The Reading / Listening - Potholes - Level 4

U.K. roads are in a dire condition. One village decided to mock them with a "pothole theme park". Pothole Land opened last week in Wales. Visitors get to experience one of the UK's most badly potholed roads. The park's potholes are "the deepest, longest and widest in Wales". Drivers get to navigate "two kilometres of potholes, with very little actual road to spoil the fun". One villager joked that, "they're not potholes, they're bomb craters".

UK investment in roads has been poor. It is impossible to drive without seeing potholes. A villager complained that no repairs had been done to his roads in five years. Another villager complained about the "phenomenal" cost of car repairs because of potholes. Even garbage collection drivers refuse to drive to some areas. The U.K. government will spend $1.95 billion over the next two years to repair seven million potholes.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Potholes - Level 5 or  Potholes - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62q74xyq15o
  • https://uk.news.yahoo.com/what-causes-potholes-why-uk-123458351.html
  • https://www.gov.uk/government/news/seven-million-more-potholes-to-be-filled-next-year-as-public-urged-to-report-roads-in-need-of-repair


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 :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. U.K. roads are in a dire
  2. One village decided to mock
  3. Pothole Land opened
  4. Visitors get to
  5. the UK's most badly
  6. the deepest, longest
  7. very little actual road to spoil
  8. they're not potholes, they're bomb
  1. experience one
  2. craters
  3. condition
  4. and widest
  5. them
  6. the fun
  7. last week
  8. potholed roads

Paragraph 2

  1. UK investment in roads
  2. impossible to drive without
  3. A villager
  4. no repairs had been
  5. complained about the "phenomenal"
  6. garbage collection
  7. refuse
  8. repair
  1. drivers
  2. cost
  3. seven million potholes
  4. complained
  5. to drive
  6. seeing potholes
  7. done to his roads
  8. has been poor

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

U.K. roads are in (1) ________________________________________________. One village decided to mock them with a "pothole theme park". Pothole Land opened last week in Wales. Visitors (2) ________________________________________________ one of the UK's most badly potholed roads. The park's potholes are "the deepest, longest and widest in Wales". Drivers (3) ________________________________________________ "two kilometres of potholes, with (4) ________________________________________________ road to (5) ________________________________________________". One villager joked that, "they're not potholes, (6) ________________________________________________".

UK investment in roads (7) ________________________________________________. It is impossible to drive without seeing potholes. A villager (8) ________________________________________________ repairs had been done (9) ________________________________________________ in five years. Another villager complained about the "phenomenal" cost (10) ________________________________________________ because of potholes. Even garbage collection drivers refuse to drive (11) ________________________________________________. The U.K. government will spend $1.95 billion over the next two (12) ________________________________________________ seven million potholes.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

U.K.roadsareinadirecondition.Onevillagedecidedtomockthemwitha
"potholethemepark".PotholeLandopenedlastweekinWales.Visitorsg
ettoexperienceoneoftheUK'smostbadlypotholedroads.Thepark'spot
holesare"thedeepest,longestandwidestinWales".Driversgettonavig
ate"twokilometresofpotholes,withverylittleactualroadtospoilthefun
".Onevillagerjokedthat,"they'renotpotholes,they'rebombcraters".U
Kinvestmentinroadshasbeenpoor.Itisimpossibletodrivewithoutseei
ngpotholes.Avillagercomplainedthatnorepairshadbeendonetohisro
adsinfiveyears.Anothervillagercomplainedaboutthe"phenomenal"c
ostofcarrepairsbecauseofpotholes.Evengarbagecollectiondriversref
usetodrivetosomeareas.TheU.K.governmentwillspend$1.95billiono
verthenexttwoyearstorepairsevenmillionpotholes.

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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