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ENGLISH FOR TEENAGERS · GENERAL ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

SOLO
ADVENTURERS

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1 Warm up

Look at the map and answer the following questions.

1. Write the names of two countries you’d like to visit in each continent.
2. Tell a classmate why you would like to visit each country. What would you see there? What would
you do there?
3. Imagine that you are going on a round-the-world holiday. Draw your route. You can only travel to
one country in each continent (plus your own country).
4. Decide how long you would stay in each place and how you would travel. Tell a classmate about
your round-the-world route and destinations.

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2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match each word or phrase to its correct definition.

Group 1

1. typhoon (n) a. do or achieve what was hoped for or expected

2. run over (phr. v.) b. knock a person or an animal down while driving a vehicle

3. severe (adj.) c. a light vehicle with wheels that you pull or push by hand

4. cart (n) d. a violent tropical storm with very strong winds

5. fulfil (v) e. extremely bad or serious

Group 2

1. voyage (n) a. plan and direct the course of a ship or plane by using a map

2. discourage (v) b. an accident in which a vehicle hits something

3. navigate (v) c. try to prevent something or to prevent somebody from

doing something
4. crash (n) d. a long journey, especially by sea or in space

5. capable (adj.) e. having the ability or qualities necessary for doing something

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Part B: Write the correct word or phrase from Part A in each sentence. Do you find any of the
sentences surprising?

1. The Titanic sank on its first ever . The huge ship was sailing from the UK to the
US.

2. She her childhood dream to become a professional footballer.

3. There was a outside my house this morning. It involved three cars, but I don’t
think anyone was hurt.

4. My dad fell off his bike and had to go to hospital, but his injuries are not too . He’ll
be able to come home tomorrow.

5. I think you are of much better. How much time did you spend on this homework?

6. My dog escaped this morning and nearly got . It’s got no road sense at all.

7. Can you ? I’m no good with maps.

8. I would all young people from smoking. It’s a disgusting habit and once you start
it’s difficult to stop.

9. Fred is on its way this weekend, so we need to stay indoors.

10. Farmers used to use a horse and to move things around but many use tractors
these days.

Discuss the following questions with a classmate. Use the word in bold in your answers.

1. When was the last severe storm in your country?

2. What would you discourage teenagers from doing?
3. What do you think computers will be capable of doing in the future?

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3 Reading for general comprehension

Part A: You’re going to read about four solo travellers that have broken different world records. Which
world record do you think you will read about? Do you think these things are possible? What would
be the biggest challenges?

1. The first person to drive around the world alone.

2. The fastest woman to cycle around the world.
3. The fastest person to run around the world.
4. The oldest person to fly a helicopter around the world.
5. The youngest person to sail around the world on their own.
6. The youngest person to ride a horse around the world.
7. The youngest woman to fly around the world by themselves.
8. The first person to swim around the world.

Part B: Read the article and match the following people to a world record.

record breaker world record

1
Jenny Graham

2
Laura Dekker
3
Kevin Carr
4
Zara Rutherford

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Solo travellers
Four round-the-world travellers who broke a different world record

1. Solo Traveller 1

In January 2022, Zara Rutherford became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. Ms Rutherford, 19,
flew over the Atlantic to Canada before reaching Colombia via the Caribbean. From there, she flew up the west
coast of the US to Alaska, where she crossed the dangerous Bering Sea to Russia. She then flew across Asia,
the Middle East and back to Europe. A total of 41 countries and 32,300 miles. It wasn’t all easy though. She
had to avoid northern India because of smog and changed her flight plans over the Philippines due to a typhoon.
The British-Belgian teenager hopes her journey will inspire more women to become involved in the science and
technology sectors. She says, "Boys learn through toys, street names, history classes and movies that they can be
scientists, astronauts, CEOs or presidents," and she wants girls to do the same.

2. Solo Traveller 2

Kevin Carr entered the record books as the fastest person to circumnavigate the planet on foot in 2015. The
34-year-old from England ran 16,300 miles through 26 countries in 621 days. During his adventure Kevin came
face-to-face with bears in Canada and packs of wild dogs in Romania. He was twice run over by cars and suffered
severe heatstroke in India. He averaged more than a marathon a day – and did so unsupported (the first person
ever to do this), pushing a cart containing his food and camping equipment for the entire adventure. Kevin ran
through Europe, before flying to India and onto Australia and New Zealand. He then went to Canada and the
United States, before crossing Chile and Argentina. Finally, he flew into the west coast of Ireland before arriving
back in England. Kevin said: "I’m absolutely exhausted but delighted! I simply wanted to be the fastest man around
the world."

