Unit 4 - Aviation History and Disasters

Unit 4 Listening - events in a narrative
Warm-up
1 Look at the map on the right. What part of the
world is this? Why is this area famous? Discuss
Aviation your ideas with a partner.
history & An unsolved mystery

disasters 1 You are going to hear about a mysterious event
that happened in this area in 1945.
Listening and Before you listen, match the words in the box
below to the correct definition.
speaking
a countless _____an instrument used for finding direction
In this part of the unit you will:
• listen to and identify the sequence b confused _____ something unusual or difficult to explain
of events in a narrative
• practise using narrative tenses
• use time expressions in narratives
c transmissions _____broadcasts or radio messages sent through the air
4
• listen for specific information in a d deteriorate _____research or enquiries; asking questions; examining
news report
• use linking strategies to improve e mysterious _____to become worse
pronunciation
• listen to a talk about early flight
f compass _____not sure; mixed up; uncertain
• recognise and pronounce different
– ed endings
g investigations _____very many; too many to count
• accept and refuse invitations.
Aviation English General English for Aviation 1 Page 131
AEG_unit4_sb.indd 131 23/7/08 3:35:48 PM

T4.1
2 Listen to the story. Sequence the pictures 1 to 8, in the order in which the
events happen.
? FLY
a ___ Y
FFLLY
e ___
N N
N
TTUU N
N N
N N N
R
N
RRNN
TU
3 Listen again and decide if the following statements a to g are true T, or false F.
T F
a Captain Taylor was an experienced pilot.
b Taylor should have flown west, but he flew east.
c Taylor believed the air traffic controllers were giving him b ___ FLY
incorrect information. f ___

N N
N
RN
TU
d Taylor couldn’t communicate with the controllers because of
bad weather
e
s cu
e One of the rescue planes made contact with Taylor. Re
f People on a ship thought they saw an aircraft crash into the sea.
g Divers found the missing aircraft of Flight 19 in 1991.
N
E
c ___ g ___
W
S
4 Work in small groups. Discuss the mysterious events. FLY
4
a What do you think could have happened? N
N
N
RN
TU
b Do you think this event could happen again today, or would modern
technology prevent this kind of disaster?
c Do you believe the Bermuda Triangle really exists or is it
just a myth?
5 Work in a group. Think of some famous unsolved mysteries you know d ___ h ___
FLY
about and discuss the following questions for each mystery. N

N
N
FLY
RN
a What dates, places or people are important?
N
TU
N
N
RN
TU
e
b What is the mystery about? scu
Re
c Why is it a mystery?
6 Choose one person from each group to describe the mystery to the class.
Page 132 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

Using narrative tenses 3 Complete the missing information about the narrative tenses in the following table by referring to
sentences a to c in Activity 2.
1 Match the pictures below with the correct
Tense used Reason this tense is used
sentence a or b.
a When the rescue plane arrived the Sentence a
bomber had gone down.
b When the rescue plane arrived the Sentence b To show that an action is in progress at the
bomber was going down. same time as another event or action.
Sentence c Past perfect
4 Below is a timeline of the events for Captain Taylor on the day Flight 19 went missing in the
Bermuda Triangle in 1945. Look at what Captain Taylor did on that day.
1:30 prepare for flight
2:00 take off
2:00 - 2:30 fly east
3:30 report / compass not working
2 Read the following sentences from the story
about Flight 19. 3:45 communication / getting worse
a Five bomber aircraft departed a navy

base in Florida at about two o’clock in
3:45 - 6:30
6:30
fly south
run out of fuel
4
the afternoon. After they took off they
turned and flew east. 5 Work with a partner. Take turns asking each other questions about what Captain Taylor was doing
that day at the times below. Use the information above.
b By now the weather was becoming
worse and the bombers were running 1:30 2:00 2:15 3:30 3:45 4:00 7:00
low on fuel. Example:
Person A What was he doing at 1.30?
c He realised that his companion had
gone missing and six aeroplanes had Person B He was preparing for the flight.
disappeared without a trace!
6 Discuss with your partner what you were doing at different times earlier today.

Using time expressions in narratives 3 Work in pairs. Use time expressions from
the box below, to briefly describe your life
to your partner.
T4.2
1 Listen to Captain Wilson talking about his life. As you listen connect the sentences below by using when while for
the correct time expression from the middle column. during before until
a started flying for he was 21
b worked as a waiter while November 1999 4 When you have finished, find a new partner
c he met his wife for 5 years and tell them what you learned about your
previous partner’s life.
d lived in Canada during he was studying in Canada
Example
e became a captain when 3 years
When Boris was five years old, he …
f had an accident before the Asian economic crisis
g stopped flying until he did his flight training
h stayed in Hong Kong while he reached 7000 hours
i has been living in Melbourne while he was on holiday in 1997
2 Complete the sentences below from the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ passage by choosing the best time
expression (in brackets).
4 a Flight 19 took off from Florida (until / while / before) _________ three o’clock in the afternoon.
b Taylor became confused (until / for / while) ______________ they were practising over the sea.
c The aircraft kept flying (before / while / until) ______________ they ran out of fuel and crashed.
d A ship was sailing in the area (for / when / while) ___________________the accident happened.
e (During / For / While) ________________the day the weather became worse and worse.
f They had been flying (when / before / for) _________________ about an hour and a half
(while / when / during) _________________ Captain Taylor suddenly reported that his compass
was not working.

Listening - a news 3 You are going to hear a short news report called “History up in flames”. Before you listen,
match the following words from the report in the left column with their definitions in the right
report column by writing the letters in the spaces provided.
1 Look at the picture below. How old do you a priceless _______to completely cover or surround
think this aircraft is?
b arson _______a mechanical problem
c engulf _______extremely valuable
d ancient _______to enquire into or examine carefully
e investigate _______very old
f fault _______a crime where somebody deliberately lights a fire
2 Work with a partner. Look at the title below 4 Read the list of events below that were reported in the article. Work with a partner and put
and discuss what you think the news story numbers in the boxes to show the order, 1 to 9, in which you believe they would have occurred.
could be about.
a An electrical fault started a fire in the aircraft. 
History up in flames b Mr Douglas went to bed. 
c Officers investigated the cause of the fire. 
4
d Fire crews arrived at the airport just before midnight. 
e Mr Douglas flew the aircraft in the afternoon. 
f The fire spread in the hangar. 
g Mr Douglas drove to the airport. 
h Mr Douglas returned to the airport. 
i Mr Douglas pushed the aircraft into the hangar after his flight. 

T4.3 Pronunciation –
5 Listen to the radio report about the incident. As you listen, look back at the events you numbered linking strategies
in Activity 4 and make any necessary changes.
1 Read the following information about linking.
6 Read the following statements about the incident. Listen again and decide if they are True T
or False F. Word linking
Consonant-vowel linking
a Fire crews were called to the scene of the fire around 11.45pm. T F If the first word ends in a consonant, and the
second starts with a vowel, the consonant joins
the second word.
b Before the day of the fire, Ron Douglas had crashed the aircraft twice. T F Examples
It is old sounds like / tz əυld/
What are you doing sounds like
c The owner flew the aircraft only on weekends. T F /wɑtə jədŋ/
Vowel-vowel linking
d Equipment stored in the hangar was not damaged by the flames. T F If the first word ends in a vowel, and the
second starts with a vowel, a sound is added
between them.
e The police telephoned Mr Douglas just after he went to bed. T F • /j/ is added after /i/,/e/,/a/ and it is a
commonly added sound between two
vowels.
4 f By the time Mr Douglas arrived at the airport, the plane was already
destroyed.
T F

