Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Car Ownership

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* 26-page lesson
(40 exercises)

* MP3 (UK male)

* MP3 (USA male)

* MP3 (20 questions)

* Dictation -
(10 sentences)

* Speed Reading
(100 - 300 wpm)

* Gap-fill

Owning a car costs $9,000 a year (18th April, 2013)

The AAA's report noted that the cost of owning a car depended on its size. Owners of small cars would probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car running, while 4WD owners would have to pay over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a longer time before buying a new one. "The length of time people keep cars has been going up for the past several years," he said. This is probably because of the global recession. People are putting off buying such an expensive item until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The quality of the cars is also improving."

Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/16/aaa-car-ownership-costs/2070397/
http://www.autoworldnews.com/articles/3694/20130416/cost-car-ownership-rises-9-000-year-average-up-two-percent-car-news.htm

WARM-UPS

1. OWNING A CAR: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about owning a car. Change partners often and share your findings.

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

the average car / cost of driving / fuel / maintenance / insurance / repairs / safety / small cars / 4WDs / global recession / expensive items / quality of cars / improving

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. CARS: How can companies make them better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Now	How to make things better
Price
Fuel efficiency
Seats
Colours
Music / TV
Speed

4. NO CARS: Students A strongly believe there will be no cars in the future; Students B strongly believe there will be more cars in the future. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

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5. CAR FEATURES: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the most important at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

colour
speed
air bags
music player

air con
ABS
GPS
4WD

6. AVERAGE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'average'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	The report on car ownership is from the Royal Automobile Club (RAC).	T / F
b.	The report looked at the costs of driving a car 23,000 km a year.	T / F
c.	The cost that increased most in the past year was maintenance.	T / F
d.	Americans pay (on average) over $1,000 a year on insurance.	T / F
e.	Owners of small cars averaged just over $5,000 in costs.	T / F
f.	People who drove 4WDs paid an average of more than $12,000 a year.	T / F
g.	People are keeping their cars for a shorter time than before.	T / F
h.	The average length of time people kept their car was 7 years.	T / F

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

1.	run	a.	contains
2.	rose	b.	delaying
3.	includes	c.	likely
4.	inspections	d.	maintain
5.	repair	e.	worldwide
6.	noted	f.	checks
7.	probably	g.	getting better
8.	global	h.	went up
9.	putting off	i.	fixing
10.	improving	j.	mentioned

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

1.	costs over $9,000 a year	a.	and safety inspections
2.	This cost includes	b.	their car
3.	things like oil changes, new air filters,	c.	for insurance
4.	The second largest increase was	d.	guzzlers
5.	insure	e.	fuel
6.	the cost of owning a car	f.	recession
7.	gas	g.	to own and run
8.	people were keeping their car	h.	also improving
9.	global	i.	depended on its size
10.	The quality of the cars is	j.	for a longer time

GAP FILL

A new report from the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the (1) ____________ car costs over $9,000 a year to own and run. The AAA said that on average, the (2) ___________ of driving 23,000 km a year rose (3) ____________ two per cent last year. This cost includes fuel, maintenance, insurance and (4) ____________. The report says the biggest increase in costs was for maintaining the car – things like oil changes, new air filters, and (5) ____________ inspections. AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets (6) ____________, you tend to encounter more significant repair costs." The second largest increase was for (7) ____________. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to (8) ____________ their car.

safety
around
insurance
average
insure
older
cost
repairs

The AAA's report noted that the cost of owning a car (9) ____________ on its size. Owners of small cars would (10) ____________ spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car running, while 4WD owners would have to (11) ____________ over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were (12) ____________ their car for a longer time before buying a new one. "The (13) ____________ of time people keep cars has been going up for the past (14) ____________ years," he said. This is probably because of the global recession. People are (15) ____________ off buying such an expensive item until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The (16) ____________ of the cars is also improving."

