	cactaulel the cost
9.	get back to lnarmo
10.	takes decades to cveroer
11.	learn eosnlss
12.	stop eidascctn

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	least six elderly people are missing. The flood started when a chemical lake overflowed on Monday. The water contained
( )	Authorities in Hungary are racing against the clock to stop an environmental catastrophe getting
( )	It seems there are more and more disasters every year. They always cause so much damage to
( )	dangerous chemicals which can burn the skin. There are now fears the red water will get
( )	people and the environment. It is always impossible to calculate the cost of the damage. It is also difficult
( )	lessons. This kind of thing will happen again. There is no way companies can stop accidents from happening.
( )	for people’s lives to get back to normal. Families lose loved ones, people’s business and houses disappear and
( )	into the River Danube. A Hungarian disaster management spokesman said a large scale clean-up is under way.
( 1 )	the countryside takes decades to recover. The big problem for the future is that no one seems to learn
( )	bigger. A toxic red flood is causing great damage in the south west of the country. Four people have died and at

THE READING / TAPESCRIPT

With a partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	racing Authorities against in the Hungary clock are.
2.	great red damage flood is A causing toxic.
3.	At missing are people elderly six least.
4.	the burn can which chemicals Dangerous skin.
5.	up way large - under A clean is scale.
6.	and more There disasters are every more year.
7.	to cause people so much They damage always.
8.	to the calculate damage the cost Impossible of.
9.	recover The takes to countryside decades.
10.	again happen will thing of kind This.

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.	________________________________________________________

WRITING

Write about rivers for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

______________________________________________________________________________

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. RIVERS: Search the Internet and find more information about rivers. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the toxic flood. Include imaginary interviews with people affected by it. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. 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.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Hungary’s leader. Ask him/her three questions about the toxic flood. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Your partner will answer the questions you asked.

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News English Lessons FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Toxic Waste (11 Pages of Materials & 8 Online Activities)