The Reading / Listening - Fuel-Tankering - Level 3

An employee who works for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the company creating more CO2. The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who tells the truth about company secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use "fuel-tankering" to save money. However, fuel-tankering is very bad for the environment. Scientists say it adds to global warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes store extra fuel to get to their destination and back. This means the airline saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country instead of buying more expensive fuel at its destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the air each year as a large town.

A documentary about British Airways and fuel-tankering was shown on the BBC this week. In the documentary, the CEO of BA promised to look again at how it carries fuel. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the wrong thing to do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very small, but there is a big cost to the environment. A recent flight from London to Italy had three tons of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put into the atmosphere. Greenpeace said this was a "classic example of a company putting profit before planet". It said: "They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their profit margin."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Fuel-Tankering - Level 0 Fuel-Tankering - Level 1   or  Fuel-Tankering - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/11/ba-to-review-fuel-tankering-after-panorama-revelations
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-carbon-dioxide-panorama-fuel-tankering-greenhouse-gas-flights-a9195701.html
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50365362


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. AIRPLANES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about airplanes. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       employee / newspapers / whistleblower / truth / environment / airline / fuel / money /
       documentary / the wrong thing to do / flight / atmosphere / example / profit / planet
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. TWO FLIGHTS: Students A strongly believe we should only be allowed to fly twice a year to save the environment; Students B strongly believe this is wrong.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: How bad are these for the environment? What can we do about them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How Bad?

What We Can Do?

Flying    
Eating meat    
Plastic bags    
Logging    
Golf courses    
Cars    
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

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

  • Getting there
  • Airplane food
  • In-flight entertainment
  • The departure lounge
  • Airplanes
  • The service
  • Duty free
  • Airports

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      

1.

employee a. A company that provides a regular public service of air transportation to one or more places.
      

2.

unnamed b. A person who works for wages or salary.
      

3.

whistleblower c. Keep something somewhere for later use.
      

4.

truth d. Not identified by name.
      

5.

store e. The thing that is / things that are true.
      

6.

destination f. A person who shares information about a person or organization that is doing something bad or illegal.
      

7.

airline g. The place to which someone or something is going or being sent.

    Paragraph 2

      

8.

documentary h. A movie, or a television or radio program, that shows real events to provide a factual record or report.
      

9.

promised i. An increase or improvement.
      

10.

flight j. Said you would definitely do something you say you would do.
      

11.

cost k. A financial gain, especially the difference between the money received and the spent in offering something or producing something.
      

12.

atmosphere l. An act of flying; a journey made through the air or in space.
      

13.

profit m. An amount that has to be paid or spent to buy or obtain something.
      

14.

boost n. The area of gases around the earth or another planet.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. A British Airways worker told a TV station about fuel-tankering.     T / F
  2. A whistleblower is someone who tells secrets about a company.     T / F
  3. Airlines use fuel-tankering to save money on fuel.     T / F
  4. A large town puts twice as much CO2 into the air than fuel-tankering.     T / F
  5. The CEO of British Airways said fuel-tankering was maybe wrong.     T / F
  6. Fuel-tankering saves $500 on a flight from London to Italy.     T / F
  7. A flight from London to Italy puts 60kg of CO2 into the air.     T / F
  8. Greenpeace said airlines care more about profit than the planet.     T / F

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

  1. employee
  2. unnamed
  3. adds to
  4. store
  5. destination
  6. promised
  7. method
  8. extra
  9. pour
  10. boost
  1. vowed
  2. keep
  3. additional
  4. anonymous
  5. splash
  6. practice
  7. worker
  8. increases
  9. raise
  10. journey's end

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

  1. The unnamed
  2. fuel-tankering is very bad
  3. store extra fuel to get to their
  4. buying more expensive fuel
  5. puts as much CO2 in the air each
  6. there is a big cost
  7. three tons of extra
  8. an extra 600kg of CO2 was put
  9. pour extra fuel
  10. a small boost to their profit
  1. destination and back
  2. year as a large town
  3. into the atmosphere
  4. on the fire
  5. fuel
  6. margin
  7. at its destination
  8. to the environment
  9. for the environment
  10. person is a whistleblower

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
truth
adds
expensive
creating
destination
air
save
instead