3. Solo Traveller 3

Many people said she was too young to do it but in 2012, 16-year-old Laura Dekker fulfilled her ambition and
became the youngest person to sail solo around the world. The Dutch teenager took just over a year to complete
her journey on her 38ft sailboat, Guppy. On dry land and reunited with her family, she said: "There were moments
where I was like, ’What am I doing out here?’ But I never wanted to stop. It’s a dream, and I wanted to do it." Her
voyage was controversial however and Guinness World Records decided to stop recognising records for youngest
sailors to discourage dangerous attempts. Dutch officials tried to prevent her from leaving, arguing she should be
in a classroom rather than navigating the trip of 27,000 miles. Judges eventually let her go on the condition that
she continued her schoolwork online.

4. Solo Traveller 4

Jenny Graham from Scotland became the fastest woman to cycle around the world in 2018 when she completed
her journey in 124 days and 11 hours, nearly three weeks faster than the previous record holder. The 39-year-
old’s 18,000-mile journey began in Berlin, Germany and took her through 16 countries and four continents. On
average she cycled 13.5 hours each day with a daily average of 156 miles. Her journey wasn’t without danger and
problems. She had to deal with bears in Canada, escape from kangaroos in Australia and had a crash in Mongolia.
Ms Graham said: "I was curious to see how far I could go and now I’m officially a world record holder. I’d encourage
anyone to get out on their bike and discover they are capable of far more than they think they are." - sources: The
Independent, cyclist.co.uk, flyzolo.com

Glossary:
circumnavigate (v) - to go all the way around something, especially all the way around the world
heatstroke (n) - an illness caused by being in the heat for too long

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Part C: Read the article again and decide if the answer is Zara Rutherford (ZA), Kevin Carr (KC), Laura
Dekker (LD) or Jenny Graham (JG).

1. Who travelled the longest distance?

2. Who took the most time?

3. Who had problems with officials?

4. Who had similar problems?

5. Who thinks other people should do the same thing?

6. Who believes treating everyone in the same way is important?

7. Who said they were tired at the end of their trip?

8. Who had to study during their trip?

4 Speaking: Adventurers

Work in groups of four. Imagine that one of you is Zara Rutherford, one of you is Kevin Carr, one of
you is Laura Dekker and one of you is Jenny Graham. Look at the questions below and prepare some
quick answers.

1. How was your trip? How do you feel? Where did you go?
2. Did you have any problems on the way? What happened?
3. How did it feel to be alone for so long?
4. Would you do it again?

5 Listening: Flying solo

Part A: You are going to watch a video about Zara Rutherford’s solo trip around the world (00:00 -
04:00). Have you ever been on a plane? Would you like to be able to fly a plane? Why/Why not?
Listen and put the events in order.

1 Zara speaks about more girls doing jobs in science and engineering.

Zara arrives in Iceland.

Zara talks about having problems with the weather in Greenland.

Zara’s mum talks about her daughter.

The narrator talks about Zara’s childhood.

Zara worries about having problems with her plane where there are no people.

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Part B: Watch the video again and circle the word you hear.

1. She’s already crossed the Atlantic. On the way to Greenland a few days earlier she ran into her
first rough / difficult patch.

2. Her parents are both pilots and began taking Zara up with them when she was still a child / toddler.

3. Zara grew up with planes and her parents support her in her dream of circumnavigating the planet
/ globe even if they do worry.

4. Shortly before takeoff in August 2021 Zara Rutherford chose this ultra-light sport aircraft /airplane
to make her experiment / attempt.

5. On august 18, 2021 Zara Rutherford took off from Cordroy, Belgium. The project has the support
of sponsors / marketing.

6. The young pilot is hoping her interest / enthusiasm for flying will inspire other women and girls.

6 Project: An interview with an adventurer

Imagine you are Kevin Carr, Laura Dekker, or Jenny Graham. You have been asked to appear on a TV
show to talk about your round-the-world experiences.

