The Reading / Listening - Supersonic Jets - Level 3

Supersonic passenger planes could return to the skies before the end of this decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which is 1,234.8kph. The US carrier United Airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly up to 88 passengers in an all-business class service. They will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most modern passenger jets have a cruising speed of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could greatly cut the time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly from London to New York in under four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to do that journey.

The jets ordered by United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make commercial flights since Concorde stopped operating in 2003. Concorde was jointly operated by British Airways and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be roughly the same as regular business class tickets. The price of a Concorde ticket was over 20 times higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-rich could afford one. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better fuel efficiency and profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation fuel. The cost of each Overture airplane is approximately $200 million. Boom already has around $6 billion in orders.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Supersonic Jets - Level 0,  Supersonic Jets - Level 1   or  Supersonic Jets - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.yahoo.com/news/united-placed-3-billion-order-121600471.html
  • https://www.autoevolution.com/news/supersonic-boom-overture-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-fastest-airliner-162499.html
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57361193
  • https://boomsupersonic.com/overture


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. AIRPLANES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about airplanes. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       supersonic / passenger / skies / decade / speed of sound / business class / journey /
       commercial / flights / tickets / economy class / fuel efficiency / profitability / boom
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. AIR TRAVEL: Students A strongly believe air travel is the best way to travel; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. FLYING: How can these things be improved? What are the differences between economy and business class? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Improvements

Economy and Business

Check-in

 

 

Boarding gate

 

 

Airplane seats

 

 

Food

 

 

In-flight entertainment

 

 

COVID-19

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. SOUND: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "sound". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. TRANSPORT: Rank these with your partner. Put the best forms of transport at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Supersonic jet
  • Bullet train
  • Hot air balloon
  • Electric scooter
  • Bicycle
  • Skateboard
  • Taxi
  • Bus

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. decade a. An airline; a company that flies passengers in airplanes.
      2. carrier b. Travelling or moving at a speed that is comfortable and economical.
      3. passenger c. A period of ten years.
      4. cruising d. At the present time; now.
      5. greatly e. Very much.
      6. currently f. An act of travelling from one place to another.
      7. journey g. Someone travelling on a bus, train, ship or in a car, taxi, etc., but not the driver, pilot, or crew.

    Paragraph 2

      8. ordered h. Keeping the environment the same by not taking too many natural resources.
      9. commercial i. With another person or people; together.
      10. operating j. About; approximately.
      11. jointly k. Request something to be made, given, supplied, brought or served.
      12. roughly l. Anything about business and money.
      13. fuel m. Material such as coal, gas, petrol or oil that is burned to produce heat or power.
      14. sustainable n. Managing as a business.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. All passenger planes will be supersonic by the end of the 2020s.     T / F
  2. The speed of sound is 1,000kph.     T / F
  3. The new supersonic jets will be business class only.     T / F
  4. The new jets could fly from London to New York 3 1/2 hours quicker.     T / F
  5. The jets are the first supersonic passenger planes to fly this century.     T / F
  6. The price of tickets on the new jet will be double that of business class.   T / F
  7. The new jet will have the best fuel efficiency of any plane in the skies.     T / F
  8. The airplane maker has about $6 billion is orders.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. return
  2. modern
  3. greatly
  4. cut
  5. journey
  6. operating
  7. roughly
  8. efficiency
  9. cost
  10. orders
  1. running
  2. present-day
  3. contracts
  4. trip
  5. considerably
  6. effectiveness
  7. reduce
  8. price
  9. about
  10. go back

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. Supersonic passenger planes could return
  2. Supersonic means faster than the
  3. The planes will fly up to
  4. a cruising speed of just
  5. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to
  6. commercial
  7. roughly the same as regular
  8. only the super-rich
  9. have much better fuel
  10. use sustainable aviation
  1. could afford one
  2. over 1,000kph
  3. flights
  4. speed of sound
  5. fuel
  6. 88 passengers
  7. do that journey
  8. efficiency
  9. to the skies
  10. business class tickets

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
planes
cruising
skies
journey
class
cut
carrier
modern

Supersonic passenger planes could return to the (1) _____________________ before the end of this decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which is 1,234.8kph. The US (2) _____________________ United Airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The (3) _____________________ will fly up to 88 passengers in an all-business (4) _____________________ service. They will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most (5) _____________________ passenger jets have a (6) _____________________ speed of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could greatly (7) _____________________ the time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly from London to New York in under four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to do that (8) _____________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
tickets
commercial
already
ordered
efficiency
roughly
fuel
operating

