PREVIEW ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.

The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

Work with a partner or group. Do the activities below together about transport.

PART I Look at the photos below of a new type of transport in development, called the
Hyperloop. Have you heard of the Hyperloop? Do you know what it is?

What do you think are some common What are a few reasons that we need new
questions people have about the Hyperloop? forms of transportation in the world?

1 1

2 2

3 3

PART II Discuss the questions below about Elon Musk and future / modern transportation.

1 2 3
What do you know about Elon How do you envision the Can you think of any other
Musk? Do you know anything future of transport and types of new or modern
about his accomplishments or travel? What do you think transportation technology
companies? will be different? or way of traveling today?

PART III Discuss reasons why people complain about traveling by car, public transit, or airplane.

CAR:

PUBLIC TRANSIT:

AIRPLANE:

What negative experiences have you had traveling by car, public transit, or airplane?
PREVIEW ACTIVITY (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

PART I Match the verbs with their definitions below the context examples.

1 The airplane encountered a lot of resistance flying into the storm.

2 The helicopter is hovering above the hospital landing area on the rooftop.
3 The shuttle bus at the airport dropped me off at my terminal.
4 My new car can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7 seconds.
5 We should draft up the first contract for cooperation and send it to our supplier.

1 encounter a. to transport or deliver someone / something to a location

2 hover b. to begin to move more quickly (vehicle, object)
3 accelerate c. to create, design, draw, or write a first version
4 drop off d. to be above a surface without touching it
5 draft up e. to unexpectedly experience, meet, or face a problem

PART II Write a definition / synonym for the nouns and verbs below based on the context.

1 Helicopters generally fly at a lower altitude than airplanes.

altitude measures...

2 City architects drafted up blueprints of the design for the new subway station.

blueprints are...

3 I have a powerful electric car. You can feel the thrust when you accelerate.

thrust is...

4 Working from home used to be unconventional, but these days many people do it.

unconventional means...

5 The MacBook Air is a really compact laptop which makes it easy to travel with.

compact means...

Bonus Phrases!
in the blink of an eye = describes something that happens really quickly

EXAMPLE I have a great auto mechanic. He fixes my car in the blink of an eye!

‘It turns out...’ = used to state a surprising or unexpected fact / result

EXAMPLE I researched how much money on average Americans spend on gas per
month. It turns out that some Americans spend more on gas than food!
THE HYPERLOOP EXPERIENCE Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

PREVIEW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

How do you envision high speed travel

like this changing the way we live?

What do you think will be the biggest

VIEWING ACTIVITY challenges for constructing the Hyperloop?

PART I Write short answers below according to the information from the video.

0:18 1 What is the Hyperloop? How does it work?

0:32 2 How will the Hyperloop change the way we live?

1:27 3 What are the main challenges of the project?

2:01 4 How will our bodies react to such high speeds?

2:33 5 What does the UCLA student show the reporter

in the ‘Hyperloop Think Tank’?

3:43 6 Why will the Hyperloop be safe to travel in?

PART II Choose the correct answer for each sentence below.

1:02 1 The concept of traveling around in tubes has existed...

a. for a year b. for a decade c. for more than a century

2:22 2 One of the biggest problems for ‘tube travel’ will be making this style of travel...

a. realistic b. comfortable c. affordable

3:11 3 For one of the station designs, students were inspired by...

a. a professor b. airport terminals c. Grand Central Station

PART III Discuss the questions below with your teacher or a class partner.

1 Discuss your initial reaction to the 2 Imagine Hyperloops are normal.

Hyperloop. What do you think about it? Which two cities would you want
How could it change your life personally? to be connected? Why?
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

PART I Choose the correct preposition for the spaces below. One isn’t used!

away in off about out up

1 As humans, we dream being able to travel comfortably from place

to place the blink of an eye.
2 In 2013, Elon Musk drafted actual blueprints of the Hyperloop project.
3 Elon Musk put the challenge of building the Hyperloop to the engineering
community. As it turns , there were some engineers willing to try it.
4 The student shows where you’ll be dropped in the Hyperloop station.