Examples
He is sounds like /hi jiz/
The earth sounds like /ði jθ/
g Two years ago Mr Douglas almost sold the aircraft. T F • /w/ is added after /u/, /əu/, /au/
Examples
You are /ju wa/
h Nobody was hurt during the fire. T F
Go on /əυ wɑ/
• /r/ is added when the word ends with an
7 Check your answers with your partner. /r/ and the next word begins with a vowel
sound.
8 Discuss the sad event with your partner. What do you think Ron Douglas might decide Example
to do in the future? What would you do? A pair of sounds like /pεər əv/

2 Look at the following phrases. If you think
there should be a link between the underlined
Listening i
words, put a tick . If an extra sound is added,

write the symbol for the sound as well. The
– early flight
first one has been done for you. 1 Aviation has a fascinating history. What do
you know about the history of flight? Spend
Example a few minutes talking in a group about early
a It grew into a nasty storm  /w/ flight. Think about the following questions:
b Long ago ______ ii
Who?
c He looked down ______
Where?
d The fun of flying ______
e He also ______ When?
f It was an old aircraft ______ What?
g Paula and Mike ______
iii
h Go away ______ 2 When do you think the first manned flight
i She started to run ______ happened?
j Oil all over the water ______ a 1485

k Each of his daughters ______
b 1903
l He sailed in his boat ______
m The villagers gave the
old man care and shelter ______
c 1804
4
d 2000 years ago iv
n The old man ______
o The people were happy ______ e 1783
3 Work with a partner. Match the year, a to e

T4.4 in Activity 2, with the correct pictures v
3 Listen to the tape and check if you were i to v by writing the letters a to e in the
correct. spaces provided.
4 Listen to the tape again and repeat the

expressions.

4 Listen to a talk about the history of early flight. As you listen, number the events 1 to 10 in the 7 Discuss with your partner the following
order you hear them in the table below. The first one has been done for you. topics a to c, about early flight.
a When do you believe the first true flight
T4.5 took place?
b Are there famous early pilots in your
In 1903 the Wright brothers flew an aircraft a distance of 120 feet.
country who helped develop the first
In 1783 French engineers used paper and wood and built a large hot air balloon. aeroplanes?
In 1485 Leonardo Da Vinci designed flying machines made of rope, wood and leather. c Who was the most important scientist or
designer in your view? Why?
The Greeks believed that if they built themselves wings of feathers and flapped their arms they would
be able to fly.
In 1848 an Englishman launched a powered model glider a distance of 30 feet.
1 The Chinese probably created the first flying objects.
People in Europe and America could often see balloons made from silk and cotton flying overhead.
An American flew for about one kilometre in a steam powered glider.
In 1804 an Englishman flew a small glider across a valley near his home.
In 1890 a Frenchman built the first man-carrying aircraft.
5 How close were your ideas in Activities 1 and 2 to the information above? Check your answers
4 with a partner.
6 Listen to the talk again. Three of the following sentences contain factual mistakes. Work with your
group to find and correct the errors. Write the correct information next to each statement.
a Even today, people are not sure when the first successful manned flight happened.
b In 1783 French engineers flew in a hot-air balloon over Paris.
c In the fifteenth century an Italian scientist designed machines made of rope, wood and leather.
d In the mid 1800s people built kites based on Japanese and European designs.
e In 1845 people experimented with petrol-powered gliders.
f A steam-powered glider flew for a distance of one kilometre in 1896.

Pronunciation – ed 3 Work with a partner. Decide how the following past tense forms are pronounced, and write them
in the appropriate column. The first three have been done for you.
endings
T4.6 called looked waited studied existed climbed
scratched ruled planted formed reached lowered
1 Listen to the following three verbs in the
past tense. The ending -ed is pronounced represented walked created passed
differently each time. Fill in the space with
the correct symbol from the box to show
how the ending is pronounced.
1 /t/ 2 /əd/ 3 /d/
/t/ /əd/ /d/ looked waited called
a called _______________________
b looked ______________________
c waited ______________________
2 Use the information from the previous

question. Fill in the spaces below with the
correct sound to complete the rules.
4
Pronunciation of -ed
T4.7
a Verbs ending in unvoiced consonants
/f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /θ/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/: _________ 4 Listen and check your answers.
5 Work with a partner. One person should say the base form of one of the verbs from the previous
b Verbs ending in /t/, /d/: _____________ activity (for example look). The other person should pronounce the past tense form correctly
(look/t/), without looking at the table in Activity 3.
c All others: ________________________
6 When you have finished this activity with all the verbs, swap roles.

Listening - invitations T4.8
1 You will hear four conversations a to d in
Activity Conversation
which four different people are inviting their
friends to do something. What are they
attend a friend’s party
trying to arrange? Match each activity with
conversation a - d. see a film
go out to a bar/cafe
go out for a meal
2 Listen again. Write the words used for each invitation.

a Sue asks Ken “ ______________________________________________________________?”
b Chris asks Dave “ ____________________________________________________________?”
c Josh asks Mei “ ______________________________________________________________?”
d Sue asks Judi “ _______________________________________________________________?”
4 3 Listen for a final time. Complete the following sentences.
a When Ken refuses Sue’s invitation, he says: “________________________________________”
b When Dave accepts Chris’s invitation she says: “_____________________________________”
c When Mei accepts Josh’s invitation she says: “_______________________________________”
d When Judi refuses Sue’s invitation, she says: “_______________________________________”
4 Which two invitations are more informal? Which refusals are more polite?

5 Sometimes you may want to refuse an invitation politely. People talk about something else
that they would prefer to do. Put a tick ✓ in the correct column below to show whether the
expressions on the left mean the person likes and wants to do something, doesn’t like it, or
suggests an alternative.
likes / wants to do doesn’t like / doesn’t suggests an alternative

want to do
I’d rather not ✓
I’d rather do
What about
Let’s do it!
I’m sorry, but
I might pass
I prefer to
That sounds lovely /

4
great!
Would you rather…?
I’m not keen on
How about
No, thanks anyway

Practice
1 Work with a partner. One of you is Person A and one is Person B.
Person A
Invite Person B to do the following activities with you:
• Come to a party at your house • Meet for coffee • Go dancing with friends
Arrange a time and a place to meet.
Person B
Person A will invite you to do some activities. You like Person A very much, but you are very busy so sometimes you have to refuse and arrange a different
time. Use the diary below to decide when you are free. If you are free but don’t like the activity suggested by Person A, make another suggestion.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
a.m. coffee with Simon college visit brother
p.m. meet Jim for coffee work
2 Now swap roles and use the following information.
Person B
Invite Person A to do the following activities with you:
4 • Go to a movie
Arrange a time and a place to meet.
• Join a group of friends at a cafe • Visit an art gallery
Person A
Person B will invite you to do some activities. You like Person B very much, but you are very busy so sometimes you have to refuse and arrange a different
time. Use the diary below to decide when you are free. If you are free but don’t like the activity suggested by Person A, make another suggestion.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
a.m. doctor work
p.m. work visit grandmother in hospital party at Jill’s house
3 With your partner make a list of five other activities you can do in your home town. Arrange to do one of them together outside class.

Describing position
Reading and writing Warm-up
1 Work in pairs. Take turns describing the position of four items in the room where you are sitting,
without saying the name of the item. Can your partner identify the item you are describing?
2 Why is it important for pilots and air traffic controllers to be able to accurately describe position?
• revise using language for
describing position
• use techniques to improve
reading speed Vocabulary for describing position
• read a newspaper article for 1 Look at the drawing of the airport below left, and select a suitable preposition from the box to
specific information complete each of the sentences.
• recognise the use of referents in
behind on over next to in / inside in front of below between
a text.
a Aircraft b, c and d are parked _________________________________ the terminal building.
b A tug is towing aircraft a. The tug is _____________________________________ the aircraft.
c Aircraft a is ___________________________________________________________ the tug.

4
d Aircraft e is flying ____________________________________________________ the airport.
e The passengers waiting to board are _____________________________ the terminal building.

b c
e
f Aircraft c is parked _________________________________________ aircraft b and aircraft d.
d
a g The pilot of aircraft e can see the airport _______________________________________ him.
h There are no aircraft _________________________________________________ the runway.

