Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

English Newsroom

Learn English through news articles - complete lesson plans, including articles, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

Family’s Holiday Leads to Ancient Discovery

A castle visit leads to discovering ancient bones under the site.
Try this article at a different level?

During a holiday, a family made an exciting discovery at Pembroke Castle in Wales. They found out there was an unexplored cave named Wogan Cavern underneath the castle. John Bolton, an archaeologist on vacation, convinced Dr. Rob Dinnis to investigate the cave. After initial excavation, they discovered rare bones of ancient animals and humans.

One of the surprising findings was the bones of a hippopotamus, showing it lived in Wales 120,000 years ago. The University of Aberdeen plans to conduct a large excavation project to learn more. This discovery helps scientists understand how early humans and animals lived during ancient times.

Discoveries like these are rare because many caves have been previously emptied, losing historical evidence. The findings will be kept in Pembroke to benefit future research. This chance discovery could change what people know about history in Britain.

Original news source: Family holiday unearths 'mind-blowing' ancient discovery – BBC News (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

πŸ“– Vocabulary:

1. archaeologist
2. cavern
3. excavation
4. ancient
5. discovery
6. evidence
7. unexplored
8. beneficial
9. initial
10. conduct
11. findings
12. project

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

1. What do you know about archaeology?
2. Have you ever visited a castle? What did you see?
3. Why do you think finding old bones is important?
4. Can you name any ancient animals?
5. What would you do if you found something unusual underground?

πŸ€” Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the family find at Pembroke Castle?

2. Who was John Bolton?

3. What did the archaeologist convince Dr. Rob Dinnis to do?

4. Which university is planning to conduct an excavation project?

5. How do the discoveries help scientists?

6. What makes discoveries like this rare?

7. What could this discovery change?

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

During a holiday, a family an exciting discovery at Pembroke Castle in Wales. They found out there was an unexplored cave named Wogan underneath the castle. John , an archaeologist on vacation, convinced Dr. Rob Dinnis to investigate the cave. After initial excavation, they discovered bones of ancient animals and humans. One of the surprising findings was the bones of a , showing it in Wales 120,000 years ago. The of Aberdeen plans to conduct a large excavation project to learn more. This discovery scientists understand how early humans and animals lived ancient times. Discoveries like these are rare because many caves have been previously , losing historical evidence. The findings will be kept in Pembroke to benefit future research. This discovery could change what people about history in Britain.

πŸ’¬ Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it's exciting to discover new things? Why or why not?
2. How would you feel if you found something very old?
3. What animal would you like to find fossils of?
4. Why do people study history?
5. What do you know about Wales?
6. Should discoveries always stay where they are found?
7. How do scientists learn from ancient bones?
8. What do you think life was like 120,000 years ago?
9. Do you think more caves should be explored? Why?
10. What tools do you think archaeologists use?
11. How can we make sure important things aren't lost?
12. Have you read any stories about discoveries?

Individual Activities

πŸ“–πŸ’­ Vocabulary Meanings:

Click a dot next to a word, then click the dot next to its meaning to draw a line connecting them.

Words

1. archaeologist
2. cavern
3. excavation
4. ancient
5. discovery
6. evidence
7. unexplored
8. beneficial
9. initial
10. conduct
11. findings
12. project

Meanings

(A) the act of digging up
(B) very old
(C) finding something new
(D) first
(E) something that provides proof
(F) a scientist who studies past human life
(G) a planned piece of work
(H) a large cave
(I) helpful or good
(J) not yet looked into
(K) results or what is found
(L) to carry out

πŸ”‘ Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the family discover under Pembroke Castle?
(a) A treasure chest
(b) A new room
(c) A river
(d) A cavern
2. Who was John Bolton?
(a) A scientist
(b) An archaeologist
(c) A tourist
(d) A historian
3. What type of bones were found in the cave?
(a) Dinosaur bones
(b) Bird bones
(c) Ancient animal and human bones
(d) Fish bones
4. How old were the hippopotamus bones?
(a) 10,000 years
(b) 200,000 years
(c) 120,000 years
(d) 1,000 years
5. Where will the findings be kept?
(a) Pembroke
(b) London
(c) Cardiff
(d) Edinburgh
6. What does the University of Aberdeen plan to do?
(a) Conduct a large excavation project
(b) Open a museum
(c) Close the cave
(d) Publish a book
7. Why are discoveries like this rare?
(a) It's too expensive
(b) Many caves have been emptied
(c) People aren't interested
(d) It takes too long
8. What might this discovery change about history?
(a) The history of other countries
(b) The history of castles
(c) The history of Wales
(d) What people know about it in Britain

