Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other

Level 3 Advanced
1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. eloquent asylum seeker self-assured smarmy tasteless sceptical glib fake provocative imminent

1. An ______________________________ is someone who has to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country and asks to be allowed to live there. 2. If something is described as ______________________________, it is slightly rude and offensive and not appropriate to the situation. 3. If something is ______________________________, it is intended to start arguments between people or make people angry or upset. 4. An ______________________________ event is one that is likely or certain to happen very soon. 5. A ______________________________ person speaks easily and confidently but if you use this word it shows that you do not trust the person or what they are saying. 6. A ______________________________ person is extremely pleasant and polite in a way that seems false. 7. An ______________________________ person is able to express what they mean using clear and effective language. 8. If you are ______________________________ about something, you have doubts about it even though other people think that it is right. 9. A ______________________________ person is confident and relaxed because they are sure of their abilities. 10. If something is ______________________________, it is made to look like something real in order to trick people.

2 Find the information

Find this information in the text as quickly as possible. 1. How many contestants are there in the game show? 2. What is the quiz about? 3. How much money does the game show winner receive? 4. What does Weg van Nederland mean? 5. What is the PVV? 6. When was The Big Donor Show made?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other / Advanced

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Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other

Level 3 Advanced

1

Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other
Peter Walker 1 September, 2011 From the description not to mention the 30-second trailer it would seem to be one of the more tasteless TV programmes yet devised. In fact, Weg van Nederland has a deliberately liberal agenda, albeit delivered in a provocative way. Contestants on the one-off game show from the public broadcaster VPRO, part of an annual week of experimental programmes, comprise of five asylum seekers who have exhausted legal avenues to stay in the Netherlands and await imminent deportation to their country of origin. They compete in a quiz about Dutch culture, history and language, with the winner awarded 4,000 to help cushion them when they are expelled. Consolation prizes include a bulletproof vest. The seemingly glib tone is magnified by a smarmy male host flanked by a pair of female assistants wearing air cabin crew uniforms. The title is a play on words, meaning either leaving the Netherlands or mad about the Netherlands. With well-educated, eloquent contestants who include an aeronautical engineer from Cameroon and a Slavic languages student facing removal to Chechnya, the intention is, far from mocking asylum seekers, to instead demonstrate how well integrated many are. Viewers can play along using the internet to answer the same questions, but their prize is a flight return, of course to the Dutch-governed Caribbean island of Curaao. It is a direct riposte to tightening immigration and asylum laws in a country previously seen as one of the worlds more liberal nations over new arrivals. This changing attitude has been both spearheaded and exemplified by Geert Wilders, the vehemently anti-Muslim, far-right politician whose PVV party is now the third biggest in parliament, holding the balance of power.

In comments quoted by another Dutch public broadcaster, RNW, the head of VPRO, Frank Wiering, said he was extremely sceptical when the idea was first brought to him. My first reaction was: terrible idea, were not doing that. Then I looked into the issue more deeply and decided we have to do this. Weg van Nederland focuses attention on the fact that, these days, many asylum seekers who are being expelled have children who have lived in the Netherlands for eight years or more. They have had a good education, speak perfect Dutch and have only seen their country of birth on television. We believe its time to stop and think about this. The contestants are, he added, highly intelligent, self-assured people quite capable of deciding for themselves whether to take part or not. The programme has won the support of a group that works with asylum seekers. Spokesman Wouter van Zandwijk commented: Were hoping Weg van Nederland makes more people think about how we treat asylum seekers, that they understand more about what asylum seekers go through. Sometimes it takes far too long before they know whether they can stay. His organization would like a fast but careful asylum procedure. Young people who have spent so many years in the Netherlands are often more Dutch than Afghan or Somali and more at home here than in their country of origin. The show echoes a controversial 2007 programme made by another Dutch broadcaster, BNN. De Grote Donorshow, or The Big Donor Show, featured three people needing a kidney transplant supposedly competing to win the organ from a terminally ill woman. The supposed donor was an actor, and while the contestants genuinely needed transplants they knew the show was fake and intended to raise awareness. Weg van Nederland is genuine though, Wiering said: The candidates are not actors, they are genuine unsuccessful asylum seekers who have to leave this country within a month or two.
Guardian News and Media 2011 First published in The Guardian, 01/09/11
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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other / Advanced

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Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other

Level 3 Advanced
3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text. 1. The programme is a. fake. b. genuine. c. partly fake and partly genuine. 2. The contestants a. will soon have to leave the Netherlands. b. will soon be going home on holiday. c. are not allowed to leave the Netherlands. 3. The title of the programme a. is provocative. b. has two meanings. c. is very funny. 4. The programme a. makes fun of asylum seekers. b. is intended to make money for asylum seekers. c. draws attention to the plight of asylum seekers.

Find the word 4

Find the following words and phrases in the text. 1. a three-word expression used for adding a comment that emphasizes the main idea of what you have already said (para 1) 2. a noun meaning an advertisement for a film or TV programme that shows a short part of that film or programme (para 1) 3. a noun meaning the process of sending someone out of a country because they do not have the legal right to be there (para 2) 4. a verb meaning to protect a person from the harmful effects of something (para 2) 5. a verb meaning to make someone look stupid by laughing at them (para 3) 6. a verb meaning to lead an organized effort or activity (para 4) 7. an adverb meaning involving strong feelings and beliefs (para 4)

5 Definitions
Match these words from the text with their definitions. 1. one-off a. something small given to someone who has failed to win 2. riposte b. to officially force someone to leave a place 3. consolation prize c. a quick and clever reply 4. contestant d. to make something appear bigger than it really is 5. expel e. someone who takes part in a competition 6. magnify f. happening only once

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other / Advanced

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Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other

Level 3 Advanced
6 Word-building
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence. 1. Some people argue that the programme is ________________________. [PROVOKE] 2. The contestants were ________________________ competing for an organ transplant. [SUPPOSE] 3. Changing attitudes in the Netherlands have been ________________________ by the PVV party. [EXAMPLE] 4. The programme is intended to raise ________________________. [AWARE] 5. The contestants face ________________________ from the Netherlands. [REMOVE] 6. The programme is part of a week of ________________________ programmes. [EXPERIMENT]

Discussion 7
Do you think this programme is a good idea? Why? Why not? Do you think people should have the right to live in whichever country they want? Why? Why not?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other / Advanced

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N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D

Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other

Level 3 Advanced KEY

1 Key words
1. asylum seeker 2. tasteless 3. provocative 4. imminent 5. glib 6. smarmy 7. eloquent 8. sceptical 9. self-assured 10. fake

4 Find the word

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. not to mention trailer deportation cushion mock spearhead vehemently

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

2 Find the information

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. five Dutch culture, history and language 4,000 leaving the Netherlands or mad about the Netherlands a far-right political party 2007

6 Word-building
1. provocative 2. supposedly 3. exemplified 4. awareness 5. removal 6. experimental

3 Comprehension check
1. 2. 3. 4. b a b c

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011 NEWS LESSONS / Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers against each other / Advanced

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N T O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D