Robot taxis are causing a lot of talking in San Francisco. These taxis do not have any drivers. They stop for you and let you open the door with your phone. But some people do not like them. They think robot taxis are not safe. One man said he saw someone almost get hit by a robot taxi. People in San Francisco are worried. They think the city is taking a big risk. Some people even put cones on the robot taxis to stop them from working. The group doing this is called Safe Street Rebel. They have shared videos of what they do.
On August 10, 2023, a big decision was made. Two taxi companies, Waymo and Cruise, were told they could run their taxis all day and all night. Before, they could only run them at night if people paid. Many people had things to say about this. Some were worried about losing their jobs. Others were worried about the taxis breaking down. Some people did not think the taxis were safe yet. And some were worried about how people with disabilities would use these taxis. But there were also people who liked the robot taxis. They thought they were safer and treated them better than human drivers. However, even after the decision, there were still problems. A robot taxi even got in a crash with a fire truck. Because of this, the taxi company had to use fewer taxis on the road. Despite these issues, the taxi companies still say their robot taxis are safe. They say they have driven a lot of miles without any accidents. But not everyone in San Francisco believes this. Some people are taking action to show they do not like the robot taxis.
Original news source: How robotaxis are dividing San Francisco (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Taxi Role Play
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Assign roles to each group member – one can be the taxi driver (robot), another can be a passenger, another can be a member of the Safe Street Rebel group, and so on. Ask each group to enact a short scene based on the article, using simple English sentences.
– Story Illustration
Instructions: Ask the students to draw a scene or a series of scenes from the article. They can choose to depict the robot taxi, the reactions of people, the accident with the fire truck, etc. After they’ve finished, ask them to describe their illustrations in English.
– Sentence Making
Instructions: Write down some simple words on the board related to the article like ‘taxi’, ‘robot’, ‘safe’, ‘accident’, ‘San Francisco’. Ask students to form simple sentences using these words. This will help them practice sentence construction.
– Mime It
Instructions: Ask students to mime actions from the article, such as a person trying to stop a robot taxi, or a robot taxi avoiding an obstacle, or people protesting against the robot taxis. The rest of the class must guess what action is being mimed, encouraging them to use vocabulary from the article.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What is special about the taxis in San Francisco?
2. How do you open the door of a robot taxi?
3. Why do some people not like the robot taxis?
4. What did one man see a robot taxi almost do?
5. What did some people do to stop the robot taxis from working?
6. What big decision was made on August 10, 2023?
7. What happened to a robot taxi and a fire truck?
8. What do the taxi companies say about their robot taxis?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
Robot taxis are causing a lot of (1)______ in San Francisco. These taxis do not have any drivers. They stop for you and let you open the door with your (2)______. But some people do not like them. They think robot taxis are not safe. One man said he saw someone almost get hit by a robot taxi. People in San Francisco are worried. They think the city is taking a big (3)______. Some people even put cones on the robot taxis to stop them from working. The group doing this is called Safe Street Rebel. They have shared videos of what they do.
On August 10, 2023, a big decision was made. Two taxi companies, Waymo and Cruise, were told they could run their taxis all day and all night. Before, they could only run them at night if people (4)______. Many people had things to say about this. Some were worried about losing their jobs. Others were worried about the taxis breaking down. Some people did not think the taxis were safe yet. And some were worried about how people with disabilities would use these taxis. But there were also people who liked the robot taxis. They thought they were safer and treated them better than human drivers. However, even after the decision, there were still problems. A robot taxi even got in a crash with a (5)______. Because of this, the taxi company had to use fewer taxis on the road. Despite these issues, the taxi companies still say their robot taxis are safe. They say they have driven a lot of miles without any accidents. But not everyone in San Francisco believes this. Some people are taking action to show they do not like the robot taxis.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Do you like the idea of robot taxis?
2. Why do some people not like robot taxis?
3. What would you do if you saw a robot taxi?
4. Do you think robot taxis are safe or not safe?
5. What did the man see a robot taxi do?
6. How do you feel about the city letting robot taxis work all the time?
7. What do some people do to stop the robot taxis?
8. How do you think people with disabilities can use robot taxis?
9. What happened to one of the robot taxis after the big decision?
10. Why are some people worried about their jobs because of robot taxis?
11. If you could talk to the taxi companies, what would you tell them?
12. What do the taxi companies say about their robot taxis?
13. Do you believe what the taxi companies say about their taxis? Why or why not?
14. What do you think about people who like robot taxis?
15. Would you like to ride in a robot taxi? Why or why not?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. Robot
2. Taxis
3. Drivers
4. Risk
5. Cones
6. Decision
7. Disabilities
8. Crash
Shuffled Meanings:
A) A choice made after thinking about it
B) People who control cars, buses, or trucks
C) Something that could cause harm or danger
D) A machine that can do tasks without a person controlling it
E) A sudden loud noise when two things hit each other hard
F) People who have a hard time doing things because of a problem with their body or mind
G) Cars that people pay to ride in
H) Tall, pointy things that are used to tell cars where to go or not go
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What are robot taxis?
