Gold rush in Mongolia

Level 2 Intermediate

1 Warmer: Gold

How many products or uses of gold can you name in two minutes? Write your answers in the box below.

Gold

2 Key words

Complete the sentences using the following words from the text.

tolerate concession black market prospector legitimate

beat nugget gold rush imprison arrest

1. When you keep someone locked up, for example in a police cell, you ________________ them.

2. When you hit someone again and again, you ________________ them.

3. A lump of gold is called a ________________.

4. When the police ________________ someone, they take them to the police station because they believe he or
she has committed a crime.

5. If you sell something illegally and secretly, you sell it on the ________________.

6. A ________________ is the right given to someone to sell something or do a particular activity.

7. When you ________________ someone, you accept them even though you dont like or approve of them.

8. A ________________ is someone who searches an area of land or water for gold, oil, etc.

9. When something is ________________, it is legal.

10. A ________________ happens when lots of people move to a place (over a short period of time) in the hope
of becoming rich.
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Gold rush in Mongolia
Level 2 Intermediate
Prospectors and ninja miners rush to
the easts El Dorado
Central Asias gold fever brings rapid economic
growth as well as pollution and violence
Jonathan Watts in Ogoomor
October 10, 2007
1 Carefully touching the bruises on her forehead,
Enkhmaa a middle-aged mother and illegal
gold miner explains why she is afraid to go out
on the street with a green plastic bowl. Three
days earlier, she says, the Mongolian police beat
and imprisoned her for wandering too close to a
foreign-owned mine. They chased after me in
a car. When they caught me, they dragged me
inside, they hit me on the face, pulled my hair
and beat my leg with a truncheon, she recalls.
2 Ogoomor, where Enkhmaa lives, is probably the
only town in the world where you can be arrested
and beaten by police for carrying a bowl. It is a
bizarre side effect of a Mongolian gold rush that
is causing problems between nomadic miners
and foreign companies, and raising serious
concerns about human rights.
3 Ogoomor is Mongolias Wild West, a dusty
town of miners and nomads, tents and wooden
shacks, karaoke discos, Internet cafes and
police cells. From Ulan Bator, it is a seven-hour
drive across vast plains inhabited only by a few
nomads and their herds of sheep and goats.
The town did not exist 20 years ago and it only
recently got a name. But reports of giant nuggets
in the nearby hills started a gold rush that
attracted several thousand prospectors legal
and illegal.
4 The area around Ogoomor has been called a
Mongolian El Dorado. The town is located in
the Zaamar valley where, geologists estimate,
there is at least 100 tonnes of gold. Russian and
localrmshaveboughtupconcessionstomine say they are pulled from their beds at night,
the land.
5 Until recently, thousands of Mongolians searched
illegally through the earth for small fragments
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2007
NEWS LESSONS / Gold rush in Mongolia / Intermediate
of gold missed by the mining companies
giant machines. To do this, they used green
plastic bowls, which they carry on their backs
like a shell. This appearance gives them their
nickname ninja after the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles cartoon.
6 Many were former nomads, but as the gold rush
gathered pace, students, vets and taxi drivers
from Ulan Bator joined the ninjas, not just in
Ogoomor but in other gold towns across the
country. Today, estimates of their numbers range
from 30,000 to 100,000. This created a huge
black market for gold most of it thought to be
smuggled across Mongolias 3,000 mile border
with China.
7 For years, the ninjas were tolerated. With three-
quarters of the 2.9m population living on less
than $2 a day, searching for gold was a way to
ease poverty and unemployment.
8 But a Russian mining company asked for new
security measures last year after thousands
of ninjas invaded one of its mines, beat the
guards, destroyed equipment and stole gold.
Arrests are now common, local people say. We
live in constant fear of being taken away, says
Amarjargal. We cant even take a green bowl
onto the street, and if we have dirty clothes,
or muddy shoes, it is used as an excuse to
arrest us.
9 Itishardtondanyfamilythathasnthad
someone arrested, said an elderly woman called
Sunjee (most Mongolians only use one name).
The police have taken people younger than 16
and older than 60.
10 When the ninjas search for gold they are
trespassing or stealing. These areas are the
property of the Russian concession holders
so the arrests are legitimate. But the police
crackdown has become indiscriminate. Residents
chased as they walk down the street or arrested
at checkpoints without any real evidence
against them.
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Gold rush in Mongolia
Level 2 Intermediate
11 Visitors to Ogoomor have been shocked at the
changes in Mongolia which is known as Asias
most democratic nation. But this is no black-
and-white story of human rights abuses and
wealth inequality. Most ninjas make $10 to $20
dollars a day a higher income than policemen
or soldiers. Some strike it extremely rich. There
are many stories in the town of people who
found giant nuggets worth tens of thousands
of dollars.
12 The Russian mining company, Altan Dornod
Mongol, says the ninjas are organized and
controlled by criminal bosses. The ninjas are
a Mongolian social problem. There are whole
towns of them with bars and prostitutes. They
even use their children to get gold. Its awful,
said a spokeswoman. We dont want to abuse
human rights, but we must protect our mine and
our workers.
Guardian News & Media 2007
First published in The Guardian, 10/10/07

3 Comprehension check

According to the article, are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?

