News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 1

November 2010
Level ≥ Advanced
Style ≥ Individual or group activities
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of
English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to
practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: Advanced and Lower Intermediate.
These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardian.co.uk/weekly/. You can also find more advice
for teachers and learners from the Guardian Weekly’s Learning English section on the site.
Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Copper theft adds to UK travel misery

Delays ... 11,000 trains a year are hit by crime Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

2 Look at the headline, photo and caption of the

Before reading article. Answer the questions with a partner.
1 The article is about transport delays. Make notes to a What are people stealing in the UK? Why do you
complete the following sentences. Compare your think they might be stealing it?
your answers in small groups.
a Typical causes of delays to trains or buses in my
country are … b Where do you think people are stealing it from?
b The worst delay to a journey that I have experienced
was when …
c Delays to bus and train journeys in my country could c What problems is this theft causing?
be improved by …
≥2
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper
3 Vocabulary from the article. The text contains
some compound nouns. Match these nouns to the
definitions.
a There has recently been a terrible crimewave in
the town.
b The government has started a taskforce to deal
with the problem.
c All the people in this household have been
victims of crime.
d The burglar left a fingerprint on the broken
window.
e Thieves have also stolen things from the
trackside at railway stations.
f There have been problems with the rail network
in many areas.
1 a mark left by a person’s hand; the police can use this
to identify a criminal
2 a sudden increase in the number of burglaries or
thefts
3 the place along the edge of a railway line
4 a group of people who are brought together to deal
with a particular problem
5 a complicated system of roads, railway lines etc that
are connected
6 all the people living together in one home
Article
Copper theft adds to UK travel
misery
1 British train users have heard many explanations
for delays, from leaves on the line to the wrong
kind of snow. Now there is a new excuse: the
price of copper.
2 Soaring demand from China and India has
pushed copper theft from railway infrastructure
to record levels in Britain. The crimewave has
hit 11,000 trains in a year and delayed a million
passengers.
3 Network Rail has set up a taskforce to deal with
incidents that have seen $56m worth of copper
stripped from tracksides since 2006. If the
epidemic is unchecked, the annual takings of
thieves will be $32m a year by 2014, Network Rail
estimates.
Page 2
November 2010
4 The taskforce is calling for tougher sentencing
and legislation to give the police greater power
over dealers who sell on the stolen copper.
5 “Metal thieves targeting the railway are causing
misery to thousands of passengers and freight
users and costing the industry, and the wider
economy, tens of millions a year and rising,”
said Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s director of
operational services.
6 Gangs are disabling swaths of the rail network by
ripping out lines attached to track signals, which
use copper to convey control centre messages
and power. Once power is lost to rail signals,
the lights immediately switch to red until repair
teams arrive, causing instant disruption.
7 Trackside raids diminished in late 2008 as the
global copper price fell but have picked up again
and are reaching unprecedented levels as prices
have headed back to levels last seen in 2006 and
2007.
8 The rail network is not the only victim. Hundreds
of householders in the coastal village of Lympne,
in Kent, had their phone and internet broadband
services cut after the theft of copper cabling.
9 Earlier this year, 400 households in Bolton,
north-west England, were affected by a power
surge triggered by copper thieves, which caused
household appliances to catch fire.
10 Last month, telecoms company BT said it
would begin to use SmartWater technology – a
seemingly invisible liquid that will be used to
coat the inner core and outer shell of its copper
cable to create a forensic fingerprint. “Cable theft
affects not only us as a business, but millions
who rely on phones and broadband services,”
Bernie Auguste, BT Openreach’s head of security,
said. “We’re fighting back.”
Dan Milmo and Helen Carter
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News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 3

November 2010

Glossary d
2008?
did the number of thefts go down in

infrastructure (noun) the basic systems and services

that are needed to run a country or organisation.
Network Rail (noun) a company that operates the UK’s
rail infrastructure
swath (noun) a large area of something e in the UK did people have their
unprecedented (adjective) that has never happened communications cut?
before
surge (noun) a sudden increase in something

While reading f
thieves in Bolton?
was there an energy surge caused by

1 Read the article. Write true or false next to

the sentences. Underline where you find the
information in the text.
The theft of copper in the UK …
a is linked to the international demand for the metal. g exactly does the SmartWater
b will cost the rail company $56m a year in the future. technology work?
c is causing problems to both travellers and the UK
economy.
d makes signals on the railway system turn to green.
e could be stopped in the future by SmartWater
technology.
After reading
2 Complete the questions with these words. Then
answer the questions. 1 Phrasal verbs - What do these phrasal verbs from the
how, how many, what, when, where, who, why article mean?
a other two excuses have been given a Network Rail has set up a taskforce … (paragraph 3)
for UK train delays?

b The taskforce is calling for tougher sentencing. (para 4)

b trains are affected every year by this

problem?
c … greater powers over dealers who sell on the stolen
copper. (para 4)

c angrily described some of the wider

problems caused by the theft? d Gangs are disabling swaths of the rail network by
ripping out lines … (para 6)

≥4
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 4

November 2010

e … the copper prices fell but have picked up again …

(para 7) Activity – writing a profile
In the article, copper is being stolen because it is
an important international commodity. Decide if
you agree [A] or disagree [D] with these statements
f … prices have headed back to levels last seen in 2006 about commodities.
… (para 7) a There’s nothing new about the theft of a
commodity like copper. People have been stealing gold
and silver for centuries.
b In the future, our daily lives will become
increasingly affected by the international commodity
2 Use the correct form of the phrasal verbs from market.
exercise 1 to complete the sentences below. c The race to find scarce commodities will be the
a Thieves broke into the signal box yesterday and main cause of war in the future.
the cables. d In the next 50 years, people will begin to explore
b Now, rail companies other planets and bring back commodities.
an increase in e Clean water will one day become the world’s
the number of transport police. most valuable commodity.
c Experts believe that next year unemployment Make notes about why you agree or disagree. Look
towards 1992 back at the article to find useful vocabulary. Then
levels. discuss the statements in small groups.
d The police want to
a new
department to stop the crimewave.
e Last week, the value of gold
and increased
in value by 15%.
f The thief was caught when he tried to
the metal to
another criminal.

c Who; Dyan Crowther. d Why; Because the global copper price fell. e Where;
Answers Lympne in Kent. f When; Earlier this year. g How; It uses an invisible liquid to coat
Before reading the core and create a forensic fingerprint.
2 a Copper. It’s now very valuable because world prices have increased. b Lines of
cables along the railway tracks. c Delays to thousands of trains every year. After reading
3a2 b4c6d1e3 f5 1 a created; established b are publicly asking for c quickly resell it to another
person d violently pulling out e increased; improved f begun to return to
While reading 2 a ripped out b are calling for c will head back d set up e picked up f sell on
1 True sentences are: a, c and e.
2 a What; Leaves on the line and the wrong kind of snow. b How many; 11,000.