Read the following questions that the TV station has sent you and prepare your answer. You could
do some online research for your answers to be as close to the truth as possible, or you could invent
some anecdotes.

1. Which World Record did you break?

2. What was your biggest worry before you left?
3. What route did you take?
4. How did you feel about being alone for such a long time?
5. What was the most exciting part of your journey?
6. What was the most frightening part of your journey?
7. What would you like to do next?

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Transcripts

5. Listening: Flying solo

Narrator: Zara Rutherford has set out to fly solo around the world. At just 19 years old, she’ll be
the youngest woman ever to do so and if all goes as planned, she’ll set a world record.

Zara: At first it was a sense of adventure. I wanted to do something, something crazy that
would change my life and then I realized that, you know, I would maybe get a bit more
media attention than I thought I would get. So, I thought I’m gonna try and use that and
try and hopefully encourage girls to go into aviation and stem so that’s taking science,
technology, engineering and mathematics.

Narrator: She’s on her way and shooting some video of the flight herself. She’s already crossed
the Atlantic. On the way to Greenland a few days earlier she ran into her first rough
patch.

Zara: The first little bit was fine and then suddenly the clouds are getting lower and lower.
I think at the at one point I was at 600 feet above the ocean which was pretty scary
but that was fine and then I lost radio contact half an hour into my trip, so that meant
I had two hours where I couldn’t talk to anyone, and nobody really knew where I was
apart from the tracker of course which you can find on my website. So, that was really
exciting and now I’m in Greenland and it is absolutely stunning.

Narrator: Zara Rutherford’s flight plan takes her from Europe to Greenland to North America then
down to Central America and back up across the US and Alaska. From there she’ll jump
over to Russia then fly across China, Indonesia, India and the Middle East then back to
Europe. Nearly three months and not without risk.

Zara: I think especially in places like Northern Russia or over the Pacific or the Atlantic,
obviously there aren’t many people that live there, especially the Atlantic and Pacific
no one. So, if something were to happen there, that would probably be my biggest fear.
That’ll be a challenge definitely.

Narrator: Zara Rutherford lives with her family in Belgium. She started learning to fly at the young
age of 14. Her parents are both pilots and began taking Zara up with them when she
was still a toddler.

Narrator: In 2009, they took off on an adventure flying across Mozambique in Africa with their
children. Zara grew up with planes and her parents support her in her dream of
circumnavigating the globe even if they do worry.

Zara’s mum: I really, really believe that it’s my role to let my children open their wings and fly whether
I approve of it or not, and then if I clip their wings it’s going to have a truly bad impact
on the rest of their lives. So, I really don’t want to do that I don’t want to be that person.

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Narrator: Shortly before takeoff in August 2021, Zara Rutherford chose this ultra-light sport
aircraft to make her attempt. It achieves top speeds of 300 kilometres per hour. The
individual legs will take about five hours each.

Zara: I’m a bit nervous. I’m also a bit in disbelief. It’s weird thinking that I’m finally here. I’m
finally leaving. But I’m very excited and I can’t wait to go.

Narrator: On August 18 2021, Zara Rutherford took off from Cordroy, Belgium. The project has
the support of sponsors. One of the first of a total of 90 stops was Iceland.

Zara: Yeah, so I had a look at the volcano, absolutely beautiful, really amazing, a bit turbulent
as well because of the heat but really, really nice.

Narrator: Zara Rutherford is welcomed wherever she sets down as here in Reykjavik, Iceland. The
young pilot is hoping her enthusiasm for flying will inspire other women and girls and
when she’s back from her world tour she has dreams of becoming an astronaut.

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Key

1. Warm up

10 mins.
1. Ask students to write the names of countries they’d like to visit directly onto the map.
Extension: If you think your students need to practice with country names in English or geography you could try
this game: https://www.geoguessr.com/seterra/en/vgp/3069
2. Ask students to discuss in pairs. Encourage them to give reasons for their choices. Monitor and help with
language and take notes of examples of good/incorrect language to work on in a feedback stage.
3 - 4. Ask students to draw their route on the map. Students then tell a different classmate about their round-
the-world holiday. If you have time, you could expand this, and students could do some online research and they
could present their holidays to the rest of the class.

