A lion escaped from a circus in Italy and was found walking around a town called Ladispoli. People were surprised and scared when they saw the lion in their neighborhood. After searching for more than five hours, they finally caught the lion. The circus owner said the lion was okay and they were investigating how it escaped.

The escaped lion in Ladispoli, Italy, got a lot of attention because it’s not normal to see a wild animal walking around where people live. Videos on social media showed how surprised and worried the people were. Everyone was relieved when they caught the lion and the circus owner was thankful that the lion was safe.

This incident makes us wonder if there are enough safety measures in place to stop animals from escaping. They will investigate how the lion got out and see if there were any mistakes or carelessness that let it escape. It’s really important to make sure both the animals and the public are safe in circuses so that this doesn’t happen again.

This isn’t the first time an animal has escaped from a zoo or circus. It shows how important it is to have good security and make sure the animals can’t get out. Circus owners and zookeepers need to focus on keeping the animals safe and making sure they don’t cause any harm to the people around them.

Original news source: Escaped circus lion roams around Italian town before capture (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Students will work in pairs. One student will play the role of a news reporter who is covering the story of the escaped lion, while the other student will play the role of an eyewitness from Ladispoli. The reporter will ask questions about what the eyewitness saw and how they felt during the event. After the role-play, they will switch roles.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: The teacher will write a statement on the board, such as “Circuses should have stricter security measures to prevent animal escapes.” Students will move to different corners of the room based on their level of agreement (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree). They will discuss their opinions with others in the same corner and then share a summary of their group’s viewpoint with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Prepare a list of words related to the article (e.g., circus, escape, lion, investigate, safety, neighborhood). Divide the class into two teams. One student from a team will draw a word on the board without speaking or writing letters, while their team tries to guess the word. Each correct guess earns a point. Alternate turns between teams.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Students will write a short paragraph predicting the future of circuses and zoos based on the article. They should consider safety measures, public opinion, and animal welfare. After writing, they can share their predictions with a partner or the class and discuss whether they have an optimistic or pessimistic view of the future.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write down several key words from the article on the board (e.g., surprised, scared, relieved, thankful, investigate, carelessness). Students must come up with as many synonyms as they can for each word. They can work in small groups and use dictionaries or thesauruses. After a set time, groups share their lists, and the group with the most appropriate synonyms for each word wins.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What unusual sight did the residents of Ladispoli, Italy, encounter in their neighborhood?
2. How long did it take for the authorities to capture the escaped lion?
3. What was the circus owner’s reaction after the lion was caught?
4. What kind of reaction did the videos on social media show from the people who saw the lion?
5. What will the circus do to find out how the lion escaped?
6. Why is it crucial for circuses to have strong safety measures?
7. What does this incident with the lion indicate about the security at zoos and circuses?
8. In the article, what is emphasized as a priority for circus owners and zookeepers regarding their animals?
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Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A lion escaped from a circus in Italy and was found walking around a town called (1)______. People were (2)______ and (3)______ when they saw the lion in their neighborhood. After searching for more than five hours, they finally (4)______ the lion. The circus owner said the lion was okay and they were investigating how it escaped.

The (5)______ lion in Ladispoli, Italy, got a lot of attention because it’s not normal to see a wild animal (6)______ around where people live. Videos on social media (7)______ how surprised and (8)______ the people were. Everyone was relieved when they caught the lion and the circus owner was thankful that the lion was safe.

This incident makes us wonder if there are enough (9)______ measures in place to stop animals from escaping. They will investigate how the lion got out and see if there were any (10)______ or carelessness that let it (11)______. It’s really important to make sure both the animals and the public are safe in (12)______ so that this doesn’t happen again.

This isn’t the (13)______ time an animal has escaped from a zoo or circus. It shows how important it is to have good security and make sure the (14)______ can’t get out. (15)______ owners and zookeepers need to focus on (16)______ the animals safe and making sure they don’t cause any harm to the people around them.
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Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is your first reaction when you hear about a wild animal like a lion walking around a town?
2. How would you feel if you saw a lion walking down your street?
3. Do you think circuses should have wild animals like lions? Why or why not?
4. What do you think about animals being kept in circuses?
5. If you were in charge of a circus, how would you make sure the animals couldn’t escape?
6. Have you ever been to a circus? What was your favorite act and why?
7. Do you like the idea of animals performing in circuses, or do you think they should live in the wild?
8. What kind of safety measures do you think are important for keeping animals in circuses?
9. Do you think it’s possible for circuses to keep wild animals and ensure their well-being at the same time? Why or why not?
10. Have you ever seen or heard about an animal escaping from a zoo or circus in your country? What happened?
11. What do you think could be the consequences of a wild animal escaping into a town?
12. Do you think people should do anything to help if they see an escaped animal, or should they leave it to the professionals?
13. How do you feel about the use of social media to spread news like the lion escape? Is it helpful or can it cause panic?
14. Do you think the circus owner should face consequences for the lion’s escape? Why or why not?
15. What are your thoughts on the balance between public safety and animal freedom when it comes to zoos and circuses?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. escaped
2. circus
3. Italy
4. lion
5. neighborhood
6. investigating
7. relieved
8. safety

Meanings:
(a) a place where people perform tricks with animals
(b) got away from where it was supposed to be
(c) a large, wild animal with a mane
(d) felt calm and happy because something bad didn’t happen
(e) the area where people live
(f) looking into something to find out more information
(g) a country in Europe
(h) being protected from danger or harm
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened in Ladispoli, Italy?
(a) A tiger escaped from a zoo
(b) A bear escaped from a circus
(c) A monkey escaped from a zoo
(d) A lion escaped from a circus