length
putting
depended
quality
pay
several
probably
keeping

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	the average car costs over $9,000 a year ______
	a. to own and run b. town and run c. two own and run d. to own an drum
2)	This cost includes fuel, maintenance, ______
	a. insurance for repairs b. insurance and repair c. insurance to repair d. insurance and repairs
3)	things like oil changes, new air filters, ______
	a. and safety inspection b. and safety inspections c. and safety inspecting d. and safe inspection
4)	As a vehicle gets older, you tend to encounter more ______
	a. significance repair costs b. significant repairs costs c. significant repair costs d. significant repair cost
5)	Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to ______
	a. insure their car b. ensure their car c. insure their cars d. ensure their cars
6)	The AAA's report noted that the cost of owning a car ______
	a. depended in its size b. depended on its size c. depended an its size d. depended by its size
7)	4WD owners would have to pay over $12,000 a year ______
	a. for their gas guzzlers b. for their gas guzzles c. for their gas guzzling d. for their gas guzzler
8)	The ______ people keep cars has been going up for the past several years
	a. long of time b. longest of time c. length of time d. lengths of time
9)	People are ______ such an expensive item until the economy improves
	a. put tin off buying b. putting off buy in c. put in off buying d. putting off buying
10)	The average age of the vehicle on the road ______
	a. now is 11.11 years b. now is 10.1 years c. now is 10.11 years d. now is 11.1 years

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

(1) _______________________ American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the average car costs over $9,000 (2) ______________________. The AAA said that on average, the cost of driving 23,000 km a year rose around two per cent last year. (3) _______________________, maintenance, insurance and repairs. The report says the biggest increase in costs was (4) _______________________ – things like oil changes, new air filters, and safety inspections. AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets older, (5) _______________________ more significant repair costs." The second largest increase was for insurance. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a (6) _______________________.

The AAA's report noted that the cost of owning (7) ____________________ size. Owners of small cars would probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car running, (8) _______________________ have to pay over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a longer time (9) _______________________ one. "The length of time people keep cars has been going up for the past several years," he said. This is probably (10) _______________________ recession. People are putting off buying (11) _______________________ until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The (12) _______________________ improving."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What do the initials AAA mean?
2.	How much did the cost of running a car increase by last year?
3.	What was the biggest increase in costs last year?
4.	What did a man say happens when a car ages?
5.	Why is the amount $1,029 mentioned in the article?
6.	What does the cost of owning a car depend on?
7.	How much do people pay on average to run a 4WD?
8.	What are people doing for a longer time?
9.	When will people start buying more cars?
10.	How old is the average car on the road in the USA?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What do the initials AAA mean?	6.	What does the cost of owning a car depend on?
	a) American Association of Automobiles b) American Automobile Association c) Association of American Automobiles d) Automobile Association of America		a) size b) model c) how many seats it has d) speed
2.	How much did the cost of running a car increase by last year?	7.	How much do people pay on average to run a 4WD?
	a) $9,000 b) 23 c) a lot d) around 2%		a) over $7,000 b) over $9,000 c) over $12,000 d) over $23,000
3.	What was the biggest increase in costs last year?	8.	What are people doing for a longer time?
	a) insurance b) fuel c) maintenance d) repairs		a) keeping their cars b) driving c) fixing their cars d) looking for cheaper insurance
4.	What did a man say happens when a car ages?	9.	When will people start buying more cars?
	a) you have to pay more in repairs b) it drives better c) you need to change the oil filter d) insurance becomes more expensive		a) when the prices come down b) if fuel costs fall c) when there are more eco-friendly cars d) when the economy improves
5.	Why is the amount $1,029 mentioned in the article?	10.	How old is the average car on the road in the USA?
	a) it's how much cars went up in price b) it's the average Americans pay for insurance c) that's the cost of a safety inspection d) the average repair bill		a) 9.9 years b) 12.2 years c) 11.1 years d) 13.13 years

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Car owner

You are tired of spending money on your car. Tell the others three reasons why. You think everything should be cheaper – insurance, fuel, repair costs, etc. You also think your city should cut down traffic jams and make more parking spaces.

Role B – Repair shop owner

You are tired of people complaining about the cost of repairs. Tell the others three reasons why. You make almost no profit on repairing cars. Spare parts, oil, labour, etc. are all expensive. Tell everyone car repairs are good value for money.

