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GENERAL ENGLISH · SPECIAL REPORT · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

PEN PALS FROM

DIFFERENT
WORLDS
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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What enters your head when you hear the word pen pal?
2. Did you ever have a pen pal? What can you remember about them?
3. Why do you think that some people prefer to receive a handwritten letter instead of an email?
4. What things are easier to say in a letter compared to a face-to-face conversation?

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PEN PALS FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS

2 Pre-listening vocabulary

Match the words in bold to the definitions below.

1. Cassette tapes are now seen as relics from my dad’s youth.

2. The fans were eagerly awaiting the start of the match.

3. My bank still makes me use snail mail to communicate with them.

4. He managed to sustain his career despite the fact that he suffered many setbacks.

5. We endured another horrible winter this year.

6. When I came to this company, I wanted to be a catalyst for improvements.

7. It was hoped that the increased funding would bring on a significant change.

a. (n) used to describe the sending of letters by ordinary mail

b. (v) dealt with something unpleasant without giving up

c. (adv.) in a way that shows excitement about something that is going to happen

d. (v) continue for a period of time

e. (n) a person or thing that causes a change

f. (n) objects or traditions that have survived from the past

g. (adj.) large enough to make a difference or have an effect

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PEN PALS FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS

3 Watching for predictions

Part 1: Look at the words below and with your partner try to predict the connection between each
term and pen pals. Then listen or watch a video and see if you were correct.

1931 / Tupac Shakur / COVID pandemic / 295 million views / stationery companies

Part 2: Read the sentences from the audioscript and think about which words from the vocabulary
section could go in the gaps. Only five are needed. Afterwards, listen or watch the video again and
check your predictions.

1. ...the life of the scribbling pen pal is about to be reborn?...

2. ...the COVID pandemic seem to have been the in encouraging people to pick up
a pen...

3. ...define a friend who would write to you in pen and send it to you via snail ...

4. ...The popularity of from the past like vinyl records and cassette tapes...

5. ...famous relationships that have been through this old-school communication

method...

4 Watching for details

Listen or watch the video again and try to answer the following questions.

1. What has technology taken away, compared to handwritten letters?

2. What examples of "relics" are mentioned by the speaker?

3. What definition of a traditional pen pal appears in the audio?

4. What did COVID-19 push people to do?

5. Where were pen pal communities being formed?

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5 Talking point

Discuss the following questions in pairs or groups.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?

2. Were you surprised about any of the famous pen pals that were mentioned?
3. Why do you think COVID-19 encouraged people to write more?
4. Are you a fan of TikTok? Have you ever come across any interesting communities on there?
5. After listening to this do you think you would like to start writing letters to somebody? Why/ Why
not?

6 Pre-reading vocabulary

Part A: Match the following vocabulary to the definitions.

1. immensely (adv.) a. went beyond the usual limits of something

2. benefactor (n) b. surprising in such a way that it causes people to pay

attention
3. dispatched (v) c. influence someone or something emotionally

4. transcended (v) d. completely and in an enthusiastic way

5. sparser (adj.) e. a person who gives money or help to another, often

anonymously
6. remarkable (adj.) f. extremely, a lot

7. wholeheartedly (adv.) g. present in smaller amounts and spread over a larger

area
8. touch (v.) h. sent somebody/something somewhere for a specific
purpose

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Part B: Put the vocabulary below into the correct gaps in the following sentences.

benefactor dispatched immensely remarkable

sparser touched transcended wholeheartedly

1. Her artwork is loved by so many that it has through all generations.

2. He cheered for his daughter to win the running race.

3. She was happy that her poem won an award at the festival.

4. The teacher was by the thank you letters their students had left for them.

5. It said my parcel was five days ago but I still haven’t received it.

6. It was to think that I hadn’t been back to my hometown in over forty years.

7. The equipment at the hospital was funded by a generous .

8. Due to the lack of jobs in the area the population had become .

7 Skimming for general understanding

You are going to read an article titled "Pen Pals from Different Worlds". Match the following paragraph
titles below to the correct paragraphs in the article (A-H). Then check your answers by listening to
the story.

