A man who used to work at a car company called Tesla told people that the cars that drive themselves might not be safe. He shared stories from people who bought the cars, saying that sometimes the cars stop by themselves when they shouldn’t. The man thinks the cars are not ready to be on the roads with other cars and might be dangerous. The car company, Tesla, did not say anything when people asked them about this. Some people are worried about cars that can drive themselves.

The man found problems when he looked at the car company’s information. He saw that the cars sometimes stop for no reason, which can be scary. The company says that their cars with the special driving help get in fewer crashes, but we can’t be sure if that’s true. There is a big group in the United States that is trying to learn more about this. The man who told everyone about the problems won a prize for being brave and sharing what he knew.

Original news source: Ex-Tesla employee casts doubt on car safety (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down keywords from the article on small pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. One student from each team will come up to the front and choose a keyword from the bowl without looking. They must then act out the word without speaking, and their team must guess what the word is.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. Each student will have 1 minute to summarize the article as best they can. After both students have had a turn, they will compare their summaries and discuss any differences or missing information.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of vocabulary words from the article. One student will choose a word and draw a picture to represent it, while the other student tries to guess the word. They can only use their drawings, no speaking or writing allowed. After a certain amount of time, they can switch roles.

– Sketch It
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns describing a scene from the article while their partner sketches it. The student describing the scene cannot use any of the keywords from the article, they must use their own words to describe the scene. After both students have had a turn, they can compare their sketches and discuss any differences.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Give each student a few minutes to think about their opinion on the topic of self-driving cars. Then, have them pair up with a partner and share their opinions. After discussing, they can share their partner’s opinion with the rest of the class, using phrases like “My partner thinks…” or “According to my partner…”.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the man used to do at the car company called Tesla?
2. What did the man say about the cars that drive themselves?
3. Why does the man think the cars might not be safe?
4. What did the car company, Tesla, say when people asked them about the problems?
5. What did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
6. Why did the man win a prize?
7. Who wants to learn more about the cars that can drive themselves?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man who (1)______ to work at a car company (2)______ Tesla told people that the cars that drive themselves might not be safe. He shared stories from people who bought the cars, saying that sometimes the cars stop by themselves when they shouldn’t. The man thinks the (3)______ are not ready to be on the roads with (4)______ cars and might be dangerous. The car company, Tesla, did not say anything when people asked them about this. Some people are worried about cars that can drive themselves.

The man found problems when he looked at the car company’s information. He saw that the cars sometimes stop for no reason, which can be scary. The company (5)______ that their cars with the (6)______ driving help get in fewer crashes, but we can’t be sure if that’s true. There is a big group in the United (7)______ that is trying to learn more about this. The man who told everyone about the problems won a prize for being (8)______ and sharing what he knew.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is Tesla?
2. How would you feel if a car stopped by itself when it shouldn’t?
3. Do you think cars that can drive themselves are safe? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever heard of a car that can drive itself?
5. What would you do if a car stopped by itself while you were driving?
6. Do you like the idea of cars that can drive themselves? Why or why not?
7. How do you think the man felt when he won a prize for sharing what he knew?
8. What problems did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
9. How do you think the car company feels when people ask them about the problems?
10. Do you think it’s important for cars to be safe? Why or why not?
11. What do you think the big group in the United States wants to learn more about?
12. Have you ever been in a car accident? How did it make you feel?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. cars
2. safe
3. roads
4. dangerous
5. problems
6. crashes
7. group
8. learn
9. prize
10. brave

Meanings:
(A) Things that people drive that can take them places
(B) When cars hit each other and get damaged
(C) A bunch of people who work together or have the same interest
(D) Not safe or causing harm
(E) Not being scared and doing something even when it’s hard
(F) The places where cars drive
(G) Things that go wrong or don’t work correctly
(H) To get information and understand something new
(I) Something you get when you do something good
(J) Not causing harm or danger
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who used to work at Tesla?
(a) A woman
(b) A dog
(c) A man
(d) A cat