2 The aircraft are parked adjacent to the Vocabulary of aircraft components
terminal building. The windsock is in the
1 Read the following text.
vicinity of the runway threshold. Write a
simple preposition meaning:
a adjacent to ____________
The parts of an airliner
b in the vicinity of ____________
An aircraft consists of many components, the largest of weight. The undercarriage is divided into the main
which is the fuselage. The fuselage is shaped like a long landing gear, which is very large and strong, and the
cylinder. It contains the passenger seating, the flight deck nose wheel, which is somewhat smaller. Pilots steer the
and compartments in which baggage or cargo is stowed. aircraft along the ground, by turning the nose wheel.
Doors and windows are built into the fuselage, including Undercarriages may be either fixed, which means they
the windscreen through which the pilots look to see where stay down and cannot be moved, or retractable. Most
they are going. of the larger aircraft have retractable undercarriages,
The wings are another very large component. They are usually meaning that the wheels can fold up into the wings or
attached to the top or bottom of the fuselage. They usually fuselage during flight. This gives a much smoother and
contain the fuel tanks. Often the engines are fixed directly to more aerodynamic shape to the aircraft, significantly
the wings, or they may be suspended below them and reducing fuel consumption.
connected by pylons.
Control surfaces, which enable pilots to change the
Two important parts of the aircraft are attached to the flight path of the aircraft, are hinged to the back of the
4 back or rear of the fuselage. They are the large vertical

stabilizer or fin, which usually displays the airline’s logo,
wings, vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer. The
ailerons are attached to the back of the wings, the rudder
and the horizontal stabilizer. to the back of the vertical stabilizer, and the elevator to
the back of the horizontal stabilizer.
When an aircraft is on the ground, such as during taxiing,
takeoff and landing, the undercarriage supports the

2 Write the names of the aircraft components Describing aircraft design
on the diagram using the words and phrases
from the article.
features
1 Read the descriptions of four aircraft.
Match each aircraft, right, with the correct
description. Write the letter identifying
each aircraft in the space provided for each
picture.
a This aircraft is powered by two propeller

driven engines located on each wing. It
is supported by the undercarriage which
retracts into compartments under each
wing. The wings are built into the top of
3 Match the vocabulary with the definition.
the fuselage and they are very straight.
Write the correct letter next to the correct
definition. b This aircraft has four engines suspended
from its wings. It has an anhedral wing or
a suspended ___ small angled sections wing that is angled down from where it
at the end of each is connected to the top of the fuselage.
wing, designed to Its main undercarriage doesn’t extend
reduce drag directly under the fuselage but supports
the fuselage between the tyres next to it.
b located ___ parallel to the
horizon
c This aircraft has winglets (small angled
sections of wing) attached to each wing
4
tip. It has three engines. Two of them
c winglets ___ at 90 degrees to are suspended under the wings and one
the horizon is built into the vertical stabiliser. The
horizontal stabiliser is connected to the
d horizontal ___ joined to fuselage, below the third engine.
d This aircraft has a very long fuselage and

e vertical ___ hanging from
four powerful engines suspended from
its wings. It only has a single level cabin
f connected to ___ in a position that seats about 380 people.

2 Write short descriptions of the two aircraft 3 In the text describing positions on an connected to suspended from
pictured below. When you have finished, aircraft, how many words did you find that housed in hinged to
compare your description with that of the mean ‘joined to’? built into attached to
person sitting next to you.
stowed in
5 Complete the following paragraph by using

4 Write the correct phrase from the box the expressions from the box.
a above each of the following diagrams a to g.
Most modern jetliners have been designed
a b
very carefully. Inside the cabin, every item
needs to be easy to reach and small enough
to be ____________a compartment when
it is not being used. When you eat a meal
for example, a small tray, _______________
c d the seat in front of you, is pulled down to
put your plates and cups on. The buttons
b for your music and video are ____________
the armrest beside you. Each seat is firmly
4 e f
______________ the floor of the aircraft
by bolts and screws. In an emergency, you
can breathe fresh oxygen through masks
______________ the ceiling. If you need to
speak to the flight attendant, all you have
to do is press a button _____________ the
g side of your armrest and ____________ a
light in the galley.

Vocabulary for describing position on aircraft Techniques for
1 Read the following information.
reading faster
The words used to describe positions on aircraft are quite unusual with some 1 Read the following information.
originating from the days of sailing ships!
The front of the fuselage is called the nose or forward section, and the back of the You can improve your reading speed by
fuselage is the tail or aft section. The underside of the fuselage is commonly referred to
as the belly of the aircraft. • Reducing how often you re-read words
and phrases.
Where a wing joins the fuselage is called the wing root and the very end of any
component, including a wing or propeller, is called the tip. The inner half of the wing, • Not saying words to yourself or moving
near the fuselage, is referred to as the inboard section of the wing, while the outer half your lips as you read.
is referred to as the outboard section.
• Not following individual words with
The edge of the wing or tailplane, facing the front of the aircraft, is known as the your finger or pen.
leading edge, and the edge facing the rear of the aircraft is called the trailing edge.
• Reading groups of words rather than
The right side or half of the aircraft, as viewed by a pilot on the flight deck, is known as
single words.
the starboard side. The left side is called the port side.
Reading faster saves time when you have
to read a large amount of text but do not
2 Look at the picture of the aircraft, right. Work with a partner. Read the following statements need to remember every detail.
a to e and follow the instructions written in italics for each statement.
a There are three navigation lights. A green light is on the starboard wing tip, a red light is on the
port wing tip, and a white light is at the rear of the fuselage. 4
Draw the starboard navigation light on the aircraft.
b The ailerons are hinged to outboard trailing edges of the wings.
Label the trailing edges.
c The landing light is on the leading edge of the port wing outboard of the engine.
Draw the landing light.
d The aircraft has two baggage compartments, one in the nose, and one aft of the cabin.
Label the aft baggage compartment.
e Label the belly of the aircraft

Skimming a text
1 Look at the picture below and discuss The 747 takes on an innovative design
questions a and b with a partner.
a What is the name of the structure at the The Boeing 747-400 is truly an formed when air spills around effects of wing tip vortices and
amazing aircraft. One of the the ends of wings in flight. These actually improve fuel mileage
end of the wing?
most important design features powerful, rotating air masses by about 3 percent! The other
b What is its function? it has, brought in after its greatly increase the drag of advantage is that they help to
introduction in 1985, are the aircraft. However, the problem reduce the total wingspan and
small extra lengths added onto with longer wings was that they length of the wings without
each wing – the winglets. would make it difficult for pilots increasing the overall area of
to manoeuvre the aircraft on the each wing. This is because they
When Boeing engineers were ground. Longer wings would are built angled upwards, not
coming up with the design for have also meant that there would outwards. Pilots can still move
the newer version of the famous be fewer terminal gates available the massive aeroplanes on the
747, they wanted to design a for 747s to use at airports around ground easily even though the
faster and more aerodynamic the world. wings are bigger. This is very
aircraft that would produce important at busy and crowded
considerably less drag than Therefore, the idea of winglets international airports.
previous models. This would in was introduced. These small
2 Your teacher will give you just one minute turn create an airliner that was additions to the wing are actually During the lifetime of a Boeing
to skim the passage, right. Look at the more fuel efficient, could fly quite big – two metres high in 747, the improvements in
further and was less expensive fact and about one and a half aerodynamic efficiency created
following questions a and b then quickly
to operate. The 747-400 was metres wide. They are made of by the addition of winglets,
read the text to find the answers. born. lightweight metals - graphite helps to increase the cruising
4 a What is the name of the design feature

being discussed?
Initially, designers decided to
lengthen the wings by about
and aluminium, replacing plate
steel - that help to reduce the
overall weight of each wing by 27
speed of the aircraft, reduce
flying times for passengers and
flight crews and save airlines
three metres. It was thought kilograms. They have two clear hundreds of thousands of
that this would help to reduce advantages. First, drag is reduced. dollars in operating costs.
the effect of wing tip vortices, The winglets help to counter the
b What is the main idea of the passage?

