The Reading / Listening - Cruise Ship - Level 3

The largest cruise ship ever made has set sail. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has room for 6,988 guests. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is the newest addition to the ships owned by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on its maiden voyage last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of the Caribbean islands. A company official spoke about his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class features after a six-year-long process." He said the company's expertise and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something truly awe-inspiring".

It took a shipyard in France three years to build the enormous ship. It is an impressive vessel. It weighs 237,000 tons, and is as long as the Empire State Building is high. It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft carrier ever built and 306 meters* longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph faster. The new cruise ship has eight different "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different experiences. One is called Central Park, which is filled with over 10,000 real plants. Facilities include 20 restaurants, four swimming pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball court, an ice-skating rink, a surf simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre rock-climbing walls.

* Error: This should be 93 meters.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Cruise Ship - Level 0,  Cruise Ship - Level 1   or  Cruise Ship - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-largest-ship-wonder-of-the-seas-delivered/index.html
  • https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2022/02/22/wonder-of-the-seas-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-to-sail-with-passengers-for-first-time/
  • https://www.cruisehive.com/the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-arrives-in-the-us-for-the-first-time/66343


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. CRUISE SHIPS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about cruise ships. 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?
       cruise ship / set sail / guests / voyage / passenger / Caribbean / the world / feedback
       shipyard / impressive / vessel / aircraft carrier / experiences / water park / basketball
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CRUISE: Students A strongly believe a cruise is more fun than a luxury train journey; Students B strongly believe a train journey is better. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SHIPS: What do you know about these ships (and boats)? What would it be like to work on them?  Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

Working on the Ship

Cruise ship

 

 

Oil tanker

 

 

Aircraft carrier

 

 

Container ship

 

 

Fishing boat

 

 

Rescue boat

 

 
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. GUEST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "guest". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. CRUISE: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to do on a cruise at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Sunbathe
  • Meet other guests
  • Sightsee
  • Meet the captain
  • Eat
  • Fish
  • Swim
  • Read

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. set sail a. A traveller on a ship, train, or in a taxi, car, bus, etc. but not the driver, pilot, or crew.
      2. deck b. A feeling of being amazed by something impressive or frightening.
      3. addition c. When a boat or ship starts its journey (trip).
      4. voyage d. A floor of a ship that stretches for the full length of the ship.
      5. passenger e. A long journey (trip) by sea or in space
      6. expertise f. Great, great skill or knowledge in a particular field.
      7. awe-inspiring g. A person or thing added or joined.

    Paragraph 2

      8. enormous h. A place or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose.
      9. impressive i. A living (green) thing like a tree, shrub, herb, grass, fern, or moss.
      10. vessel j. A district or community.
      11. neighbourhood k. Very, very big.
      12. plant l. A machine designed to provide a realistic copy of the controls and operation of an airplane or other complex system.
      13. facility m. Creating admiration through size, quality, or skill.
      14. simulator n. A ship or large boat.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The cruise ship in the story is over 360 metres long.     T / F
  2. The name of the company that owns the ship is Caribbean Royal.     T / F
  3. The ship is heading to Florida as its first destination.     T / F
  4. Feedback from guests allowed the company to make a better ship.     T / F
  5. It took three years to build the cruise ship.     T / F
  6. The cruise ship is 30 metres longer than the Titanic.     T / F
  7. There is an area on the ship called Central Park that has 10,000 parks.    T / F
  8. The ship has 13 rock-climbing walls.     T / F

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

  1. addition
  2. voyage
  3. features
  4. expertise
  5. awe-inspiring
  6. enormous
  7. vessel
  8. built
  9. include
  10. theatre
  1. huge
  2. ship or boat
  3. breathtaking
  4. journey
  5. comprise
  6. inclusion
  7. cinema
  8. skill
  9. constructed
  10. attractions

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

  1. The largest cruise ship ever made has
  2. It is the newest addition
  3. It set off on its maiden
  4. world-
  5. the company could create something
  6. It took a shipyard in France three years
  7. It weighs 237,000
  8. the longest aircraft
  9. an ice-skating
  10. two 13-metre rock-climbing
  1. carrier ever built
  2. class features
  3. truly awe-inspiring
  4. tons
  5. rink
  6. to the ships
  7. walls
  8. voyage last week
  9. to build the enormous ship
  10. set sail

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
introduce
voyage
room
truly
cruise
set
process
addition