Role C – Car maker CEO

You think cars are cheap. Tell the others three reasons why. You think that if people drove more carefully, their cars would last longer and insurance would go down. Also, people need to learn to make their own basic repairs. Car repair shops are very expensive.

Role D – Town planner

You think there are too many cars in towns. Tell the others three reasons why. You think there should be a limit on the size of cars – only small ones. You also think people should leave their cars at home instead of drive into towns. This will make the car last longer and reduce running costs.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

average

car

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:

new
23,000
includes
oil
older
$1,029

size
small
gas
length
economy
11.1

OWNING A CAR SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about owning a car 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

OWNING A CAR DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'car'?
c)	Is having a car good value for money?
d)	What would life be like without cars?
e)	Is it cheaper to use public transport for a year than running a car?
f)	Why do people love their cars so much?
g)	What do you think of the cost of car insurance?
h)	Do you think the cost of running cars will be cheaper in the future?
i)	Is insurance a waste of money?
j)	What are the best and worst things about cars?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Should we ban big cars?
c)	Why do people who live in cities buy 4WDs?
d)	What's your favourite car (and why)?
e)	What could you buy for $7,000 a year if you didn't have to run a car?
f)	Why do some people change their cars every few years?
g)	Is a car a luxury or a necessity?
h)	How can we reduce the number of cars on the road?
i)	What things must you have in a car?
j)	What questions would you like to ask AAA manager Michael Calkins?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE - LANGUAGE

A new (d) ____ from the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the average car costs over $9,000 a year to own and (2) ____. The AAA said that on average, the cost of driving 23,000 km a year (3) ____ around two per cent last year. This cost includes fuel, maintenance, insurance and repairs. The report says the biggest increase in costs was for (4) ____ the car – things like oil changes, new air filters, and (5) ____ inspections. AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets older, you tend to encounter more significant repair costs." The second largest increase was for insurance. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to (6) ____ their car.

The AAA's report noted that the cost of (7) ____ a car depended on its size. Owners of small cars would probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car (8) ____, while 4WD owners would have to pay over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a (9) ____ time before buying a new one. "The length of time people keep cars has been going up for the (10) ____ several years," he said. This is probably because of the global recession. People are putting (11) ____ buying such an expensive item until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The quality of the cars (12) ____ also improving."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	reported	(b)	reporter	(c)	reports	(d)	report
2.	(a)	speed	(b)	pay	(c)	time	(d)	run
3.	(a)	set	(b)	rose	(c)	shone	(d)	lit
4.	(a)	maintenance	(b)	maintain	(c)	maintaining	(d)	maintains
5.	(a)	safety	(b)	safe	(c)	safest	(d)	safely
6.	(a)	insure	(b)	ensure	(c)	reassure	(d)	pressure
7.	(a)	owner	(b)	owners	(c)	owns	(d)	owning
8.	(a)	running	(b)	runners	(c)	ruined	(d)	ruining
9.	(a)	length	(b)	longer	(c)	longing	(d)	longish
10.	(a)	passed	(b)	lasted	(c)	past	(d)	lasts
11.	(a)	on	(b)	up	(c)	off	(d)	down
12.	(a)	do	(b)	is	(c)	have	(d)	are

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	American Automobile sointiAosca
2.	atecmennnia, insurance and repairs
3.	eftsya inspections
4.	you tend to crnnetoeu more
5.	tnicifnisag repair costs
6.	niseru their car
Paragraph 2
7.	ddepnede on
8.	blapbyro spend around $7,000
9.	egnlht of time
10.	global eiseorscn
11.	until the onmcyeo improves
12.	The iutlyaq of the cars

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	repairs. The report says the biggest increase in costs was for maintaining the car – things like oil changes,
( )	age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The quality of the cars is also improving."
( )	new air filters, and safety inspections. AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets older, you tend
( )	of small cars would probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car running, while 4WD owners would have to
( )	The AAA's report noted that the cost of owning a car depended on its size. Owners
( )	costs over $9,000 a year to own and run. The AAA said that on average, the cost of driving 23,000 km
( )	a year rose around two per cent last year. This cost includes fuel, maintenance, insurance and
( 1 )	A new report from the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the average car
( )	keeping their car for a longer time before buying a new one. "The length of time people keep cars has
( )	been going up for the past several years," he said. This is probably because of the global recession. People are
( )	to encounter more significant repair costs." The second largest increase
( )	putting off buying such an expensive item until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average
( )	pay over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were
( )	was for insurance. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to insure their car.

