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The Best Race

Vocabulary and Speaking
1) Read and answer the following questions.

1- When was the last time you travelled…?

- by train - by car - by plane
Where did you go?
How long did your journey take?
Did you have a good journey?
2- In general, which of the three forms of transport do you prefer? Why?

2) Match the pictures and the words.

___ carriage
___ coach
___ lorry
___ motorway
___ platform
___ scooter
___ the underground
___ tram
___ van

3) Put the words into the correct column.

buffet car drop off gate parking metre ticket office
rush hour petrol station station take off

train car plane

_____________ _____________ _____________
_____________ _____________ _____________
_____________ _____________ _____________

4) Match the words and the numbers in the pictures.

The plane
- land _____ - boarding card/pass _____ - gate _____
- check-in-desk _____ - baggage reclaim _____ - suitcase _____
- luggage _____ - take off _____ - aisle _____
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The train
- railway station _____ - ticket office _____
- platform _____ - the underground _____
- carriage _____

The road
- coach _____ - scooter _____ - motorbike _____
- lorry _____ - tram _____ - helmet _____
- van _____ - motorway _____ - bike _____
- car _____
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5) Complete the compound nouns with the missing words from the list.

camera belt crash fine hour jam lane

lights limit zone rank station crossing works

1 car _____ 2 cycle _____ 3 parking _____

4 pedestrian _____ 5 petrol _____ 6 road _____

7 rush _____ 8 seat _____ 9 speed _____ 10 speed _____

11 taxi _____ 12 traffic _____ 13 traffic _____ 14 zebra _____

- How long does it take you to get to work?

- How long does it take to get from your house to the city centre?
a. by car b. by bus c. on foot
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Reading and Listening
1) Read the introduction to the article, “Race to the Sun”. Answer the questions with by car, by
train, or by plane.
Which journey do you think was…?

 The quickest ________

 The cheapest _______

 The most comfortable _______

 The most convenient _______

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2) You’re going to read two of the three journeys, but the paragraphs are not in the right order.
Find the first paragraph for the plane journey, and then the other three. Do the same for the
train journey.
The plane The train
1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____ 1 _____ 2 _____ 3 _____ 4 _____

3) Now read the paragraphs again and answer the questions with T (Train) or P (Plane).
On which journey…?
1- did the traveller have to get up earlier ________
2- could the traveller have something to eat or drink ________
3- was the traveller more stressed ________
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4- could the traveller see beautiful scenery ________
5- did the traveller have a meal when he arrived ________
6- did the traveller arrive earlier than expected ________

Which journey was…?

7- quicker ________
8- cheaper ________
9- more comfortable ________
10- more convenient ________

4) Now listen to Martin talking about his journey from London to Avignon by car. Number the
pictures 1-7. (2.12)

A _____ B _____ C _____ D _____ E _____ F _____ G _____

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5) Listen again and mark the sentences T (true) or F (false). Justify the false sentences.

1- There’s a lot of traffic in London on Saturday mornings. _____

2- Petrol is more expensive in Britain than in France. _____
3- There are two ways to cross the English Channel by car. _____
4- You can’t drive through the Channel Tunnel. _____
5- The journey through the tunnel takes an hour. _____
6- Drivers must sit in their car when they go through the tunnel. _____
7- The speed limit on French motorways is 120km/h. _____
8- French motorways aren’t free. _____
9- It’s 970 kilometres from Calais to Avignon. _____

6) Listen to Martin talking about his journey and fill in the By car column in the chart. (2.13)
London to Avignon By plane By train By car
How long did it take? (from 5 hours 45 minutes 6 hours 40 minutes
home)

How much did it cost? £63 £65.80

Comfort / 10 5 8
Convenience / 10 5 9

Grammar
1) Read the sentences. Are the highlighted phrases right or wrong? Put a tick or a cross and
correct the wrong phrases.

1- What’s the quicker way to get to the south of France? ___

2- Driving is more boring than going by train. ___

3- Petrol isn’t as cheap in Britain than in France. ___

4- Does the plane cost the same as the train? ___

5- Going by train is less expensive as flying. ___

6- It was the more comfortable hotel I’ve ever stayed in. ___

7- The worst month to travel through France is August. ___

8- Do the British drive more careful than the French? ___

9- There aren’t as much trains as there were before on this line. ___

10-It was the most exciting journey I’ve ever had. ___
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2) Complete with the comparative or superlative form of the words in bold letters at the end
of the line (and than if necessary).
1 I think skiing is __________ horse-riding. easy
2 It’s _________ it was this time last year. hot
3 Jan’s _________ of all my sisters. competitive
4 He’s _________ person in the office. lazy
5 He looks much _________ with shorter hair. good
6 I sat next to _________ person at the party! boring
7 Could we meet a bit __________ tomorrow? early
8 It was _________ film I’ve seen this year. bad
9 Sue’s _________ member of my family. ambitious
10 The _________ way to travel is by train. safe
11 _________ I’ve ever driven is from London to Edinburgh. far
12 You walk __________ I do. slowly
13 __________ time to travel is on holiday weekends. bad
14 Indian food is spicy. But Mexican is much __________. spicy