πŸ•΅οΈ True or False Questions:

1. The findings will stay in Pembroke for future research.
2. Hippopotamus bones were found in Scotland.
3. The family discovered an unexplored cave under Pembroke Castle.
4. Discoveries like these are considered common.
5. The bones discovered are 120,000 years old.
6. This discovery could reinforce knowledge about Britain's future.
7. John Bolton is a historian.
8. The University of Aberdeen will lead an excavation project.

Writing Questions:

1. Imagine you found an ancient artifact. What would you do?
2. Describe a time when you learned something unexpected.
3. Write about why exploring is important.
4. How do you think ancient people lived?
5. Describe Pembroke Castle and what might be found there.

How about these other Level 2 articles?

Online
Class
Writing
Coach
β˜• 컀피 3μž” &
무료 ν”Όλ“œλ°±! πŸŽ“
β˜• 컀피 3μž” & 무료 ν”Όλ“œλ°±! πŸŽ“

X

[100% 온라인] λž­μ»€μŠ€ν„° λŒ€ν•™κ΅ μ˜μ–΄ 연ꡬ μ°Έμ—¬μž λͺ¨μ§‘
λ³„λ„μ˜ μ°Έκ°€λΉ„ 없이 영ꡭ λŒ€ν•™ 연ꡬ에 도움도 μ£Όμ‹œκ³ , 무료 μ˜μ–΄ μ‹€μ „ μ—°μŠ΅κ³Ό ν”Όλ“œλ°±λ„ λ°›μ•„λ³΄μ„Έμš”!

영ꡭ λž­μ»€μŠ€ν„° λŒ€ν•™κ΅(Lancaster University)μ—μ„œ ν•œκ΅­μΈ μ˜μ–΄ ν•™μŠ΅μžλΆ„λ“€μ„ λŒ€μƒμœΌλ‘œ μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 연ꡬ ν”„λ‘œμ νŠΈλ₯Ό μ§„ν–‰ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ „ κ³Όμ • 온라인으둜 μ§„ν–‰λ˜μ–΄ μ–΄λ””μ„œλ“  νŽΈν•˜κ²Œ μ°Έμ—¬ν•˜μ‹€ 수 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ—¬λŸ¬λΆ„μ˜ μ†Œμ€‘ν•œ μ°Έμ—¬λ‘œ ν•œκ΅­μΈμ˜ μ˜μ–΄ μ‚¬μš© 방식을 μ•Œμ•„λ³΄λŠ” ν₯미둜운 연ꡬ가 μ™„μ„±λ©λ‹ˆλ‹€.

🎁 μ°Έμ—¬ ν˜œνƒ:
– 원어민 μ—°κ΅¬μ›κ³Όμ˜ 1:1 νšŒν™” μ—°μŠ΅
– μ‹€μ „ μ˜μž‘ μ—°μŠ΅ & λ§žμΆ€ν˜• μ˜μ–΄ ν”Όλ“œλ°± 리포트
– 컀피 κΈ°ν”„ν‹°μ½˜ 총 3μž” μ„ λ¬Ό! (첫 μ„Έμ…˜ ν›„ 1μž”, λ§ˆμ§€λ§‰ μ„Έμ…˜ μ™„λ£Œ ν›„ 2μž” 더 λ“œλ €μš”! β˜•β˜•)

πŸ“… μ°Έμ—¬ 방식: 총 2회의 온라인 μ„Έμ…˜ (Zoom 등을 이용, 각 μ„Έμ…˜λ‹Ή μ•½ 60~80λΆ„ μ†Œμš”) λ§ν•˜κΈ°μ™€ μ“°κΈ° ν™œλ™μ΄ μ„žμ—¬ μžˆμ–΄ λΆ€λ‹΄ 없이 즐겁게 μ°Έμ—¬ν•˜μ‹€ 수 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.

βœ… λŒ€μƒ: μ˜μ–΄ μ‹€λ ₯에 상관없이 μ°Έμ—¬λ₯Ό ν¬λ§ν•˜λŠ” 18μ„Έ 이상 ν•œκ΅­μΈ λˆ„κ΅¬λ‚˜

Feedback