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	car to average year $9,000 The a over costs own.
2.	2%. a driving 23,000 km of around cost rose The year
3.	biggest increase in costs was for maintaining the car The.
4.	You significant tend repair to costs encounter more.
5.	of average an pay Americans year a $1,029.
6.	of owning a car depended on its size The cost.
7.	to $7,000 running year car a around their Spend keep.
8.	were car longer People their a keeping for time.
9.	an putting such item are buying expensive People off.
10.	of improving the cars The is quality also.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A new report from the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that the average car costs / cost over $9,000 a year to own and ran / run. The AAA said that on / in average, the cost of driving 23,000 km a year rise / rose around two per cent last year. This costs / cost includes fuel, maintenance, insurance and repairs. The report says the biggest increase on / in costs was for maintaining the car – things / thing like oil changes, new air filters, and safety / safely inspections. AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets older, you tend / mend to encounter more significant repair costs." The second largest increase was for insurance. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to ensure / insure their car.

The AAA's report noted / noting that the cost of owning a car depended of / on its size. Owners of small cars would probable / probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car runs / running, while 4WD owners would have to pay over $12,000 a year for their / them gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a length / longer time before buying a new one. "The length of time people keep cars has been gone / going up for the past several years," he said. This is probably because of the globally / global recession. People are putting off buying such an expensive item until the economy improvement / improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years.…The quality of the cars are / is also improving."

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)

_ n_w r_p_rt fr_m th_ _m_r_c_n __t_m_b_l_ _ss_c__t__n (___) s_ys th_t th_ _v_r_g_ c_r c_sts _v_r $9,000 _ y__r t_ _wn _nd r_n. Th_ ___ s__d th_t _n _v_r_g_, th_ c_st _f dr_v_ng 23,000 km _ y__r r_s_ _r__nd tw_ p_r c_nt l_st y__r. Th_s c_st _ncl_d_s f__l, m__nt_n_nc_, _ns_r_nc_ _nd r_p__rs. Th_ r_p_rt s_ys th_ b_gg_st _ncr__s_ _n c_sts w_s f_r m__nt__n_ng th_ c_r – th_ngs l_k_ __l ch_ng_s, n_w __r f_lt_rs, _nd s_f_ty _nsp_ct__ns. ___ m_n_g_r M_ch__l C_lk_ns s__d: "_s _ v_h_cl_ g_ts _ld_r, y__ t_nd t_ _nc__nt_r m_r_ s_gn_f_c_nt r_p__r c_sts." Th_ s_c_nd l_rg_st _ncr__s_ w_s f_r _ns_r_nc_. _m_r_c_ns p_y _n _v_r_g_ _f $1,029 _ y__r t_ _ns_r_ th__r c_r.