3 Read the passage in more detail and complete the table below about the effects of the winglets.
Tick  the correct column.
Reading a newspaper
Effect of winglets Increased Decreased
article
a the drag on the aircraft. 
b the distance the aircraft can fly (range)
c the weight of the aircraft
d the fuel mileage
e the total wing span
f the cruising speed of the aircraft
g the time taken to fly a particular route

1 Discuss with a partner. This aircraft crashed
4 Look at the text again and answer questions a to e on 25th July, 2000 in Paris, France.
a What was the main reason for redesigning the Boeing 747? a Do you know the name of this famous
aircraft?
b What do you know about the accident?

b Why does two metres of winglet weigh less than the same length of wing?
c Do you know why it happened?
c By how much did the addition of winglets increase the fuel mileage of a Boeing 747?
d What has happened to this type of
aircraft since the accident?
4
2 Look at the newspaper headline. What do
d Although each winglet is about two metres long, the wing span of the aircraft is not increased you think the article will be about?
when one is added to each wing. How is this so?
Authorities no closer to
e Name two reasons why reduced wing span is an advantage to airliners when taxiing and
parking. cause of Concorde crash

3 Read only the first and last paragraphs of
the article about the Concorde crash. What Authorities no closer to cause of Concorde crash
other information do you think the rest of
the article contains? Note down your ideas 1 Almost one year after the the undercarriage - fell from the formal complaints to airport
fiery crash of Air France underside of the wing, piercing management.
below. Concorde flight AF4590 at Paris the tyre. They point to a history of
International Airport, air safety 6 It is such uncertainty and
mechanical faults with the aircraft’s
investigators are still not clear speculation that this week led
undercarriage retraction system as
what caused the supersonic to the immediate grounding of
grounds to support that possibility.
airliner to burst into flames and all Concorde aircraft currently
dive into the ground shortly after 4 At least one pilot has suggested that in service. Until the real cause
takeoff. The crash killed all 109 engine failure, not structural failure of the crash is known, public
people on board. Meeting in could have caused the crash. Tim confidence is likely to be eroded
Brussels on Thursday, a panel of Colten, a retired British Airways in the face of continuing safety
international safety experts has Captain, said that the engine failure doubts. Already, families of the
heard a range of views on why the theory could also help explain why victims have launched lawsuits in
left fuel tank suddenly caught fire the Concorde stalled just before courts in the United States and
as the aircraft was rolling down crashing. “It would have been very millions of dollars in insurance
the runway. difficult to control especially at claims are at stake pending
low speed,” he said. “Parts of the further findings.
4 Read the full article. Were your predictions 2 The official French version of the failed engine entering the fuel tank
7 The decision to ground the fleet
correct? incident states that a 40 cm metal would have started the initial fire,”
was heralded by some in the
rod that was lying on the runway, he added. He also suggested that
caused a tyre on the left main industry who are worried that
the Concorde’s famous Delta wing
gear to burst and the resulting the airliner’s days are numbered
hampers recovery from a stall at
explosion ignited fuel in the left as safety concerns and public
low speed because of its shape.
wing tank. The French Air Safety reaction have already seen a
Association, Bureau Enquetes 5 Other experts offer more theories reduction in the number of
4 Accident (BEA) has alleged that yet. Both British Airways and Air bookings on both sides of the
the piece was dropped by a DC-10 France, the main operators of Atlantic. Both airlines however
operated by Continental Airlines Concorde, say that blame must lie have rejected the move. An
that had taken off moments partly with airport authorities. They Air France spokesperson said
earlier. Their report suggests that say that poorly maintained runways last night that safety measures
the metal found on the runway ensure that at any one time there is have already been put in place
was not part of the Concorde a variety of debris scattered across including the strengthening
airframe itself. the airfield. “Rubber, metal and of fuel tanks and the fitting of
plastic fragments fall from ground improved tyres. “This incident
3 Continental Airlines has dismissed vehicles and other planes all the was a once off event caused by
the report saying instead that it time and often escape detection freak circumstances,” he said,
was a design fault in Concorde and are not cleared up during “a tragic incident of course, but
that caused the crash. They routine runway checks” a British a stand alone incident that will
believe a broken piece of Airways spokesperson said last never happen again.”
equipment - possibly part of week. Both airlines have written

5 Find words in the article with the same 6 Answer the following questions about the Concorde article. Use full sentences to write
meaning as: your answers.
a faster than the speed of sound a What is the main difference in the views of the French Air Safety Association and Continental
(paragraph 1) Airlines as to the cause of the disaster?
b made something catch fire (paragraph 2) b What activity or procedure takes place at airports to make sure that runways are clear of
debris and safe for aircraft to use?
c making a hole with something sharp

(paragraph 3) c Why did the number of bookings fall on Concorde after the fatal accident?
d makes slower and more difficult d Name two changes Air France introduced to the Concorde as a result of the accident.
(paragraph 4)
Different views within a text

e being found (paragraph 5) 1 Match the quotes in the right hand column with the people or organisations in the left hand
column that made them.
f not permitting this aircraft to fly

(paragraph 6)
The French Air Safety Association
____________________________
a ‘I would blame the aircraft itself. Probably a part of the
undercarriage broke off and flew back, causing further damage. The
Concorde has quite a history of problems when the undercarriage is
4
being raised after takeoff.’
Tim Colten b ‘We believe that debris dropped on the runway by another aircraft
g abnormal (paragraph 7)
____________________________ caused the accident.’

A member of the public c ‘I am starting to become concerned about the safety aspect of this
____________________________ aircraft. I certainly would not travel on it until the full cause of the
accident has been established.’
Continental Airlines d ‘It is my opinion that failure of one of the two engines caused the
____________________________ crash. The Delta wing makes control of an aircraft at low speed, much
more difficult.’

Using referents 3 Work with a partner. Replace the words in brackets in the following
sentences with referents. Try to use interesting words and phrases.
a On the 25th of July, 2000, the flight of a Concorde airliner ended in a
Repetition of nouns is a common problem for people learning fiery crash. (The fiery crash) ______________________________
a language. The use of referents helps to make the sentence
was featured in graphic photos on the front page of newspapers
more interesting and easier to understand. Referents can be
worldwide.
either pronouns such as it, or synonyms, which are words
of similar meaning. They are “referent” because they relate to
b When Boeing were designing a newer version of the 747, (Boeing)
the noun used in the previous sentence or clause - they “refer
back”. __________________ decided to ask leading designers for their ideas.
c Some experts say that the disaster was probably caused by a piece of
2 The following words and phrases shown in bold appear in the article.
Write down what each word or phrase refers to in the spaces provided. rubber, metal or plastic which had fallen off another airliner. They say
The first one has been done for you. that airport authorities must take some blame for the (rubber, metal
a paragraph 1 – the supersonic airliner
and plastic) _____________________________________________
Concorde
not being detected during regular runway inspections.
b paragraph 2 – the incident
4 c paragraph 2 – the piece was dropped

d In 1997 the winglets were added to the aircraft. (In 1997) __________
________________________________________________________
d paragraph 4 – it would have been very difficult to control the airline noticed a 3 percent increase in operating efficiency.
e Winglets produce the same advantages as increasing the length of the

e paragraph 4 – because of its shape
wing. (Winglets)
_________________________________________________ have
f paragraph 5 – They say that
improved fuel mileage by as much as three percent.

