Thieves in France pulled off a big heist by stealing two truckloads of champagne worth €600,000. The incident happened near Reims, which is in the Champagne region. The stolen trucks had tracking devices, so the police were able to find them and chase after them on the A4 motorway between Reims and Paris. Even though they eventually found the champagne, the thieves managed to get away. The trucks belonged to a company in Reims, and the stolen champagne was from the famous brand Moët & Chandon. Each load of champagne was worth €300,000. The police tracked the trucks near Pontault-Combault, which is about 20km from central Paris, and two police cars were involved in the chase. The thieves tried to escape by making sudden turns. The officers were able to slow down one of the trucks, and the driver jumped out and got into a car that was following the trucks. The car then sped away. The second truck took the next exit and was later found without the driver. The police are currently investigating the incident. Luckily, all the champagne bottles were found undamaged, although they might have been shaken up a bit during the chase.

Original news source: French police thwart €600,000 champagne heist (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Reporter Role-play
Instructions: Divide the class into groups of three. One student is a news reporter, the other is a police officer, and the third is a witness. The reporter should ask questions about the heist to gather information for a news report. The police officer and witness should provide details based on the article. Encourage the use of reported speech and past tense. After the role-play, each reporter presents their news report to the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write a series of statements related to the article on the board (e.g., “High-value heists are becoming more common,” “Tracking devices are effective in recovering stolen goods,” “Luxury goods like champagne are too heavily targeted by thieves”). Students move around the room and sign their names under the statements they agree with. After everyone has participated, discuss the results and ask students to defend their opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down keywords from the article (e.g., “heist,” “champagne,” “tracking device,” “motorway,” “escape”) on slips of paper. Divide the class into two teams. Members from each team take turns drawing the words on the board without speaking or writing letters or numbers. Their team has to guess the word within a set time limit.

– Article Timeline
Instructions: Hand out a series of events from the article, but out of order (e.g., “Thieves steal two truckloads of champagne,” “Police chase the thieves on the A4 motorway,” “Police recover the stolen champagne,” “The thieves escape,” “Trucks are found near Paris”). Students must work in pairs to put the events in the correct order as quickly as possible. The first pair to correctly order the timeline wins.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students work in small groups to discuss possible outcomes of the incident. Prompt them to use future tense constructions to make predictions (e.g., “The police will catch the thieves within a week,” “The company will increase their security measures,” “The stolen champagne will become famous”). Each group shares their predictions with the class, and the class votes on which they think are the most likely to happen.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What items were stolen in the heist in France?
2. How much was the stolen champagne worth in total?
3. In which region did the theft occur?
4. How were the police able to track down the stolen trucks?
5. What brand of champagne was stolen from the trucks?
6. Where did the police catch up with the trucks during the chase?
7. Describe how one of the thieves managed to escape after the police slowed down the truck.
8. What was the condition of the champagne bottles when they were recovered?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Thieves in (1)______ pulled off a big heist by stealing two truckloads of champagne (2)______ €600,000. The incident (3)______ near Reims, which is in the (4)______ region. The stolen trucks had tracking devices, so the police were able to find them and chase after them on the A4 motorway between Reims and Paris. Even though they eventually found the (5)______, the thieves managed to get away. The trucks (6)______ to a company in Reims, and the stolen champagne was from the (7)______ brand Moët & Chandon. Each load of champagne was worth €300,000. The (8)______ tracked the trucks near Pontault-Combault, which is about 20km from central Paris, and two police cars were (9)______ in the chase. The thieves tried to escape by making (10)______ turns. The (11)______ were able to slow down one of the trucks, and the driver (12)______ out and got into a car that was following the trucks. The car then sped away. The second truck took the next exit and was later found without the (13)______. The police are currently (14)______ the (15)______. Luckily, all the champagne bottles were found (16)______, although they might have been shaken up a bit during the chase.
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Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is your favorite type of celebration drink, and why do you like it?
2. How would you feel if something valuable of yours was stolen?
3. Do you think stealing is ever justified? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever had something stolen from you? What happened?
5. What do you think about police chases? Are they exciting or scary to you?
6. If you were a police officer, how would you try to catch a thief?
7. Do you like watching movies or reading stories about heists? Can you name one?
8. How important do you think it is for stolen goods to be returned undamaged?
9. What do you think is the best way to protect valuable things from being stolen?
10. Do you think the thieves should have been chased on the motorway, or was it too dangerous?
11. Have you ever been to France or another country famous for a certain product, like champagne in Reims?
12. What do you think makes a brand like Moët & Chandon famous? Is it the quality, the history, or something else?
13. How do you think the company felt when they found out their champagne was stolen?
14. What kind of punishment do you think fits a crime like stealing two truckloads of champagne?
15. Do you think the thieves planned the heist for a long time, or was it a spur-of-the-moment decision? Why do you think that?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. heist
2. tracking devices
3. motorway
4. escape
5. undamaged
6. shaken up
7. incident
8. investigating