An employee who works for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the company (1) ____________ more CO2. The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who tells the (2) ____________ about company secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use "fuel-tankering" to (3) ____________ money. However, fuel-tankering is very bad for the environment. Scientists say it (4) ____________ to global warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes store extra fuel to get to their (5) ____________ and back. This means the airline saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country (6) ____________ of buying more (7) ____________ fuel at its destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the (8) ____________ each year as a large town.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
promised
small
flight
documentary
pour
wrong
profit
cost

A (9) ____________ about British Airways and fuel-tankering was shown on the BBC this week. In the documentary, the CEO of BA (10) ____________ to look again at how it carries fuel. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the (11) ____________ thing to do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very (12) ____________, but there is a big (13) ____________ to the environment. A recent flight from London to Italy had three tons of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the (14) ____________ but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put into the atmosphere. Greenpeace said this was a "classic example of a company putting (15) ____________ before planet". It said: "They'll happily (16) ____________ extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their profit margin."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  has told newspapers about the company ______
     a.  create in more CO2
     b.  creative more CO2
     c.  created more CO2
     d.  creating more CO2
2)  The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who ______
     a.  tells the tooth
     b.  tells the true
     c.  tells the truth
     d.  tells the truly
3)  fuel-tankering is very bad for the environment. Scientists say it ______ warming
     a.  pads to global
     b.  adds to global
     c.  fads to global
     d.  lads to global
4)  in its home country instead of buying more expensive ______ destination
     a.  fuel at its
     b.  fewer at its
     c.  feel at its
     d.  foal at its
5)  Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the air each year as ______
     a.  allergy train
     b.  a large town
     c.  enlarge train
     d.  all urge town

6) the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the ______ do
     a.  wrong things to
     b.  wrong thingy to
     c.  wrong think to
     d.  wrong thing to
7)  for each flight is very small, but there is a big ______ environment
     a.  costly at the
     b.  cost to the
     c.  costed in the
     d.  costing as the
8) airline saved just $50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of CO2 ______ the atmosphere
     a.  was putt into
     b.  was butt into
     c.  was put into
     d.  was but into
9)  this was a classic example of a company putting ______
     a.  profit before planet
     b.  profitable before planet
     c.  profits before planet
     d.  profiteer before planet
10)  They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their ______
     a.  profit margarine
     b.  profit marginal
     c.  profit margin
     d.  profit emerging

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

An employee who works for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the (1) ___________________ CO2. The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who (2) ___________________ about company secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use "fuel-tankering" to save money. However, fuel-tankering is (3) ___________________ the environment. Scientists say it adds to global warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes (4) ___________________ to get to their destination and back. This means the airline saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country (5) ___________________ more expensive fuel at its destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the (6) ___________________ as a large town.

A documentary about British Airways and fuel-tankering (7) ___________________ the BBC this week. In the documentary, the CEO of BA promised to look again at how (8) ___________________. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the (9) ___________________ do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very small, but there is (10) ___________________ to the environment. A recent flight from London to Italy had three tons of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put (11) ___________________. Greenpeace said this was a "classic example of a company putting profit before planet". It said: "They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a (12) ___________________ their profit margin."

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the name of the British Airways whistleblower?
  2. What do airlines want to save by using fuel-tankering?
  3. What did the article say fuel-tankering is bad for?
  4. Where do airlines want to buy their fuel?
  5. What does fuel-tankering put as much CO2 into the air as?
  6. Who promised to look at how British Airways carries fuel?
  7. What did a CEO say was "maybe the wrong thing to do"?
  8. How much did a London-Italy flight save recently by fuel-tankering?
  9. How much extra CO2 does a fuel-tankered London-Italy flight create?
  10. What did Greenpeace say airlines wanted to boost?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is the name of the British Airways whistleblower?
a) Juanita
b) no one knows
c) Bob
d) Joseph Sato
2) What do airlines want to save by using fuel-tankering?
a) the planet
b) their image
c) time
d) money
3) What did the article say fuel-tankering is bad for?
a) airlines
b) passengers
c) the environment
d) profits
4) Where do airlines want to buy their fuel?
a) in their home country
b) at a gas station
c) in cheaper countries
d) British Petroleum

5) What does fuel-tankering put as much CO2 into the air as?
a) a small country
b) a large town
c) coal
d) fossil fuels

