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ΠA Quick Quiz How much do you know about flying?

Circle the correct answer:

When was the Wright Brothers’ first flight? 1901 1903 1911 1912
When was the first non-stop flight between NY and Paris? 1912 1927 1932 1951
When was Concorde’s first commercial flight? 1976 1981 1988 1991

 Vocabulary #1 Match the word with its correct meaning.

initially (adv) to trust someone or something to do what is required

the norm (n) something that is possible (often for plans)
classy (adj) stylish and fashionable
rely (v) unwilling to do something
relieve (v) to make a pain or problem less bad
feasible (adj) at the start of a plan, process or situation
reluctant (adj) the usual way of doing something

Ž Reading Quickly read the following text:

Being a pilot would come high on the list of most

dream jobs – free air travel, a good salary, sex
appeal and no queues at passport control. Yet
before we rush out to learn how to fly, will airlines
5 of the future still need pilots? Computer-operated
planes are already used by the military for
reconnaissance. The unpiloted plane, like so
much technology initially developed by the
military, could one day be used for commercial
10 purposes. Indeed, some airline experts say that
pilotless planes could be the norm for commercial
flights by 2030.

Pilotless passenger planes would have numerous advantages. Employing pilots isn’t cheap: most
senior captains earn between $180,000 and $250,000 a year, overnight stays between flights at classy
15 hotels add more costs, and airlines have to operate costly roster systems to avoid pilot fatigue.
Commercial flights already rely on auto-pilot for landings in bad weather and to relieve pilots on long
flights. Pilotless planes can fly higher and longer than manned flights and are easily operated – on-
board computers handle the take-off, flight and landing. A fully automated passenger plane, while
expensive to develop, is technically feasible and would save airlines billions a year and make air-travel
20 cheaper.
Continued Ü

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Making unpiloted planes commercially viable would ultimately mean convincing the public. More than
half of all air-travel deaths are due to human error, but believing unmanned planes would be
completely error-free is naïve – think how many times computers crash. Most people would feel
uneasy if they knew their plane was being flown unpiloted. Perhaps we just instinctively prefer fellow
25 humans to machines.

Passengers may feel less reluctant once other forms of automated travel become more common. Most
of us take automated elevators and monorails without thinking of any possible safety issues. Many
cars have cruise-control and driverless trains are becoming widespread. Should problems occur
during a flight, having an on-board stand-by pilot or controlling a plane via remote control might ease
30 doubts.

Will we all be flying in pilotless planes in the future? Perhaps the prospect of cheaper fares will
encourage people to keep flying, regardless of who or what is controlling the plane.

 Summarizing Write one sentence for each paragraph. Compare your answers with other students.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

 Vocabulary #2 Change words in these sentences using the vocabulary from exercise two.

1. At first, Henry wanted to fly freight planes.

2. That medicine you gave me certainly eased the pain.

3. I can trust her to look after my children.

4. Your business plan is not realistic.

5. Surfing the Internet at work is very common at some companies!

6. I am unwilling to get involved with this new project.

‘ Discussion Ask your partner(s) these questions. Ask follow-up questions!

Ø Would you be willing to take a pilotless flight?

Ø Would you like to be a pilot?
Ø Are you scared of flying? Have you had any bad experiences on flights?
Ø What machines do you rely on at home or at work? How often do they go wrong?

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Pilotless Planes: Vocabulary Quiz

Choose a suitable word/phrase from the list below.
Make grammatical changes, where necessary.

1. Our CEO is ................................. to speak in public. He needs more self-confidence!

2. I don't think that putting mini-umbrellas in cocktails is very ................................. .

3. My broadband still isn't working! I called the company, but it seems that terrible service
is ......................................!
4. In the future, scientists hope to send a ................................. mission to Mars.

5. ................................. is one of the main causes of car accidents.

6. Do you really think that selling chili flavoured baby food is ..............................................?

7. You can't ....................... on George. He's makes a lot of mistakes when he's under
pressure.
8. You can ................................. swelling by putting ice on it.

9. We thought ................................. that the project would take two months to complete.
That's been revised to one year.
10. Migrating birds ................................. know where to fly. Mother Nature is amazing!

CHOOSE FROM:

fatigue instinctively rely

commercially viable
initially
reluctant manned
the norm
relieve classy
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Target Structure: Reading and Discussion

Vocabulary: Airplanes / Travel
Level: Advanced
Time: 1 hour, depending on discussion
Preparation: None

Suggested Teaching Method

This worksheet covers vocabulary, reading and discussion practice. Travel and flying are good topics for the
classroom, and this worksheet should provoke interesting discussion among students.

ΠGive one worksheet to each student. Students should work in pairs, discussing their answers. When finished, go
through the quiz with the entire class.

 Introduce the vocabulary work as a scanning exercise. Tell students to look for the words in the text and
underline them before proceeding further. If necessary, explain the concept of scanning compared to detailed
reading. A good example is a bus timetable – you look for a specific time, rather than read the timetable from top
to bottom.

Students should work alone, and then check in pairs.

Ž Before the students read the text, explain the reading task.
and

 Encourage the students to read quickly and make brief notes in the table in exercise four. They should then
check with a partner. Go through the answers with the class. This would also be the time to deal with any
pressing vocabulary questions.

 This exercise recycles vocabulary seen in exercise two and the reading. Students should work alone, and check
in pairs. When going through the answers, accept anything that is natural English.

‘ Leave plenty of time for class discussion. To maximise student talking time, it’s best to put students in pairs, or
small groups. Students should read all the questions first, before beginning the discussion.

Encourage eye contact and follow-up questions. Some discussion phrases might also come in useful. On the
board, write “I know what you mean.” , “Yes, but on the other hand..” and other such useful phrases, if you think
it would be of benefit to your students.

While the students are speaking, monitor the conversations, but try not to interrupt. When the discussion comes
to a close, ask a few of the questions yourself, and go through any points of English you made a note of while
monitoring.

QUIZ This vocabulary quiz can be set as homework, or in a subsequent lesson to check that students have learned
the key vocabulary and phrases.

Answer key on next page Ü

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Answer Key (Other answers are possible for some exercises.)

Œ When was the Wright Brothers’ first flight? 1901 1903 1911 1912
When was the first non-stop flight between NY and Paris 1912 1927 1932 1951
When was Concorde’s first commercial flight? 1976 1981 1988 1991

 initially (adv) at the start of a plan, process or situation

the norm (n) the usual way of doing something
classy (adj) stylish and fashionable
rely (v) to trust someone or something to do what is required
relieve (v) to make a pain or problem less bad
feasible (adj) something that is possible (often for plans)
reluctant (adj) unwilling to do something

 1. Initially, Henry wanted to fly freight planes.

2. That medicine you gave me certainly relieved the pain.
3. I can rely on her to look after my children.
4. Your business plan is not feasible.
5. Surfing the Internet at work is the norm at some companies!
6. I am reluctant to get involved with this new project.

QUIZ 1. Our CEO is reluctant to speak in public. He needs more self-confidence!

2. I don't think that putting mini-umbrellas in cocktails is very classy.
3. My broadband still isn't working! I called the company, but it seems that terrible service is the norm.
4. In the future, scientists hope to send a manned mission to Mars.
5. Fatigue is one of the main causes of car accidents.
6. Do you really think that selling chili flavoured baby food is commercially viable?
7. You can't rely on George. He's makes a lot of mistakes when he's under pressure.
8. You can relieve swelling by putting ice on it.
9. We thought initially that the project would take two months to complete. That's been revised to one
year.
10. Migrating birds instinctively know where to fly. Mother Nature is amazing!

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