A A GENERAL ISSUES

Coronavirus
Lesson code: 111V-93D8-J5IL INTERMEDIATE B1-B2
American English

1 Warm-up
Look at this picture and say what you know about the situation:

• What's happening?
• How did it start?
• Have similar things happened before?

• What might happen in the future?

2 Read for main idea

You are going to read an article about the coronavirus epidemic. First, read the article quickly and
choose the best title for it:

• Coronavirus - the situation today

• Coronavirus - lessons from the past

• Coronavirus - what will the future bring?

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 Coronavirus
A A A A
1 In December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases
were reported in Wuhan, eastern China. The
pneumonia is associated with a new type of
coronavirus. This virus has now spread to other
cities in China. There have also been cases in
other countries around the world.
2 Coronaviruses get their names because they look
like crowns under the microscope. This group of
viruses cause disease in humans and other
animals, including pigs and chickens.
3 It is thought that the new coronavirus outbreak
started in a market in Wuhan, which sold meat
and live animals. Scientists say that the virus is
not closely related to any human virus currently
known.
4 The World Health Organization has told countries
around the world to track respiratory infections in
their populations. There is currently no
vaccination against the corona virus.
5 The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is similar to the
2002-03 epidemic of SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) coronavirus. This outbreak,
which started in south China, lasted for over nine
months. It spread to 37 countries, causing 8,098 12 How the new Wuhan coronavirus came to be in
people to become ill and 774 to die.
6 Nearly 10% of people who were infected with
SARS died. The deadly nature of the disease, the
frequent human-to-human spread, and infection
of hospital staff contributed to the seriousness of
the outbreak.
7 SARS was traced to several types of wild animals,
which were sold as food in markets. The infected
animals had no symptoms. The outbreak was
stopped by closing markets and killing animals,
and by treating and isolating patients.
8 SARS has not been seen since 2003 and it is
thought that the virus has now disappeared. The
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GENERAL ISSUES
new Wuhan coronavirus is similar to viruses
related to SARS which are found in bats.
9 There are seven coronaviruses known to infect
people, including the new Wuhan coronavirus and
SARS. Other human coronaviruses are those that
cause the common cold, as well as the deadly
MERS virus.
10 MERS is a common cold virus that often jumps
from camels to humans in the Middle East. It can
cause severe pneumonia in people and spread
from person to person. MERS was identified in
2012 and continues to be a significant problem in
the Middle East. Nearly 2,500 cases of MERS
have been identified, causing 858 deaths.
11 Coronaviruses appear to jump easily between
species, and the Wuhan virus could be the third
time this has happened with humans in the last 20
years. In 2016, another coronavirus was
responsible for 24,000 pig deaths in southern
China. This particular virus jumped from bats to
pigs but did not spread to humans.
humans, and how closely it will resemble the
SARS outbreak, will be a focus of ongoing
research.
13 Outbreaks of new viruses, such as the Wuhan
coronavirus, are a reminder of the need to invest
in research in virus biology and evolution, how
viruses infect and interact with human cells, and
most importantly, to identify safe and effective
drugs to treat or vaccines to prevent serious
disease.
Adapted from theconversation.com, by Connor
Bamford, Research Fellow, Virology, Queen's
University Belfast
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 Coronavirus
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

3 Vocabulary to help
Before you read the article again, you need to know these words. Read this summary of the article and
explain what the words in bold mean.

The article describes how viruses have spread to humans from different species of
animals. People with these infections develop severe symptoms and can sometimes
die. Several factors have contributed to these outbreaks of the coronavirus.

Here are some more words you need to know. Match each word/phrase in bold from the article with
its meaning.

1. In December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, eastern China.
2. Coronaviruses ... look like crowns under the microscope.
3. The World Health Organization has told countries around the world to track respiratory infections
in their populations.
4. There is currently no vaccination against the coronavirus.
5. SARS was traced to several types of wild animals, which were sold as food in markets.
6. The outbreak was stopped ... by isolating patients.

a. count how many people have lung/breathing infections

b. items worn by a king or queen on their head, usually made of gold, to show their position
c. keeping sick people alone so that they cannot make anyone else ill
d. medicine to prevent sickness, which is delivered into the body by a needle
e. people who were sick with a serious disease of the lungs
f. the origin of something was identified LE

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 Coronavirus
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

4 Read for detail

Now read the article again and complete the table below, comparing three types of coronaviruses. If
the article does not include this information, write NG (not given).

SARS MERS the new coronavirus

Year

Place it started

How long it went

on for

Countries affected
(how many or
where)

How many people

got ill

How many people

died

Source - where it
came from

5 Discuss
Discuss any/all of these questions in pairs or groups. Use vocabulary and information from the lesson,
and phrases from the useful language presented below.

• How are the three outbreaks described in the article the same? How are they different?
• What should people do in the future to avoid coming into contact with coronaviruses?

• What can governments do to help slow down the spread of viruses?