Past simple and past 1 Work in pairs. Match the sentences a and
b with the timelines, below left. Write the
Language continuous corresponding letter in the box next to each

timeline.
Warm-up a When the man arrived at the restaurant,
1 What is the best, worst or most interesting the people were leaving.
thing that has happened to you over the past b When the man arrived at the restaurant,
• recognise the purpose of the past
week? Tell your partner about it. the people left.
simple and past continuous
2 Talk with another group of students – tell
• use time conjunctions 2 Write which verb form is used – the past
your partner’s story to your new group.
simple or past continuous, to complete
• understand the use of past
3 Discuss the following questions with your the rules below.
perfect
new group.
a We use the _______________________
• recognise the use of the past
a Whose story did you think was the most to talk about an activity that happened
perfect in an historical account at a definite time in the past, but which
interesting?
• practise making suggestions. is now finished. It is often used to list a
b What makes a story interesting? sequence of events.
Example
Differences in meaning
When Captain Wang finished work, he
- the past simple and past
4
went home.
continuous
b When a short action interrupts another
past now future longer action, we use the ___________

 man ______________________ for the short
 people action and the _____________________
____________ for the longer action.
past now future
man Example
 When Captain Wang came home from
people work, his children were watching television.

The past simple 2 Copy the past tense verbs you underlined in
Activity 1 into the left column of the table
3 Read the following information. below then write the infinitive (base form
of the verb) in the right column. The first
Past simple one has been done for you. You will use this
information in Activity 3.
Subject + verb –ed Negative forms:
you walked Subject + didn’t + verb Past tense Infinitive
we finished Tom didn’t work. survived survive
they wanted
he / she / it Question
Did + subject + verb?
Did Bruce call?
Note: Many past tense verbs have irregular forms
Example: be was, were

have had
see saw 3 Correct the following incorrect statements
buy bought about the article. The first one has been
done for you.
a The man died after the plane crash.
Using the past simple
4 1 Read the following short article about a man who survived a plane crash. As you are reading,
underline all of the verbs in the past simple tense. The first one has been done for you.
The man didn’t die, he survived the
plane crash.
b The aircraft dived into the ocean.
A man amazingly survived after the plane in which he was travelling, crashed into the jungle in Northern Borneo
last week. He was on a flight from Tarakan to Krayan in the Malaysian state when the engine suddenly stopped. The
pilot had to make an emergency landing approximately 50 kilometres south of his destination. The 32 year-old man
c He carried his water in his shoes.
suffered only minor bruises and cuts. He walked through the jungle and ate plants and berries for five days. He drank
from small streams and carried water in a small plastic bag. On one of the days, he even caught a small fish using
a stick. He saw many aircraft flying overhead but they didn’t see him. Finally he arrived at a remote village, where
shocked residents found him dazed and confused. The Chief of Police in the village said the man, who was very tired, d He ate insects and nuts for five days.
fell asleep as soon as he lay down. Doctors observed the man for several days and then allowed him to go home.

e The man saw one aircraft fly overhead. extinguish secure file broadcast request turn engage level out
evacuate sound shut maintain complete inform
b After the warning bell ___________ the d When the aircraft _______________ at
f The man was very happy and cheerful
when the residents found him. pilot ____________ the engine down and 31,000 feet, the captain ______________
quickly ______________ a distress message. the autopilot and ________________onto

The crew ___________ the aircraft for new heading of 210 degrees. We ________
g The Chief of Police took the man to the
local hospital. landing. As soon as the aircraft had landed 31,000 feet for three hours until the captain
and stopped on the runway, passengers ________________ a descent. Then the
quickly _____________ using the two main
h Doctors allowed him to go home after flight crew ___________________ their
front doors. Within a minute fire crews
one day. pre-landing checks and _______________
_________________ the fire. The crew
Air Traffic Control that they were inbound.
_________________________ a written
4 Work with a partner. Fill in the gaps in the report shortly after the event.
following short paragraphs, a to f, by using abort stop see return
the correct form of the verbs in the past. repair disembark
go board taxi retract
Use the verbs in the box below each text.
stow line-up become
arrive fly land e As soon as he __________________ the
tell taxi take off c We ___________ the aircraft through gate
lounge six and ____________ our luggage in
situation, the captain _______________ 4
a The plane _________________ from the takeoff. The aircraft _______________
Melbourne in the afternoon and the overhead lockers. I was really nervous. only about 100 metres from the far end of
__________ for eleven hours before it We ____________ out and we __________ the runway. We _________________ to
_______________ in Hong Kong. Prior ______________ on the runway for takeoff. the gate and ____________________. We
to landing, the captain _____________ The pilot ________________ undercarriage had to wait for three hours while ground
the passengers to fasten their seatbelts. and flaps just after we _______________ engineers _________________ the aircraft.
The flight _________________ on time airborne and the seat belt sign ___________
and ________________ to the Terminal. ___________________off. It was great!

5 Re-read paragraphs a to f. Use the context of your completed texts to match the meanings of the
rise spin do pitch following ten words with their definitions. Match the word on the left with the definition on the
climb bank stop right. The first one has been done for you.
Word Definition
f It was amazing to watch. The aircraft took
a maintain ___ to raise or fold a moveable component away
off and_________________ quite steeply
b inform ___ roll, move the aircraft so the wings are not horizontal
to about 5,000 feet before it slowed down
c broadcast ___ finish
and seemed to just hang in the air. Suddenly
d complete ___ to ask for something
the nose ________________ up and at the
e to bank a keep doing the same thing
___
same time, the aircraft _______________
f stow ___ tell
sharply left and just kept rotating. The pilot
g request ___ switch on or make something work mechanically
__________________ all the way down to
h retract ___ transmit a radio message
about 500 feet. He then _______________
i engage ___ place an item in its correct place in the aircraft
the spin, ________________________ the
nose and climbed away, to the applause
6 Look at the list of words in the box below taken from the short paragraphs in Activity 4. Think
of the crowd below. The pilot certainly about what the words describe. Write each word under the correct heading in the following table.
_______________________his aerobatics
taxi board spin abort
extremely well! bank evacuate level out line up
4 pitch disembark climb
Movement of people Movement of an aircraft Movement of an aircraft on

in flight the ground
7 Check your answers with a partner.

Using the past continuous
a  b  c 
T4.9
1 Look at the following pictures showing
a story – Jerry’s bad morning. Work
with a partner and discuss what you
think happened in the story. Write the
numbers 1 to 8 next to the pictures, to
show the events in the order you think
they happened. The first one has been
done for you. d  e 1  f 
4
g  h 

2 Now listen to the story and write the 3.00 pm
numbers 1 to 8 in the order you hear them.
a ___________ on the ground /
Were your predictions correct? bus ___________ over his bike
4.30 pm
3 Listen to the story again and fill in the
missing verbs. The first one has been done _____________ in the car / the
for you as an example. driver _______________ him a 6.00 pm
e new bike
was riding his bike / his wallet
9.00 pm
came out of his pocket
4 Write a short narrative story about Jerry’s
bad morning. Use the pictures in Activity 11.00 pm

f _____________ for his wallet /
1, your sentences in Activity 4 and Jerry’s
_________________ to rain description of the events in the recording to
help you.
6 Work with a partner. Ask your partner what
he/she was doing at five different times from
__________ back on the bike /
5 Write down what you were doing yesterday the list in Activity 5. Were there any times
_________________ his wallet at the following times. when you were doing the same thing?
5.00 am 7 Read the information on the following page.
___________ down into the
4
drain/car ______________ past
7.00 am
and splashed him
9.00 am
__________ back to the bike /
dog ______________ his lunch
12.30 pm
___________ his bike in the
city / car _____________ out in 1.00 pm
front of him

2 Write each sentence, a to d, from Activity 1
Narrative tenses – the past simple and the past continuous below the time line that represents it.
We use the past simple and past continuous together in the same sentence to show
that one action happened in the middle or during another action.
i past now future
We use the past simple more than once to show that one action happened after
another action. 
Past continuous tense (during an Past simple (finished action)
action)
He was riding his bike to school when his wallet fell Last week he rode his bike to school after breakfast.
out of his pocket. (He rode his bike all the way to school.)
(This happened in the middle of riding his bike to
school.) ii past now future
Jerry was lying on the ground when the bus ran over The bus ran over Jerry’s bike and then the driver of the
his bike. car bought him a new one.
(Jerry lay on the ground before, when and after the (The driver bought Jerry a new bike after the bus ran
bus ran over his bike.) over his bike.)
Practice – understanding the past continuous

1 Underline the correct explanation for the following sentences. The first one has been done for you. iii past now future
3 o’clock
a I was having a shower when the phone rang. c At 3 o’clock yesterday I was sleeping.