Meanings:
(a) An event or occurrence
(b) A big robbery or theft
(c) To get away from danger or capture
(d) To be disturbed or disrupted
(e) A large road for cars and trucks
(f) Not harmed or broken
(g) To examine or look into something
(h) Devices that help locate stolen items
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the champagne heist take place?
(a) Near Reims
(b) Near Paris
(c) Near Pontault-Combault
(d) Near Moët & Chandon

2. How much was the stolen champagne worth?
(a) €600,000
(b) €300,000
(c) €200,000
(d) €100,000

3. How did the police find the stolen trucks?
(a) The thieves were caught on camera
(b) A witness reported the theft
(c) The police received an anonymous tip
(d) The trucks had tracking devices

4. What brand was the stolen champagne from?
(a) Veuve Clicquot
(b) Moët & Chandon
(c) Dom Pérignon
(d) Krug

5. Where did the police track the stolen trucks?
(a) Reims
(b) Paris
(c) Champagne region
(d) Pontault-Combault

6. How did the thieves try to escape?
(a) By driving faster than the police
(b) By making sudden turns
(c) By hiding in a nearby building
(d) By switching vehicles

7. What happened to one of the trucks during the chase?
(a) The police caught up and arrested the driver
(b) The truck crashed into a barrier
(c) The driver jumped out and got into a car
(d) The truck ran out of fuel

8. What was the condition of the stolen champagne bottles?
(a) They were shattered
(b) They were missing
(c) They were found undamaged
(d) They were opened and partially consumed

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. The police were unable to slow down one of the trucks, and the driver escaped in a car that was not following the trucks.
2. Thieves in France did not steal two truckloads of champagne worth €600,000.
3. Each truckload of champagne was not valued at €300,000.
4. Despite finding the champagne, the thieves managed to escape.
5. The stolen champagne did not belong to the well-known brand Moët & Chandon.
6. The stolen trucks were equipped with tracking devices, allowing the police to locate them.
7. The theft occurred near Reims, which is in the Champagne region of France.
8. The police tracked the trucks near Pontault-Combault, which is about 20km from central Paris.
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. Where did the champagne theft take place in France?
2. How much was the stolen champagne worth in total?
3. What helped the police to locate the stolen trucks?
4. Describe how the thieves managed to escape from the police.
5. What condition were the champagne bottles in when they were found?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What items were stolen in the heist in France?
Two truckloads of champagne were stolen.

2. How much was the stolen champagne worth in total?
The stolen champagne was worth a total of €600,000.

3. In which region did the theft occur?
The theft occurred near Reims, in the Champagne region.

4. How were the police able to track down the stolen trucks?
The police were able to track down the stolen trucks because they had tracking devices.

5. What brand of champagne was stolen from the trucks?
The stolen champagne was from the famous brand Moët & Chandon.

6. Where did the police catch up with the trucks during the chase?
The police caught up with the trucks on the A4 motorway between Reims and Paris.

7. Describe how one of the thieves managed to escape after the police slowed down the truck.
After the police slowed down the truck, the driver jumped out and got into a car that was following the trucks, which then sped away.

8. What was the condition of the champagne bottles when they were recovered?
All the champagne bottles were found undamaged, although they might have been shaken up a bit during the chase.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) France
(2) worth
(3) happened
(4) Champagne
(5) champagne
(6) belonged
(7) famous
(8) police
(9) involved
(10) sudden
(11) officers
(12) jumped
(13) driver
(14) investigating
(15) incident
(16) undamaged
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. heist
Answer: (b) A big robbery or theft

2. tracking devices
Answer: (h) Devices that help locate stolen items

3. motorway
Answer: (e) A large road for cars and trucks

4. escape
Answer: (c) To get away from danger or capture

5. undamaged
Answer: (f) Not harmed or broken

6. shaken up
Answer: (d) To be disturbed or disrupted

7. incident
Answer: (a) An event or occurrence

8. investigating
Answer: (g) To examine or look into something
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the champagne heist take place?
Answer: (a) Near Reims

2. How much was the stolen champagne worth?
Answer: (a) €600,000

3. How did the police find the stolen trucks?
Answer: (d) The trucks had tracking devices

4. What brand was the stolen champagne from?
Answer: (b) Moët & Chandon

5. Where did the police track the stolen trucks?
Answer: (d) Pontault-Combault

6. How did the thieves try to escape?
Answer: (b) By making sudden turns

7. What happened to one of the trucks during the chase?
Answer: (c) The driver jumped out and got into a car

8. What was the condition of the stolen champagne bottles?
Answer: (c) They were found undamaged
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. The police were unable to slow down one of the trucks, and the driver escaped in a car that was not following the trucks. (Answer: False)
2. Thieves in France did not steal two truckloads of champagne worth €600,000. (Answer: False)
3. Each truckload of champagne was not valued at €300,000. (Answer: False)
4. Despite finding the champagne, the thieves managed to escape. (Answer: True)
5. The stolen champagne did not belong to the well-known brand Moët & Chandon. (Answer: False)
6. The stolen trucks were equipped with tracking devices, allowing the police to locate them. (Answer: True)
7. The theft occurred near Reims, which is in the Champagne region of France. (Answer: True)
8. The police tracked the trucks near Pontault-Combault, which is about 20km from central Paris. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