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Worksheet with mediation by Oliver Voigt The Queen (744 words) World and Press • 1st September issue 2019 • page 7 page 1 of 11 Worksheet with mediation This worksheet includes reading comprehension exercises as well as pre-reading and post- reading sections. Students also practice vocabulary and grammar and complete a mediation task at the end of the worksheet. Sample answers are given in the answer key. Pre-reading 1. Think • Pair • Share: Your thoughts on this world cloud Think: What do you think the article is about? Take notes. Pair: Talk to your neighbor about your ideas. Share: Share your ideas with another pair or the class. Look up any words you don’t know in a dictionary. 2. Your thoughts on the title “The Queen” a) What springs to mind when you think of Queen Elizabeth II? b) What do you know about the Queen? c) What do you know about the British royal family? d) What do you imagine the everyday life of the Queen to be like? e) Would you like to be a queen or king for a day? Why (not)? f) What do you know about other modern monarchies? How do they differ from the British one? © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. The Queen World and Press • September 1 / 2019 • page 7 page 2 of 11 3. Picture description and team discussion Find a partner. Each one of you chooses two pictures from below (make sure that the two of you don’t choose the same pictures). Work on the tasks a) and b) alone before you share your thoughts with your partner. a) Describe these pictures. b) What are your impressions of Queen Elizabeth II, her work, and her role? Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4 | PHOTOS: Getty Images 4. Research the topics below, and prepare a short presentation. The links provided may help with your research. a) Queen Elizabeth II: www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-II www.royal.uk/her-majesty-the-queen b) The royal family: www.royal.uk/royal-family c) The role of the monarchy: www.royal.uk/role-monarchy d) The Commonwealth: www.britannica.com/topic/Commonwealth-association-of-states www.royal.uk/commonwealth © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. The Queen World and Press • September 1 / 2019 • page 7 page 3 of 11 Reading comprehension 1. Read the text and answer the following questions and tasks. a) Why may Queen Elizabeth II stand for a “Great Britain that no longer exists” (para. 1)? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ b) What has helped revitalize the appeal of the royal family? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ c) In keywords, write the information given in paragraphs 6–7 about Queen Elizabeth II and her role. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ d) What event sparked dissatisfaction with the way the Queen engaged with the British public? How far did the criticism go? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ e) What perception do many British people have of the Queen today? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ f) Who criticizes the Queen and why? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. The Queen World and Press • September 1 / 2019 • page 7 page 4 of 11 2. Are the following statements true, false, or not in the text? Mark () the correct box, and correct the false statements below. Statement True False Not in text a) Some people are worried about the end of the Queen’s reign as Brexit poses challenges for the country’s integrity. b) The Queen has often been criticized for being too self-controlled. c) The article raises doubts about whether or not Prince Charles can keep the nation together as king. d) Because Prince Charles is less popular than the Queen, many people think that Prince William should be the next king. Corrections ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. This is an extract from the original article. Some sentences have been removed from the text. Put the sentences a) – d) from the table below into the numbered gaps. … She is viewed by many as an anchor of stability in an increasingly uncertain time. A symbol of unity over division. A ruler whose sense of duty and moral standard are timeless. [1] When she assumed the throne in 1952 – just seven years after Britain emerged victorious from World War II – the nation’s collective memory of its empire was still fresh. Now 93, Britain’s longest-serving monarch is witnessing new pressures. As the U.K. struggles to unwind an almost half-century relationship with the European Union, the country is enduring an extended period of upheaval. The Queen remains enormously popular at home: More than three-quarters of Britons favor retaining the monarchy, and almost 9 in 10 approve of the way she does her job, according to 2016 polls from Ipsos Mori. [2] This new generation has provided a distraction for a Britain polarized by the 2016 referendum to exit the EU, which exposed anxieties about immigration and globalization. With voters now more likely to identify as pro- or anti-Brexit than with either of the two main political parties, the Queen is for some a bulwark against the growing lack of faith in the institutions that secured peace and prosperity for generations. A 2017 article in the Guardian newspaper that detailed secret government plans for the days after her death explained the worry: “The Queen is approaching the end of her reign at a time of maximum disquiet about Britain’s place in the world.” [3] She oversaw Britain’s transition from postwar rationing to the rise of London as a global financial center, only for that status to be threatened by Brexit. While she has no political power – her role is symbolic as head of state and of the Church of England – she receives weekly briefings at the palace from the prime minister of the day (the first was Winston Churchill; Theresa May her 13th). She is also head of the Commonwealth of 53 nations, a loose association of former British territories. [4] One of those came after the 1997 death of Princess Diana, the popular and in some cases idolized former wife of Prince Charles, the Queen’s eldest son and first in line to the throne. … © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. The Queen World and Press • September 1 / 2019 • page 7 page 5 of 11 Extract Number a) Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in 1926 and became Queen at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, King George VI. b) Yet the Queen, as Elizabeth II is simply known, may represent a Great Britain that no longer exists. c) In Canada, Australia and even in the U.K. there have been periodic groundswells to ditch her as a figurehead and convert the country to a republic, where the people reign supreme. d) The royal family’s appeal has been refreshed and modernized by the Queen’s grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Vocabulary Crossword: Complete the crossword using words from the text. • anchor • division • timeless • throne • upheaval • polls • distraction • government • briefings • (to) convert • perception • outmoded • turmoil • threats © 2019 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. The Queen World and Press • September 1 / 2019 • page 7 page 6 of 11 ACROSS 1 a disagreement or difference in opinion, way of life, etc., especially in society 3 the process of questioning people who are representative of a larger group in order to get information about the general opinion 6 meetings in which people are given instructions or information 8 a special chair used by a king or queen to sit on at ceremonies 9 no longer fashionable or useful 10 a state of great anxiety and confusion 12 possibilities of trouble, danger, or disaster 13 the way you notice things, especially with the senses DOWN 1 a thing that takes your attention away from what you are doing or thinking about 2 to change or make s.th. change from one form, purpose, system, etc. to another 4 a big change that causes a lot of confusion, worry, and problems 5 the group of people who are responsible for controlling a country or a state 7 (fig) a person or thing that gives s.o. a
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