3) For each group of three things, first compare them using the bold adjective. Say why.
Then, compare the other two. Say why.

a- dangerous: cycling; riding a motorbike; driving

b- easy: learning to drive; learning to ride a bike; learning to ride a horse
c- relaxing: flying; travelling by train; driving
d- difficult: sleeping on a train; sleeping on a plane; sleeping on a bus
e- boring: being stuck in a traffic jam; waiting at an airport; waiting for a bus

Vocabulary
1) Travel: complete the sentences with the following words
flight journey trip travel

1- A _________ is when you travel from one place to another by car, train, plane, etc.
2- _________ is normally used as a verb, e.g. I _________ a lot.
3- A _________ is when you go somewhere by plane.
4- A _________ is when you go somewhere, either for a holiday or on business, stay there,
and come back again.

Reading and Listening

1) You’re going to read about a race which the BBC car programme Top Gear organized
across London. Read the introduction and answer the questions.
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1 Where do they have to go

from? Where to?
2 What are the four methods of
transport?
3 Which one do you think will
be the fastest? Why?
4 In what order do you think
the other three will arrive?
Why?

2) Read the three journeys again and answer the questions with Je (Jeremy), R (Richard), or
Ja (James).
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Who…?
a- was asked to show a piece of paper? ___
b- went much faster in the later part of his journey? ___
c- nearly did something illegal? ___
d- went more slowly in the later part of his journey? ___
e- was happy to see that there was a lot of traffic? ___
f- got slightly lost? ___
g- had the most exciting journey? ___

3) Listened to what happened to The Stig. Follow his route on the map. (E.F. St’s 3 rd – 2.9)
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4) Listen again. What information or warning do you hear when you are travelling on the
Tube?

5) Look at the highlighted verbs and verb phrases. What do they mean? Make your own
definitions.

6) Listen to what happened. What order did they arrive in? why do you think that Jeremy
Clarkson was annoyed? (E.F. St’s 3rd – 2.10)

Speaking
1) Read the questions and answer them in details.
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Listening and Speaking

1) Read the beginning of a newspaper article and then answer the questions.

a- Do you (or people you know) ever do any of these things while driving a car?
b- Which three do you think are the most dangerous? Why? Number them 1-3 (1 = the most
dangerous)
c- Which do you think is the least dangerous? Why?

2) Now listen to a road safety expert talking about the test. Number the activities 1-7. (E.F.
St’s 3rd - 2.15)

- Eating or drinking ___

- Talking on a mobile ___
- Setting a satnav ___
- Listening to your favourite music ___
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- Listening to music you don’t know ___
- Sending or receiving text messages ___
- Doing your hair or putting on make-up ___

3) Listen again and answer the questions.

1- What shouldn’t you do when you are driving?

2- Why is texting so dangerous?
3- What do people often do when they put on make-up in the car?
4- What gets worse when drivers are talking on the phone?
5- Why is eating or drinking while driving dangerous?
6- How do people drive when they are listening their favourite music?
7- What happens if the music in the car is loud?
8- Why is listening to music you don’t know the least dangerous?

4) Look at the statements bellow and decide whether you agree or disagree. Think about your
reasons.

Writing and Speaking

1) Look at four forms of public transport in London. Which one do you think is probably…?

- the most expensive

- the healthiest
- the best if you want to see the sights
- the safest to use late at night
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2) Read an article from an online magazine for foreign students about public transport in
London and answer the questions below.

2 _______ or 3 _______

4 ________

5 _________

6 ________

7 ________

8 _________

9 ________

a- What can you use an Oyster card for?

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b- Why are the bikes you can hire called ‘Boris Bikes’?
c- What’s the difference between a black taxi and a mini-cab?

3) Read the article again and complete the gaps with a preposition from the list.
around at in next to off
on on on the top of with

4) Think about transport in your city for foreign students. Plan what you’re going to say about
each form of transport. Use the article to help you.
Listening and Speaking
1) Watch the video about Boris Bikes. What information does he give about the following
topics?

a- Driving in London
b- Public transport
c- Boris Bikes
d- Technology
e- Bike-sharing schemes
f- Cycling rules
g- Security precautions

2) Do you have a bike-sharing scheme in your city? What is it like? How does it work? Have
you ever used it? Do you like riding bicycles? Why (not)?