Unit 8  Sir Edmund Hillary

What do you think?

1 Answer the questions.
1 An explorer is someone who … .
a  goes to different countries
b  travel to new and unknown places
c  meets new and different people
2 Do you know any famous explorers? Where did they go and what did they discover?

Comprehension check
2  Watch the video. Choose the correct options.
1 Sir Edmund Hillary came from … .
a  the UK
b Nepal
c  New Zealand
2 Hillary is famous because he … .
a  went to the North Pole
b  was the first to climb Everest
c  climbed all the mountains in the Himalayas
3 Hillary died … .
a  in January 2008
b  before he was 80
c  when he was 60

3  Watch the video again. In what order did these things happen? Write the correct number 1–6.
a Princess Elizabeth became Queen.
b Edmund Hillary went to the North and South Poles.
c Edmund Hillary was born.
d Edmund Hillary became Sir Edmund Hillary.
e Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest.
f Edmund Hillary died.

4  Complete the summary. Write one word, number, time or year in each gap.
Edmund Hillary was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1 . When he was at university, Hillary was
very good at 2 . In 1953, he climbed Mount Everest with a man from 3 called Tenzing
Norgay. Both men carried a pack weighing 4 kilograms on their back. They set off to climb the
mountain at 5 and did not reach the top until 6 . They only stayed at the top for
7
minutes. For almost 8 years, he has represented everything people admire.

React
5 Work in pairs. Answer the questions.
1 Would you like to climb Everest or any other big mountain?
2 Where would you like to explore in the world?
3 What would you take with you and who would go with you?

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 8 video worksheet photocopiable © Oxford University Press

 Vocabulary
6 Match the words to the definitions.
1 expedition a the top of a mountain
2 achieve b to respect someone and want to be like them
3 stamina c to complete something difficult
4 remain d to turn to ice in the cold
5 freeze e a person who people admire
6 summit f to stay in one place
7 hero g the ability to do something physically hard for a long time
8 admire h a long journey

7 Complete the sentences with the past simple form of the verbs below.

admire  conquer  freeze  gather  inspire  remain  set off
1 Many people in London in June 1953 for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
2 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay early in the morning to reach the top of the mountain.
3 Just before they reached the top of the mountain, Hillary’s boots .
4 Hillary and Tenzing Mount Everest for the first time.
5 Sir Edmund Hillary became a national hero, but he modest.
6 People all over the world Sir Edmund Hillary.
7 Sir Edmund Hillary many New Zealanders to follow their dreams.

Task
8 Work in groups. You are going to plan a trip to explore an interesting part of the world.
1 Make a list of exciting places in the world you would like to visit. You can use the internet or your smartphone to
help you.
2 Each person in your group should research a different place. When you have finished, take it in turns to ask and
answer questions about each place.
3 In your group, choose the most interesting place and plan a trip there. Say where exactly you will go and where
you will stay. How will you travel (on foot, by motorbike, canoe or something else)? What will you see? What will
you do?
4 Present your trip to the class. You can use any pictures you find and take it in turns to speak. Use the expressions
in the box to help you.

Useful expressions: Planning a trip

We are going to go to … because …
It’s (beautiful) and (exciting).
We will use … to travel around.
We are going to stay …
Hopefully, we’ll see …

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 8 video worksheet photocopiable © Oxford University Press

Unit 8 Teacher’s notes  Sir Edmund Hillary

Video summary
The video is about the explorer Sir Edmund Hillary and his historic climb of Mount Everest in May 1953. It gives
some information about his personal life and achievements.

Background culture notes

Sir Edmund Hillary (20 July 1919–11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. On 29 May 1953,
he and his Nepalese guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They
were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest.
Hillary studied maths and science at Auckland University, and while he was there, he climbed Mount Ollivier, a
1,933 metre-high mountain on the South Island of New Zealand. After the successful Everest expedition, Hillary
took part in the Commonwealth Trans-Arctic expedition to the South Pole in 1958, and later he travelled to the
North Pole, too. After his climb of Everest, Hillary founded the Himalayan Trust to help the Sherpa people of
Nepal. Through his efforts many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal.
Mount Everest is the Earth’s highest mountain with a height of 8,848 metres. It is in the Himalayas, the mountain
range in Asia, that separates Nepal from China.

