Famous People

Jack Ma
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. Where is this person from?

2. What is he famous for?

3. D
 o you know the story Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves? What does “open sesame” mean?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. wealthy (adjective) a)  the money you earn for doing a job

2. tourist (noun) b)  to give a person a job

3. abroad (adverb) c)  having a lot of money, rich

4. local (adjective) d) the completion of one’s schooling (e.g., high school or university)

5. graduation (noun) e)  a person who visits another country or region

6. salary (noun) f)  in a foreign country

7. translation (noun) g)  the changing of one language into another

8. hire (verb) h)  a new company or business

9. goal (noun) i)  a plan for the future

10. start-up (noun) j)  nearby, in one’s own region

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Reading
JACK MA: A SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE

1. Jack Ma is a successful businessman from Hangzhou,

China. His Internet company, Alibaba, made him very wealthy.

2. Jack Ma grew up poor. He learned English from tourists.

He wanted to study abroad, but he went to a local university
instead. After graduation, he couldn’t find a job.

3. Jack Ma finally got a job as a local English teacher. His salary

was $10 per month. Later, he started a translation business.
On a work trip to the US in the ‘90s, Jack Ma discovered the Internet.

4. Back in China, Ma started his own Internet business. He hired his

friends and called his company “Alibaba” after Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. Alibaba was a huge success, and Jack Ma became a rich man.

5. Jack Ma has a new goal now. He wants to help start-ups

and create jobs all over the world. Open sesame!

Writing
Tip:
WEALTH Make sure that your sentences
start with a capital letter and
There are a few different ways to describe a person or company’s end with a period.
wealth. Practice writing sentences about people’s wealth.

1. wealthy 4. a huge success

  Steve Jobs was wealthy.

2. rich 5. poor

3. a billionaire 6. middle-class

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Comprehension
A. True or False?

Read the statements below.

If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence.
If it is false, write F and correct the information in your notebook.

1. Jack Ma is a rich man from the US.

2. Jack Ma studied English abroad.

3. Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba.

4. Jack Ma’s friends work for him.

5. Jack Ma only wants to help people in China.

B. Forming Questions

Work with a partner. Here are the answers. What are the questions?

1. 3.

  Jack Ma is a rich businessman from China.   Jack Ma learned English from tourists.

2. 4.

  Jack Ma’s business is called Alibaba.   Jack Ma discovered the Internet in the US.

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Vocabulary Review
Circle the word that does not belong in the group.

1. a) wealthy 4. a) hire 7. a) money

b) rich b) tourist b) salary
c) discover c) holiday c) abroad

2. a) salary 5. a) university 8. a) hire

b) plan b) sesame b) job
c) goal c) graduation c) story

3. a) translation 6. a) start-up 9. a) nearby

b) language b) business b) company
c) Internet c) poor c) local

Start-Up & Start Up/Start

A. Introduction B. Practice

The noun “start-up” Complete the following sentences.

means a new business. Do you need the noun “start-up(s)” or the verb “start up/start”?

The verb “start up” means to begin 1. Can you              my car for me?
something. The verbs “start up”
2. There are a lot of Internet              in California .
and “start” mean the same thing.
3. I want to              my own business.
Things that “start up” or “start”:
4. My brother needs money for a              .
• a vehicle
5. When did this noise              ?
• a machine
• a business 6. All of our              offer great products.
• a club
7. We’re going to              an English language club.
• music or other sounds
8. I hope their loud music doesn’t              again.

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Listening
A. Gap Fill

Listen to a recording of this reading.

Fill in the gaps. Listen again and check your answers.

(Audio: http://blog.esllibrary.com/2017/04/26/podcast-jack-ma/)

1. Jack Ma is a successful businessman from Hangzhou, China.

His Internet company, Alibaba, made him very               .

2. Jack Ma grew up poor. He learned English from                 .

He wanted to study             , but he went to a          
university instead. After graduation, he couldn’t find a job.

3. Jack Ma finally got a job as a local English teacher. His            

was $10 per month. Later, he started a translation business. On a work
trip to the US in the ‘90s, Jack Ma discovered the                 .

4. Back in China, Ma started his own Internet business. He          

his friends and called his company “Alibaba” after Ali Baba and the
Forty Thieves. Alibaba was a huge               , and Jack Ma
became a rich man.

5. Jack Ma has a new         now. He wants to help 

          -       and create jobs all over the world.
Open sesame!

B. Extra Practice

Do you want more listening practice? After you fill in the gaps in Part A,
listen to the recording a few more times. Underline all of the proper nouns.
Proper nouns are words that are capitalized because they are the names
of people, places, organizations, etc.

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, students read a short biography about
China’s wealthiest person, Jack Ma. They learn new
vocabulary and practice writing sentences related to “wealth.”
TIME: 1.5–2 hours
TAGS: Jack Ma, Ma Yun, China, Chinese, entrepreneur,
businessman, business, Internet, wealth, famous people

Pre-Reading Comprehension

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS A. TRUE OR FALSE?

Look at the picture and discuss the questions as a class. 1. F – Jack Ma is a rich man from China.
2. F – Jack Ma studied English at a local university in China.
1. This person is from Hangzhou, China.
3. T
2. He is famous for starting a successful
4. T
Chinese Internet company called Alibaba.
5. F – Jack Ma wants to help people all over the world.
3. Individual answers. It is a magical phrase from
the story that means “open the door.” It allows
B. FORMING QUESTIONS
a woodcutter to enter a cave of treasures.
1. Who is Jack Ma?
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW 2. What is Jack Ma’s business called? /
What is the name of Jack Ma’s business/company?
1. c 3. f 5. d 7. g 9. i
3. How did Jack Ma learn English? / Who taught Jack Ma English?
2. e 4. j 6. a 8. b 10. h
4. Where did Jack Ma discover/ find out about the Internet?

Reading
Vocabulary Review
Read the biography out loud together or assign it for silent reading.
1. c 3. c 5. b 7. c 9. b
Ask your students to circle any words that they aren’t familiar with.
2. a 4. a 6. c 8. c
Help them understand the meanings.

Writing (continued on the next page...)

Individual answers. Here are some examples.

1. Steve Jobs was wealthy.

2. My dad is rich.
3. Jack Ma is a billionaire.
4. Alibaba is a huge success.
5. My friend Ralph is poor.
6. My family is middle-class.

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 Jack Ma
Famous People

Answer Key cont.

Start-Up & Start Up/Start

B. PR ACTICE

1. start up/start 5. start up

2. start-ups 6. start-ups
3. start up/start 7. start up/start
4. start-up 8. start up/start

Listening

A. GAP FILL

1. wealthy 4. hired, success

2. tourists, abroad, local 5. goal, start-ups
3. salary, Internet

B. EXTR A PR ACTICE

1. Jack Ma, Hangzhou, China, Internet, Alibaba

2. Jack Ma, English
3. Jack Ma, English, US, Jack Ma, Internet
4. China, Ma, Internet, Alibaba, Ali Baba and
the Forty Thieves, Alibaba, Jack Ma
5. Jack Ma

SPELLING NOTE:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the word Practice.

Most other English-speaking countries spell it this way: Practise
(when used as a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a
challenge for your students to find this word in the lesson and
see if they know the alternate spelling.

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