2. Focus on vocabulary

10 mins.
Part A
Students match the vocabulary to the definitions.
Group 1

1. → d. 2. → b. 3. → e. 4. → c. 5. → a.
Group 2

1. → d. 2. → c. 3. → a. 4. → b. 5. → e.
Part B
Ask students to read all the sentences before they decide which word to choose from Part A. Students should
check answers in pairs.

1. voyage 2. fulfilled
3. crash 4. severe
5. capable 6. run over
7. navigate 8. discourage
9. typhoon 10. cart
Finally, ask students to focus on saying the words in bold in their answers. Students could then talk to a different
classmate. Encourage students to try to develop their answers. Monitor and take notes for feedback.

3. Reading for general comprehension

15 mins.
Part A
Ask students to discuss the world records and predict the ones they think they are going to read about. Encourage
students to try to develop their answers.
Extension: Explore some World Records on the following website: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
Part B

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Students then read the article quickly and complete the table. This is a gist reading so set a time limit of one
minute.

1. the fastest woman to cycle around the world

2. the youngest person to sail solo around the world
3. the fastest person to circumnavigate the planet on foot
4. the youngest woman to fly solo around the world
Part C
Students read the statements in pairs then read the article again and discuss in pairs. Ask students to underline
the part of the text where they find the answer so they can justify their choices.

1. Zara Rutherford (ZA) 2. Kevin Carr (KC)

3. Laura Dekker (LD) 4. Kevin Carr (KC) and Laura Dekker (LD)
5. Jenny Graham (JG) 6. Zara Rutherford (ZA)
7. Kevin Carr (KC) 8. Laura Dekker (LD)
Article sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/zara-rutherford-teenager-fly-solo-b1997162.html
flyzolo.com/about-me/
www.independent.co.uk/news/page-3-profile-kevin-carr-runner-10160981.html
www.inov-8.com/eu/fastest-person-to-run-around-the-world
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutch-teenager-sets-new-solo-sailing-record-6292876.html
www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/scottish-woman-claims-world-record-for-fastest-circumnavigation-
by-bicycle-38198171.html
www.cyclist.co.uk/news/5471/scottish-cyclist-jenny-graham-smashes-round-the-world-cycling-record

4. Speaking: Adventurers

10 mins.
Split the class into groups of four or three where this is not possible. Each student chooses one of the adventurers
from the reading. They need to think of some answers and can use the reading texts to help them but also
encourage students to elaborate and imagine further. The idea is that the activity further develops reading
comprehension as students are using the text to develop their ideas.
You don’t need to spend too long on this part as this is covered in more detail in the project at the end of the
lesson.

5. Listening: Flying solo

15 mins.
Part A
First, ask students to talk about any experiences they might have had on a plane and how they felt. They could talk
about their first time on a plane or how they feel about the idea of flying or how they feel on take-off, while in the
air and landing. Elicit the names of the people they have just read about and most importantly the pilot. What can
they remember about Zara Rutherford? Tell students they are going to watch a video about her round-the-world
trip. As they listen, they need to put the events in the correct order.

Zara speaks about more girls doing jobs in science and engineering.
Zara talks about having problems with the weather in Greenland.
Zara worries about having problems with her plane where there are no people.

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The narrator talks about Zara’s childhood.

Zara’s mum talks about her daughter.
Zara arrives in Iceland.
Part B
Ask students to look at the statements in pairs before listening again. Ask them to discuss the meaning in bold
and to make a prediction. Encourage students to think about whether each answer is possible grammatically and
semantically before they listen. Listen and check answers.

1. rough 2. toddler
3. globe 4. aircraft / attempt
5. sponsors 6. enthusiasm

6. Project: An interview with an adventurer

45 mins+
Students should choose one of the adventurers (not Zara Rutherford as that acted as a model for the students)
and they need to research their character so they can be in character for a TV interview.
You can decide whether this should involve further research into their journeys or not. If this is case, they should
look online for information and videos online and the interviews can be done the following class. If not, students
can invent anecdotes from the information they read about e.g., we know that two of the adventurers has problems
with bears, so this could be expanded upon.
Once students have their notes, they can use them to practise their interviews. Students should work in pairs,
and they can take it in turns to be the presenter and the adventurer. Finally, split the class into groups of four and
three adventurers could give their interviews to a presenter. You could also record the interviews if that is suitable
in your context and/or take notes for a feedback/correction stage.

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