The largest cruise ship ever made has (1) _____________________ sail. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has (2) _____________________ for 6,988 guests. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is the newest (3) _____________________ to the ships owned by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on its maiden (4) _____________________ last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The lucky passengers will enjoy a (5) _____________________ of the Caribbean islands. A company official spoke about his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excited to (6) _____________________ guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class features after a six-year-long (7) _____________________." He said the company's expertise and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something (8) _____________________ awe-inspiring".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
plants
built
enormous
court
weighs
experiences
rink
faster

It took a shipyard in France three years to build the (9) _____________________ ship. It is an impressive vessel. It (10) _____________________ 237,000 tons, and is as long as the Empire State Building is high. It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft carrier ever (11) _____________________ and 306 metres longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph (12) _____________________. The new cruise ship has eight different "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different (13) _____________________. One is called Central Park, which is filled with over 10,000 real (14) _____________________. Facilities include 20 restaurants, four swimming pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball (15) _____________________, an ice-skating (16) _____________________, a surf simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre rock-climbing walls.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) The largest cruise ship ever made ______
     a.  has let sail
     b.  has set sail
     c.  has bet sail
     d.  has met sail
2)  The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has room ______
     a.  for 6,988 guest
     b.  for 6,988 gusts
     c.  for 6,988 jests
     d.  for 6,988 guests
3)  The lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of ______
     a.  the Caribbean island
     b.  the Caribbean islands
     c.  a Caribbean islands
     d.  those Caribbean islands
4)  the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class features after a six-______
     a.  year-long process
     b.  years-long process
     c.  year-longer process
     d.  year-long processes
5)  feedback from guests meant the company could create something ______
     a.  truly awe-inspiring
     b.  truly or-inspiring
     c.  truly yore-inspiring
     d.  true leer-inspiring

6)  It took a shipyard in France three years to build ______
     a.  the enormous shipped
     b.  the enormous ships
     c.  the enormous shipper
     d.  the enormous ship
7)  It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft ______
     a.  carrier ever build
     b.  carrion ever built
     c.  carry ya ever built
     d.  carrier ever built
8)  These are areas of the ship that will give ______
     a.  guests different experience
     b.  guests different experiences
     c.  guests difference experiences
     d.  guests differ rent experiences
9)  One is called Central Park, which is filled with over ______
     a.  10,000 real pants
     b.  10,000 real plants
     c.  10,000 real pliant
     d.  10,000 real pranks
10)  four swimming pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball court, an ______
     a.  ice-skating link
     b.  ice-skating drink
     c.  ice-skating rink
     d.  ice-skating brink

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The largest cruise ship ever made (1) ____________________. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has room for 6,988 guests. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is (2) ____________________ to the ships owned by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on (3) ____________________ last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of the Caribbean islands. A (4) ____________________ about his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its (5) ____________________ after a six-year-long process." He said the company's expertise and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something (6) ____________________".

It took a shipyard in France three years to build (7) ____________________. It is an impressive vessel. It weighs 237,000 tons, and is as long as the Empire State Building is high. It is 30 metres longer than (8) ____________________ carrier ever built and 306 metres longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph faster. The new cruise ship (9) ____________________ "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different experiences. One is called Central Park, which is (10) ____________________ 10,000 real plants. Facilities include 20 restaurants, four swimming pools, a children's water park, (11) ____________________ basketball court, an ice-skating rink, a surf simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre (12) ____________________.

Comprehension questions

  1. How long is the cruise ship?
  2. What's the name of the cruise ship?
  3. Where are the passengers going on a cruise?
  4. Who did a company official talk to?
  5. What did a spokesperson say the company wanted to create?
  6. How long did it take to build the ship?
  7. How much longer than the Titanic is the cruise ship?
  8. How many different "neighbourhoods" does the ship have?
  9. How many plants are there on an area of the ship called Central Park?
  10. How many people can sit in the ship's cinema?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How long is the cruise ship?
a) 360 metres
b) 262 metres
c) 326 metres
d) 362 metres
2) What's the name of the cruise ship?
a) Seas of Wonder
b) Wonder of the Seas
c) Wonder Seas
d) Wonderful Seas
3) Where are the passengers going on a cruise?
a) the River Nile
b) Florida
c) Tahiti
d) Caribbean islands
4) Who did a company official talk to?
a) Booking.com
b) passengers
c) CNN Travel
d) the ship's captain
5) What did a spokesperson say the company wanted to create?
a) an unbeatable ship
b) perfect memories
c) the best company in the world
d) something truly awe-inspiring

6) How long did it take to build the ship?
a) 8 years
b) 2 years
c) 3 years
d) 5 years
7) How much longer than the Titanic is the cruise ship?
a) 30 metres
b) 300 metres
c) 13 metres
d) 3 metres
8) How many different "neighbourhoods" does the ship have?
a) 6
b) 10
c) 8
d) 5
9) How many plants are there on an area of the ship called Central Park?
a) over 50,000
b) over 1,000
c) over 10,000
d) over 20,000
10) How many people can sit in the ship's cinema?
a) 1,400
b) 1,600
c) 1,200
d) 1,800

Role play

Role  A – Sunbathe
You think sunbathing is the best thing to do on a cruise. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most boring of these (and why): meeting other guests, swimming or reading.

