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FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Gold Mines
(11 Pages of Materials & 8 Online Activities)

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Chile Miners Face Months Trapped in Mine (24th August, 2010)

There was great joy in Chile yesterday when 33 miners were found alive in a copper and gold mine 700 metres underground. Their family, friends and colleagues feared the worst and thought the miners were all dead. However, a special camera lowered into the mine found they were all OK. The men are in a space the size of a small room. They have very little to eat. "They had two teaspoons of tuna fish, a sip of milk and half a biscuit each every 48 hours for 18 days," said a mine official.

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The bad news is that it could take four months to get the men out. A special drill is on its way to the mine. It will make a hole big enough for the men to climb up. Rescuers will soon make a narrower hole to drop food and water down. The oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gomez, said the company needed to make the mines safer. His daughter said she would tell him she loves him one million times when he comes up from the mine. "I've never felt anything like this in my life. It's like being born again," she said.

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PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

1.	great	a.	and colleagues
2	a copper and	b.	of milk
3.	family, friends	c.	into the mine
4.	lowered	d.	joy
5.	a sip	e.	official
6.	a mine	f.	gold mine

Paragraph 2

1.	The bad	a.	to the mine
2	on its way	b.	times
3.	make a hole	c.	born again
4.	make the	d.	news is…
5.	one million	e.	big enough
6.	It's like being	f.	mines safer

LISTENING GAP FILL

There __________________ Chile yesterday when 33 miners were found alive in a copper and gold mine 700 metres underground. Their family, friends and colleagues __________________ thought the miners were all dead. However, a special camera __________________ mine found they were all OK. The men are in a space the size of a small room. They __________________ eat. "They had two teaspoons of tuna fish, __________________ half a biscuit each __________________ days," said a mine official.

The __________________ could take four months to get the men out. A special drill is __________________ mine. It will make a hole big enough ____________________ up. Rescuers will soon make a narrower hole to drop food and water down. The oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gomez, said the company needed __________________ safer. His daughter said she ____________________ him one million times when he comes up from the mine. "I've never felt anything like this in my life. It’s __________________," she said.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

There was (1) ____ joy in Chile yesterday when 33 miners were found alive in a copper and gold mine 700 metres underground. Their family, friends and colleagues (2) ____ the worst and thought the miners were all (3) ____. However, a special camera (4) ____ into the mine found they were all OK. The men are in a space the size of a small room. They have very little to eat. "They had two teaspoons of tuna fish, a (5) ____ of milk and half a biscuit each every 48 hours for 18 days," said a mine official.

The bad news is that it could (6) ____ four months to get the men out. A special drill is on its way to the mine. It will make a hole big enough for the men (7) ____ climb up. Rescuers will soon make a narrower hole to drop food and water (8) ____. The oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gomez, said the company needed to make the mines safer. His daughter said she would tell him she loves him one million times when he comes (9) ____ from the mine. "I've never felt anything like this in my life. It's like being (10) ____ again," she said.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

1.	(a)	greet	(b)	grate	(c)	great
2.	(a)	feared	(b)	worried	(c)	afraid
3.	(a)	death	(b)	dead	(c)	die
4.	(a)	lowered	(b)	lower	(c)	lowers
5.	(a)	tip	(b)	sip	(c)	pip
6.	(a)	make	(b)	have	(c)	take
7.	(a)	at	(b)	of	(c)	to
8.	(a)	up	(b)	down	(c)	along
9.	(a)	up	(b)	to	(c)	from
10.	(a)	birth	(b)	burn	(c)	born

SPELLING

Spell the jumbled words (from the text) correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	found levia
2.	iyfalm, friends and colleagues
3.	feared the tswro
4.	very iettll to eat
5.	half a cbitsiu
6.	a mine foiflica
Paragraph 2
7.	it could take four tmosnh
8.	make a hole big uoghen
9.	make a ornwaerr hole
10.	make the mines feasr
11.	one olniilm times
12.	like ingeb born again

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	dead. However, a special camera lowered into the mine found they were all OK. The men are in a space
( )	to the mine. It will make a hole big enough for the men to climb up. Rescuers will soon make a narrower
( )	from the mine. "I've never felt anything like this in my life. It's like being born again," she said.
( )	hole to drop food and water down. The oldest miner, 63-year-old Mario Gomez, said the company needed
( )	to make the mines safer. His daughter said she would tell him she loves him one million times when he comes up
( )	The bad news is that it could take four months to get the men out. A special drill is on its way
( 1 )	There was great joy in Chile yesterday when 33 miners were found alive in a copper and gold mine 700 metres
( )	underground. Their family, friends and colleagues feared the worst and thought the miners were all
( )	the size of a small room. They have very little to eat. "They had two teaspoons of tuna fish, a sip of
( )	milk and half a biscuit each every 48 hours for 18 days," said a mine official.

THE READING / TAPESCRIPT

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

1.	was There yesterday Chile in joy great.
2.	mine A 700 copper metres and underground gold.
3.	colleagues the and feared worst Friends.
4.	A mine the into lowered camera special.
5.	milk a of half each sip and biscuit A.
6.	that it could take four months The bad news is.
7.	its way to the mine A special drill is on.
8.	water A to and hole food down narrower drop.
9.	to make The the company mines needed safer.
10.	anything in felt this life never like my I've.

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

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the 33 men down the mine. Include imaginary interviews with one of them and one of his family. 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 the mine owner. Ask him/her three questions about mines. Give him/her three of your opinions on what he/she should do to keep miners safer. 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 Gold Mines (11 Pages of Materials & 8 Online Activities)