Famous People Queen Noor Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions

Famous People
Queen Noor
Queen Noor
Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀
1. Where is Jordan?
Queen Noor of Jordan is the first queen of an Arab country to be
born in the United States.
2. Who was the former king of Jordan?
She was born in Washington, DC, on August 23, 1951. Her name
then was Lisa Najeeb Halaby. She went to private schools in the
4. What does an architect do?
3. Where do you think Queen Noor of Jordan was born?
United States. She then studied architecture and urban planning at
Princeton University. She graduated in 1974.
Her first job was in Australia, where she helped to design new
towns. She next went to Iran to work on a new plan for the city of
Teheran. In 1976, she accepted a job with Arabair Services in
Jordan. She helped to design a new university and housing for
employees of the airline.
She met King Hussein of Jordan in 1977. The King was interested in
the airline and the two became friends. Their friendship turned into a
romance, and they decided to get married. When they married in
June 1978, she took the name Noor al-Hussein, which means “Light
of Hussein.” Queen Noor became a Muslim and dedicated herself
to her new husband and her new country.
She managed the royal household and became the mother of her
husband’s three children from his previous marriage. Queen Noor
and King Hussein also had four children of their own. Prince
Hamzah was born in 1980, Prince Hashim in 1981, Princess Iman in
1983, and Princess Raiyah in 1986.
For more than 20 years, Queen Noor has worked to improve the
lives of the people of Jordan. She has set up schools and school
programs, started a festival of culture and arts, and encouraged
Arab children from all countries to learn more about their history.
She has been especially interested in the health and welfare of
Jordanian women and children.
In 1998, King Hussein died of cancer. His eldest son became the
new king. Queen Noor has remained in Jordan and continues to
work for her people.
COMPREHENSION ✍
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
1. Queen Noor is now 65 years old.
2. In university she learned how to design cities.
3. Her first job was in United States.
4. She met King Hussein when she worked for Arabair.
5. Queen Noor changed her religion when she married.
In 2003, she wrote a book about her life as the Queen of Jordan.
1
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Famous People
Queen Noor
B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.
1. What is unusual about Queen Noor of Jordan?
2. What did she study in university?
3. What did she do in Teheran?
4. How did she meet King Hussein?
5. What is her Arabic name and what does it mean?
6. How many children did King Hussein have?
7. How did Queen Noor help to improve the lives of Jordanians?
DISCUSS
8. What has Queen Noor done since the death of her husband?
1. Queen Noor is an American woman
VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍
who married a king from another
country? Have you ever heard of Wally
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.
_____ 1. urban
_____ 2. graduate
a) start, establish
b) relating to a king or queen
_____ 3. design
_____ 4. dedicate
_____ 5. royal
c) give hope to, support
d) of a city
e) condition of having good health, good living
_____ 6. previous
_____ 7. improve
f) complete a course of studies
g) former, before
_____ 8. set up
_____ 9. encourage
_____ 10. welfare
h) draw, plan
i) make or get better
j) give one’s time and energy to someone or something
Simpson or Grace Kelly? Who did they
marry? Have you heard of any other
famous royal romances? If so, share
these with your classmates.
2. If a couple decides to get married
and they have different religions, do
you think it is important for one spouse
to change his or her religion? Explain
your answer.
3. Why do you think Queen Noor
decided to remain in Jordan after her
husband’s death?
B. Choose the correct word from the left column above to complete the following sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mrs. Jones is teaching you now. Who was your __________________________ teacher?
Pat lives in a small town now, but she wants to move to a larger __________________________ center.
He has been studying for four years. He’s going to __________________________ this spring.
Your English will _________________________ very quickly if you practice speaking with native speakers everyday.
He doesn’t think he will be able to get that job, but his wife is going to ________________________ him to apply.
C. Queen Noor dedicated herself to her husband and her new country. Complete the following sentences using your own examples.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The mother dedicated herself to _______________________________.
The doctor dedicated herself to _________________________________ .
The scientist dedicated himself to ________________________________.
The teacher dedicated himself to _________________________________.
2
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photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.
Famous People
Queen Noor
ANSWER KEY
Please note:
The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. Jordan is located in the Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia.
2. The former King of Jordan was King Hussein.
3. Individual answer
4. An architect is someone who creates design plans for future buildings, houses or public spaces.
READING COMPREHENSION
A. True or False
1. F
2. T
3. F
4. T
5. T
B. Written Answers
1. Queen Noor of Jordan is the first queen of an Arab country to be born in the United States.
2. Queen Noor studied architecture and urban planning in university.
3. She worked on a new city plan for Teheran.
4. She met King Hussein while working for Arabair Services.
5. Queen Noor’s Arabic name is Noor al-Hussein which means “light of Hussein”.
6. King Hussein had seven children, three from his first marriage and four with Queen Noor.
7. Queen Noor has improved the lives of Jordanians by setting up schools and school programs, starting a festival of
culture and arts and encourging Arab children from all countries to learn more about their history. She has been
especially interested in the health and welfare of Jordanian women and children.
8. Queen Noor has remained in Jordan and continues to work for her people. In 2004 she wrote her autobiography.
VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Match the words
1. d
2. f
9. c
10. e
3. h
B. Choose the correct word
1. previous
2. urban
4. j
5. b
3. graduate
6. g
4. improve
7. i
5. encourage
C. “dedicated”
Students should write individual responses. Here are some examples.
1. The mother dedicated herself to her children.
2. The doctor dedicated herself to his patients.
3. The scientist dedicated himself to his research.
4. The teacher dedicated himself to his students.
3
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.
8. a
Famous People
Queen Noor
Queen Noor
Queen Noor of Jordan is the first queen of an Arab country to be born in the United States.
She was born in Washington, DC, on August 23, 1951. Her name then was Lisa Najeeb Halaby. She went to private
schools in the United States. She then studied architecture and urban planning at Princeton University. She
graduated in 1974.
Her first job was in Australia, where she helped to design new towns. She next went to Iran to work on a new plan
for the city of Teheran. In 1976, she accepted a job with Arabair Services in Jordan. She helped to design a new
university and housing for employees of the airline.
She met King Hussein of Jordan in 1977. The King was interested in the airline and the two became friends. Their
friendship turned into a romance, and they decided to get married. When they married in June 1978, she took the
name Noor al-Hussein, which means “Light of Hussein.” Queen Noor became a Muslim and dedicated herself to
her new husband and her new country.
She managed the royal household and became the mother of her husband’s three children from his previous marriage. Queen Noor and King Hussein also had four children of their own. Prince Hamzah was born in 1980, Prince
Hashim in 1981, Princess Iman in 1983, and Princess Raiyah in 1986.
For more than 20 years, Queen Noor has worked to improve the lives of the people of Jordan. She has set up
schools and school programs, started a festival of culture and arts, and encouraged Arab children from all countries to learn more about their history. She has been especially interested in the health and welfare of Jordanian
women and children.
In 1998, King Hussein died of cancer. His eldest son became the new king. Queen Noor has remained in Jordan
and continues to work for her people.
In 2003, she wrote a book about her life as the Queen of Jordan.
4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact [email protected] for complete details.