Instructors Page

The Passive
Food Safety
Activity type: Unscramble
Level: High Intermediate
Purpose: Students practice using the
passive to recreate a story.
Set-up: Groups or pairs
Time: 5 minutes to prepare / 20 minutes
to do the activity

Materials Preparation:
1. Make one copy of the Students Page
for each group.
2. Make sure each group has scissors,
or cut out the sentences on the
Students Page ahead of time.

Procedure
1. Tell students they are going to work in
groups to put sentences from a story in
the correct order.
2. Pass out one Students Page to each
group, and tell them to cut out the strips
(if you have not done so ahead of time).
3. Ask each group to pass out the strips
of paper so that each group member
has at least one.
4. Tell groups that the student with the
sentence numbered 1 will begin by
reading the sentence aloud. This is the
beginning of the story. Then the student
who thinks he or she has the second
sentence reads it aloud. Another student
may disagree and read his or her
sentence aloud. When the group is
satisfied that they have sentence 2, they
continue to look for sentence 3, and so
on.
5. Walk around to monitor groups
progress and answer questions if
needed.

Grammar and Beyond Communicative Activities

6. Once groups have put sentences in a

logical order, ask them to number the
sentences 112. Read the possible
answer and ask if any groups put all the
sentences in this order. If there are
variations in the order of sentences,
make sure these variations make sense.
Possible Answer:
1. As the world population continues to grow
rapidly . . . / 2. The problem is serious in
countries throughout the world . . . / 3. Other
challenges which must be addressed
include . . . / 4. Because foods from a wide
variety of places are demanded by
consumers . . . / 5. It is true that food
products such as sugar, wheat, rice, and
coffee . . . / 6. However, what is new is the
year-round demand . . . / 7. Additional
challenges to food safety include
environmental pollution . . . / 8. Should, for
example, animal products or corn be
included . . . / 9. We, at home, also need to
be concerned about food safety . . . / 10.
The temperature at which raw meat, poultry,
and fresh vegetables are stored . . . / 11. Dry
foods should be placed in plastic containers
. . . / 12. Finally, we need to keep knives,
cutting boards, counters, and our hands
clean . . .

Follow-up
Have students underline the passive
verb forms in the sentences. Ask
students to circle the agent (if it is
named) or write what the agent might be
(if it is not named). Discuss answers as
a class.

Cambridge University Press 2012

Photocopiable

Students Page

The Passive | Unscramble

Food Safety
1 Cut out the strips. Mix them up.
2 Pass out all of the strips. Everyone should have at least one strip.
3 Begin with the sentence labeled 1. Work as a group and read your sentences aloud to
put the story in the correct order.
1) As the world population continues to grow rapidly, governments and public health
agencies are becoming increasingly concerned about keeping our food supply safe
from bacteria, viruses, and other forms of contamination.
Dry foods should be placed in plastic containers. Cardboard boxes should not be
used for long-term storage as they attract insects.
However, what is new is the year-round demand for fresh fruits and vegetables.
For example, peaches harvested in Australia during their summer are shipped to
countries like the United States and Canada during their winter months.
Because foods from a wide variety of places are demanded by consumers, food in
supermarkets was not always grown locally. One downside to importing foods from
faraway places is that it has the potential to introduce contamination.
Additional challenges to food safety include environmental pollution as well as
natural and manmade disasters. Furthermore, changes to the diet of cattle and
poultry are named as potential food safety issues by the World Health
Organization.
Finally, we need to keep knives, cutting boards, counters, and our hands clean.
Soap is our first defense against illness.
Other challenges which must be addressed include the globalization of food and
the demands of consumers all over the world.
It is true that food products such as sugar, wheat, rice, and coffee have been
imported from countries around the globe for a very long time.
The temperature at which raw meat, poultry, and fresh vegetables are stored is
important. Refrigerator temperatures should be kept at a maximum of 40 degrees,
and freezer temperatures should be maintained below zero degrees.
The problem is serious in countries throughout the world. In the United States, for
example, it is estimated that around 76 million cases of illness occur each year
from food-borne disease.
Should, for example, animal products or corn be included in the diets of grass-fed
cattle raised for beef?
We, at home, also need to be concerned about food safety. We all should be
aware of safe ways to prepare our meals.

Grammar and Beyond Communicative Activities

Cambridge University Press 2012

Photocopiable