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Instant Lesson February 8 1999
24-hour plane delay
Pre-Reading Activity

Vocabulary

These words are from the article below. Check their meanings:
 

ground (v)
hide and seek
conventional
cables
coax

Reading Activities

A: Fill the Gaps

Here is an imaginary diary entry but it has some gaps. Read it and then fill in the gaps with a word or words from the newspaper article.

Tuesday 28 July 1998

The Cyprus Airways flight from Athens to Cyprus was announced so we all boarded the (1)_______________. My plan of getting Nutkin, my pet (2)_______________, onto the plane worked really well. I had hidden him in my (3)_______________ and nobody noticed him. Everything went fine until I had to leave my seat to go the(4)_______________.

Nutkin (5)_______________ ! When I came back to my seat, he wasn't there anymore! I was really worried but I didn't say anything because I knew that what I had done (6)_______________ and I was sure everyone would be angry with me.

B: Comprehension

  1. For how many hours did airline staff look for the squirrel?
  2. What were they afraid the squirrel would do?
  3. What did they successfully use to catch the squirrel?
  4. How much did the escaped squirrel cost the airline?
  5. Why was this cost so high?
  6. Who then looked after the squirrel until it could be returned to its owner?
  7. What did Angeli promise?
 
 
Pet squirrel grounds plane 
NICOSIA Tuesday July 28 (Reuters) - A pet squirrel grounded a Cyprus Airways jetliner for a day as it played hide-and-seek with engineers and airline crew trying to catch it, airline executives said on Tuesday.

The squirrel was smuggled on a Cyprus Airways flight from Athens to Cyprus on Sunday afternoon by a young passenger who had it concealed in a bag.

"The boy must have known what he had done was wrong because he only let it out of the bag when he went to the toilet. That is when it escaped and we spent the next 24 hours looking for it," said airline spokesman Tassos Angeli.

 Fearing it would chew through cables or cause other damage the airline briefly contemplated gassing the plane to flush the playful pet out but finally fell back on the more conventional method of coaxing it with food.

It worked. But not before costing the airline some 50,000 pounds (US$95,250) from rescheduled or delayed flights.

Engineers have temporarily adopted the squirrel until its owner shows up.

"We have told the boy to come forward and claim his pet. We promise we won't be angry," Angeli said.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.
 
C: Thinking Carefully

What do the following phrases mean? Write a short explanation.

  1. "...as it played hide-and-seek with engineers and airline crew trying to catch it...."
  2. "...finally fell back on the more conventional method of coaxing it with food."
D: Vocabulary and Language

These words and phrases give us information about time in the article. Think about their meanings and then use them to complete the gaps in the following sentences. Each one can only be used once:
 

for a day
the next 24 hours
briefly
finally
temporarily
 
  1. "I can only speak to you _______________ about the problem," the airline spokesman said. "I'm in a hurry."
  2. Passengers flying from Athens to Cyprus were stranded _______________ while officials looked for the squirrel.
  3. They used _______________to try and find the squirrel.
  4. The airline had _______________ found a home for the squirrel but hoped the young boy would come and get him soon.
  5. _______________ after long delays, they managed to coax the squirrel out.
Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.

A: Dialogue

Work in pairs. Here is a conversation between the young boy from today's article and his father. They are on the Cyprus Airways flight to Cyprus and the boy has just realized that his squirrel has escaped. Read the conversation and complete the unfinished speeches. Then read it aloud.

Boy: Dad, there's something I have to tell you.

Parent: What is it? What's wrong?

Boy: You know how I wanted to bring Nutkin to Cyprus with us and you wouldn't let me?

Parent: Yes? Well? I'm sorry about that but we explained to you why we couldn't bring him with us.

Boy: Yes, I know. But I decided I really wanted to bring Nutkin with me so I ...................................................................................................................

Parent: What?

Boy: Yes, and I brought him onto the plane.

Parent: And where is he now?

Boy: He's ........................................................................................................

Parent: Is that why ...........................................................................................?

Boy: Yes, they're all looking for him at the moment.

Parent: You mean ..............................................................................................

Boy: Yes, a flight attendant saw him running away.

Parent: O.K. If they realize you did it, they'll be ...................................Now I want you to pretend that you .................................................................... Do you understand?

Boy: Yes ...........................................................................................................

B: Diary

You are the young boy from today's article. You went and collected your squirrel from the airline's office. Write a diary entry describing what happened.

C: Make an Advertisement

Work in groups of 3. You work for an airline (choose a name for it) and your boss has given you the job of making an advertisement asking the young boy to come and get his squirrel. Your boss has told you that:

Your advertisement could be a newspaper or radio advertisement or a poster.
 Take me back, please
© 1999 English To Go Ltd. All rights reserved. News article ©1998 Reuters, used with permission. Not to be reproduced or stored in any way without the permission of English To Go Ltd. http://www.english-to-go.com
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