Answer key
1 1 b   2  Students’ own answers.
2 1 c   2 b   3 a
3 1 c   2 e   3 a   4 d   5 b   6 f
4 Suggested answers: 1 1919   2 climbing   3 Nepal   4 14   5 6.30   6 11.30   7 15   8 60
5 Students’ own answers.
6 1 h   2 c   3 g   4 f   5 d   6 a   7 e   8 b
7 1 gathered   2  set off   3 froze   4 conquered   5 remained   6 admired   7 inspired

Task
Stage 1: Preparation
• Ask: Which places on earth would you like to explore? Elicit some examples, e.g. the Amazon jungle, the desserts of
Africa, and write these on the board. Ask: Why would you like to go there? What would you like to see? Elicit answers.
Stage 2: Procedure
• Divide students into small groups of three or four. Ask them to move their desks together, if possible.
• Ask students to make some notes on places they would like to travel to and why. Circulate and monitor as
students think of ideas.
• Bring students back together and explain that each student in the group is going to research one of the places
they discussed. Each place should be different. Allow students time to use their smartphones to research (or you
could set this as homework). In their groups, students should ask and answer questions with each other about
the place they researched.
• Explain that each group must now choose one of the places they have researched. They will plan a trip and
present the idea to the class. Allow students time to plan their trip, e.g. decide what they will do and see and
where they will stay.
• Groups now take it in turns to present their trip to the rest of the class. Encourage other members of the class
to ask questions and ask questions yourself. As students speak, make notes of good use of English you can feed
back on later.
• When all the groups have finished, have a class vote on the best trip.
Extra ideas
• For increased challenge, ask students to individually write a 150-word article about the place they want to visit.
They should include an introduction, body and a conclusion. Students can also add pictures and/or videos if
they are using digital materials.
• For a simpler task, dictate the following questions and get students to answer in their groups: Which place are
you going to visit? Where are you going to stay? How are you going to travel? What animals are you going to see? What
buildings are you going to see? What activities are you going to do? Why are you going to have a good time?

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 8 teacher’s notes photocopiable © Oxford University Press

Unit 8 Video script  Sir Edmund Hillary
It’s 2 June 1953. Crowds have gathered in London for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. News reaches London that
a British expedition has just climbed the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, something which has never been
achieved before.
But the two men who have conquered the mountain are not British; Tenzing Norgay is Nepalese and Edmund Hillary is
from New Zealand.
Born in Auckland in 1919, Hillary started climbing at university. He was strong and had a lot of stamina, so he could
climb better and for longer than others.
It’s 28 May 1953. Everest hasn’t been conquered yet, but Hillary and Tenzing are very close. They have just reached
8,500 metres high on the mountain and they’re closer to the summit than anyone has ever been before.
It’s the next morning, and Hillary’s boots have frozen. They’ve already waited for two hours, but they have to leave
if they are to reach the summit and get down before night falls. So, at 6.30 in the morning, with each man carrying
a 14-kilogram pack, they set off for the summit. They climb slowly, but by 11.30 that morning they have reached the
summit. Edmund Hillary has dreamed of conquering Everest since he started climbing, and now he has finally done it.
They spend just fifteen minutes at the summit and then come back down the mountain.
When Hillary returned to New Zealand, he was a national hero. He was knighted by the Queen and became
Sir Edmund Hillary.
He joined other expeditions to the North and South Pole.
But for the rest of his life he returned to the Himalayas every year to build hospitals and schools for the Nepalese
people.
Despite all these achievements, he remained modest.
It’s 11 January 2008 and Edmund Hillary has just died. People from all around the world have already spoken about how
much they admired him.
But it is in New Zealand that he is missed the most. For almost sixty years he has represented everything people admire
and he continues to inspire new generations of New Zealanders to follow their dreams.

INSIGHT 2e Pre-Intermediate    Unit 8 video script photocopiable © Oxford University Press