HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

MUHAMMAD
ALI DIES

QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet

Expemo code:
14IN-H22C-NCQL

1 Key words

Match the terms on the left to the definitions on the right.

1. a champion a. an illness

2. a title b. a person, animal, or team that wins a competition

3. the ring c. causing an angry reaction, usually on purpose

4. float d. take somebody away because they broke the law

5. provocative e. the area where boxers fight

6. a disease f. to leave your job and stop working, usually because you are old

7. arrest g. to stay in the air, or move gently through the air

8. retire h. what you get if you win an important sports competition

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in jose uribe 's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

MUHAMMAD ALI DIES

2 Find the information

What do you know about Muhammad Ali? Choose the best answers and then scan the text to check.

1. Where was Muhammad Ali born?

a. Louisville b. Lost Angeles c. Mississippi

2. How old was he when he started training?

a. 8 years old b. 12 years old c. 14 years old

3. How old was he when he first won the heavyweight title?

a. 22 years old b. 26 years old c. 32 years old

4. When did he retire?

a. In 1978 b. In 1980 c. In 1981

5. How many times did he fight?

a. 31 b. 41 c. 61

6. How many times did he lose?

a. 0 b. 2 c. 5

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in jose uribe 's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

MUHAMMAD ALI DIES

Muhammad Ali dies

6th June 2016

1.
On Saturday, people around the world learned about
the death of Muhammad Ali. For many years, the
former heavyweight boxing champion had serious
health problems, but his death was still a shock to
many people.
2.
Many famous people have shown their respect for
the great sportsman. US President Barack Obama
said that Ali changed the world. And former President
Bill Clinton talked about how brave and kind Ali was.
3.
Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
He started to train when he was 12 years old and
at 22 he won the heavyweight championship from
Sonny Liston in 1964. He was also the first boxer
who won the world heavyweight title three different
times.
4.
Ali had a very unusual boxing style for a heavyweight.
He often said, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".
He didn’t punch much harder than other fighters, but
he was very fast and he moved a lot in the ring and
threw quick punches.
5.
Ali was well-known for his funny and provocative way
of talking as well as his boxing skills inside the ring.
6.
But he also had strong political and social opinions.
He gave speeches at colleges and universities across
the country, which was very rare for a boxer. He was
also famous because he said that he would not fight
for the US in the Vietnam War. As a result, the police
arrested him and he lost his boxing license for nearly
four years. However, because of his behaviour, many
people started to speak against the war in public.
7.
Ali’s boxing career finished in 1981, when he lost
to Trevor Berbick in a one-sided match. For many
people, he retired too late. Ali fought a total of 61
times as a professional, losing five times and winning
37 matches by knockout.
8.
Soon after retiring, people started to talk about the
state of Ali’s health because he was speaking more
slowly and he often seemed tired. Later, it became
known that Ali was suffering from a serious illness
called Parkinson’s disease. However, he continued to
travel and appear in public.
9.
When somebody asked him how he would like to
be remembered, he said that he would like to be
remembered as a man who won the heavyweight
title three times, who was funny and who treated
everyone well.
Sources: BBC, Wikipedia

3 Checking understanding

Read the text again and put T (True) or F (False) next to each statement below. Explain why the ‘False
answers’ are false.

1. When Muhammad Ali died, nobody was surprised.

2. Ali was known for his hard punches.
3. His behaviour outside the ring was not normal for a boxer.
4. Ali was not allowed to box for nearly four years because he chose not to fight in the Vietnam War.
5. Many people felt that they could speak publicly against the Vietnam War because of Muhammad
Ali.
6. Ali’s last fight was very close.
7. Soon after he retired, everybody learned that Ali had Parkinson’s disease.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in jose uribe 's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

MUHAMMAD ALI DIES

4 Collocations

Match the verbs on the left to the words on the right to form phrases from the text.

1. suffer from a. a disease

2. show b. a punch

3. win c. a speech

4. throw d. in a war

5. give e. respect

6. fight f. the title

Now make up a sentence for each phrase.

5 Talking point

Discuss any of the questions below in pairs or groups.

1. What do you think of Muhammad Ali?

2. What other famous sportsmen do you think are ‘great’? Why?
3. Do you think boxing is a dangerous sport?

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 4/4

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in jose uribe 's lessons.