The jets (9) _____________________ by United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make (10) _____________________ flights since Concorde stopped (11) _____________________ in 2003. Concorde was jointly operated by British Airways and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be (12) _____________________ the same as regular business class tickets. The price of a Concorde ticket was over 20 times higher than economy class (13) _____________________, which meant only the super-rich could afford one. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better fuel (14) _____________________ and profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation (15) _____________________. The cost of each Overture airplane is approximately $200 million. Boom (16) _____________________ has around $6 billion in orders.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Supersonic passenger planes could return to the skies before the end ______
     a.  of this deck aid
     b.  of this deck keyed
     c.  of this decayed
     d.  of this decade
2)  The planes will fly up to 88 passengers in an all-______
     a.  business classy service
     b.  business clash service
     c.  business class service
     d.  business classed service
3)  Most modern passenger jets have a cruising speed of ______
     a.  just over 1,000kph
     b.  justly over 1,000kph
     c.  adjust over 1,000kph
     d.  justice of 1,000kph
4)  The new planes could greatly cut the time it takes to fly ______
     a.  abound the world
     b.  aground the world
     c.  around the world
     d.  about the world
5)  It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to ______
     a.  flew that journey
     b.  do that journey
     c.  shoo that journey
     d.  zoom that journey

6)  They will be the first supersonic jets to ______
     a.  make commercially flights
     b.  make commercial flight
     c.  make commerce shall flights
     d.  make commercial flights
7)  The cost of Overture tickets will be roughly the same as ______
     a.  regularly business class
     b.  irregular business class
     c.  regulate business class
     d.  regular business class
8) higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-rich ______
     a.  could affront one
     b.  could a ford one
     c.  could offer one
     d.  could afford one
9)  Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better fuel ______
     a.  efficient and profitability
     b.  efficiency and profitable
     c.  efficiency and profitability
     d.  efficient and profitable
10)  Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use ______
     a.  sustainable a biathlon fuel
     b.  sustainable every shun fuel
     c.  sustain ably shunned fuel
     d.  sustainable aviation fuel

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Supersonic passenger planes could return to (1) ____________________ the end of this decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which is 1,234.8kph. The US carrier United Airlines has (2) ____________________ 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly up to 88 passengers in an (3) ____________________ service. They will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most modern passenger jets have (4) ____________________ of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could (5) ____________________ time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly from London to New York in under four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to (6) ____________________.

The (7) ____________________ United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make (8) ____________________ Concorde stopped operating in 2003. Concorde was jointly operated by British Airways and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be (9) ____________________ as regular business class tickets. The price of a Concorde ticket was over 20 times higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-rich (10) ____________________. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much (11) ____________________ and profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation fuel. The cost of each Overture (12) ____________________ $200 million. Boom already has around $6 billion in orders.

Comprehension questions

  1. What do supersonic jets fly faster than?
  2. How many supersonic jets will United Airlines buy?
  3. What is the top speed of the new supersonic jet?
  4. What flies at a cruising speed of just over 1,000kph?
  5. How long does it currently take planes to fly from London to New York?
  6. What is the name of the new supersonic passenger planes?
  7. When did the airplane Concorde stop operating?
  8. How many times higher were Concorde tickets than economy class?
  9. What kind of fuel will the new airplane use?
  10. How much does one of the new airplanes cost?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What do supersonic jets fly faster than?
a) the speed of sound
b) the speed of thought
c) jet fighters
d) the speed of light
2) How many supersonic jets will United Airlines buy?
a) 12
b) 16
c) 15
d) 22
3) What is the top speed of the new supersonic jet?
a) 1,432.8k
b) 1,234.8kph
c) 1,222.8k
d) 1,333.8k
4) What flies at a cruising speed of just over 1,000kph?
a) a Maglev train
b) fighter jets
c) bullet trains
d) most modern passenger jets

5)  How long does it currently take planes to fly from London to New York?
a) around 7 1/2 hours
b) around 6 1/2 hours
c) around 5 1/2 hours
d) around 8 1/2 hours

6) What is the name of the new supersonic passenger planes?
a) Overtime
b) Underture
c) OverWorld
d) Overture
7) When did the airplane Concorde stop operating?
a) 2000
b) 2003
c) 2008
d) 2004
8) How many times higher were Concorde tickets than economy class?
a) 38 times higher
b) 15 times higher
c) just under 10 times higher
d) over twenty times higher
9) What kind of fuel will the new airplane use?
a) high-octane fuel
b) biofuel
c) sustainable aviation fuel
d) space rocket fuel
10) How much does one of the new airplanes cost?
a) approximately $6 billion
b) approximately $200 million
c) approximately $20 million
d) approximately $2 billion

Role play

Role  A – Supersonic Jet
You think supersonic jet is the best way to travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms of transport. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): bullet train, electric scooter or hot-air balloon.

