JANUARY 2009

PRINT & TEACH LESSON SEPTEMBER 2010

IT STARTED WITH A KISS

Language Function: discussing issues; reading comprehension advanced
upper-intermediate
Vocabulary/Topic: fire and light intermediate
pre-intermediate
Grammar Focus revision of past tenses

focus on talking
Activity 1. Read the beginning of a news story.

It was a huge inferno that took more than

100 fighters to put out, devastated several
buildings, and caused an estimated £40
million of damage. However, it was not the
scale of the damage that made the blaze at
Sosho nightclub in Shoreditch hit the
headlines, but its cause: an innocent kiss.

How did a kiss cause a fire? Write a possible scenario and,

then present it to other students.
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
.....................................................................................

focus on reading
Activity 2. Read the whole story on the next page to check
if any of your guesses as to how the fire started were
correct. Don’t fill out the blanks yet.

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IT STARTED WITH A KISS

Passionate Kiss Led

to £40 million Fire
based on stories from British newspapers

It was a huge inferno that took more than 100 fighters to put out,
devastated several buildings and caused an estimated £40 million of
damage. However, it was not the scale of the damage that made the
blaze at Sosho nightclub in Shoreditch hit the headlines, but its
cause: an innocent kiss.
According to Jonathan Downey, owner of the club, the fire was
caused by an Ikea tealight and it could have been prevented if it
1)........................................................... (not be) for a couple kissing in
one of the boots.
When at 6pm a waitress 2)........................................................... (light)
candles at the club, she 3)........................................................... (refrain) form lighting one of them
because she 4)........................................................... (not want) to disturb the couple who were
5)........................................................... (have) a snog.
She 6)........................................................... (return) to light it half an hour later, but at the end of the
night the tealight was forgotten about.
All the other eight-hour candles 7)........................................................... (go) out by closing time at
2am, however the one candle 8)........................................................... (remain) alight.
The fire needed 20 engines to put the fire out. By about 5am it had spread across four floors and
neighbouring buildings. Luckily, no one was hired. The identity of the kissing lovers is not known.

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IT STARTED WITH A KISS

Activity 3. Complete the text on page 2 with the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.

focus on vocabulary
Activity 4. Complete the sentence beginnings with appropriate endings.

1. If someone says that the fire caused an estimated £40 million of damage, it
means that ...
A. ... the damage is greater than £40 B. ... the cost of damage is roughly
million. calculated to be about £40 million.

2. If something hits the headlines, ...

A. ... it becomes a popular subject in B. ... it is discovered by journalists.
the news.

3. If something is innocent, ...

A. ... it is not intended to cause harm B. ... it is of high standard.
or offence.

4. If something could have been prevented, ...

A. ... it means that there was a B. ... it means that it could not have
chance of keeping it from happening. been avoided.

5. If you refrain from doing something, you ...

A. ... are afraid of doing something. B. ... stop yourself from doing
something.

6. If two people are having a snog, ...

A. ... they are having an argument. B. ... they are kissing and touching
each other lovingly.

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IT STARTED WITH A KISS

VOCABULARY
FOCUS FIRE & LIGHT
Activity 5. Complete the sentence beginnings with appropriate endings.

catch dazzled dim

flames give off gutted
raged scorch set

1. Don’t put those tealights near the windows - the curtains may .................................... fire.
2. The whole building was engulfed in .................................... within seconds.
3. We need to change a bulb in the lamp - this one doesn’t .................................... much light.
4. Make sure the iron is not too hot or you will .................................... the shirt.
5. An unknown arsonist has .................................... fire to two houses in the town.
6. Could you .................................... the lights? It’s too bright in here to watch TV.
7. The bright sunshine .................................... me and I had to put on my sunglasses.
8. The house was completely .................................... by fire.
9. The fire .................................... for days until the rains put it out.

Activity 6. Guess the meanings of these Fire & Light idioms.

• to come to light .................................................................................................

• to burn yourself out .................................................................................................
• to be dazzled .................................................................................................
• to have a fiery temper .................................................................................................
• to get on like a house on fire .................................................................................................

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