2020

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHj--WDrVO0

For billions of people around the world, January the 1st, 2020 seemed like a great day. It was the start of a year that sounded like science fiction - 2020. Many people had great hopes for the year ahead. Few knew what a rollercoaster ride 2020 would be and how the world would change. The year has been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has brought hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic chaos, lockdowns and masked populations. Another huge event was the death of George Floyd at the hands of U.S. police in July. This sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and global protests. The year ended with Joe Biden being voted in as the President-elect of the USA.



Different people will have different memories of 2020. Our reporters asked people around the world to tell us what they will remember 2020 for. Ahmed Hussein from Lebanon said he would never forget the massive explosion at a Beirut port in August that killed at least 190 people. He said he thanked God none of his family or friends were hurt, but was sad at the destruction of his city. Lucy Baxter, a nurse in the UK, said her happiest moment came with the news of the vaccines for COVID-19. She said she could see light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. Ayumi Miyamoto of Japan was saddened by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but is happy they will go ahead in 2021. She said 2021 would be a good year.

3. THE WORST: Students A strongly believe 2020 was the worst year ever; Students B strongly believe it wasn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. 2020: How was 2020 for you? What were the highs and lows? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Highs

Lows

English

 

 

Money

 

 

Relationships

 

 

Hobbies

 

 

Work

 

 

Goals

 

 

5. FORGET: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "forget". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. THINGS OF 2020: Rank these with your partner. Put the most important things for 2020 at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Smartphone
  • Mask
  • English dictionary
  • Games console
  • Alcohol spray
  • Sun block
  • Thermometer
  • Chocolate

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.

billion

a.

A statement or action expressing dislike of something.

2.

science fiction

b.

Had a big influence on; exercised control over.

3.

dominated

c.

Total disorder and confusion.

4.

pandemic

d.

A one followed by nine zeroes (1,000,000,000).

5.

chaos

e.

Wearing a covering over the face.

6.

masked

f.

Stories about what we imagine the future to be like, or about space or time travel and life on other planets.

7.

protest

g.

Of a disease that is all over a whole country or the world.

    Paragraph 2

      8.

memory

h.

The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.

      9.

massive

i.

Really, really, really big.

      10.

explosion

j.

The action of putting something off until a later date.

      11.

destruction

k.

Something remembered from the past.

      12.

port

l.

A town or city with a harbor where ships load or unload, especially one where customs officers are.

      13.

tunnel

m.

A violent and destructive shattering or blowing apart of something.

      14.

postponement

n.

An underground road or path, especially one built through a hill or under a building, road, or river.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article said millions of people thought 2020 would be a great year.    T / F
  2. The article says there is a science fiction movie about the year 2020.     T / F
  3. The article says 2020 was like a rollercoaster ride.     T / F
  4. The article mentioned economic chaos and lockdowns.     T / F
  5. Reporters asked people in India about their memories of 2020.     T / F
  6. A man was sad about the explosion in Beirut in August.     T / F
  7. A nurse was happy about vaccines being discovered for COVID-19.     T / F
  8. A Japanese woman thinks 2021 will be equally bad.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. great
  2. ahead
  3. chaos
  4. huge
  5. protests
  6. memories
  7. explosion
  8. destruction
  9. saddened
  10. go ahead
  1. enormous
  2. disorganization
  3. dispirited
  4. demonstrations
  5. blast
  6. to come
  7. ruination
  8. take place
  9. wonderful
  10. recollections

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. For billions of people
  2. a year that sounded
  3. Many people had great hopes
  4. economic
  5. global
  6. Different people will have
  7. massive
  8. the vaccines
  9. she could see light at the end of a long
  10. happy they will go
  1. explosion
  2. for the year ahead
  3. protests
  4. and dark tunnel
  5. chaos
  6. ahead in 2021
  7. like science fiction
  8. different memories
  9. for COVID-19
  10. around the world

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

hopes
huge
fiction
pandemic
voted
great
chaos
ride

For billions of people around the world, January the 1st, 2020 seemed like a (1) _____________________ day. It was the start of a year that sounded like science (2) _____________________ - 2020. Many people had great (3) _____________________ for the year ahead. Few knew what a rollercoaster (4) _____________________ 2020 would be and how the world would change. The year has been dominated by the COVID-19 (5) _____________________. This has brought hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic (6) _____________________, lockdowns and masked populations. Another (7) _____________________ event was the death of George Floyd at the hands of U.S. police in July. This sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and global protests. The year ended with Joe Biden being (8) _____________________ in as the President-elect of the USA.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