Role  B – Meet Other Guests
You think meeting other guests is the best thing to do on a cruise. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most boring of these (and why): sunbathing, swimming or reading.

Role  C – Swim
You think swimming is the best thing to do on a cruise. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most boring of these (and why): meeting other guests, sunbathing or reading.

Role  D – Read
You think reading is the best thing to do on a cruise. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most boring of these (and why): meeting other guests, swimming or sunbathing.

After reading / listening

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

'cruise'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'ship'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • 18
    • maiden
    • enjoy
    • official
    • six
    • truly
    • three
    • 30
    • 1.8
    • eight
    • 20
    • 1,400

    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 - Cruise Ship

    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 'cruise'?
    3. What do you think of the idea of a cruise?
    4. Where would you like to go on a cruise?
    5. What would you do on a cruise ship for two weeks?
    6. Would you like to be on a ship with nearly 7,000 other people?
    7. What do you think of a Caribbean cruise?
    8. How environmentally friendly are cruise ships?
    9. Do you think the Wonder of the Seas is a wonder?
    10. How 'awe-inspiring' is this ship?

    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 'ship'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What are the good and bad things about cruises?
    5. Can you imagine how big this ship is?
    6. How much fun do you think a cruise on this ship would be?
    7. What do you think of the facilities on the ship?
    8. Should all cruise ships use electric engines?
    9. What do you think of the movie 'Titanic'?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the ship's captain?

    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)

    The largest cruise ship ever made has (1) ____ sail. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has room for 6,988 (2) ____. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is the newest addition to the ships owned by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on its (3) ____ voyage last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of the Caribbean islands. A company official spoke (4) ____ his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class (5) ____ after a six-year-long process." He said the company's expertise and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something truly (6) ____-inspiring".

    It took a shipyard in France three years to build the enormous ship. It is an impressive (7) ____. It weighs 237,000 tons, and is as long as the Empire State Building is high. It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft carrier ever (8) ____ and 306 metres longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph faster. The new cruise ship has eight (9) ____ "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different experiences. One is called Central Park, which is (10) ____ with over 10,000 real plants. Facilities include 20 restaurants, four swimming pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball (11) ____, an ice-skating (12) ____, a surf simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre rock-climbing walls.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     net     (b)     met     (c)     let     (d)     set    
    2. (a)     jets     (b)     gusts     (c)     jests     (d)     guests    
    3. (a)     maid     (b)     maiden     (c)     made     (d)     making    
    4. (a)     at     (b)     about     (c)     around     (d)     in    
    5. (a)     features     (b)     feats     (c)     futures     (d)     fractures    
    6. (a)     awe     (b)     awl     (c)     owl     (d)     or    
    7. (a)     dinghy     (b)     yacht     (c)     speedboat     (d)     vessel    
    8. (a)     built     (b)     builds     (c)     building     (d)     builder    
    9. (a)     difference     (b)     different     (c)     differ     (d)     differs    
    10. (a)     failed     (b)     filed     (c)     filled     (d)     foliage    
    11. (a)     pitch     (b)     field     (c)     court     (d)     ground    
    12. (a)     link     (b)     rink     (c)     dink     (d)     sink

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. the newest daodiint to the ships
    2. It set off on its maiden vyeaog
    3. its world-class faeurste
    4. after a six-year-long orsepsc
    5. the company's seetepirx
    6. create something truly awe-pinngsrii

    Paragraph 2

    1. build the noerosum ship
    2. It is an impressive sesevl
    3. the longest aircraft cirraer ever built
    4. eight different gsonodoeuhbihr
    5. eicsialift include 20 restaurants
    6. a surf suiomltra