6) Who promised to look at how British Airways carries fuel?
a) its CEO
b) Greenpeace
c) the WHO
d) the government
7) What did a CEO say was "maybe the wrong thing to do"?
a) Making people pay a CO2 tax
b) short flights
c) fuel-tankering
d) flying
8) How much did a London-Italy flight save recently by fuel-tankering?
a) $50
b) $100
c) $150
d) $500
9) How much extra CO2 does a fuel-tankered London-Italy flight create?
a) 400kg
b) 700kg
c) 500kg
d) 600kg
10) What did Greenpeace say airlines wanted to boost?
a) the environment
b) their image
c) their profit margin
d) airplane speed

Role play

Role  A – Getting There
You think getting there is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, in-flight entertainment or the airport.
Role  B – Airplane Food
You think airplane food is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): getting there, in-flight entertainment or the airport.
Role  C – In-flight Entertainment
You think in-flight entertainment is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, getting there or the airport.
Role  D – The Airport
You think the airport is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, in-flight entertainment or getting there.

After reading / listening

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

'fuel'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'airline'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

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

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

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

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

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

    • newspapers
    • truth
    • use
    • adds
    • home
    • large
    • shown
    • promised
    • wrong
    • recent
    • classic
    • small

    Student survey

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

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

    Discussion - Fuel-Tankering

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'fuel'?
    3. What do you know about British Airways?
    4. What damage is CO2 doing to the earth?
    5. What do you think of 'fuel-tankering'?
    6. How bad is air travel for the environment?
    7. What do you think of flying?
    8. Should people only be allowed to fly twice a year?
    9. How much CO2 does your lifestyle create?
    10. How can flying be better for the environment?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'airplane'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of whistleblowers?
    5. What do you think of your country's airline?
    6. What should airlines do about fuel-tankering?
    7. What will flying be like in 50 years from now?
    8. What advice do you have for British Airways?
    9. Do companies care more about profits than nature?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the British Airways boss?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    An employee who (1) ____ for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the company creating more CO2. The (2) ____ person is a whistleblower - someone who tells the truth about company secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use "fuel-tankering" to (3) ____ money. However, fuel-tankering is very bad for the environment. Scientists say it adds to global warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes (4) ____ extra fuel to get to their destination and back. This means the airline saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country instead (5) ____ buying more expensive fuel at its destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the air each year (6) ____ a large town.

    A documentary about British Airways and fuel-tankering was (7) ____ on the BBC this week. In the documentary, the CEO of BA promised to look again at how it (8) ____ fuel. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the wrong thing to do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very small, but there is a big (9) ____ to the environment. A recent flight from London to Italy had three tons of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the (10) ____ but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put into the atmosphere. Greenpeace said this was a "(11) ____ example of a company putting profit before planet". It said: "They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small (12) ____ to their profit margin."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     works     (b)     workers     (c)     working     (d)     worker    
    2. (a)     unmanned     (b)     unnamed     (c)     unarmed     (d)     untamed    
    3. (a)     support     (b)     salvage     (c)     scrimp     (d)     save    
    4. (a)     drill     (b)     store     (c)     gasoline     (d)     fly    
    5. (a)     on     (b)     of     (c)     at     (d)     as    
    6. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     as     (d)     to    
    7. (a)     vision     (b)     view     (c)     shown     (d)     watched    
    8. (a)     ferries     (b)     scurries     (c)     carries     (d)     hurries    
    9. (a)     fuel     (b)     airplane     (c)     sky     (d)     cost    
    10. (a)     air     (b)     boarding     (c)     aisle     (d)     flight    
    11. (a)     classic     (b)     flight     (c)     save     (d)     fuel    
    12. (a)     baste     (b)     boast     (c)     boost     (d)     beast

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. An oleeyepm who works for British Airways
    2. aeirngct more CO2
    3. The umaennd person is a whistleblower
    4. bad for the ntonnrmevei
    5. get to their niisttndaeo and back
    6. buying more nxvspeeie fuel

    Paragraph 2

    1. A yemrdcutnoa about British Airways
    2. the fuel-tankering omedht
    3. saved just $50 on the lhgift
    4. CO2 was put into the perhtoaems
    5. a siaclsc example
    6. a small boost to their profit nragmi