remember
hurt
ahead
massive
vaccines
memories
tunnel
moment

Different people will have different (9) _____________________ of 2020. Our reporters asked people around the world to tell us what they will (10) _____________________ 2020 for. Ahmed Hussein from Lebanon said he would never forget the (11) _____________________ explosion at a Beirut port in August that killed at least 190 people. He said he thanked God none of his family or friends were (12) _____________________, but was sad at the destruction of his city. Lucy Baxter, a nurse in the UK, said her happiest (13) _____________________ came with the news of the (14) _____________________ for COVID-19. She said she could see light at the end of a long and dark (15) _____________________. Ayumi Miyamoto of Japan was saddened by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but is happy they will go (16) _____________________ in 2021. She said 2021 would be a good year.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) For billions of people around the world, January the 1st, 2020 ______ great day
     a.  seem like a
     b.  seems like a
     c.  seemed like a
     d.  seeming like a
2)  It was the start of a year that sounded ______
     a.  like scientific friction
     b.  like science faction
     c.  like science fiction
     d.  like scientific fiction
3)  Many people had great hopes for ______
     a.  the year as head
     b.  the year a head
     c.  the year ah head
     d.  the year ahead
4)  hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic chaos, lockdowns ______
     a.  and mask populations
     b.  and masked population
     c.  and masked populations
     d.  and mask population
5)  with Joe Biden being voted in as the President-______ USA
     a.  erect of the
     b.  eject of the
     c.  electric of the
     d.  elect of the

6) asked people around the world to tell us what they will ______
     a.  remember 2020 four
     b.  remember 2020 for
     c.  remember 2020 of
     d.  remember 2020 from
7)  Ahmed Hussein from Lebanon said he would never forget ______
     a.  the massive explosion
     b.  the missive explosion
     c.  the mass sieve explosion
     d.  the mass its explosion
8)  He said he thanked God none of his family or friends were hurt, ______
     a.  but was sadly
     b.  but was sadden
     c.  but was sad
     d.  but was sadness
9)  her happiest moment came with the news ______
     a.  of the vaccines
     b.  off the vaccines
     c.  of them vaccines
     d.  of then vaccines
10)  postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but is happy they ______
     a.  will goes ahead
     b.  will go ahead
     c.  will goer head
     d.  will gone ahead

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

For billions of people around the world, January the 1st, 2020 (1) ____________________ great day. It was the start of a year that sounded like science fiction - 2020. Many people had (2) ____________________ the year ahead. Few knew what a rollercoaster ride 2020 would be and how the world would change. The year has (3) ____________________ the COVID-19 pandemic. This has brought hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic chaos, (4) ____________________ populations. Another huge event was the death of George Floyd at the hands of U.S. police in July. (5) ____________________ Black Lives Matter movement and global protests. The year ended with Joe Biden (6) ____________________ as the President-elect of the USA.

Different people will have (7) ____________________ 2020. Our reporters asked people around the world to tell us what they will remember 2020 for. Ahmed Hussein from Lebanon said he would never (8) ____________________ explosion at a Beirut port in August that killed at least 190 people. He said he thanked God none of his family or friends were hurt, but (9) ____________________ the destruction of his city. Lucy Baxter, a nurse in the UK, said her happiest (10) ____________________ the news of the vaccines for COVID-19. She said she could see light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. Ayumi Miyamoto of Japan (11) ____________________ the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but is happy they will (12) ____________________ 2021. She said 2021 would be a good year.

Comprehension questions

  1. What does the article say seemed like a great day?
  2. What does the article say 2020 sounded like?
  3. What does the article compare 2020 to?
  4. What kind of chaos does the article mention?
  5. What movement does the article mention?
  6. Where is Ahmed Hussein from?
  7. Who did Ahmed Hussein thank?
  8. What is Lucy Baxter's job?
  9. Where could Lucy Baxter see light?
  10. What did a Japanese woman say 2021 would be like?






Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say seemed like a great day?
a) June the 8th
b) December the 31st
c) January the 1st
d) November the 5th
2) What does the article say 2020 sounded like?
a) science fiction
b) fun
c) a nightmare
d) a horror story
3) What does the article compare 2020 to?
a) a tunnel
b) 2019
c) the Dark Ages
d) a rollercoaster ride
4) What kind of chaos does the article mention?
a) social chaos
b) economic chaos
c) internal chaos
d) yearly chaos
5) What movement does the article mention?
a) Anti-war Movement
b) MeToo
c) Black Lives Matter
d) Extinction Rebellion

6) Where is Ahmed Hussein from?
a) Damascus, Syria
b) Beirut, Lebanon
c) Abu Dhabi, UAE
d) Rabat, Morocco
7) Who did Ahmed Hussein thank?
a) everyone
b) his mother
c) the President
d) God
8) What is Lucy Baxter's job?
a) soldier
b) nurse
c) teacher
d) scientist
9) Where could Lucy Baxter see light?
a) the end of a tunnel
b) in bed
c) under the door
d) in the sky
10) What did a Japanese woman say 2021 would be like?
a) weird
b) fantastic
c) scary
d) good

Role play

Role  A – Smartphone
You think a smartphone was the most essential item to have in 2020. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least essential of these (and why): a mask, an English dictionary or chocolate.

Role  B – Mask
You think a mask was the most essential item to have in 2020. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least essential of these (and why): smartphone, an English dictionary or chocolate.

Role  C – English Dictionary
You think an English dictionary was the most essential item to have in 2020. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least essential of these (and why): a mask, smartphone or chocolate.

Role  D – Chocolate
You think chocolate was the most essential item to have in 2020. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least essential of these (and why): a mask, an English dictionary or smartphone.





Discussion - 2020

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

  1. What did you think when you read the headline?
  2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'year'?
  3. What did you think of 2020?
  4. What did you think 2020 would be like at the start of the year?
  5. What was the best thing about 2020?
  6. What regrets do you have about 2020?
  7. How was your English studying in 2020?
  8. How much did the pandemic affect you?
  9. What do you know about the Black Lives Matter movement?
  10. What do you think of President-elect Joe Biden?

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

  1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
  2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'forget'?
  3. What do you think about what you read?
  4. Did you have any New Year's resolutions for 2020?
  5. What was the biggest news story of 2020?
  6. Who was the biggest personality of 2020?
  7. What do you think of a vaccine being found?
  8. Has there been a worse year than 2020?
  9. Can you see light at the end of the tunnel?
  10. What questions would you like to ask the reporters?





Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

For billions of people (1) ____ the world, January the 1st, 2020 seemed like a great day. It was the start of a year that sounded like (2) ____ fiction - 2020. Many people had great hopes for the year ahead. Few knew what a rollercoaster (3) ____ 2020 would be and how the world would change. The year has been dominated (4) ____ the COVID-19 pandemic. This has brought hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic chaos, lockdowns and masked populations. Another huge event was the death of George Floyd at the (5) ____ of U.S. police in July. This sparked the Black Lives Mater movement and global protests. The year ended with Joe Biden being voted (6) ____ as the President-elect of the USA.

Different people will have different memories of 2020. Our reporters asked people around the world to tell us what they will remember 2020 (7) ____. Ahmed Hussein from Lebanon said he would never forget the (8) ____ explosion at a Beirut port in August that killed at least 190 people. He said he thanked God none of his family or friends were hurt, but was sad (9) ____ the destruction of his city. Lucy Baxter, a nurse in the UK, said her happiest moment came with the news of the vaccines for COVID-19. She said she could see (10) ____ at the end of a long and dark tunnel. Ayumi Miyamoto of Japan was (11) ____ by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but is happy they will (12) ____ ahead in 2021. She said 2021 would be a good year.

Which of these words go in the above text?

  1. (a)     aground     (b)     abound     (c)     around     (d)     astound    
  2. (a)     science     (b)     physics     (c)     chemistry     (d)     biology    
  3. (a)     ride     (b)     drive     (c)     fly     (d)     sail    
  4. (a)     by     (b)     as     (c)     to     (d)     at    
  5. (a)     stomachs     (b)     backs     (c)     heads     (d)     hands    
  6. (a)     of     (b)     at     (c)     up     (d)     in    
  7. (a)     for     (b)     on     (c)     which     (d)     as    
  8. (a)     big-up     (b)     hugely     (c)     enormity     (d)     massive    
  9. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     to    
  10. (a)     torch     (b)     light     (c)     shine     (d)     ray    
  11. (a)     sadness     (b)     saddened     (c)     sadly     (d)     sadist    
  12. (a)     go     (b)     come     (c)     up     (d)     down

Spelling

Paragraph 1

  1. iobllsni of people
  2. sounded like encsice fiction
  3. what a ercsleaooltrr ride
  4. economic ohcsa
  5. global sopesttr
  6. the President-etcel of the USA

Paragraph 2

  1. different moeemsri of 2020
  2. massive piolosnex
  3. the tencsudtiro of his city
  4. news of the ncavice for COVID-19
  5. the end of a long and dark netnlu
  6. the onsetpntopme of the Tokyo Olympics

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