A new type of Concorde airplane is going to be built by Japan and France. Japanese and French airline industries have agreed to cooperate to develop the next-generation Concorde. The new plane will be faster and more fuel efficient than the original Concorde. Aviation experts say the French-Japanese combination is a good one. France has experience in the field of supersonic flight, while Japan has the technology to produce high speed jet engines. The deal between the two countries was signed at the Paris Air Show on June 15.

The finished product could be in the skies within ten years. The R&D stage of the project will take three years. Specialist teams will work on new materials needed for the physical stresses of supersonic travel. This is important because the Japanese side says it can make an engine that can fly at five times the speed of sound. It is believed the new airplane will carry 300 passengers and cut the flight time from New York to Tokyo to just six hours. Ticket prices will be sky high: a London-New York round trip Concorde ticket cost up to $20,000.

WARM-UPS

1. HALF THE TIME: Do you ever wish there were more hours in the day? Do you wish some things didn’t take up so much of your time? In pairs / groups, talk about the things in your everyday life that take too long. How could you cut in half the amount of time you spend on these things? What would you do with the time you saved?

These things may help your conversations:

Cooking and eating Studying Commuting / traveling Sleeping

Bathing / hair / cosmetics Working Housework Other

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Air travel / Concorde / supersonic airplanes / Japanese technology / Paris Air Show / Mach 5.5 / airline safety / New York / Tokyo / $20,000 plane tickets

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

3. FLYING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with flying. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

4. SUPERSONIC LIFE: Talk with your partner(s) about whether or not you want / need these timesaving things. Are they good or bad? Why?

1. A supersonic airplane that flies from London to Sydney in 47 minutes.
2. A microwave oven that can cook a whole chicken in 12.3 seconds.
3. A subway train that can move between two stations within 3 seconds.
4. A go-faster pen / keyboard that enables you to write / type twice your normal speed.
5. A power shower that showers, washes and dries your body in 5 seconds.
6. Stores without checkouts.
7. High speed movies – everybody talks and moves 30% faster than usual.
8. Turbo-banks – all your banking needs are finished inside one minute.

5. AIR TRAVEL: Which of these are most important when you fly?

Ticket price Direct flight / flight time Name of airline Flight attendant uniforms Availability of alcohol

Food Air miles Window or aisle seat In-flight movies and entertainment Legroom

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
 

a.	Japan and France will cooperate to build a supersonic airplane.	T / F
b.	The new airplane won’t be as fast as the original Concorde.	T / F
c.	Analysts say the French-Japanese mix won’t work.	T / F
d.	The deal was inked at the Paris Air Show.	T / F
e.	The finished product could be in the skies next year.	T / F
f.	Japan can build an engine with a top speed of 5,000 kph.	T / F
g.	The capacity of the new airliner will be 75 passengers.	T / F
h.	A round-trip London-New York Concorde ticket cost up to $20,000.	T / F

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

a.	built	phase
b.	cooperate	flying
c.	experts	work together
d.	deal	as much as
e.	signed	constructed
f.	in the skies	analysts
g.	stage	very expensive
h.	cut	inked
i.	sky high	reduce
j.	up to	agreement

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	have agreed to	flight
b.	faster and more	cooperate
c.	aviation	sky high
d.	in the field of supersonic	within ten years
e.	high speed jet	time
f.	the finished	experts
g.	could be in the skies	product
h.	five times the speed	fuel efficient
i.	cut the flight	engines
j.	ticket prices will be	of sound

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

Japan, France to develop super-Concorde

A new type of Concorde airplane is going to be ________ by Japan and France. Japanese and French airline ________ have agreed to cooperate to develop the next-________ Concorde. The new plane will be faster and more fuel ________ than the original Concorde. Aviation ________ say the French-Japanese combination is a good one. France has experience in the ________ of supersonic flight, while Japan has the technology to produce high speed ________ engines. The ________ between the two countries was signed at the Paris Air Show on June 15.		experts generation jet built efficient deal field industries
The finished ________ could be in the skies within ten years. The R&D ________ of the project will take three years. Specialist teams will work on new ________ needed for the physical ________ of supersonic travel. This is important because the Japanese side says it can make an engine that can fly at five times the speed of ________. It is believed the new airplane will carry 300 passengers and ________ the flight time from New York to Tokyo to just six hours. Ticket prices will be ________ high: a London-New York round ________ Concorde ticket cost up to $20,000.		stage sound sky product cut trip stresses materials

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘air’ and ‘travel’.