    Put the text back together

    (...)  rink, a surf simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre rock-climbing walls.
    (...)  experiences. One is called Central Park, which is filled with over 10,000 real plants. Facilities
    (...)  It took a shipyard in France three years to build the enormous ship. It is an impressive vessel. It weighs
    (...)  237,000 tons, and is as long as the Empire State Building is high. It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft
    (...)  by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on its maiden voyage last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The lucky
    (  1  ) The largest cruise ship ever made has set sail. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has room
    (...)  and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something truly awe-inspiring".
    (...)  passengers will enjoy a cruise of the Caribbean islands. A company official spoke
    (...)  for 6,988 guests. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is the newest addition to the ships owned
    (...)  about his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-
    (...)  ship has eight different "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different
    (...)  carrier ever built and 306 metres longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph faster. The new cruise
    (...)  include 20 restaurants, four swimming pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball court, an ice-skating
    (...)  class features after a six-year-long process." He said the company's expertise

    Put the words in the right order

    largest   cruise   The   set   ship   made   ever   sail   .
    the   the   is   newest   ships   .   addition   to   It
    Set   its   on   maiden   last   off   voyage   week   .
    guests   to   world   .   across   We're   the   introduce   excited
    something   The   awe-inspiring   .   could   truly   company   create
    in   a   It   France   took   years   .   shipyard   three
    aircraft   built   .   carrier   Longer   ever   the   than   longest
    neighbourhoods   .   has   ship   eight   cruise   new   The   different
    real   over   10,000   is   with   plants   .   It   filled
    include   four   and   restaurants   20   pools   .   The   facilities   swimming

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The largest cruise ship ever made / make has set sail. The ship is 362 metres long, has 18 decks, and has cabin / room for 6,988 guests. Its name is Wonder of the Seas. It is the newest addition / add to the ships owned by the company Royal Caribbean. It set off on its maiden / made voyage last week from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The luckless / lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of the Caribbean islands. A company official speak / spoke about his excitement to CNN Travel. He said: "We're excitement / excited to introduce guests across the world to Wonder of the Seas and its world-class futures / features after a six-year-long process." He said the company's expertise / expats and feedback from guests meant the company could "create something truly / truth awe-inspiring".

    It took a shipyard in France three years to build / built the enormous ship. It is an impressive vessel. It weight / weighs 237,000 tons, and is as length / long as the Empire State Building is high / height. It is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft car / carrier ever built and 306 metres longer than the Titanic. Surprisingly, the Titanic was 1.8kph faster. The new cruise ship has eight difference / different "neighbourhoods". These are areas of the ship that will give guests different experiences. One is / be called Central Park, which is filled with over / more 10,000 real plants. Facilities include 20 restaurants, four swimming pails / pools, a children's water park, a full-size basketball court, an ice-skating rink, a surf stimulate / simulator, a 1400-seat theatre, and two 13-metre rock-climbing walls.

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

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

    Th_  l_rg_st  cr__s_  sh_p  _v_r  m_d_  h_s  s_t  s__l.  Th_  sh_p  _s  362  m_tr_s  l_ng,  h_s  18  d_cks,  _nd  h_s  r__m  f_r  6,988  g__sts.  _ts  n_m_  _s  W_nd_r  _f  th_  S__s.  _t  _s  th_  n_w_st  _dd_t__n  t_  th_  sh_ps  _wn_d  by  th_  c_mp_ny  R_y_l  C_r_bb__n.  _t  s_t  _ff  _n  _ts  m__d_n  v_y_g_  l_st  w__k  fr_m  F_rt  L__d_rd_l_  _n  Fl_r_d_,  _S_.  Th_  l_cky  p_ss_ng_rs  w_ll  _nj_y  _  cr__s_  _f  th_  C_r_bb__n  _sl_nds.  _  c_mp_ny  _ff_c__l  sp_k_  _b__t  h_s  _xc_t_m_nt  t_  CNN  Tr_v_l.  H_  s__d:  "W_'r_  _xc_t_d  t_  _ntr_d_c_  g__sts  _cr_ss  th_  w_rld  t_  W_nd_r  _f  th_  S__s  _nd  _ts  w_rld-cl_ss  f__t_r_s  _ft_r  _  s_x-y__r-l_ng  pr_c_ss."  H_  s__d  th_  c_mp_ny's  _xp_rt_s_  _nd  f__db_ck  fr_m  g__sts  m__nt  th_  c_mp_ny  c__ld  "cr__t_  s_m_th_ng  tr_ly  _w_-_nsp_r_ng".

