Level-graded English lessons with reading, listening, activities, and discussion.
Lesson Info
Lesson Content
Warm-up, Vocab List, Reading and Audio
Understanding: Main Idea, True or False, Put Events in Order, Multiple Choice
Language: Words That Go Together
Use It: Discussion Builder, Sentence Unscramble, Discussion Questions
Answers
(1) Have you ever seen a big fire on TV or in real life?
(2) What kinds of paper products do people use every day?
Vocab List
On Tuesday, a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 firefighters came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.
Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 million in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
Police said Abdulkarim sent a message to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.
In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the evidence carefully and studying the video for more information.
California Paper Warehouse Fire
(1) Have you ever seen a big fire on TV or in real life?
(2) What kinds of paper products do people use every day?
-
destroy (v.)
-
warehouse (n.)
-
arrest (v.)
-
employee (n.)
-
charge (n.)
-
arson (n.)
-
official (n.)
-
evidence (n.)
-
executive (n.)
-
violence (n.)
On Tuesday, a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 firefighters came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.
Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 million in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
Police said Abdulkarim sent a message to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.
In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the evidence carefully and studying the video for more information.
Main Idea
Choose one answer, then click CHECK to see your result.
Main Idea
Choose one:
- Firefighters responded to a warehouse fire in California, and the story focuses on their efforts to control the fire.
- A huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in California, and police later arrested a worker as they investigated the case. Correct answer
- Police are mainly investigating a connection between the fire and Luigi Mangione.
True or False
Answer each question by selecting True or False, then click CHECK to see your results.
True or False
1. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. TRUEFALSE True
2. The warehouse was about an hour from Los Angeles. TRUEFALSE True
3. Police said Abdulkarim was a firefighter at the scene. TRUEFALSE False
4. Officials believe the total damage may be more than $600 million. TRUEFALSE True
Put Events in Order
Put the events in the order they happened, from first to last.
- 1 The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
- 2 Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
- 3 Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
- 4 Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
- 5 Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.
Put Events in Order
Put the events from the story in the correct order from first (1) to last (5):
- Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
- Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
- Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.
- The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
- Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
- The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
- Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
- Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
- Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
- Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.
Multiple Choice
Answer each question by selecting A, B, or C, then click CHECK to see your results.
Multiple Choice
1. When did police say the fire started?
a) Around 12:30 a.m.Correct
b) Around 12:30 p.m.
c) Early Wednesday morning
2. What was Abdulkarim's job at the site?
a) Warehouse employeeCorrect
b) Firefighter
c) Truck driver
3. What did police say Abdulkarim sent to co-workers after the fire?
a) A video
b) A photo
c) A messageCorrect
4. What are police still doing now?
a) Rebuilding the warehouse
b) Selling the paper products
c) Checking the evidence and studying the videoCorrect
Listen and Fill Gaps
Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:
On (1) , a huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in Ontario, California. Police say the fire started around 12:30 a.m. and became very large very quickly. About 175 (2) came to the scene to help, but the building and many paper products were lost.
Police later arrested Chamel Abdulkarim, a 29-year-old (3) at the warehouse. He now faces serious charges, including arson. Officials say the damage may be more than $600 million. They believe about $500 (4) in paper goods were destroyed, and the warehouse itself was worth about $150 million. The warehouse belonged to Kimberly-Clark, which makes paper products for homes and businesses. The site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
Police said Abdulkarim sent a (5) to co-workers after the fire and compared himself to Luigi Mangione. Mangione was charged with killing a health insurance executive in December 2024. That case was linked to anger about health care costs in the US. Police also said a video on social media appears to show Abdulkarim starting fires inside the warehouse.
In the video, the person says he does not make enough money to live. Officials called the fire an attack on American businesses. At a press conference, they said they would act strongly against people who use violence against companies. Police are still checking the (6) carefully and studying the video for more information.
Listen and Fill Gaps
Listen to the audio and complete the gaps below:
Loading listening activity...
Words That Go Together
Drag each word to its match below, or select a word and then select its match:
Loading vocabulary activity...