1. It is dangerous to walk around with a plastic bowl in Ogoomor.

2. Ogoomor is an ancient city in the west of Mongolia.
3. The gold rush in Ogoomor started 20 years ago.
4. Gold has been discovered in the plains near Ulan Bator.
5. Russian mining companies want to stop the ninjas searching for gold.
6. The number of people moving to Mongolias Wild West is growing rapidly.
7. There is a lot of poverty and unemployment in Mongolia.
8. Ninja is a Mongolian word for nomad.
9. Much of Mongolias gold is smuggled to the West.
10. Residents in Ogoomor are frightened of the police.
11. Some ninjas have found enough gold to make them very rich.
12. The mining companies are happy to share the gold with the ninjas.

4 Vocabulary:Lexicalelds
Howmanyjobsandprofessionscanyoundmentionedinthearticle?Writethemintothespidergram.Do
the same for legal terms and related words.

jobs and professions legal words and

terminology
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NEWS LESSONS / Gold rush in Mongolia / Intermediate

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Gold rush in Mongolia
Level 2 Intermediate

5 Discussion: Presenting a case

One half of the class are the ninjas, the other half are the mining companies. In your groups prepare to
present your case to the judges.

Can you reach an agreement to work together?

Appoint two or three neutral observers to be the judges.

Make notes under the following categories to help you prepare for the discussion.

Name of group:
____________________________________________________________
What we want:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Why we think we should get what we want:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
What we are willing to compromise on / agree to:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
How we might be able to work together with the other group:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

6 Webquest

What is the current price of gold? Is it rising or falling? Do you think gold is a good investment? Use the
following websites to help you answer the questions.

http://goldprice.org/
www.thebulliondesk.com
http://goldprices.com/
www.kitco.com
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NEWS LESSONS / Gold rush in Mongolia / Intermediate

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Extreme education
Level 2 Intermediate

1 Key words

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words and phrases from the text.

attitude admission appropriate zero tolerance mentor

achievement disadvantaged behaviour procient strict

1. If you are ____________, you do not have the same advantages as other people.

2. If you are ____________ at something you have learned, you are skilled at it.

3. A persons ____________ is the way in which he or she follows basic social rules.
4. A persons ____________ is the way they show their feelings or opinions about something,

especially as shown by their behaviour.

5. If a rule is ____________, people must obey it completely.

6. A ____________ is an experienced person who helps someone with less experience.

7. Academic ____________ at school consists of the things children succeed in doing well.

8. ____________ is permission to join an institution like a school or a college.

9. If something is ____________, it is suitable or right for a particular situation.

10. ____________ is a situation in which all offences, even the most minor, are strictly punished in

accordance with the law or a set of rules.

2 Find the information

Lookinthetextandndtheanswerstothesequestionsasquicklyaspossible.