    _t  t__k  _  sh_py_rd  _n  Fr_nc_  thr__  y__rs  t_  b__ld  th_  _n_rm__s  sh_p.  _t  _s  _n  _mpr_ss_v_  v_ss_l.  _t  w__ghs  237,000  t_ns,  _nd  _s  _s  l_ng  _s  th_  _mp_r_  St_t_  B__ld_ng  _s  h_gh.  _t  _s  30  m_tr_s  l_ng_r  th_n  th_  l_ng_st  __rcr_ft  c_rr__r  _v_r  b__lt  _nd  306  m_tr_s  l_ng_r  th_n  th_  T_t_n_c.  S_rpr_s_ngly,  th_  T_t_n_c  w_s  1.8kph  f_st_r.  Th_  n_w  cr__s_  sh_p  h_s  __ght  d_ff_r_nt  "n__ghb__rh__ds".  Th_s_  _r_  _r__s  _f  th_  sh_p  th_t  w_ll  g_v_  g__sts  d_ff_r_nt  _xp_r__nc_s.  _n_  _s  c_ll_d  C_ntr_l  P_rk,  wh_ch  _s  f_ll_d  w_th  _v_r  10,000  r__l  pl_nts.  F_c_l_t__s  _ncl_d_  20  r_st__r_nts,  f__r  sw_mm_ng  p__ls,  _  ch_ldr_n's  w_t_r  p_rk,  _  f_ll-s_z_  b_sk_tb_ll  c__rt,  _n  _c_-sk_t_ng  r_nk,  _  s_rf  s_m_l_t_r,  _  1400-s__t  th__tr_,  _nd  tw_  13-m_tr_  r_ck-cl_mb_ng  w_lls.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the largest cruise ship ever made has set sail the ship is 362 metres long has 18 decks and has room for 6988 guests its name is wonder of the seas it is the newest addition to the ships owned by the company royal caribbean it set off on its maiden voyage last week from fort lauderdale in florida usa the lucky passengers will enjoy a cruise of the caribbean islands a company official spoke about his excitement to cnn travel he said were excited to introduce guests across the world to wonder of the seas and its worldclass features after a sixyearlong process he said the companys expertise and feedback from guests meant the company could create something truly aweinspiring

    it took a shipyard in france three years to build the enormous ship it is an impressive vessel it weighs 237000 tons and is as long as the empire state building is high it is 30 metres longer than the longest aircraft carrier ever built and 306 metres longer than the titanic surprisingly the titanic was 18kph faster the new cruise ship has eight different neighbourhoods these are areas of the ship that will give guests different experiences one is called central park which is filled with over 10000 real plants facilities include 20 restaurants four swimming pools a childrens water park a fullsize basketball court an iceskating rink a surf simulator a 1400seat theatre and two 13metre rockclimbing walls

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Thelargestcruiseshipevermadehassetsail.Theshipis362metreslong,
    has18decks,andhasroomfor6,988guests.ItsnameisWonderoftheSe
    as.ItisthenewestadditiontotheshipsownedbythecompanyRoyalCari
    bbean.ItsetoffonitsmaidenvoyagelastweekfromFortLauderdaleinFl
    orida,USA.TheluckypassengerswillenjoyacruiseoftheCaribbeanislan
    ds.AcompanyofficialspokeabouthisexcitementtoCNNTravel.Hesaid:
    "We'reexcitedtointroduceguestsacrosstheworldtoWonderoftheSeas
    anditsworld-classfeaturesafterasix-year-longprocess."Hesaidthec
    ompany'sexpertiseandfeedbackfromguestsmeantthecompanycoul
    d"createsomethingtrulyawe-inspiring".IttookashipyardinFrancethr
    eeyearstobuildtheenormousship.Itisanimpressivevessel.Itweighs2
    37,000tons,andisaslongastheEmpireStateBuildingishigh.Itis30met
    reslongerthanthelongestaircraftcarriereverbuiltand306metreslong
    erthantheTitanic.Surprisingly,theTitanicwas1.8kphfaster.Thenewcr
    uiseshiphaseightdifferent"neighbourhoods".Theseareareasoftheshi
    pthatwillgiveguestsdifferentexperiences.OneiscalledCentralPark,w
    hichisfilledwithover10,000realplants.Facilitiesinclude20restaurants
    ,fourswimmingpools,achildren'swaterpark,afull-sizebasketballcour
    t,anice-skatingrink,asurfsimulator,a1400-seattheatre,andtwo13-
    metrerock-climbingwalls.

    Free writing

    Write about cruise ship for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    A one-year cruise is better than a two-week cruise. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. CRUISE SHIPS: Make a poster about cruise ships. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ECO-CRUISES: Write a magazine article about only allowing eco-cruises - ones where the ship emits zero emissions. 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 cruise ships. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make them fun. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

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

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You