Work together to guess some of the stories below, trying also to agree on how likely your guesses are to be true.
Bahrain protests to be stepped up before GP
Boston Marathon bombs built to maim
Bystanders ran toward the smoke, not from it
CCTV breakthrough in US bombing investigation
Dozens killed in Pakistan, Iran as quake hits border
IMF lifts 2013 Japan growth forecast to 1.6%, citing BOJ easing steps
Inose calls on New York to aid Olympic bid
Italian parliament to elect president
Japan’s welfare recipients hit record high for ninth month
LDP out to undermine Constitution
London Marathon will proceed as scheduled
Magnitude 6.2 quake jolts Miyake Island; Miyagi also rocked
North Korea says it is open to talks
Obama doubts North Korea’s nuclear claims
Opposition boycotts Diet discussions
Pressure-cooker bombs suspected in Boston blast
Supreme Court recognizes woman as Minamata victim
Survey: Japanese research slipping
Suu Kyi hopes to surmount obstacles to presidency
With scores dead, Japan faces judo hazards
Newtown families vow to keep fighting for gun law
Airlines urge passengers to complain to DC over flight delays
Rights group: Myanmar unrest is ‘ethnic cleansing’
Japan wins spot in Asia-Pacific mega trade bloc talks
Boston bombings suspect could face the death penalty
Tottenham stun Manchester City
Political parties condemn sectarian strife in Egypt
Postal staff step up campaign to save Royal Mail
Man arrested after 30-hour Des Moines standoff
Plea to Thomas Cook: spare our travel agency
Markets slip after a flat start
Briton to appeal Bali death sentence
Seattle Police seek help on anniversary of Pioneer Square murder
Scores killed in Nigeria violence
Extra police to safeguard London Marathon route
Sleuth reunites family after solving 166-year old riddle
Saudi advisers propose Friday-Saturday weekend
Dutch detain student and close dozens of schools after shooting threat
| Useful languageIt must be… It’s almost certainly… It’s probably…
It might be/ It may be… It could be… It’s probably not… It’s almost certainly not… It can’t be… |
Discuss the last headline as a class.
Compare your ideas with the real story on the internet.
Give your opinion about these aspects of the story:
Why do you think that person made the threat? Do you think they were actually going to do it?
Why do you think the police took the threat so seriously?
Did the police over-react?
What might the punishment be for posting that message? Is that the right level of punishment?
What would the police do if the same thing happened in Japan?
How likely is something like this to happen in Japan in the near future?
For homework, write out your answers to those questions in full sentences. You can do more research before answering if you like, but you don’t have to.
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PDF version for easy saving and printing: Headline vocabulary guess the story
More current affairs worksheets here.
More modals of probability/ possibility worksheets here.
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