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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

DOCTOR
WHO
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1 Warm up

Match the words with the following pictures and answer the questions.

1) a Cyberman 2) a Dalek 3) the Tardis 4) The Doctor

A B C D

1. Do you know what the photos show?? What do you know about them?
2. Do you enjoy watching Science Fiction films or TV shows? Why/Why not?
3. Is Science Fiction popular in your country? Why/Why not?
4. What genre of fiction do you most like to read? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Horror? Romance?
Crime Fiction? Why do you like it?

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DOCTOR WHO

2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the following words to their definitions.

1. onset (n) a. a living being that will die

2. inadvertently (adv.) b. a thorough examination of something

3. scrutiny (n) c. in a way that is not planned

4. enforced (adj.) d. made to do something, usually by a figure of authority,

without any choice
5. revenue (n) e. money received from providing a service or selling a product

6. mortal (adj.) f. the main, long-term, enemy of someone

7. archnemesis (n) g. the start of something happening, usually negative

8. encompass (v) h. to group a large number of things together

Part B: Now complete the following sentences with the words from Part A.

1. We anticipate that branching out into the Asian market will considerably increase our
.
2. I particularly love the Sherlock Holmes stories when he is forced to battle with his
, Professor Moriarty.
3. It’s suddenly really cold today. I think this marks the of Winter.
4. My job can a wide range of responsibilities: from designing book covers to writing
material, I do it all!
5. Almost ten years since his exile from the United States, Edward Snowden still
resides in Russia.
6. The Prime Minister’s lies, while convincing at first, did not stand up to .
7. I’m so embarrassed! I thought I was phoning my wife, but I called my Mum. Worst
five minutes of my life!
8. He often acts like he’s a god, but then he makes a mistake and is reminded that he’s just a mere
.

Now underline the correct form of the word from Part A in the following questions and answer them.

1. Have you ever made a decision that had an inadvertent/inadvertence/inadvertently effect on

someone else? What was it? What happened?
2. If you were able to scrutiny/scrutinised/scrutinise someone’s private email account, who would
it be? Why would you choose them?
3. If you woke up one day to find that you were mortally/immortal/mortal, what would you do with
your life?
4. If you could enforceable/enforce/enforcement a new law in your country, what would it be? Why
would you choose that law?

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3 Scanning for details

Quickly find the following numbers in the text on page four and write down what they represent.

1. 82
2. 500,000,000
3. 72
4. 1963
5. hundreds
6. 13

4 Comprehension

Complete the following sentences with no more than three words from the text.

1. When the pandemic unexpectedly hit in March 2020, the British public required
.
2. The BBC currently receives its revenue from a which must be paid if
you own a television in the UK.
3. Aside from entertainment and education, the BBC also has an objective .
4. Having had difficulties in the past, the BBC found that, due to the pandemic, the British public
returned to them for .
5. If the Doctor takes , they are able to take on a new human form, as they
are an alien life form.
6. Part of Doctor Who’s appeal is the enemies the Doctor has against,
such as the Daleks, the Cybermen and The Master.
7. With the arrival of lockdown, Watchalongs were a , allowing people to
share the experience of watching the same show or film while communicating about it online.
8. Although Doctor Who is , it was able to provide support and help for
people in real life.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
DOCTOR WHO
Doctor Who and the Pandemic
How the Doctor nursed Britain through a crisis
1.
With its population seemingly fragmented due to
the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Britain was
looking for guidance and reassurance from within
the constraints of the first lockdown. The British
Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) discovered that
Doctor Who, a firm fan favourite, inadvertently came
to be a key component in its response.
2.
Prior to this, the BBC had been under financial
scrutiny and political pressure. Historically, it has
been funded by the British public paying an enforced
licence fee. Yet in the age of digital streaming, this
method seems outmoded and many have urged the
BBC to find alternate ways of raising revenue. To add
to this, there have been increased accusations of bias
against the supposedly politically neutral company.
However, with the nation in lockdown, the BBC had
a renewed sense of being able to meet its stated
aims: to entertain, to inform and to educate. 82%
of UK adults turned to the BBC for their news and
information in the first week of national lockdown
in March 2020. During the following May, there
were half a billion hits on iPlayer, the BBC’s video-on-
demand service, a 72% increase on the same month
in the previous year. The Great British public had
returned to the BBC for comfort and hope in a time
of crisis.
3.
Doctor Who was first broadcast by the BBC back in
1963. It told of the Doctor, an alien life form known
as a "Time Lord" who takes the form of a human.
Together with a, usually mortal, companion, they
voyage through the universe in his time-travelling
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spaceship, the TARDIS (an acronym for Time And
Relative Dimension In Space). The Doctor is hundreds
of years old and is able to regenerate when its current
human form has taken excessive damage. With each
new form, the appearance, gender and personality of
the Doctor can change. Therefore, to date, thirteen
different actors have played the role of the Doctor
since it first came to our screens almost 60 years ago.
Of course, no hero would be worth anything without
enemies to battle, and Doctor Who has plenty. The
Daleks, the Cybermen and, not least, The Master
- the Doctor’s archnemesis - have all been deeply
implanted into the consciousness of fans around the
world.
4.
It was this global network of fans that fuelled
the lockdown social phenomenon of "Watchalongs"
- people viewing the same show online while
communicating about it via social media. The stars
of the show, as well as the writers and producers,
joined in, thereby creating a real sense of community
to fill the void created by the pandemic. This in
turn has produced a slew of new writing for the
series, encompassing backstories to the characters,
dramatic monologues, short stories and a poem.
In addition, actors from the series have delivered
messages on social distancing and support for the
NHS workers, raising both awareness and money for
supporting charities. Thus, the fictional Doctor, in the
time-travelling TARDIS, was able to heal and unite its
devotees across the UK and the world.
Sources: The Conversation, BBC
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DOCTOR WHO