4
i Both actions started at the same time. i I was asleep before, at and after 3:00.
ii The telephone call interrupted my ii I started to sleep at 3 o’clock.
shower. iii I only slept at 3 o’clock.
iii The phone started ringing after I
finished my shower. d While you were having dinner, I was
watching television. iv past now future
b We were reading until 3 o’clock.
i She watched TV before he finished 3 o’clock
i They started to read at 3 o’clock. dinner. 
ii They finished reading before 3 ii Both actions happened at the same
o’clock. time in the past.
iii They started reading before 3 o’clock iii He ate dinner for a long time but she
and finished reading at 3 o’clock. watched TV for a short time.

3 Decide which sentences below are correct 4 Read the following text and complete the text by selecting the correct verb form, past simple or
or incorrect. Underline those that are past continuous, to fill in the spaces.
incorrect. Correct the sentences and re-
Bird strike
write them on the line below.
a I was driving home when suddenly I was
crashing.
Yesterday afternoon at four o’clock an airliner (experienced / was experiencing) ___________
a bird strike just after takeoff from Heathrow International airport. A large sea bird
b The pilot was extending the landing gear (impacted / was impacting)________________ the port engine, which (was causing /
when the hydraulics failed.
caused)______________ an explosion. The Captain (shut down / was shutting down)
_______________________________ the engine immediately and quickly (was notifying /
c While it was raining, the aircraft landed. notified)_________________ the Tower Controller that they (were returning / returned) to land.
It (was raining / rained)___________________ heavily at the time and the crew (were having /
had )__________________________ to conduct two missed approaches due to the bad weather.
d The bird was striking the tail while we Some of the passengers (were panicking / panicked)______________________
were descending.
when they (were hearing / heard) _______________________ the loud explosion. One elderly
passenger (hit / was hitting)______________________ his head, and (was going / went)
4 e The car was stopping when it hit the

tree.
__________________to hospital after they (were landing / landed) ___________________. At
the time the aircraft (was departing / departed)____________________ for New York and the
incident (caused / was causing)________________ a substantial delay.
f I was cooking dinner for three hours A spokesman for the airline (was saying / said) that at no time was the aircraft in serious
yesterday.
danger, as pilots (were practising / practised) _________________ regularly for such an event.
g We ate dinner after we saw the movie.

Time conjunctions
Time conjunctions with the We use when / as soon as / after

past continuous / before to show one event comes
before or after another
We use when / while / as to show two
events happening at the same time Example
When / As soon as / After / Before /
Example Marcus was nineteen he learned to fly.
When / while / as I was doing my
homework, I was listening to the radio
Punctuation for time clauses
While is not used for short actions that
When a time clause comes first in the
interrupt longer actions sentence, separate the two halves of
the sentence with a comma.
Examples
Examples
Peter was driving while he had an
accident.  a While the captain was shutting down
the engine, the first officer gave the
While Peter was driving, he had an distress call.
4
accident. 
b The first officer gave the distress call
Peter was driving when he had an while the captain was shutting down
accident.  the engine.

2 Work with a partner. Study the information
Mike’s eighteenth birthday.
in the two columns of the table, right. Then
read sentences a to j on the following page He decides to learn to fly.
and fill in the spaces in the sentences with
suitable time conjunctions (when / while / as / He tells his mother about his plans.
as soon as / before / after).
His mother is very worried.
Sometimes more than one answer is
possible. The first one has been done Mike prepares to go to the local airfield. His mother tries to make her son change
for you. his mind.
His mother wishes him good luck.
Mike leaves to catch the bus.
He travels to the local flying club. He whistles a tune because he is excited.
He arrives at the flying club.
He signs some papers and pays for his

first lesson.
He meets his flying instructor.

He feels a little nervous.
He has his first two hour lesson.
4 He finishes the lesson.
He leaves the club.
He travels back home.

He dreams of becoming a pilot.
He arrives home.
He tells his family he wants to be a pilot.
His father shakes his hand and agrees to

support him.

a When he reached his eighteenth 3 Choose three sentences from the story. For and during
birthday, Mike decided to learn to fly. Write the clauses in the reverse order.
1 Underline the correct word in each
Remember to change the punctuation.
b His mother was very worried _________ sentence.
Mike told her about his plans. Example: a Mike learned to fly for / during two years.
When he reached his eighteenth b Mike studied hard for / during his holidays.
c ___________________ he was preparing
birthday, Mike decided to learn to fly.
to go to the local airfield, she tried to
Mike decided to learn to fly when he 2 Read the following information.
make him change his mind.
reached his eighteenth birthday.
d His mother wished him good luck
____________ he left to catch the bus. a ____________________________________ For / during / since
e ____________________ he was ____________________________________ To say how long something lasted, use for.
travelling to the local flying club, he ____________________________________ Example
whistled because he was excited.
_____________________________________ Robert lived in London for two months /
f ___________________ he arrived at the twelve years / many years.
flying club, he signed some papers and b ____________________________________
paid for his first lesson ______________ ____________________________________ To say when something happened,
he met his flying instructor. use during.
_______________________________________
g He felt a little nervous ______________ Example
he was having his first two hour lesson.
_______________________________________
c ____________________________________
Ella studied mathematics during the
holidays / the summer / her childhood. 4
h _____________________ he finished the
lesson, he left the club. ____________________________________
To say that something has happened from
i He dreamt of becoming a pilot ________ ____________________________________ a particular time (up to now), use since.
_________ he was travelling back home.
_____________________________________ Example
j _______________ he arrived home and I’ve been studying since nine o’clock this
told his family he wanted to be a pilot, 4 Work with a partner. Write about the morning / last night / April.
his father shook his hand and agreed to next five years of Mike’s life using time
support him ____________________ he conjunctions.
was in training.

3 Use for, during or since to complete the 4 Think about the stages of your own life. 2 Why was the woman embarrassed? Write a
following sentences. Write some brief notes. Tell your partner short sentence.
about yourself. Ask each other questions,
a Simon was a student ________________
using time conjunctions. 3 Read the following two sentences from
seven years.
the beginning of the story and answer the
Examples questions which follow.
b I had a very strange dream ___________ Not long after my twelfth birthday, my
the night. A few years ago I went to Indonesia on a
family moved to Australia. For the next six
years I attended a local high school. During work trip. I had studied some Indonesian,
c A fire broke out in the aircraft hold
______________________ the descent. that time, I studied hard and for the last so I was really looking forward to practising
two years I was school captain. As soon as I what I had learnt.
d We’ve been waiting for you __________ finished school, ……
more than an hour.
a What tense is used in the underlined
verb?
e We’ve been waiting for you __________
one o’clock.
The past perfect b What tense is used in the double-
underlined verbs?
f We have been training as flight attendants T4.10
______________ more than six months. c Which came first? She studied Indonesian /
1 Listen to someone talk about an embarrassing She went to Indonesia.
g _______________ they got married, they experience they had and answer questions a
to e circling true T or false F.
4 have lived in the countryside.
h I fell asleep _____________________ the

a The woman studied Indonesian in
Jakarta. T F 4 Now decide which tense, past simple or
in-flight movie. b She wanted to buy a necklace in a past perfect, matches each statement by
market. T F underlining the correct choice.
i She’s been working for Pacific c She thought the necklace was too i We use past simple/past perfect to
International Airlines ________________ expensive. T F talk about an action which finished in
February. d She bought the necklace. the past.
T F
j The system has been down ___________ ii We use past simple/past perfect to
e Her friends laughed at her because she make it clear that the action happened
last night, so none of the computers are
paid too much for the necklace. before another action in the past.
working. T F