Role  B – Bullet Train
You think bullet train is the best way to travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms of transport. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): supersonic jet, electric scooter or hot-air balloon.

Role  C – Electric Scooter
You think electric scooter is the best way to travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms of transport. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): bullet train, supersonic jet or hot-air balloon.

Role  D – Hot-air Balloon
You think hot-air balloon is the best way to travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their forms of transport. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): bullet train, electric scooter or supersonic jet.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'passenger'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'jet'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • return
    • carrier
    • 88
    • top
    • just
    • journey
    • first
    • jointly
    • regular
    • super
    • carbon
    • each

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Supersonic Jets

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'passenger'?
    3. What do you think of airplanes?
    4. What do you think of flying?
    5. What do you think of supersonic travel?
    6. What do passengers get in business class?
    7. What are the good and bad things about flying?
    8. Why is the company called Boom?
    9. How would the world change if we can travel everywhere very quickly?
    10. Would you like to fly on the Overture airplane?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'plane'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about Concorde?
    5. What do you think of the cost of flying?
    6. Can flying ever be carbon neutral?
    7. How can airplanes be made better?
    8. What do you think of the in-flight service in airplanes?
    9. Would you like to work on an airplane?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Boom's CEO?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    Supersonic passenger planes could return to the (1) ____ before the end of this decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which is 1,234.8kph. The US (2) ____ United Airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly (3) ____ to 88 passengers in an all-business class service. They will fly (4) ____ a top speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most modern passenger jets have a cruising speed of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could (5) ____ cut the time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly from London to New York in under four hours. It (6) ____ takes around 7 1/2 hours to do that journey.

    The jets ordered (7) ____ United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make commercial flights (8) ____ Concorde stopped operating in 2003. Concorde was jointly operated by British Airways and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be (9) ____ the same as regular business class tickets. The price of a Concorde ticket was (10) ____ 20 times higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-rich could afford one. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better (11) ____ efficiency and profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation fuel. The cost of each Overture airplane is (12) ____ $200 million. Boom already has around $6 billion in orders.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     skies     (b)     spies     (c)     sties     (d)     shies    
    2. (a)     career     (b)     carer     (c)     carrier     (d)     careen    
    3. (a)     along     (b)     off     (c)     over     (d)     up    
    4. (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     of     (d)     so    
    5. (a)     gravity     (b)     space     (c)     horizon     (d)     greatly    
    6. (a)     currency     (b)     currant     (c)     currently     (d)     current    
    7. (a)     of     (b)     by     (c)     as     (d)     on    
    8. (a)     since     (b)     for     (c)     when     (d)     by    
    9. (a)     roughly     (b)     polished     (c)     smoothly     (d)     filed    
    10. (a)     above     (b)     rise     (c)     over     (d)     escalate    
    11. (a)     quell     (b)     gruel     (c)     duel     (d)     fuel    
    12. (a)     radiating     (b)     approximately     (c)     flying     (d)     jetting

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. before the end of this dcaeed
    2. the US rrcaier United Airlines
    3. sienussb class
    4. most modern epnssarge jets
    5. a cigsunri speed of just over 1,000kph
    6. 7 1/2 hours to do that onrujye

    Paragraph 2

    1. make moccrmeali flights
    2. jyotiln operated by British Airways and Air France
    3. tickets will be ouyrhgl the same
    4. eycnomo class
    5. much better fuel ienfceyfic
    6. sabluiaesnt aviation fuel