(a) Taxis with two drivers
(b) Taxis that can fly
(c) Taxis that do not have any drivers
(d) Taxis that can swim
2. Why do some people not like robot taxis?
(a) They think they are too expensive
(b) They think they are not safe
(c) They think they are too slow
(d) They think they are too noisy
3. What is the name of the group that puts cones on the robot taxis?
(a) Safe Street Friends
(b) Safe Street Warriors
(c) Safe Street Heroes
(d) Safe Street Rebel
4. What did Waymo and Cruise get permission to do on August 10, 2023?
(a) To run their taxis only at night
(b) To run their taxis only in the morning
(c) To run their taxis all day and all night
(d) To run their taxis only in the afternoon
5. Why were some people worried about the robot taxis?
(a) They were worried about the color of the taxis
(b) They were worried about losing their jobs
(c) They were worried about the size of the taxis
(d) They were worried about the speed of the taxis
6. What happened to a robot taxi after the big decision?
(a) It got in a crash with a fire truck
(b) It got in a crash with a bicycle
(c) It got in a crash with a bus
(d) It got in a crash with a car
7. What did the taxi companies have to do after the crash?
(a) They had to use more taxis on the road
(b) They had to use fewer taxis on the road
(c) They had to use the same number of taxis on the road
(d) They had to use only robot taxis on the road
8. What do the taxi companies say about their robot taxis?
(a) They say they are not safe
(b) They say they are too expensive
(c) They say they are too slow
(d) They say they have driven a lot of miles without any accidents
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. Robot taxis have drivers.
2. People in San Francisco are happy about the robot taxis.
3. Some people put cones on the robot taxis to stop them.
4. The group putting cones on the taxis is called Safe Street Rebel.
5. The taxi companies say their robot taxis are not safe.
6. A robot taxi crashed into a fire truck.
7. The taxi companies can only run their taxis at night.
8. People think robot taxis treat them better than human drivers.
Go to answers ⇩
Write a Summary:
Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Writing Questions:
Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
1. What are robot taxis?
2. Why do some people not like robot taxis?
3. What is the group called that puts cones on the robot taxis?
4. What decision was made on August 10, 2023?
5. Why did the taxi company have to use fewer taxis on the road?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What is special about the taxis in San Francisco?
The taxis in San Francisco are special because they are robots and do not have drivers.
2. How do you open the door of a robot taxi?
You can open the door of a robot taxi with your phone.
3. Why do some people not like the robot taxis?
Some people do not like the robot taxis because they think they are not safe.
4. What did one man see a robot taxi almost do?
One man saw a robot taxi almost hit someone.
5. What did some people do to stop the robot taxis from working?
Some people put cones on the robot taxis to stop them from working.
6. What big decision was made on August 10, 2023?
The big decision made on August 10, 2023, was that two taxi companies, Waymo and Cruise, could run their taxis all day and all night.
7. What happened to a robot taxi and a fire truck?
A robot taxi got in a crash with a fire truck.
8. What do the taxi companies say about their robot taxis?
The taxi companies say their robot taxis are safe and have driven a lot of miles without any accidents.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. talking
2. phone
3. risk
4. paid
5. fire truck
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. Robot
Answer: D) A machine that can do tasks without a person controlling it
2. Taxis
Answer: G) Cars that people pay to ride in
3. Drivers
Answer: B) People who control cars, buses, or trucks
4. Risk
Answer: C) Something that could cause harm or danger
5. Cones
Answer: H) Tall, pointy things that are used to tell cars where to go or not go
6. Decision
Answer: A) A choice made after thinking about it
7. Disabilities
Answer: F) People who have a hard time doing things because of a problem with their body or mind
8. Crash
Answer: E) A sudden loud noise when two things hit each other hard
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What are robot taxis?
Answer: (c) Taxis that do not have any drivers
2. Why do some people not like robot taxis?
Answer: (b) They think they are not safe
3. What is the name of the group that puts cones on the robot taxis?
Answer: (d) Safe Street Rebel
4. What did Waymo and Cruise get permission to do on August 10, 2023?
Answer: (c) To run their taxis all day and all night
5. Why were some people worried about the robot taxis?
Answer: (b) They were worried about losing their jobs
6. What happened to a robot taxi after the big decision?
Answer: (a) It got in a crash with a fire truck
7. What did the taxi companies have to do after the crash?
Answer: (b) They had to use fewer taxis on the road
8. What do the taxi companies say about their robot taxis?
Answer: (d) They say they have driven a lot of miles without any accidents
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. Robot taxis have drivers.
Answer: False
2. People in San Francisco are happy about the robot taxis.
Answer: False
3. Some people put cones on the robot taxis to stop them.
Answer: True
4. The group putting cones on the taxis is called Safe Street Rebel.
Answer: True
5. The taxi companies say their robot taxis are not safe.
Answer: False
6. A robot taxi crashed into a fire truck.
Answer: True
7. The taxi companies can only run their taxis at night.
Answer: False
8. People think robot taxis treat them better than human drivers.
Answer: False
Go back to questions ⇧