1. A thank you starts a friendship

2. Kindness from a stranger
3. Surprise arrival
4. Reunited by fond memories
5. Face-to-face truths
6. A gift from back home
7. Drifting apart
8. Deep long-lasting feelings

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
PEN PALS FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS
The Pen Pals from Different Worlds
The unlikely friendship that lasted half a century
A. For American soldiers serving in
Vietnam, any correspondence they received from
home was a little sliver of light that they looked
forward to immensely. Most letters and packages
would be sent by family members or close friends but
from time to time the people serving in the military
would have their hearts warmed by a generous
benefactor.
B. In 1967, Colonel Ned Edward Felder
was 10,000 miles away from his home in South
Carolina’s Lowcountry when out of the blue a care
package arrived marked "any soldier". Col. Felder
took it upon himself to open the parcel and what he
saw inside led him to believe that it arrived through
"divine guidance".
C. 7th-grade student, Kristina Olson
was the generous soul who had dispatched this
small symbol of hope all the way from her home in
Michigan. Olson had collected donations from her
kind-hearted neighbors, but it wasn’t the contents
of the package that touched Felder, it was the
thoughtfulness and warmth behind the idea.
D. The Colonel felt it was only right to
reply with a thank you letter, and this small symbol of
politeness is what kickstarted a friendship which over
the years transcended boundaries of race, gender,
distance and culture. Olson adored the gifts that
Felder sent, gifts that would allow her a glimpse of a
world a million miles away from her quiet hometown.
sources: washingtonpost.com, thetandd.com, people.com
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E. Despite maintaining contact with
each other for over a decade, once Felder returned
to the USA and started his career as a military judge
communication with Olson became sparser. Olson
herself had moved to New York and real life had just
caught up with her.
F. Nevertheless, over 50 years later
a truly remarkable thing happened. Olson decided
that she wanted to meet Felder in the flesh, and
she started taking steps to turn this pipe dream into
a reality. She had such fond memories of Felder
and once said of him- "He made me want to be a
better person, which is the best thing I can say about
anyone."
G. Appropriately the pair met for the
first time in person this year on Veteran’s Day and
Olson wasted no time in letting Felder know how she
truly felt about him. She wholeheartedly confessed
that she had "everything he’s ever sent me" and "he’s
just one of the most significant people in the world".
H. For Felder, who is now in his mid-
eighties, the uniqueness and rarity of his relationship
with Olson also touched him somewhere deep down
inside. He described the situation as having a feeling
of "wonder" that exists all the way up to the present
day.
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8 Reading comprehension
Read the following statements and decide if they are true (T) or false (F). Justify your answers.

1. In 1967, Ned Felder was expecting a care package to arrive.

2. Kristina Olson had bought everything that she sent to Felder.

3. Colonel Felder phoned Olson to say thank you.

4. The gifts Felder sent Olson allowed her to think of a world outside her own town.

5. The pair kept a friendship going for over ten years.

6. After 50 years, Olson wanted to meet Felder face to face.

7. When Olson met Felder, she took a long time to tell him how she felt. -

8. Felder felt that the fact that the relationship was so uncommon was what made it meaningful.

9 Vocabulary for conversation

Look at the natural expressions taken from the article. With your partner, guess the meaning of each
one. Then, to help you remember the language, have a chat together. Use the expressions to talk
about your life.

Nevertheless, over 50 years later a truly remarkable thing happened. Olson decided that she
wanted to meet Felder in the flesh, and she started taking steps to turn this pipe dream into
a reality. She had such fond memories of Felder and once said of him- "He made me want to
be a better person, which is the best thing I can say about anyone."

Discuss the following questions.

1. Which famous person would you like to meet in the flesh?

2. What steps have you taken to improve your English?
3. Do you think humans will ever live on other planets or is that kind of thing just a pipe dream?
4. Do you have fond memories of your school days?

10 Talking point
Discuss the following questions together in pairs on groups.

1. Do you think it is important for soldiers to receive gifts or letters from back home?
2. What would you do if you received a package from someone you didn’t know?
3. How do you think Felder and Olson felt when meeting each other after 50 years?

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