5 Synonyms
Scan through the text and find synonyms for the words in bold in the following sentences.

1. : When it comes to delivering the vegetables, there are strict time limits to ensure
everything is fresh. (Paragraph 1)
2. : The company’s computer systems are very dated and are due to be upgraded.
(Paragraph 2)
3. : When the papers had been marked, the teacher was accused of favouritism
towards certain students. (Paragraph 2)
4. : The documentary was fascinating. Did you know that lizards are able to regrow
their tails if they lose them? (Paragraph 3)
5. : I didn’t listen in Science when I was at school, so there’s a pretty large gap in
my knowledge now. (Paragraph 4)
6. : There’s a bunch of new bands and new music coming out of London at the
moment. Some of them are amazing. (Paragraph 4)
7. : The boys are such fans of Science Fiction. When they’re not reading Sci-Fi
novels, they’re watching the Star Trek films. (Paragraph 4)

6 Collocations
Find two-word collocations in the text with the following meanings.

1. important part (Paragraph 1)

2. subject to great stress (Paragraph 2)
3. not taking sides in politics (Paragraph 2)
4. given objectives (Paragraph 2)
5. worldwide connection (Paragraph 4)
6. giving something publicity (Paragraph 4)

7 Talking point
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Why do you think TV programmes like Doctor Who are so popular?

2. Do you think Science Fiction is unimportant or can it help us to process aspects of real life? Give
reasons for your answer.
3. What Science Fiction books, films or TV programmes have you watched and enjoyed in the past?
Why did you enjoy them?
4. Find a clip from Doctor Who on the Internet (there are clips on You Tube or you may have access
to a subscription service with access to Doctor Who). What do you like and dislike about the clip?

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8 Extended exercise/homework

Watch an episode of Doctor Who and write a review.

1. Give a brief description of what happens in the episode, who the characters were and your
opinion of what happened.
2. What did you think of the acting? The effects? The story?
3. How would you describe it to someone who has never seen the show? Would you recommend
it to a friend or family member? Why/Why not?

• Be sure to check your grammar, spelling and punctuation before submitting your work.
• Write at least 250 words.

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

DOCTOR WHO

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
You may want to start the students talking in pairs, but open it up to a class discussion after a while so that the
class can pool its knowledge about Doctor Who. The TARDIS, the Daleks, and the Cybermen are all mentioned in
the text. You may want to extend this section and prepare a short clip from the show to introduce the idea. There
is a Doctor Who channel on You Tube, and there will be clips available elsewhere too.
The TARDIS is the time-travelling spaceship that the Doctor and his companions travel around the universe in. It
is famously larger on the inside than it looks from the outside and looks like a Police Box.
The Daleks and the Cybermen are long-term enemies of the Doctor and favourites of fans of the show.
1B, 2D, 3A, 4C

2. Focus on vocabulary

Part A
5 mins.
Ask the students to match the vocabulary to the definitions. Ensure they can pronounce all the target words
correctly. Lower-level students may require a dictionary or the Internet to complete the exercise but have them
attempt it without in the first instance.

1. g 2. c 3. b 4. d 5. e 6. a 7. f 8. h
Part B
10 mins.
Ask students to complete the sentences with the words from Part A. When they have completed that, ask them
to complete and answer the questions. They may require a dictionary for this section.

1. revenue 2. archnemesis 3. onset 4. encompass

5. enforced 6. scrutiny 7. inadvertently 8. mortal
Questions:

1. inadvertent 2. scrutinise 3. immortal 4. enforce

3. Scanning for details

5 mins.
You may want to set a strict time limit for this to encourage scanning rather than detailed reading. Note that some
of the numbers appear as words.

1. The percentage of UK adults who went to the BBC for news in the first week of lockdown in March 2020.
2. (written as words) The number of hits BBC iPlayer received in May 2020.
3. The percentage increase in BBC iPlayer usage in May 2020 compared to May 2019.
4. The year Doctor Who was first broadcast.
5. Years the Doctor has been alive
6. (written as a word) The number of actors who have played the Doctor to date.

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DOCTOR WHO

4. Comprehension

10 mins.
Ask the students to read in more detail and complete the sentences with one, two or three words from the text.

1. guidance and reassurance 2. licence fee

3. to inform 4. comfort and hope
5. excessive damage 6. to battle
7. social phenomenon 8. fictional

5. Synonyms

5 mins.
Ask students to scan through the text to find the synonyms. You may want lower-level students to use a dictionary
or the Internet to help them.

1. constraints 2. outmoded 3. bias 4. regenerate

5. void 6. slew 7. devotees

6. Collocations

5 mins.
Ask the students to find the collocations. Not all of the words appear together in the text.

1. key component 2. under pressure (not together) 3. politically neutral

4. stated aims 5. global network 6. raising awareness (not together)

7. Talking point

10 mins.
You may want to allow the students to find their own clip on the Internet or prepare one, or more, for them to
watch. Be aware that Doctor Who may not be to everyone’s taste, but encourage a positive, considered response.
Ask students to qualify their opinions with reasons and if they do not like the show, ask them to discuss what they
do like and why.

8. Extended exercise/homework

90 mins.
You may want to watch the episode in class or ask the students to watch it at home. An episode is 45 minutes
long. Episodes are widely available online and on DVD. You may want to ask students to write in pairs and peer
review each other’s work.

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