Level 1

A Nigerian man wanted to get married. He posted on Facebook. He said he would take applications for a wife. The applications had to be submitted by midnight. One woman got his attention.

Two days later, he traveled 500km to visit the woman. She lived in a northern city. She met him at a retail store. They said it was love at first sight.

They met each other’s families. The man’s family liked the woman. The woman’s family were fond of the man too.

They got married 6 days later. A few people thought it was strange. Mostly, they got lots of support.

 

Difficult words

Posted: Make public online.

Application: A request to be put into a position.

Submitted: To give

Attention: To get someone’s interest

Retail: A sales business

Sight: To see

Fond: To like someone or something

Strange: Odd or weird

Support: To help or encourage

Activities

For listening practise, listen to the recorded article here:

British English:

American English: 

Match the Synonym!

1. Posted A. Hand in
2. Application B. Notice
3. Submitted C. View
4. Attention D. Write publicly.
5. Retail E. Weird
6 . Sight F. Like
7. Fond G. Comfort, help
8. Strange H. Request
9. Support I. Sales

True or False?

1. A man said on Twitter that he wanted to get married.  T / F

2. The application had to be given by midnight. T / F

3. The woman lived in the same town as the man. T / F

4. The man’s family liked the woman. T / F

5. The couple got married 6 months later. T / F

Unscramble the sentence!

1. man / wanted / A / decided / Nigerian / married / he / to / get

2. northern / a / lived / in / She / city

3. They / other’s / each / families / met

4. love / said / first / at / They / sight / was / it

5. days / later / They / got / 6 / married

Listening and Vocabulary

Listen to the article and fill in the words OR practice vocabulary and fill in the words.

British English:

American English: 

Sight Submitted Fond
Attention Retail Support
Posted Applications Strange

A Nigerian man wanted to get married. He _______ on Facebook. He said he would take _________ for a wife. The applications had to be ________ by midnight. One woman got his _______.

Two days later, he traveled 500km to visit the woman. She lived in a northern city. She met him at a ______ store. They said it was love at first _______.

They met each other’s families. The man’s family liked the woman. The woman’s family were ______ of the the man too.

They got married 6 days later. A few people thought it was _______. Mostly, they got lots of ________.

Conversation Questions

Take turns speaking with a partner or try to answer on your own:

1. Did you find this article interesting? Why or why not?
2. Did you learn anything new from this article? If so, what?
3. Is marriage important in your culture?
4. What is a wedding like in your culture?
5. What is the normal age people get married in your country?
6. Is it popular to meet people online in your country?
7. How long do you think people should be together before they get married?
8. Do brides where white in your country?
9. Have you ever made any friends online?
10. Do you use social media?
11. What kind of social media do you use?
12. What do you use social media for the most?
13. What are the positives of social media?
14. What are the negatives of social media?
15. What is the furthest you’ve ever traveled to see someone?
16. Do you think 500km is far to travel?
17. What is the longest amount of time you would travel in a car?
18. How long does it take to get from the one side of your country to the other?
19. What is the most popular form of transportation in your country?
20. What is your favourite mode of transportation?