    Put the text back together

    (  1  ) Supersonic passenger planes could return to the skies before the end of this decade. Supersonic means faster
    (...)  jets have a cruising speed of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could greatly cut
    (...)  fuel. The cost of each Overture airplane is approximately $200 million. Boom already has around $6 billion in orders.
    (...)  The jets ordered by United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make commercial flights since
    (...)  rich could afford one. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better fuel efficiency and
    (...)  Concorde stopped operating in 2003. Concorde was jointly operated by British Airways
    (...)  than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which is 1,234.8kph. The US carrier
    (...)  under four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to do that journey.
    (...)  profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation
    (...)  United Airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly up
    (...)  to 88 passengers in an all-business class service. They will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most modern passenger
    (...)  of a Concorde ticket was over 20 times higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-
    (...)  the time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly from London to New York in
    (...)  and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be roughly the same as regular business class tickets. The price

    Put the words in the right order

    1. the   skies   .   Supersonic   return   to   planes   could   passenger
    2. of   than   faster   sound   .   speed   means   Supersonic   the
    3. passengers   .   The   fly   to   planes   will   up   88
    4. over   1,000kph   .   of   speed   Have   cruising   a   just
    5. it   cut   Planes   greatly   takes   .   could   time   the
    6. make   to   flights   .   commercial   jets   supersonic   The   first
    7. will   of   cost   tickets   the   The   be   same   .
    8. higher   20   Over   class   tickets   .   than   economy   times
    9. have   better   much   Overture   efficiency   .   fuel   will
    10. orders   .   $6   Boom   around   already   billion   in   has

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Supersonic passenger planes could return to the skies / skis before the end of this decide / decade. Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, which / what is 1,234.8kph. The US career / carrier United Airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called Boom Supersonic. The planes will fly down / up to 88 passengers in an all-business class service. They will fly at a top / bottom speed of Mach 1.7. This is 2,099kph. Most modern passenger jets have a cruising speed to / of just over 1,000kph. The new planes could greatly / great cut the time it takes to fly around the world. Passengers could fly to / from London to New York in under four hours. It currently takes around 7 1/2 hours to do / doing that journey.

    The jets ordered by / of United Airlines are called Overture. They will be the first supersonic jets to make commerce / commercial flights since Concorde stopped operating in 2003. Concorde was joint / jointly operated by British Airways and Air France. The cost of Overture tickets will be roughly / smoothly the same as regular business class tickets. The price of a Concorde ticket was over 20 times / timings higher than economy class tickets, which meant only the super-rich could afford once / one. Boom's CEO said Overture will have much better fuel / duel efficiency and profitability than Concorde. Flights will be net-zero carbon / oxygen and will use sustainable aviation fuel. The cost of reach / each Overture airplane is approximately $200 million. Boom already has around /round $6 billion in orders.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    S_p_rs_n_c  p_ss_ng_r  pl_n_s  c__ld  r_t_rn  t_  th_  sk__s  b_f_r_  th_  _nd  _f  th_s  d_c_d_.  S_p_rs_n_c  m__ns  f_st_r  th_n  th_  sp__d  _f  s__nd.  Th_  sp__d  _f  s__nd  _s  M_ch  1,  wh_ch  _s  1,234.8kph.  Th_  _S  c_rr__r  _n_t_d  __rl_n_s  h_s  pl_ns  t_  b_y  15  s_p_rs_n_c  j_ts  fr_m  _  c_mp_ny  c_ll_d  B__m  S_p_rs_n_c.  Th_  pl_n_s  w_ll  fly  _p  t_  88  p_ss_ng_rs  _n  _n  _ll-b_s_n_ss  cl_ss  s_rv_c_.  Th_y  w_ll  fly  _t  _  t_p  sp__d  _f  M_ch  1.7.  Th_s  _s  2,099kph.  M_st  m_d_rn  p_ss_ng_r  j_ts  h_v_  _  cr__s_ng  sp__d  _f  j_st  _v_r  1,000kph.  Th_  n_w  pl_n_s  c__ld  gr__tly  c_t  th_  t_m_  _t  t_k_s  t_  fly  _r__nd  th_  w_rld.  P_ss_ng_rs  c__ld  fly  fr_m  L_nd_n  t_  N_w  Y_rk  _n  _nd_r  f__r  h__rs.  _t  c_rr_ntly  t_k_s  _r__nd  7  1/2  h__rs  t_  d_  th_t  j__rn_y.