• What two areas for future research does the author list? Which do you think is more important and why?

Useful language for talking about something you aren't very sure about:

I'm not an expert, but... ...it seems to me that...

From what I've heard/read... ...it's likely that...
I guess nobody really knows, but... ...maybe...
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 Coronavirus - Key
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

1- Warm-up

10 mins. If you feel your class is well-informed about this news story, they could discuss the questions in pairs
or threes first, before you conduct a quick feedback session. Otherwise, you could go over the questions with the
whole class. The aim of this stage is to make students familiar with the topic of the lesson and to arouse curiosity
about the topic; it's fine if they don't know much about this. It also provides an opportunity to feed in some of the
language they will be exploring during the lesson, e.g., epidemic, virus, spread.

ANSWERS: there is a coronavirus epidemic which started in December/January in Wuhan in China. Students will
read about how it started, but they may be able to explain that it came from wild animals. There have been several
similar epidemics in the recent past. Students may say that in the future, the epidemic may get worse and that
many people may die, but also that we may find a treatment for the disease.

2- Read for main idea

5 mins. In this stage, students skim-read the article in 3 - 4 minutes. The aim is to make them familiar with
the general contents and how these are organized; they should ignore new vocabulary and not get worried about
things they don't understand immediately. Elicit/explain the meaning of epidemic, if this has not arisen in the
warm-up. Show the students the three options before they read, and after the time is up, check answers with the
whole class.

ANSWER: the best title is B, as the article discusses previous epidemics caused by the same family of viruses.

3- Vocabulary to help

20 mins. In the first exercise, it will be within the reach of students at B1/B2 level to explain what these key items
from the summary mean. If your class is mono-lingual, it could be appropriate to translate the words/phrases.
This might also be a good opportunity for dictionary work, especially if the level is lower. Make sure students can
pronounce each item - the stressed syllable is underlined. The items in the first exercise should become part of
your students' active vocabulary. However, the items in the second matching exercise are more advanced and are
presented here simply to help with the reading task.

ANSWERS: exercise 1 - viruses = very small living things that cause disease in humans and animals; spread =
reach a group or a large area; species = a group of animals which look the same and can reproduce together;
infections = diseases, sicknesses, illnesses which you catch from another person; severe = with a serious
negative effect; symptoms = the things your body does when it's sick, e.g., cough, sneeze, have a fever; contribute
to = be one of several reasons why something happens; outbreak = a time when a disease suddenly appears for
the first time.

1. e 2. b 3. a 4. d 5. f 6. c

4- Read for detail

15 mins. In this stage, students reread the article to find and make notes about key information relating to three
recent epidemics. Explain that not all the information is contained in the article; you could point out that Not Given
is an option for true/false questions on the IELTS exams. Students can work alone to find the information and
then check answers in pairs, before you check with the whole class. This provides an opportunity to revise how
to say large numbers, e.g., eight thousand and ninety-eight people were ill with SARS. Elicit that the Middle East
is countries in the vicinity of Saudi Arabia. Using your discretion, you may want to check the news on the day of
the lesson to provide up-to-date information on the number of countries, people affected, and fatalities for the
coronavirus if the information is NG.
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 Coronavirus - Key
A A A A GENERAL ISSUES

YEAR: SARS 2002-2003, MERS 2012, Coronavirus 2019-2020

PLACE IT STARTED: SARS S.China, MERS Middle East, Coronavirus - Wuhan, Eastern China
LENGTH: SARS over 9 months, MERS ongoing, Coronavirus NG/ongoing
COUNTRIES: SARS 37 around the world, MERS In the Middle East, Coronavirus around the world
PEOPLE ILL: SARS 8,098, MERS nearly 2,500, Coronavirus NG (ongoing)
PEOPLE DIED: SARS 774, MERS 858, Coronavirus NG (ongoing)
SOURCE: SARS wild animals in food markets, MERS camels, Coronavirus meat and live animals
in food markets

5- Discuss

10 mins. Go over the questions and also the useful language box. The phrases in the box are mix and match, i.e.,
you can use any of the first phrases with any of the second ones. Having a phrase to start off an answer, especially
a phrase which signals that the speaker is speculating, can build confidence (especially in exam contexts) and
also ensures that any answer given sounds more sophisticated! Students can discuss these questions in pairs or
small groups, before reporting their ideas back to the class. When they do this, encourage them to speak in full
sentences, starting with one of the phrases, and use vocabulary from the lesson.

ANSWERS: students will have their own answers, but these may include - 1) all the outbreaks were caused by
the same family of viruses (coronaviruses) and all originated in wild animals. They are different in terms of how
long they lasted and both percentage and number of deaths they caused. 2) it seems clear from the article that
contact with wild animals and/or live animals sold as food in markets is dangerous. 3) here students may mention
isolation, travel bans, face masks, and closure of public spaces. 4) the author says that new research should help
us understand the viruses and also find treatments for them.

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