Many people who work at a big airplane company in France got sick after eating food at a Christmas party. They felt very bad and had to go to the bathroom a lot. The airplane company said not as many people were sick, but they are trying to find out why this happened. They make big planes and have many people working for them in different places.

Doctors are trying to find out which food made the people sick. The company that makes planes is very big and does many things. Something like this happened before at a place where people eat in France, and it was very serious. The airplane company is helping the doctors and wants to make sure this does not happen again. They care a lot about the people who work for them and are doing their best to fix the problem.

Original news source: Airbus Atlantic: 700 staff sick after Christmas dinner, health officials say (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Each group takes turns choosing a word or phrase related to the article and acting it out without speaking. The other groups have to guess what the word or phrase is.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and keep their summaries short and concise.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a list of vocabulary words from the article. One student from each group must draw a picture to represent one of the words, while the other students guess what word it is.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Set a timer for 1 minute. In pairs, one student reads the article aloud while the other student listens. After 1 minute, the listening student has to summarize the main points of the article as quickly as possible.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns discussing their thoughts and opinions on the article. After each pair has had a chance to share, invite a few students to share their ideas with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the people who ate the food at the Christmas party?
2. Who is trying to find out why the people got sick?
3. What does the airplane company do?
4. Has something like this happened before in France?
5. Who is helping the doctors?
6. Why does the airplane company want to fix the problem?
7. Do the people who work for the airplane company matter to them?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Many people who work at a big airplane (1)______ in France got sick after eating food at a Christmas party. They felt very bad and had to go to the bathroom a lot. The airplane company (2)______ not as many people were sick, but they are trying to find out why this (3)______. They make big planes and (4)______ many people working for them in different places.

Doctors are trying to find out which food made the people sick. The company that makes planes is very big and does (5)______ things. Something like this happened before at a place where people eat in (6)______, and it was very serious. The airplane company is helping the doctors and wants to (7)______ sure this does not happen again. They care a lot about the people who work for them and are doing their (8)______ to fix the problem.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What do you think happened at the Christmas party?
2. How do you think the people felt after eating the food?
3. Do you like going to parties? Why or why not?
4. What do you think the doctors are trying to do?
5. How would you feel if you got sick after eating at a party?
6. What do you think the company should do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?
7. Do you like eating food at parties? Why or why not?
8. What do you think the company should do to help the people who got sick?
9. How do you think the people who got sick felt when they had to go to the bathroom a lot?
10. What do you think the company should do to fix the problem?
11. What do you think the doctors will find out about the food?
12. Do you think the company cares about the people who work for them? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. airplane
2. company
3. Christmas
4. bathroom
5. doctors
6. serious
7. helping
8. care
9. best
10. problem

Meanings:
(A) A group of people who work together to make or sell things.
(B) A room in your house where you go when you need to use the toilet.
(C) When you give someone your hand to make something easier for them.
(D) Something that is not right and you need to fix it.
(E) People who know how to make you feel better when you are sick.
(F) A special day when a big man in a red suit might bring you presents.
(G) When you really want to make sure someone is happy and safe.
(H) Something that is very important and you need to think about it a lot.
(I) A big thing that flies in the sky like a bird, but it can carry people inside.
(J) When you do the greatest thing you can do.
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What happened to the people who ate the food at the Christmas party?
(a) They had fun
(b) They went home
(c) They got presents
(d) They got sick

2. Where did this happen?
(a) Spain
(b) France
(c) Germany
(d) Italy

3. What kind of company do the people work for?
(a) Car
(b) Airplane
(c) Toy
(d) Food

4. What did the people feel after eating the food?
(a) Very bad
(b) Very happy
(c) Very tired
(d) Very hungry

5. Who is trying to find out why this happened?
(a) Doctors
(b) Teachers
(c) Police
(d) Chefs

6. What is the airplane company doing to help?
(a) Making more food
(b) Going on vacation
(c) Buying new planes
(d) Working with the doctors

7. What does the airplane company want to make sure does not happen again?
(a) People having fun
(b) People going home
(c) People getting sick
(d) People getting presents

8. What does the airplane company care a lot about?
(a) The food at the party
(b) The doctors
(c) The people who work for them
(d) The planes

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Doctors have successfully determined which food made the people sick.
2. The airplane company is not helping the doctors and does not want to make sure this does not happen again.
3. Something like this happened before at a place where people eat in France, and it was very serious.
4. The sick people felt slightly uncomfortable and did not have to go to the bathroom often.
5. The airplane company cares a lot about the people who work for them and is doing their best to fix the problem.
6. Many people at a big airplane company in France got sick after eating food at a party.
7. The airplane company said many people were sick, and they are not trying to find out why this happened.
8. The airplane company makes big planes and has many people working for them in different places.
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 to the people who ate food at the Christmas party?
2. How did the people feel after eating the food?
3. Who is trying to find out why the people got sick?
4. What does the airplane company do?
5. Why is the airplane company helping the doctors?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the people who ate the food at the Christmas party?
They got sick and had to go to the bathroom a lot.

2. Who is trying to find out why the people got sick?
Doctors are trying to find out why.

3. What does the airplane company do?
The airplane company makes big planes.

4. Has something like this happened before in France?
Yes, something like this happened before in France.

5. Who is helping the doctors?
The airplane company is helping the doctors.

6. Why does the airplane company want to fix the problem?
They want to fix the problem so it doesn’t happen again.

7. Do the people who work for the airplane company matter to them?
Yes, the people who work for the airplane company matter to them.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) company
(2) said
(3) happened
(4) have
(5) many
(6) France
(7) make
(8) best
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. airplane
Answer: (I) A big thing that flies in the sky like a bird, but it can carry people inside.

2. company
Answer: (A) A group of people who work together to make or sell things.

3. Christmas
Answer: (F) A special day when a big man in a red suit might bring you presents.

4. bathroom
Answer: (B) A room in your house where you go when you need to use the toilet.

5. doctors
Answer: (E) People who know how to make you feel better when you are sick.

6. serious
Answer: (H) Something that is very important and you need to think about it a lot.

7. helping
Answer: (C) When you give someone your hand to make something easier for them.

8. care
Answer: (G) When you really want to make sure someone is happy and safe.

9. best
Answer: (J) When you do the greatest thing you can do.

10. problem
Answer: (D) Something that is not right and you need to fix it.
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What happened to the people who ate the food at the Christmas party?
Answer: (d) They got sick

2. Where did this happen?
Answer: (b) France

3. What kind of company do the people work for?
Answer: (b) Airplane

4. What did the people feel after eating the food?
Answer: (a) Very bad

5. Who is trying to find out why this happened?
Answer: (a) Doctors

6. What is the airplane company doing to help?
Answer: (d) Working with the doctors

7. What does the airplane company want to make sure does not happen again?
Answer: (c) People getting sick

8. What does the airplane company care a lot about?
Answer: (c) The people who work for them
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Doctors have successfully determined which food made the people sick. (Answer: False)
2. The airplane company is not helping the doctors and does not want to make sure this does not happen again. (Answer: False)
3. Something like this happened before at a place where people eat in France, and it was very serious. (Answer: True)
4. The sick people felt slightly uncomfortable and did not have to go to the bathroom often. (Answer: False)
5. The airplane company cares a lot about the people who work for them and is doing their best to fix the problem. (Answer: True)
6. Many people at a big airplane company in France got sick after eating food at a party. (Answer: True)
7. The airplane company said many people were sick, and they are not trying to find out why this happened. (Answer: False)
8. The airplane company makes big planes and has many people working for them in different places. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