Th_ ___'s r_p_rt n_t_d th_t th_ c_st _f _wn_ng _ c_r d_p_nd_d _n _ts s_z_. _wn_rs _f sm_ll c_rs w__ld pr_b_bly sp_nd _r__nd $7,000 _ y__r t_ k__p th__r c_r r_nn_ng, wh_l_ 4WD _wn_rs w__ld h_v_ t_ p_y _v_r $12,000 _ y__r f_r th__r g_s g_zzl_rs. Mr C_lk_ns _ls_ s__d th_t p__pl_ w_r_ k__p_ng th__r c_r f_r _ l_ng_r t_m_ b_f_r_ b_y_ng _ n_w _n_. "Th_ l_ngth _f t_m_ p__pl_ k__p c_rs h_s b__n g__ng _p f_r th_ p_st s_v_r_l y__rs," h_ s__d. Th_s _s pr_b_bly b_c__s_ _f th_ gl_b_l r_c_ss__n. P__pl_ _r_ p_tt_ng _ff b_y_ng s_ch _n _xp_ns_v_ _t_m _nt_l th_ _c_n_my _mpr_v_s. C_lk_ns _dd_d: "Th_ _v_r_g_ _g_ _f th_ v_h_cl_ _n th_ r__d n_w _s 11.1 y__rs.…Th_ q__l_ty _f th_ c_rs _s _ls_ _mpr_v_ng."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a new report from the american automobile association (aaa) says that the average car costs over $9000 a year to own and run the aaa said that on average the cost of driving 23000 km a year rose around two per cent last year this cost includes fuel maintenance insurance and repairs the report says the biggest increase in costs was for maintaining the car – things like oil changes new air filters and safety inspections aaa manager michael calkins said "as a vehicle gets older you tend to encounter more significant repair costs" the second largest increase was for insurance americans pay an average of $1029 a year to insure their car

the aaa's report noted that the cost of owning a car depended on its size owners of small cars would probably spend around $7000 a year to keep their car running while 4wd owners would have to pay over $12000 a year for their gas guzzlers mr calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a longer time before buying a new one "the length of time people keep cars has been going up for the past several years" he said this is probably because of the global recession people are putting off buying such an expensive item until the economy improves calkins added "the average age of the vehicle on the road now is 111 years…the quality of the cars is also improving"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

AnewreportfromtheAmericanAutomobileAssociation(AAA)saysthattheaverage
carcostsover$9,000ayeartoownandrun.TheAAAsaidthatonaverage,thecostof
driving23,000kmayearrosearoundtwopercentlastyear.Thiscostincludesfuel,
maintenance,insuranceandrepairs.Thereportsaysthebiggestincreaseincosts
wasformaintainingthecar–thingslikeoilchanges,newairfilters,andsafety
inspections.AAAmanagerMichaelCalkinssaid:"Asavehiclegetsolder,youtendto
encountermoresignificantrepaircosts."Thesecondlargestincreasewasfor
insurance.Americanspayanaverageof$1,029ayeartoinsuretheircar.TheAAA's
reportnotedthatthecostofowningacardependedonitssize.Ownersofsmallcars
wouldprobablyspendaround$7,000ayeartokeeptheircarrunning,while4WD
ownerswouldhavetopayover$12,000ayearfortheirgasguzzlers.MrCalkinsalso
saidthatpeoplewerekeepingtheircarforalongertimebeforebuyinganewone."The
lengthoftimepeoplekeepcarshasbeengoingupforthepastseveralyears,"hesaid.
Thisisprobablybecauseoftheglobalrecession.Peopleareputtingoffbuyingsuch
anexpensiveitemuntiltheeconomyimproves.Calkinsadded:"Theaverageage
ofthevehicleontheroadnowis11.1years.…Thequalityofthecarsisalsoimproving."

FREE WRITING

Write about owning a car for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

The world would be a better place without cars. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 owning a car. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. OWNING A CAR: Make a poster about the costs of owning a car. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. CARS: Write a magazine article about cars. Include imaginary interviews with people who love them and people who think they are a waste of money.

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 the owner of a car company. Ask him/her three questions about cars. Give him/her three of your opinions on them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	run	a.	maintain
2.	rose	b.	went up
3.	includes	c.	contains
4.	inspections	d.	checks
5.	repair	e.	fixing
6.	noted	f.	mentioned
7.	probably	g.	likely
8.	global	h.	worldwide
9.	putting off	i.	delaying
10.	improving	j.	getting better

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	American Automobile Association
2.	Two per cent
3.	Maintenance
4.	You have to pay more in repairs
5.	It's what Americans pay for insurance, on average.
6.	Its size
7.	Over $12,000
8.	Keeping their cars before buying a new one
9.	When the economy improves
10.	11.1 years old

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

10.

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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* Text Jumble

* Grammar gap-fill

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* Vowels

* Missing letters

* Initials only

* No letters

* Word pairs

* Missing words

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