    Put the text back together

    (...)  saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country instead of buying more expensive fuel at its
    (...)  small, but there is a big cost to the environment. A recent flight from London to Italy had three
    (...)  atmosphere. Greenpeace said this was a "classic example of a company putting profit
    1  ) An employee who works for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the company creating more
    (...)  warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes store extra fuel to get to their destination and back. This means the airline
    (...)  destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the air each year as a large town.
    (...)  before planet". It said: "They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their profit margin."
    (...)  secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use "fuel-tankering" to save
    (...)  A documentary about British Airways and fuel-tankering was shown on the BBC this week. In the
    (...)  documentary, the CEO of BA promised to look again at how it carries fuel. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering
    (...)  CO2. The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who tells the truth about company
    (...)  method and said it was "maybe the wrong thing to do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very
    (...)  tons of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put into the
    (...)  money. However, fuel-tankering is very bad for the environment. Scientists say it adds to global

    Put the words in the right order

    1. truth   about   the   tells   company   who   secrets   .   Someone
    2. However,   bad   is   for   the   fuel-tankering   environment   .   very
    3. to   fuel   get   to   extra   their   Store   destination   .
    4. destination   .   at   Buying   its   expensive   more   fuel
    5. in   as   Fuel-tankering   much   air   .   the   puts   CO2
    6. again   carries   at   how   it   fuel   .   Look
    7. maybe   was   thing   to   do   .   the   wrong   It
    8. is   a   environment   .   There   the   cost   big   to
    9. just   flight   .   $50   saved   airline   The   on   the
    10. happily   fuel   the   fire   .   on   They'll   extra   pour

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    An employee / employed who works for British Airways (BA) has told newspapers about the company creates / creating more CO2. The unnamed person is a whistleblower - someone who tells the true / truth about company secrets. The whistleblower said BA and many other airlines use / using "fuel-tankering" to save money. Although / However, fuel-tankering is very bad / worse for the environment. Scientists say it adds to global warming. Fuel-tankering is when airplanes storage / store extra fuel to get to their destination / destiny and back. This means the airline savings / saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country instead of buying more expensive fuel at its destination. Scientists say fuel-tankering puts as much CO2 in the air each / whole year as a large town.

    A documentary about British Airways and fuel-tankering was showed / shown on the BBC this week. In the documentary, the CEO of BA promise / promised to look again at how it carries / carrying fuel. He said the airline uses the fuel-tankering method and said it was "maybe the wrong thing for / to do". The money saved by fuel-tankering for each flight is very small, but there is a big cost to / at the environment. A recent / recently flight from London to Italy had three tons for / of extra fuel. The airline saved just $50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of CO2 was put / fueled into the atmosphere. Greenpeace said this was a "classic example to / of a company putting profit before planet". It said: "They'll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boast / boost to their profit margin."

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

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

    A n _m p l_y__ w h_ w_r k s f_r B r_t_s h A_r w_y s ( B A ) h_s t_l d n_w s p_p_r s _b__ t t h_ c_m p_n y c r__ t_n g m_r_ C O 2 . T h_ _n n_m_d p_r s_n _s _ w h_s t l_b l_w_r - s_m__ n_ w h_ t_l l s t h_ t r_t h _b__ t c_m p_n y s_c r_t s . T h_ w h_s t l_b l_w_r s__ d B A _n d m_n y _t h_r __ r l_n_s _s_ " f__ l - t_n k_r_n g " t_ s_v_ m_n_y . H_w_v_r , f__ l - t_n k_r_n g _s v_r y b_d f_r t h_ _n v_r_n m_n t . S c__ n t_s t s s_y _t _d d s t_ g l_b_l w_r m_n g . F__ l - t_n k_r_n g _s w h_n __ r p l_n_s s t_r_ _x t r_ f__ l t_ g_t t_ t h__ r d_s t_n_t__ n _n d b_c k . T h_s m__ n s t h_ __ r l_n_ s_v_s m_n_y b y p_y_n g f_r _l l t h_ f__ l _n _t s h_m_ c__ n t r y _n s t__ d _f b_y_n g m_r_ _x p_n s_v_ f__ l _t _t s d_s t_n_t__ n . S c__ n t_s t s s_y f__ l - t_n k_r_n g p_t s _s m_c h C O 2 _n t h_ __ r __ c h y__ r _s _ l_r g_ t_w n .