2. How did people react when they saw the lion?
(a) Surprised and scared
(b) Excited and happy
(c) Calm and relaxed
(d) Annoyed and angry

3. How long did it take to catch the lion?
(a) Less than five minutes
(b) One hour
(c) More than five hours
(d) Two days

4. Why was the circus owner thankful?
(a) The lion caused no harm
(b) The lion was caught quickly
(c) The lion was safe
(d) The lion didn’t escape again

5. What will they investigate?
(a) How the lion got to the town
(b) How the lion escaped
(c) How the lion was caught
(d) How the lion was trained

6. What do incidents like this show?
(a) The importance of good security
(b) The importance of wild animals
(c) The importance of circuses
(d) The importance of zoos

7. What should circus owners and zookeepers focus on?
(a) Making money
(b) Entertaining the audience
(c) Training the animals
(d) Keeping the animals safe

8. Why is it important to have safety measures in place?
(a) To make the public feel safe
(b) To prevent animals from escaping
(c) To protect the animals
(d) All of the above

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The incident received little attention because it’s usual to see a wild animal walking around where people live.
2. After searching for less than five hours, the lion was not finally caught.
3. A lion escaped from a circus in Italy and was found in a town called Ladispoli.
4. People in Ladispoli were unsurprised and unafraid when they saw the lion in their neighborhood.
5. Videos on social media showed how surprised and worried the people were.
6. This incident highlights the importance of having good security measures in place to prevent animals from escaping in circuses and zoos.
7. The circus owner stated that the lion was not okay and they were not investigating how it escaped.
8. The circus owner was thankful that the lion was safe and everyone was relieved when it was caught.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What happened in the town of Ladispoli, Italy, that surprised the residents?
2. How did the people react when they saw the lion, and what did they do about it?
3. What did the circus owner say after the lion was captured?
4. Why is the incident with the lion significant, and what will be investigated?
5. What does this event suggest about the safety measures in circuses and zoos?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What unusual sight did the residents of Ladispoli, Italy, encounter in their neighborhood?
Residents of Ladispoli encountered a lion walking around their neighborhood.

2. How long did it take for the authorities to capture the escaped lion?
It took more than five hours to capture the escaped lion.

3. What was the circus owner’s reaction after the lion was caught?
The circus owner was thankful that the lion was safe and said they were investigating how it escaped.

4. What kind of reaction did the videos on social media show from the people who saw the lion?
The videos showed that people were surprised and worried when they saw the lion.

5. What will the circus do to find out how the lion escaped?
The circus will investigate to find out how the lion escaped, looking for any mistakes or carelessness.

6. Why is it crucial for circuses to have strong safety measures?
It is crucial for circuses to have strong safety measures to prevent animals from escaping and to ensure the safety of both the animals and the public.

7. What does this incident with the lion indicate about the security at zoos and circuses?
This incident indicates that there may not be enough security measures in place at zoos and circuses to prevent animals from escaping.

8. In the article, what is emphasized as a priority for circus owners and zookeepers regarding their animals?
The article emphasizes that it is a priority for circus owners and zookeepers to keep the animals safe and ensure they do not harm the people around them.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Ladispoli
(2) surprised
(3) scared
(4) caught
(5) escaped
(6) walking
(7) showed
(8) worried
(9) safety
(10) mistakes
(11) escape
(12) circuses
(13) first
(14) animals
(15) Circus
(16) keeping
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. escaped
Answer: (b) got away from where it was supposed to be

2. circus
Answer: (a) a place where people perform tricks with animals

3. Italy
Answer: (g) a country in Europe

4. lion
Answer: (c) a large, wild animal with a mane

5. neighborhood
Answer: (e) the area where people live

6. investigating
Answer: (f) looking into something to find out more information

7. relieved
Answer: (d) felt calm and happy because something bad didn’t happen

8. safety
Answer: (h) being protected from danger or harm
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened in Ladispoli, Italy?
Answer: (d) A lion escaped from a circus

2. How did people react when they saw the lion?
Answer: (a) Surprised and scared

3. How long did it take to catch the lion?
Answer: (c) More than five hours

4. Why was the circus owner thankful?
Answer: (c) The lion was safe

5. What will they investigate?
Answer: (b) How the lion escaped

6. What do incidents like this show?
Answer: (a) The importance of good security

7. What should circus owners and zookeepers focus on?
Answer: (d) Keeping the animals safe

8. Why is it important to have safety measures in place?
Answer: (b) To prevent animals from escaping
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The incident received little attention because it’s usual to see a wild animal walking around where people live. (Answer: False)
2. After searching for less than five hours, the lion was not finally caught. (Answer: False)
3. A lion escaped from a circus in Italy and was found in a town called Ladispoli. (Answer: True)
4. People in Ladispoli were unsurprised and unafraid when they saw the lion in their neighborhood. (Answer: False)
5. Videos on social media showed how surprised and worried the people were. (Answer: True)
6. This incident highlights the importance of having good security measures in place to prevent animals from escaping in circuses and zoos. (Answer: True)
7. The circus owner stated that the lion was not okay and they were not investigating how it escaped. (Answer: False)
8. The circus owner was thankful that the lion was safe and everyone was relieved when it was caught. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