PART II Write one or two sentences about the Hyperloop using the following four words:

altitude hover encounter resistance

PART III Study the example sentence from the video below in the passive voice.

“ The students were really inspired by Grand Central Station.

1 The sentence above is in the passive voice. How do you write it in the active voice?

2 Why do we use the passive voice?

a. We use the passive voice to focus on the object of the action.

b. We use the passive voice to focus on the subject that performs or does the action.
c. We use the passive voice to focus on the reason or cause for an action.

3 The passive always uses the form of the verb “ ” + the

of the main verb (done / taken / known).

4 The verb be is always formed according to the tense. Fill in the blanks in the passive form
below according to the tense. Use the verb “design”.

PRESENT SIMPLE The Hyperloop is designed to make travel faster.

PAST SIMPLE The Hyperloop by engineering students.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS The Hyperloop at UCLA right now.
FUTURE The Hyperloop by some engineering students.
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

PART I Use a verb from the box to turn the sentence to passive. Form the correct tense.

give draft know build drive design choose make

1 The Hyperloop is being designed right now by students at UCLA university.

2 The blueprint for the Hyperloop up by Elon Musk in 2013.

3 The Hyperloop by computers, not humans.

4 Students at UCLA the opportunity to design the Hyperloop.

5 Do you know if plans to build the Hyperloop in other countries?

6 Elon Musk around the world.

7 I’m curious why UCLA as the location for the Hyperloop development.

8 Right now the Hyperloop is in California.

PART II Transform the sentences into the passive in the present continuous. Don’t use by.

1 UCLA students are doing a lot of research on how to make tube travel comfortable.

2 They Hyperloop team is making a lot of progress on the Hyperloop development.

3 Technicians are investigating some technical issues with the Hyperloop.

4 TransPod is sending some high-speed tube supplies to Hyperloop Technologies in California.

5 What type of material the Hyperloop construction team is using to build the tubes?

PART III Make sentences about transportation in the passive voice in the present continuous.

1 Self-driving cars / develop Self-driving cars are being developed.

2 New airport policies / write

3 New tunnels for the metro / dig

4 Photos of the car / take

5 Project costs / cut

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license.
The Hyperloop Experience - Upper Intermediate

Work with a partner. Complete the quiz and review activities below.

PART I Questions. Answer the questions below about the video.

1. Explain what the Hyperloop is in your own words.

2. How will the Hyperloop change the way we live?
3. What will be the biggest challenges for creating and constructing the Hyperloop?
4. What do the reporter and the UCLA student do and talk about together?
5. Why will travel in the Hyperloop be safe?

PART II Vocabulary: Discuss what each term means. Write how it was used in the video.

1. in the blink of an eye

2. hover

3. altitude

4. encounter

5. blueprints
Grammar: Explain what the passive voice is and how it’s formed. Then write two of
PART III
your own sentences on the topic of transportation in the passive voice using the
present continuous form. See the example below:

1. The Hyperloop is being designed by students at UCLA.

2.

3.

PART IV Imagine you used the Hyperloop for the first time and you tell somebody about it. Take
one of the roles below, prepare some notes, and then speak about your experience.

STUDENT A STUDENT B

HYPERLOOP LOVER HYPERLOOP HATER

Your role: Your role:

You had a great trip and you loved the
Hyperloop experience. Tell your partner
about the trip and why it was so great and
why you loved it. Explain the trip in detail.
Where did you go? How was the Hyperloop?
How did it feel? What positive experiences
did you have?
You had a terrible trip and you hated the
Hyperloop experience. Tell your partner
about the trip and why it was so terrible and
why you hated it. Explain the trip in detail.
Where did you go? How was the Hyperloop?
How did it feel? What problems or negative
experiences did you have?