    Th_  j_ts  _rd_r_d  by  _n_t_d  __rl_n_s  _r_  c_ll_d  _v_rt_r_.  Th_y  w_ll  b_  th_  f_rst  s_p_rs_n_c  j_ts  t_  m_k_  c_mm_rc__l  fl_ghts  s_nc_  C_nc_rd_  st_pp_d  _p_r_t_ng  _n  2003.  C_nc_rd_  w_s  j__ntly  _p_r_t_d  by  Br_t_sh  __rw_ys  _nd  __r  Fr_nc_.  Th_  c_st  _f  _v_rt_r_  t_ck_ts  w_ll  b_  r__ghly  th_  s_m_  _s  r_g_l_r  b_s_n_ss  cl_ss  t_ck_ts.  Th_  pr_c_  _f  _  C_nc_rd_  t_ck_t  w_s  _v_r  20  t_m_s  h_gh_r  th_n  _c_n_my  cl_ss  t_ck_ts,  wh_ch  m__nt  _nly  th_  s_p_r-r_ch  c__ld  _ff_rd  _n_.  B__m's  C__  s__d  _v_rt_r_  w_ll  h_v_  m_ch  b_tt_r  f__l  _ff_c__ncy  _nd  pr_f_t_b_l_ty  th_n  C_nc_rd_.  Fl_ghts  w_ll  b_  n_t-z_r_  c_rb_n  _nd  w_ll  _s_  s_st__n_bl_  _v__t__n  f__l.  Th_  c_st  _f  __ch  _v_rt_r_  __rpl_n_  _s  _ppr_x_m_t_ly  $200  m_ll__n.  B__m  _lr__dy  h_s  _r__nd  $6  b_ll__n  _n  _rd_rs.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    supersonic passenger planes could return to the skies before the end of this decade supersonic means faster than the speed of sound the speed of sound is mach 1 which is 12348kph the us carrier united airlines has plans to buy 15 supersonic jets from a company called boom supersonic the planes will fly up to 88 passengers in an all business class service they will fly at a top speed of mach 17 this is 2099kph most modern passenger jets have a cruising speed of just over 1000kph the new planes could greatly cut the time it takes to fly around the world passengers could fly from london to new york in under four hours it currently takes around 7 12 hours to do that journey

    the jets ordered by united airlines are called overture they will be the first supersonic jets to make commercial flights since concorde stopped operating in 2003 concorde was jointly operated by british airways and air france the cost of overture tickets will be roughly the same as regular business class tickets the price of a concorde ticket was over 20 times higher than economy class tickets which meant only the superrich could afford one booms ceo said overture will have much better fuel efficiency and profitability than concorde flights will be net zero carbon and will use sustainable aviation fuel the cost of each overture airplane is approximately 200 million boom already has around 6 billion in orders

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Supersonicpassengerplanescouldreturntotheskiesbeforetheendoft
    hisdecade.Supersonicmeansfasterthanthespeedofsound.Thespeed
    ofsoundisMach1,whichis1,234.8kph.TheUScarrierUnitedAirlineshas
    planstobuy15supersonicjetsfromacompanycalledBoomSupersonic.
    Theplaneswillflyupto88passengersinanall-businessclassservice.The
    ywillflyatatopspeedofMach1.7.Thisis2,099kph.Mostmodernpassen
    gerjetshaveacruisingspeedofjustover1,000kph.Thenewplanescould
    greatlycutthetimeittakestoflyaroundtheworld.Passengerscouldflyfr
    omLondontoNewYorkinunderfourhours.Itcurrentlytakesaround71/
    2hourstodothatjourney.ThejetsorderedbyUnitedAirlinesarecalledO
    verture.Theywillbethefirstsupersonicjetstomakecommercialflightss
    inceConcordestoppedoperatingin2003.Concordewasjointlyoperate
    dbyBritishAirwaysandAirFrance.ThecostofOvertureticketswillberou
    ghlythesameasregularbusinessclasstickets.ThepriceofaConcordetic
    ketwasover20timeshigherthaneconomyclasstickets,whichmeanton
    lythesuper-richcouldaffordone.Boom'sCEOsaidOverturewillhavem
    uchbetterfuelefficiencyandprofitabilitythanConcorde.Flightswillben
    et-zerocarbonandwillusesustainableaviationfuel.ThecostofeachOve
    rtureairplaneisapproximately$200million.Boomalreadyhasaround$
    6billioninorders.

    Free writing

    Write about supersonic jets for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Supersonic airplanes are a great idea. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. AIRPLANES: Make a poster about airplanes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SUPERSONIC TRAVEL: Write a magazine article about creating more supersonic airplanes. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on supersonic airplanes. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions of them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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