The river that caught fire

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The river that caught fire

Warm-up

Have you ever heard of a river catching fire?

Vocabulary Match

spill •• drop
burned •• caught fire
symbolised •• changing
waste •• showed
inspired •• trash
turning •• led to

Vocabulary Answers

spilldrop
burnedcaught fire
symbolisedshowed
wastetrash
inspiredled to
turningchanging

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

On June 22, 1969, an oil ________ on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire. Although the river had ________ thirteen times before, this fire became a ________ point. Photos of past fires and news reports shocked people across the country, showing how bad pollution had become.

The fire ________ the damage caused by industrial ________ and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 and major laws like the Clean Water Act in 1972. It even ________ songs like R.E.M.'s Cuyahoga and a Simpsons episode.

On June 22, 1969, an oil spill on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire. Although the river had burned thirteen times before, this fire became a turning point. Photos of past fires and news reports shocked people across the country, showing how bad pollution had become.

The fire symbolised the damage caused by industrial waste and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 and major laws like the Clean Water Act in 1972. It even inspired songs like R.E.M.'s Cuyahoga and a Simpsons episode.

Quiz

  1. When did the Cuyahoga River catch fire?
  2. How many times had the river burned before the 1969 fire?
  3. What did the fire symbolise?
  4. Name one thing that was inspired by the Cuyahoga River fire.

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. June 22, 1969
  2. Thirteen times
  3. The damage caused by industrial waste
  4. Songs like R.E.M.'s Cuyahoga or a Simpsons episode

True or False

  1. Photos of past fires and news reports surprised people all over the country. T F
  2. The fire led to the creation of the R.E.M in 1970. T F
  3. An episode of the Simpsons was inspired by the river fire. T F

True or False Answers

  1. True
  2. False
  3. True

Conversation

A:Did you hear the river caught fire again?
B:Yeah, it's crazy! How does a river even burn?
A:Too much oil and waste, I guess.
B:Maybe this time people will finally pay attention.
A:I hope so. We need cleaner water.
B:Who knows, maybe they'll write a song about it!

Discussion

  1. What's your favourite river or lake? Has it ever caught fire?
  2. Is pollution a problem in your city? Why or why not?
  3. Have you ever heard a song about nature? Can you sing it?
  4. What would you do if you saw a river on fire?

Further Reading

https://www.healthandenvironment.org/environmental-health/social-context/history/the-cuyahoga-river-fire-of-1969

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