Europe’s unluckiest train station gets new lease of life as hotel

Level 2: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes

Article summary: The article describes a themselves, their achievements, or their abilities. It is
plan to revive the enormous railway station on the opposite of ‘boastful’.
the border between Spain and France.
Key:
Time: 45 – 60 minutes 1. link 7. exaggerated
2. incompetence 8. pick up
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing 3. tungsten 9. viable
4. vital 10. excuse
Language focus: Vocabulary 5. lucrative 11. modest
6. persecution 12. revive
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
3. Comprehension check

a. The answers given are only suggested answers

1. Warmer
a. The purpose of this activity is to introduce the topic
of railway stations. The highest railway station is in
China (in the autonomous region of Tibet), at 5,068
metres. The previous highest was at Galera, in Peru,
at 4,781 metres. 3.5 million people use Shinjuku
station in Tokyo each day, making it the busiest in
the world. The oldest existing station was built in
Liverpool, England, in 1830. Grand Central station in
New York has the most platforms (44), while Nagoya
station in Japan is the largest in terms of area, at
446,000 square metres. The Welsh railway station is
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio
gogogoch, which means ‘The church of St Mary
in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid
whirlpool by St Tysilio’s of the red cave’.
and students may correctly answer the questions in
different ways, e.g., in item 2, they may say, “It was
planned in 1853.” or something similar.
Key:
1. False. It is in Spain.
2. False. It was finished in 1928.
3. False. It played a role in the war.
4. True.
5. True.
6. False. He rejects this nickname.
7. True.
8. False. The Spanish track is wider.
9. True.
10. False. They run twice a day.
4. Key language

Key: a. Students could be asked to do this exercise

1. China individually and then compare their answers in pairs.
2. Japan Ask students to check their answers by referring
3. the UK back to the text to see the phrases in context.
4. New York City
5. Wales Key:
1. b 4. a
2. Key words 2. f 5. d
3. e 6. c
a. Ask students to do the exercise individually and then
compare their answers in pairs or small groups. Note 5. Discussion
that ‘pick up’ is often used to talk about business
as in ‘things are beginning to pick up after the a. Allow students time to note down their ideas about
pandemic’. ‘Modest’ can also be used to describe each statement and encourage them to say why they
people. Modest people do not like to talk about agree or disagree with each one.
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 Europe’s unluckiest train station gets new lease of life as hotel
Level 2: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes

6. In your own words

a. This is probably best done as a homework task as

students will need plenty of time to find the pictures
and develop their ideas. They could then present
their ideas to the class.

D •
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Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

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