September 2012 Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Basic Vocabulary: At school. Choose the correct option. 1. 2. 3. a) notebooks b) teachers c) pupils a) notebook b) textbook c) folder a) notebook b) folder 4. 5. 6. a) locker b) board c) folder a) teacher b) board a) desk b) board 7. 8. a) folder b) locker c) board a) desk b) folder [See answers below]
Read the news story. Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Thousands of US schoolchildren will be taught that the Loch Ness Monster is real, in a Bible Belt bid to disprove Darwin's theory of evolution. Pupils attending Christian schools in Louisiana will learn from textbooks claiming the mythological beast is a living creature. The Accelerated Christian Education programme teaches controversial religious beliefs to disprove evolution and prove creationism. From http://web.orange.co.uk/p/news/quirkies, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 Vocabulary teach (v) Nessie (n) Bible Belt (n) bid (n) disprove (v) claim (v) mythological (adj) beast (n) creature (n) controversial (adj) belief (n) prove (v) (past tense = taught) to explain, to give lessons in school name for the Loch Ness Monster area of the southern United States with conservative ideas and strong Protestant religious organisations attempt to make or do something to prove or show that something is not true to say something is true or a fact of myth, of a traditional story wild animal animal causes people to argue and disagree idea, something that you think is true to show or demonstrate Answers: 1 c, 2 b, 3 a, 4 c, 5 a, 6 a, 7 c, 8 c
September 2012 Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Intermediate Grammar: be + to-infinitive for future events. Look at the examples. We can use be + to-infinitive to describe things that are planned or scheduled in the future. The new school is to open next year. The computers are to be used at school and at home. Does each sentence refer to the past, present or future? 1. The class is to start in five minutes. 2. The class had to start five minutes late. 3. The class is 35 minutes long. 4. The class is to be 35 minutes long. 5. This chair appears to be broken. 6. The chairs are to be fixed during the holidays. 7. The pupils are taught by various different teachers. 8. The pupils are to be taught about dinosaurs. 9. The school used to be open on Saturday. 10. The new school is to be opened this Saturday. [See answers below]
Read the news story. Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Thousands of US schoolchildren are to be taught that the Loch Ness Monster is real, in a Bible Belt bid to disprove Darwin's theory of evolution. Pupils attending privatelyrun Christian schools in Louisiana will next year learn from textbooks claiming the mythological beast is a living creature. The Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme teaches controversial religious beliefs, aimed at disproving evolution and proving creationism. Youngsters will be told that if it can be proved that dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time as humans, then Darwinism is fatally flawed, reports The Scotsman. One ACE textbook called Biology 1099 reads: "Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. "Have you heard of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland? Nessie has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur." From http://web.orange.co.uk/p/news/quirkies, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 Vocabulary Nessie (n) Bible Belt (n) bid (n) disprove (v) privately-run (adj) mythological (adj) beast (n) creature (n) controversial (adj) belief (n) aim (v) youngster (n) flawed (adj) eyewitness (n) name for the Loch Ness Monster area of the southern United States with conservative ideas and strong Protestant religious organisations attempt to make or do something to prove or show that something is not true owned and operated by a private company of myth, of a traditional story wild animal animal causes people to argue and disagree idea, something that you think is true directed, has the objective child, young person with mistakes and weaknesses person who saw something happen Answers: 1 c, 2 a, 3 b, 4 c, 5 a, 6 c, 7 b, 8 c, 9 a, 10 c
September 2012 Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Advanced Grammar: Adverb adjective combinations Look at the example. Some adverbs normally combine with certain adjectives, but not with others. For example: It is vastly superior to anything else on the market. NOT: It is extremely superior to anything else on the market. Choose the best option to complete each sentence. 1. In my opinion, this theory is flawed. a) absolutely b) fatally c) incredibly 2. We were convinced that we were doing the right thing. a) completely b) infinitely c) vastly 3. The explanation we were given was ridiculous. a) completely b) incredibly c) absolutely 4. This new model is superior to the old one. a) utterly b) vastly c) absolutely 5. The old textbooks had their limitations. This new one is better. a) utterly b) absolutely c) infinitely 6. Believe me. This story is true. a) absolutely b) truly c) incredibly 7. Mr Twist was a amazing teacher. a) vastly b) completely c) truly 8. The scientists' discovery was incredible. a) utterly b) fatally c) vastly [See answers below]
Read the news story. Pupils to be taught Nessie is real Thousands of US schoolchildren are to be taught that the Loch Ness Monster is real, in a Bible Belt bid to disprove Darwin's theory of evolution. Pupils attending privately-run Christian schools in Louisiana will next year learn from textbooks claiming the mythological beast is a living creature. The Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme teaches controversial religious beliefs, aimed at disproving evolution and proving creationism. Youngsters will be told that if it can be proved that dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time as humans, then Darwinism is fatally flawed, reports The Scotsman. One ACE textbook called Biology 1099 reads: "Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. "Have you heard of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland? Nessie has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur." Former pupil Jonny Scaramanga, 27, who went through the ACE programme, said the Nessie claim was presented as "evidence" that evolution could not have happened. He added: "The reason for that is they're saying if Noah's flood only happened 4,000 years ago, which they believe literally happened, then possibly a sea monster survived. "If it was millions of years ago then that would be ridiculous. That's their logic. It's a common thing among creationists to believe in sea monsters." Vocabulary From http://web.orange.co.uk/p/news/quirkies, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 Bible Belt (n) bid (n) youngster (n) flawed (adj) eyewitness (n) area of the southern United States with conservative ideas and strong Protestant religious organisations attempt to make or do something child, young person with mistakes and weaknesses person who saw something happen Answers: 1 b, 2 a, 3 c, 4 b, 5 c, 6 a, 7 c, 8 a
What do you think? Think about your answers to the following questions. What do you know about the Loch Ness Monster? What other legendary or mythical creatures come to mind? What do you think about these types of stories? Do you find them interesting? Different people use science to prove and disprove the same thing. What do you think about this?