5 Now listen to the woman’s experience again 6 Read the following phrases from a different When I was about fifteen I stayed up quite
and put the following events in the order story about another person’s embarrassing late one summer night. At about midnight
they happened by writing the numbers 1 to experience and match the following
there was a black out and all the lights
12 in the left column. The first one has been sentences to where they belong in the text.
went out. I quickly put some clothes on and
done for you. Remember to pay attention Write the numbers in the spaces at the end
to the order of events when past perfect is of each sentence a to f, to show where they went outside to check if other houses in our
used. belong in the story. street had the same problem. I went outside
and walked out to the gate. (1) On the
a I realised the wind had blown it shut.
Order Events way back I heard a loud bang. It was quite
She showed the store owner the windy. When I got back to the front door it
necklace. b Then I remembered that everyone in my
was closed and locked. (2) I was so angry
family had gone to bed.
with myself. (3) I knocked on the door for
She arrived at work.
a few minutes to try to get somebody to let
Her friends explained her mistake. c She had just taken a shower and dried me back in. (4) so nobody came to let me
her hair. in. Then I remembered my aunty lived not
She saw a necklace in the market.
too far away, so I decided to go there. After
Her friends laughed. d I had accidentally put my sister’s pink walking for about fifteen minutes I finally
dressing gown on before I left the house. arrived. I was glad to see the lights in the
She bargained with the store owner house were still on and that my aunty hadn’t
e I noticed that the whole street had gone to bed. I knocked until she came to the
4
She walked past a market.
become dark. door. (5) She looked at me very strangely.
She went to Indonesia. Finally she took me to her bedroom and took
f I didn’t have my keys because I had left me to her mirror. In the dark back home (6).
The owner became confused.
them inside the house. I was so embarrassed!
Her friends told her to bargain.
She left the market.
1 She studied Indonesian.

7 Work with a partner. Look again at Past perfect
sentences a to f in Activity 6. Underline
The past perfect is the past form of
the verbs in the sentences. What two tenses present perfect.
are used?
We form the past perfect using had +
a I realised the wind had blown it shut.
past participle
b Then I remembered that everyone in my (had eaten / gone / done / been etc).
family had gone to bed.
When we talk about events which
c She had just taken a shower and dried happened in the past, in narratives or
her hair. stories, often we need to talk about
something which happened earlier than
d I had accidentally put my sister’s pink
the main event.
dressing gown on before I left the house.
Example:
e I noticed that the whole street had I went outside and walked out to
become dark. the gate.
f I didn’t have my keys because I had left
them inside the house. This is the main event or the start of a
number of events. When we need to talk
8 For each sentence, a to f, decide which about other things that happened before
action happened first and which happened this event, we use the past perfect.
second. Write 1 above the verb which Example:
4
shows the action which happened earlier First event: I went outside and walked
and a 2 for the action which happened later. out to the gate.
Second event: I noticed that the whole
9 Discuss the following questions with a
street had become dark.
partner.
a What other verb form does the past In the second sentence, the person
perfect connect to? speaking uses the past perfect to show
that the street had become dark before
b What is the purpose of the past perfect?
he went outside and walked to the gate.
It is important here for the speaker
10 Read the following information and check to show that he did not know that the
whether you are correct. street was dark before going outside.

11 Study the following timeline which shows how ideas in a narrative containing the past perfect Practice – using the past
connect to each other.
perfect
1 Read the following situations and then write
past now future a short sentence with the past perfect using
went walked noticed the words in brackets.
   a Jon missed the airport bus and when he
arrived the gate was closed. (his/flight/
already/depart)
had become
His flight had already departed.
Link between the past perfect and present perfect b I bought Jackie some lunch but she wasn’t
hungry. (she/have/lunch)
past now future past now future

c We were very excited to go on a plane
after not travelling anywhere for so long.
Present Perfect Past Perfect (We/not/be/a plane/three years).
Examples Examples
a I am not hungry. I’ve just eaten dinner. a I wasn’t hungry. I had just eaten dinner.
b The house was dark. Everybody had
4
b The house is dark. Everybody has gone to d Erin went to see a film with her friends
bed. gone to bed. last night, but she was bored. (she/have/
c There is water all over the floor. Somebody c There was water all over the floor. see/that film).
has forgotten to turn off the tap. Somebody had forgotten to turn off
the tap.
e When I arrived home yesterday I couldn’t

find my keys. (I/have/left them at work).

2 Use the past perfect to finish the following 3 Use the sentences in the left column below to write a short paragraph in the right column. The
sentences. The first one has been done sentences are in the order that they happened, but you should start with the underlined sentence
for you. in your paragraph. The first one has been done for you.
a I made the coffee. We then drank the
a Joe cut his finger while he was cooking. When I arrived home in the evening I found that Joe
coffee.
I arrived home in the evening. had cut his finger. So I took him to the doctor.
We drank the coffee that I had made.
I took him to the doctor.
b John rented a car. He went for a drive.
John went for a drive in a car that b David went out. I went to visit David on Saturday. He ____________
I went to visit him on Saturday. home when I knocked on the door. He __________
_________________________________
He was not home when I knocked on the door.
c The new aircraft landed after its first
flight. Journalists took photos of it. c I had an interview for a job. I opened an important email last night.
Journalists took photos of the aircraft that The manager sent me an email and offered me I ______________________ an interview for a job.
the job. The manager ________________ me an email and
_________________________________
I opened an important email last night. ___________________ me the job.
d The man left his wallet on the table. The I came out of class yesterday and the police gave me
d A thief stole my bicycle during the class.
thief stole the wallet.
Somebody saw the thief steal my bicycle and called my bicycle. A thief ________________ it during the
The thief stole the wallet that the man class, but luckily somebody ________________ and
the police.
4 ________________________________. _______________________ the police.

I came out of the class yesterday and the police
gave me my bicycle.
e I made a birthday cake in the morning.
We ate it that night. e Elif went to live in Turkey for three years. I was very happy to see Elif at work yesterday. She
That night we ate the cake that I My friend Elif came back from Turkey yesterday. ________________ from Turkey. She __________
to live there for three years.
_________________________________. I was very happy to see her at work yesterday.
f Sally didn’t pay her electricity bill. When Sally was at home last night the lights went
She was at home last night. out. She ___________________________________
The lights went out.