    A d_c_m_n t_r y _b__ t B r_t_s h A_r w_y s _n d f__ l - t_n k_r_n g w_s s h_w n _n t h_ B B C t h_s w__ k . I n t h_ d_c_m_n t_r y , t h_ C E O _f B A p r_m_s_d t_ l__ k _g__ n _t h_w _t c_r r__ s f__ l . H_ s__ d t h_ __ r l_n_ _s_s t h_ f__ l - t_n k_r_n g m_t h_d _n d s__ d _t w_s " m_y b_ t h_ w r_n g t h_n g t_ d_" . T h_ m_n_y s_v_d b y f__ l - t_n k_r_n g f_r __ c h f l_g h t _s v_r y s m_l l , b_t t h_r_ _s _ b_g c_s t t_ t h_ _n v_r_n m_n t . A r_c_n t f l_g h t f r_m L_n d_n t_ I t_l y h_d t h r__ t_n s _f _x t r_ f__ l . T h_ __ r l_n_ s_v_d j_s t $ 5 0 _n t h_ f l_g h t b_t _n _x t r_ 6 0 0 k g _f C O 2 w_s p_t _n t_ t h_ _t m_s p h_r_. G r__ n p__ c_ s__ d t h_s w_s _ " c l_s s_c _x_m p l_ _f _ c_m p_n y p_t t_n g p r_f_t b_f_r_ p l_n_t " . I t s__ d : " T h_y ' l l h_p p_l y p__ r _x t r_ f__ l _n t h_ f_r_ f_r _ s m_l l b__ s t t_ t h__ r p r_f_t m_r g_n . "

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    an employee who works for british airways ba has told newspapers about the company creating more co2 the unnamed person is a whistleblower  someone who tells the truth about company secrets the whistleblower said ba and many other airlines use fueltankering to save money however fueltankering is very bad for the environment scientists say it adds to global warming fueltankering is when airplanes store extra fuel to get to their destination and back this means the airline saves money by paying for all the fuel in its home country instead of buying more expensive fuel at its destination scientists say fueltankering puts as much co2 in the air each year as a large town

    a documentary about british airways and fueltankering was shown on the bbc this week in the documentary the ceo of ba promised to look again at how it carries fuel he said the airline uses the fueltankering method and said it was maybe the wrong thing to do the money saved by fueltankering for each flight is very small but there is a big cost to the environment a recent flight from london to italy had three tons of extra fuel the airline saved just 50 on the flight but an extra 600kg of co2 was put into the atmosphere greenpeace said this was a classic example of a company putting profit before planet it said theyll happily pour extra fuel on the fire for a small boost to their profit margin

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AnemployeewhoworksforBritishAirways(BA)hastoldnewspapersabo
    utthecompanycreatingmoreCO2.Theunnamedpersonisawhistleblo
    wer-someonewhotellsthetruthaboutcompanysecrets.Thewhistleblo
    wersaidBAandmanyotherairlinesuse"fuel-tankering"tosavemoney.
    However,fuel-tankeringisverybadfortheenvironment.Scientistssayi
    taddstoglobalwarming.Fuel-tankeringiswhenairplanesstoreextrafu
    eltogettotheirdestinationandback.Thismeanstheairlinesavesmoney
    bypayingforallthefuelinitshomecountryinsteadofbuyingmoreexpens
    ivefuelatitsdestination.Scientistssayfuel-tankeringputsasmuchCO
    2intheaireachyearasalargetown.AdocumentaryaboutBritishAirways
    andfuel-tankeringwasshownontheBBCthisweek.Inthedocumentar
    y,theCEOofBApromisedtolookagainathowitcarriesfuel.Hesaidtheairl
    ineusesthefuel-tankeringmethodandsaiditwas"maybethewrongt
    hingtodo".Themoneysavedbyfuel-tankeringforeachflightisverysm
    all,butthereisabigcosttotheenvironment.ArecentflightfromLondont
    oItalyhadthreetonsofextrafuel.Theairlinesavedjust$50ontheflightb
    utanextra600kgofCO2wasputintotheatmosphere.Greenpeacesaidt
    hiswasa"classicexampleofacompanyputtingprofitbeforeplanet".Itsa
    id:"They'llhappilypourextrafuelonthefireforasmallboosttotheirprofit
    margin."

    Free writing

    Write about fuel-tankering for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    People should only be able to take two flights a year. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. AIRPLANES: Make a poster about airplanes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. CO2: Write a magazine article about airlines paying for the CO2 they create. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on airplanes. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make them better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Also...

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

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

    Buy my book

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    Answers

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

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