• 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 gap fill. 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. STUDENT CONCORDE SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Concorde and supersonic travel.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

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

type cooperate original field high speed Paris Air Show

skies teams stresses speed of sound flight time round trip

 DISCUSSION

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

1. What was your initial reaction to this headline?
2. What do you think of the idea of a new super-Concorde?
3. Do you think the world needs a supersonic airplane?
4. Would you like to travel on the very first flight?
5. Why do you think the French are so interested in supersonic flight?
6. What do you think of the old Concorde? Is it beautiful?
7. Would you like to travel at five times the speed of sound?
8. Do you like flying?
9. Do you think it’s all that important to cut flying time by half?
10. Do you think space flights will be possible soon?

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

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. Are you looking forward to seeing the new plane in the skies?
3. Do you think the new plane will make money?
4. How much extra would you pay to fly on a supersonic plane?
5. Do you think this new plane will be dangerous?
6. What improvements would you like to see made to regular airplanes?
7. Do you think current air ticket prices are sky high?
8. What image do you have of air travel fifty years from now?
9. People often say airplanes are the safest form of travel. Do you agree with this? Do you worry about airplane safety?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

FLYING: You have been asked by the airline industry to make recommendations on how to improve air travel. In pairs / groups, write down the biggest problem with each of the categories below. Decide on three suggestions for their improvement. Agree on and circle how serious the “present problem” is (1 = very serious).

CATEGORY	PRESENT PROBLEM	RECOMMENDATIONS
Food	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.
In-flight entertainment	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.
The seat	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.
Baggage	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.
Checking in	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.
Other	1    2    3    4    5	1.   2.   3.

Change partners and explain what you discussed with your previous partner(s). Give each other feedback on your ideas. Combine your ideas to make your recommendations even better (you have to agree on the three best recommendations).

Return to your original partners and discuss any changes you made.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Japan, France to develop super-Concorde

A new type of Concorde airplane is going __ __ _____ __ Japan and France. Japanese and French airline industries have agreed to _________ __ _______ the next-generation Concorde. The new plane will be faster and ____ ____ _________ than the original Concorde. Aviation experts say the French-Japanese combination is a good one. France has experience __ ___ _____ __ supersonic flight, while Japan has the technology to produce high speed jet engines. The deal
_______ ___ ___ _______ was signed at the Paris Air Show on June 15.

The finished product could be __ ___ _____ within ten years. The R&D stage of the project will take three years. __________ ______ will work on new materials needed for the _________ ________ of supersonic travel. This is important because the Japanese side says it can make an engine that can ___ __ ____ _____ the speed of sound. It is believed the new airplane will carry 300 passengers and ___ ___ ______ ____ from New York to Tokyo to just six hours. Ticket prices ____ __ ___ ____: a London-New York round trip Concorde ticket ____ __ __ $20,000.

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 more information on the new super-Concorde airplane. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. AIR TRAVEL: Write an essay on what you think the future will be like for air travel. Explain the main points of your essay to your classmates in your next lesson. Did everyone write about similar things?

4. A LETTER: Write a letter to the designers of the new supersonic airplane. Tell them the new features you would like to see in the super-Concorde. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all request similar features?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. F

c. F

d. T

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	built	constructed
b.	cooperate	work together
c.	experts	analysts
d.	deal	agreement
e.	signed	inked
f.	in the skies	flying
g.	stage	phase
h.	cut	reduce
i.	sky high	very expensive
j.	up to	as much as

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	have agreed to	cooperate
b.	faster and more	fuel efficient
c.	aviation	experts
d.	in the field of supersonic	flight
e.	high speed jet	engines
f.	the finished	product
g.	could be in the skies	within ten years
h.	five times the speed	of sound
i.	cut the flight	time
j.	ticket prices will be	sky high

GAP FILL:

Japan, France to develop super-Concorde

A new type of Concorde airplane is going to be built by Japan and France. Japanese and French airline industries have agreed to cooperate to develop the next-generation Concorde. The new plane will be faster and more fuel efficient than the original Concorde. Aviation experts say the French-Japanese combination is a good one. France has experience in the field of supersonic flight, while Japan has the technology to produce high speed jet engines. The deal between the two countries was signed at the Paris Air Show on June 15.

The finished product could be in the skies within ten years. The R&D stage of the project will take three years. Specialist teams will work on new materials needed for the physical stresses of supersonic travel. This is important because the Japanese side says it can make an engine that can fly at five times the speed of sound. It is believed the new airplane will carry 300 passengers and cut the flight time from New York to Tokyo to just six hours. Ticket prices will be sky high: a London-New York round trip Concorde ticket cost up to $20,000.

 

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