Words That Go Together
Match each word with the words it goes with:
1. Destroyf) a warehouse
2. Arreste) an employee
3. Startd) a fire
4. Checkc) the evidence
5. Useb) violence
6. Causea) damage
a) damage
b) violence
c) the evidence
d) a fire
e) an employee
f) a warehouse
Discussion Builder
1) Reason 2) Contrast 3) Opinion
Q: The person in the video says he does not make enough money to live. Why can low pay make people angry?
A:Q: Is damage to a company the same as damage to people? Why or why not?
A:Q: Do you think companies should do more to listen to unhappy workers?
A:
Discussion Builder
Choose the best phrase for each gap:
Q: The person in the video says he does not make enough money to live. Why can low pay make people angry?
A: Low pay can make people very angry they may feel their work is not respected.
and / because / but / so
Low pay can make people very angry because they may feel their work is not respected.
Q: Is damage to a company the same as damage to people? Why or why not?
A: Damage to a company is serious, damage to people is usually worse.
so / and / but / because
Damage to a company is serious, but damage to people is usually worse.
Q: Do you think companies should do more to listen to unhappy workers?
A: companies should listen earlier when workers keep saying they are unhappy.
So, / To me, / For example, / But,
To me, companies should listen earlier when workers keep saying they are unhappy.
Sentence Unscramble
Sentence Unscramble
-
A. service. B. cheaper housing C. For example, D. cities could offer E. better bus F. and
For example, cities could offer cheaper housing and better bus service.
-
A. can become B. wind and paper C. because D. hard to stop E. them fast. F. Big fires G. can spread
Big fires can become hard to stop because wind and paper can spread them fast.
-
A. a strong punishment B. huge damage. C. is fair D. if E. I think F. arson causes
I think a strong punishment is fair if arson causes huge damage.
Discussion Questions
- Did anything from this story surprise you? Why?
- The person in the video says he does not make enough money to live. Why can low pay make people angry?
- How can a city help workers who feel they cannot live on their pay?
- Why do you think big fires can become hard to stop?
- What jobs do firefighters do besides putting out fires?
- Is damage to a company the same as damage to people? Why or why not?
- Do you think companies should do more to listen to unhappy workers?
- Is it ever okay to use violence against a business? Why or why not?
- What is a fair punishment for arson that causes huge damage?
- Do news stories about crime affect how safe people feel? How?
Discussion Questions
- Did anything from this story surprise you? Why?
- The person in the video says he does not make enough money to live. Why can low pay make people angry?
- How can a city help workers who feel they cannot live on their pay?
- Why do you think big fires can become hard to stop?
- What jobs do firefighters do besides putting out fires?
- Is damage to a company the same as damage to people? Why or why not?
- Do you think companies should do more to listen to unhappy workers?
- Is it ever okay to use violence against a business? Why or why not?
- What is a fair punishment for arson that causes huge damage?
- Do news stories about crime affect how safe people feel? How?
Answers
Listening: (1) Tuesday, (2) firefighters, (3) employee, (4) million, (5) message, (6) evidence
Main Idea: A huge fire destroyed a paper warehouse in California, and police later arrested a worker as they investigated the case.
True or False:
- True. The first paragraph says the fire started around 12:30 a.m.
- True. The second paragraph says the site is about an hour from Los Angeles.
- False. The story says he was a 29-year-old employee at the warehouse.
- True. The story says officials believe the damage may be more than $600 million.
Multiple Choice: a, a, c, c
Put Events in Order:
- The fire started at the paper warehouse in Ontario, California.
- Firefighters came to the scene, but the building and many paper products were lost.
- Police later arrested warehouse employee Chamel Abdulkarim.
- Police said Abdulkarim sent co-workers a message after the fire.
- Officials said they would act strongly while police kept checking the evidence.
Vocabulary:
- Destroy: a warehouse
- Arrest: an employee
- Start: a fire
- Check: the evidence
- Use: violence
- Cause: damage
Discussion Builder:
Hints: 1) Reason. 2) Contrast. 3) Opinion.
- because
- but
- To me,
Sentence Unscramble:
- For example, cities could offer cheaper housing and better bus service.
- Big fires can become hard to stop because wind and paper can spread them fast.
- I think a strong punishment is fair if arson causes huge damage.