1. How many hours a day do pupils study in US small or charter schools?

2. What percentage of children at the North Star Academy get free meals?

3. How many charter schools are there in the US?

4. How many children are on the waiting list for the North Star Academy?

5. How many pupils normally attend charter schools?

6. How many children at the Kipp Academy can read music?

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Extreme education
Level 2 Intermediate
Coming to an inner city near you,
extreme education
Small US academies with tough rules and excel-
lent results are model for British
Polly Curtis, education editor
October 22, 2007
1 For some people it is extreme education: 10-hour
days, contracts with parents and very strict rules
on behaviour in small, 200-pupil academies. The
result in a new type of school in the US is 100%
acceptance of college, test results as good as those
in private schools, and teenagers from New Yorks
South Bronx district who play the viola like their
neighbours in Manhattan.
2 James Verrilli, principal of the North Star Academy
in Newark, Americas second poorest city, said:
These kids know drugs. These kids know crime
and violence. Their fathers are in jail. We have a
school culture here which is very different from
theattitudetheyhavewhentheyrstwalkthrough backgrounds dont care about their kids education.
the door. Its a culture that tells them they can go
to college.
3 At the North Star Academy children like Charism
and Queen-Ama smile politely as they shake your
hand and welcome you in. About 85% of pupils
are African-American and 90% get free school
meals.Lastyear80%gotprocientoradvanced is Power Programme) academy in south Bronx,
grades in maths, compared with just 28% in the
local neighbourhood school. This was above
the state average. Pupils work in silence with a
professionalism they have learned during a three-
day process. From the beginning pupils are taught
to speak clearly, answer questions in full sentences
and look the teacher in the eye.
4 Parents have to sign a three-way contract with
their child and the principal, and must promise to
participate themselves. When a childs homework
isnt handed in by 8am, there is a phone call home.
When the parent doesnt turn up for a meeting,
their child is not allowed back into school until they
turn up. There are signs saying No excuses on the
walls. I was working until 11 last night. Im tired,
but I know Ive got to work, says one 11-year-old,
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asshenishesupherhomeworkoverbreakfast.
Even my mothers gone back to school since Ive
been here. Pupils are tested every six weeks and
their results are examined carefully.
5 As a principal of a small school I know how every
child is progressing and how they are behaving,
says Mr Verrilli. He also sits in on classes himself,
observing the students and writing notes for
the teachers.
6 North Star and other small schools like it have
developed from the charter school movement in
the US. The 3,500 charter schools are independent
schools, funded by the state, and allowed more
freedom to set policies, including their admissions
procedures. North Star runs a lottery for admissions
and has 1,800 children on the waiting list. Parents
have to put their childs name into the lottery; three
times more girls apply than boys.
7 Mr Verrilli strongly rejects the idea that his students
might not be the ones most in need. Its quite
wrong to say that parents from disadvantaged
95% of parents just want a better education for
their children. Were not taking the best kids. Im
defensive about that. Its something a lot of people
say. How hard is it to put your childs name down on
a piece of paper? he said.
8 Every child who attends the Kipp (Knowledge
New York, plays in its orchestra, the best school
orchestra in New York. Every child can read music.
Shirley Lee, a director of the Kipp academy in the
Bronx, says the school works because there is a
consistent structure throughout the school. The
truth and reality is that kids like structure, she
said. Its about telling them whats appropriate and
them learning when to use it. I wouldnt talk to you
like I am now if I was out in some of these areas.
But if we teach them to look in my eyes when Im
speaking to them, they will use that if they get
stopped by the police and that will protect them.
9 In the UK, there is a growing political debate about
the differences in academic achievement between
rich and poor in schools in big cities. A recent report
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Extreme education
Level 2 Intermediate
highlighted the growing gap in achievement and
the government is trying to deal with this problem.
Three London academies are experimenting with
small school principles and last week a group of
British teachers in training visited the US looking for
methods they could use to deal with the problems
of complex urban education.
10 Ark, a UK educational charity, is taking key
components of the small school model into London
academies. Lucy Heller, managing director of Ark,
says: Its small schools, strict rules on behaviour
andarmbeliefthatinnercitychildrencanbejust the US facilities are basic. They dont even have
as successful. The UK schools minister says small
schools can teach disadvantaged children the skills
that middle class children take for granted: High
ambition, zero tolerance of failure, an expectation
that children will go to university and that schools
will give them the education to go to university.
11 Ark is also helping to fund the 30 Future Leaders
group on the school leadership training scheme
visiting the US. The trainees are expected to
take some of the ideas they experience in the
US back home to the UK. Many of them think it
willbedifculttotransferthemodeltotheUK,
however. They talk about the fact that most of
the US schools are middle schools, for 1014
year-olds. The model has been tested less in the
secondary school age group (1118). They also
ask where the money to fund smaller schools will
come from, though others point out the fact that in
interactive whiteboards, says one of the groups
mentors. They just teach. Small schools might not
be practical in the UK, but what I really want these
new school leaders to take back is the sense of
culture in these schools.
Guardian News & Media 2007
First published in The Guardian, 22/10/07

3 Comprehension check

Are these sentences True (T) or False (F) according to the text?

1. Newark is the poorest city in the US.

2. Pupils at the North Star Academy are better at maths than kids in the local neighbourhood school.
3. Pupils have to look teachers in the eye when they speak to them.
4. If a pupil doesnt hand in their homework by 8am, the school calls their parents.
5. Pupils have a test every six days.
6. Mr Verrilli doesnt go into classrooms himself.
7. More girls apply to go to North Star than boys.
8. The UK is planning to start academies like the US charter schools.

4 Vocabulary 1: Find the word

Lookinthetextandndthesewordsorexpressions.

1. A phrasal verb meaning to give to someone in authority. (para 4)

2. A phrasal verb meaning to arrive. (para 4)
3. A verb meaning to provide the money for something that costs a lot. (para 6)
4. An adjective meaning not changing. (para 8)
5. A noun meaning a formal discussion. (para 9)
6. A verb meaning to emphasize. (para 9)
7. An adjective meaning relating to a city. (para 9)
8. A three-word expression meaning expect something always to happen without thinking
about any possible problems. (para 10)
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Extreme education
Level 2 Intermediate

5 Vocabulary 2: Prepositions

Fill the gaps in these phrases from the text using prepositions. Check your answers in the text.

1. look someone _______ the eye

2. hand in homework _______ 8am

3. _______ the waiting list

4. care _______ their kids education

5. the difference _______ rich and poor

6. to deal _______ a problem

7. take something _______ granted

8. where will the money come _______?

6 Vocabulary 3: Word building

Complete the table.

verb noun
1. accept
2. behave
3. tolerate
4. expect
5. believe
6. admit
7. achieve
8. educate

7 Discussion

Do pupils achieve better results in schools with strict rules? Would you like to attend such a school?

Why? / Why not?

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