Reading – the past
perfect in a historical

THE HINDENBURG 
account On May 6th 1937 the giant to buy enough of the gas to No one is exactly sure why
1 Look at the picture and discuss the following ‘Hindenburg’ airship burst into fill the airship. Therefore they the ‘Hindenburg’ caught fire
questions in a small group. flames. Within two hours, fire had to fill it with hydrogen - a so quickly. Some people think
had completely destroyed the flammable gas and a far more storms in the area at the time
a What famous event in 1937 does it show? airship. The disaster is one of the volatile option. caused a spark. Others believe
most tragic aviation accidents of there was a design fault and
b Do you know the story of this disaster? An accident occurred while the
the twentieth century. that oxygen and hydrogen
airship was landing at New Jersey
c Why did it happen? in America. It had successfully
may have mixed together -
The ‘Hindenburg’ was built in something Hugo Eckner had
completed many voyages
2 Read the story of this event, right, and check Germany in 1936, but as much warned the government about
across the Atlantic Ocean
if you were correct. as five years earlier, German after the airship’s first flight
during the previous year and
designers had experimented on March 4th 1936.
was attempting to moor at two
with bigger, longer, heavier and
specially designed towers when To this day, the ‘Hindenburg’
faster designs for these massive
a fire started. Most passengers, remains the largest aircraft to
aircraft.
who had been getting ready to ever fly, and was ahead of its
Its designer, Hugo Eckner, had disembark, died from jumping time in terms of size, speed
originally wanted to fill his giant from the burning flight deck to and range. That night in 1937
balloon with helium – a non-
flammable gas. At that time
the ground. The fire continued
to burn on the ground for many
meant the end of the golden
age of passenger carrying 4
however, Germany was not able hours although the hydrogen airships when thirty-five
to get any helium as only the balloon had only taken two people died.
United States had large helium minutes to completely burn.
reserves. Germany was unable

3 Answer questions a to e by choosing the d The designer of the Hindenburg 4 Write numbers 1 to 5 next to each of the
statement which best completes each sentences below, to show the order in
sentence. i believed the fire was caused by which the events happened.
a storm
a German designers experimented with a The German designers
different kinds of airships ii thought that too many passengers experimented with bigger and
were on the airship faster aircraft. ___
i after the Hindenburg accident
ii before the Hindenburg was built iii had known that the Hindenburg b The Hindenburg caught fire. ___
might burn
iii in 1936 c The Hindenburg successfully
crossed the Atlantic Ocean
e After the Hindenburg accident many times. ___
b The designer of the Hindenburg used
hydrogen instead of helium because i no airships as big as the Hindenburg
were built d The passengers got ready
i they thought hydrogen would work to disembark. ___
better ii Germany designed faster airships
e The fire burned on the ground
ii Germany had given all their helium to iii Hugo Eckner designed an airship for many hours. ___
the United States which did not burn
iii they didn’t have enough helium

5 Underline all examples of the past perfect
in the article you have just read about the
4 c The accident happened
i while the Hindenburg was landing in

Hindenburg disaster.
6 Discuss the story of the Hindenburg in

New Jersey groups of four. Do you think the story
would have been easier to understand if
ii after passengers had disembarked
the storyteller had told it in chronological
iii during a voyage over the Atlantic order (the order in which events occurred)?
Ocean Would it have been as interesting?

Making suggestions 4 Read the following dialogue. Write the
missing words or phrases using some of
1 Look at the following examples of how to make suggestions. the language you have read in the previous
tables.
Situation Suggestion
Jin: Billy, _________________________
I’m bored and I want to do something interesting. Let’s go to the movies!
(suggestion). It’s got three stars and that
How about going to the movies?
Why don’t we go to the movies? actor you like is in it.
What do you think about going to the movies? Billy: Well, _______________________
I suggest we go to the movies.
(disagree) a movie tonight. I’d rather
__________________________________
2 Look at the following situations a to e and write suggestions for each situation by using the (suggestion).
language from the previous table.
Jin: ______________________________
Situation Suggestion (agree).
a I’m tired.
b I’m hungry. 5 Work in pairs. Make suggestions to each
c It’s such beautiful weather. other to do with the following activities. You
can agree or disagree with the suggestion.
d I need a holiday.
e I need to improve my English.
b
See an action movie.
Have lunch at a restaurant.

4
3 Look at the following language to agree or disagree with a suggestion that has been made.
c Go to the beach.
Agreeing Disagreeing Making an alternative suggestion
d Play football.
That’s a good idea. No, I don’t think so. I’d rather (+ infinitive)
Yes, I’d like to do that. Perhaps another time. I’d prefer to (+infinitive) e Go shopping.
Let’s do that. No, we can’t do that.
f Go to a museum.
I’d love to! Well, I really don’t want to.
OK. Let’s do it.

6 Use the diary below to fill in your plans and arrangements for the week (you can make these up).
Write appointments for each day in your diary. Leave some time free each day for doing things
with your friends. Do not show your diary to the other people in the class.
Diary
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Morning
Afternoon
4
Evening

7 Talk to other people and make arrangements to fill the gaps in your schedule. Remember, you can
use going to, to talk about your plans and the present continuous to talk about your arrangements.
Make some suggestions of things to do.
Example
Person A: What are you doing on Tuesday?
Person B: I’m seeing the doctor in the morning but I’m free in the afternoon. I wouldn’t
mind going somewhere.
Person A: Well, let’s go for a picnic. Why don’t we ….…
Person B: Good idea! I’ll write it in my diary.

Review
Review the aims for this unit and think about what you have learnt. Complete the checklist by placing
a tick  in the correct box.
Unit summary
In this unit you have: I can do this I need more practice
• listened to and identified the sequence of events in a narrative  

• practised using narrative tenses  
• used time expressions in narratives  
• listened for specific information in a news report  
• used linking strategies to improve pronunciation  
• listened to a talk about early flight  
• recognised and pronounced different –ed endings  
• accepted and refused invitations  
• revised using language for describing position
4
 
• used techniques to improve reading speed  
• read a newspaper article for specific information  
• recognised the use of referents in a text  
• recognised the purpose of the past simple and past continuous  
• used time conjunctions  
• understood the use of past perfect  
• recognised the use of the past perfect in a historical account  
• practised making suggestions.  

Unit 4 - Aviation History and Disasters

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Unit 4 - Aviation History and Disasters

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Unit 4 Listening - events in a narrative

history & An unsolved mystery

Aviation English General English for Aviation 1 Page 131

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 131 23/7/08 3:35:48 PM

a Captain Taylor was an experienced pilot.

b Taylor should have flown west, but he flew east.

incorrect information. f ___

g Divers found the missing aircraft of Flight 19 in 1991.

about and discuss the following questions for each mystery. N

Page 132 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 132 23/7/08 3:35:53 PM

a Five bomber aircraft departed a navy

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 133 23/7/08 3:35:54 PM

Page 134 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 134 23/7/08 3:35:54 PM

c engulf _______extremely valuable

d ancient _______to enquire into or examine carefully

e investigate _______very old

f fault _______a crime where somebody deliberately lights a fire

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 135 23/7/08 3:35:55 PM

Page 136 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 136 23/7/08 3:35:56 PM

words, put a tick . If an extra sound is added,

j Oil all over the water ______ a 1485

3 Work with a partner. Match the year, a to e

4 Listen to the tape again and repeat the

Aviation English General English for Aviation 1 Page 137

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 137 23/7/08 3:35:58 PM

1 The Chinese probably created the first flying objects.

In 1890 a Frenchman built the first man-carrying aircraft.

Page 138 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 138 23/7/08 3:35:58 PM

/t/ /əd/ /d/ looked waited called

2 Use the information from the previous

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 139 23/7/08 3:35:58 PM

go out for a meal

2 Listen again. Write the words used for each invitation.

b Chris asks Dave “ ____________________________________________________________?”

c Josh asks Mei “ ______________________________________________________________?”

d Sue asks Judi “ _______________________________________________________________?”

4 3 Listen for a final time. Complete the following sentences.

a When Ken refuses Sue’s invitation, he says: “________________________________________”

b When Dave accepts Chris’s invitation she says: “_____________________________________”

c When Mei accepts Josh’s invitation she says: “_______________________________________”

d When Judi refuses Sue’s invitation, she says: “_______________________________________”

Page 140 Aviation English General English for Aviation 1

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 140 23/7/08 3:36:01 PM

likes / wants to do doesn’t like / doesn’t suggests an alternative

I’d rather not ✓

I’m sorry, but

That sounds lovely /

Would you rather…?

I’m not keen on

No, thanks anyway

Aviation English General English for Aviation 1 Page 141

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 141 23/7/08 3:36:02 PM

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

a.m. coffee with Simon college visit brother

p.m. meet Jim for coffee work

2 Now swap roles and use the following information.

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

a.m. doctor work

p.m. work visit grandmother in hospital party at Jill’s house

AEG_unit4_sb.indd 142 23/7/08 3:36:02 PM

quickly a distress message. the autopilot and __onto