2. What did the man say about the cars?
(a) They are very fast
(b) They are all broken
(c) They might not be safe
(d) They are made of chocolate

3. What happens sometimes when the cars drive themselves?
(a) They fly in the sky
(b) They stop by themselves when they shouldn’t
(c) They turn into robots
(d) They disappear

4. How did Tesla respond when people asked them about the cars?
(a) They said the cars are perfect
(b) They didn’t say anything
(c) They said the cars can talk
(d) They said the cars are made of gold

5. What did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
(a) The cars can fly
(b) The cars can swim
(c) The cars can turn into dinosaurs
(d) The cars sometimes stop for no reason

6. What does the company say about their cars with the special driving help?
(a) They get in fewer crashes
(b) They get in more crashes
(c) They can talk to each other
(d) They can turn into spaceships

7. Who is trying to learn more about this?
(a) A small group in China
(b) A big group in Australia
(c) A small group in Brazil
(d) A big group in the United States

8. What did the man win a prize for?
(a) Being brave and sharing what he knew
(b) Being scared of cars
(c) Being good at cooking
(d) Being good at singing

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. A man used to work at a car company called Tesla and he told people that the cars that drive themselves might be safe.
2. The man found no problems when he looked at the car company’s information and saw that the cars never stop for no reason, which is not scary.
3. The man shared stories from people who bought the cars and said that sometimes the cars continue moving when they shouldn’t.
4. Some people are not worried about cars that can drive themselves.
5. The man who told everyone about the problems won a prize for being brave and sharing what he knew.
6. The car company, Tesla, did not say anything when people asked them about this.
7. The company says that their cars with the special driving help get in fewer crashes, but we can’t be sure if that’s true.
8. The man thinks the cars are not ready to be on the roads with other cars and might be dangerous.
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 did the man who used to work at Tesla say about the cars that drive themselves?
2. Why did the man think the cars might be dangerous?
3. What did the car company, Tesla, say when people asked them about the problems?
4. What did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
5. Why did the man win a prize?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did the man used to do at the car company called Tesla?
The man used to work at Tesla.

2. What did the man say about the cars that drive themselves?
The man said that the cars sometimes stop by themselves when they shouldn’t.

3. Why does the man think the cars might not be safe?
The man thinks the cars might not be safe because they stop by themselves when they shouldn’t.

4. What did the car company, Tesla, say when people asked them about the problems?
Tesla did not say anything when people asked them about the problems.

5. What did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
The man found that the cars sometimes stop for no reason.

6. Why did the man win a prize?
The man won a prize for being brave and sharing what he knew.

7. Who wants to learn more about the cars that can drive themselves?
A big group in the United States wants to learn more about the cars that can drive themselves.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) used
(2) called
(3) cars
(4) other
(5) says
(6) special
(7) States
(8) brave
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. cars
Answer: (A) Things that people drive that can take them places

2. safe
Answer: (J) Not causing harm or danger

3. roads
Answer: (F) The places where cars drive

4. dangerous
Answer: (D) Not safe or causing harm

5. problems
Answer: (G) Things that go wrong or don’t work correctly

6. crashes
Answer: (B) When cars hit each other and get damaged

7. group
Answer: (C) A bunch of people who work together or have the same interest

8. learn
Answer: (H) To get information and understand something new

9. prize
Answer: (I) Something you get when you do something good

10. brave
Answer: (E) Not being scared and doing something even when it’s hard
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who used to work at Tesla?
Answer: (c) A man

2. What did the man say about the cars?
Answer: (c) They might not be safe

3. What happens sometimes when the cars drive themselves?
Answer: (b) They stop by themselves when they shouldn’t

4. How did Tesla respond when people asked them about the cars?
Answer: (b) They didn’t say anything

5. What did the man find when he looked at the car company’s information?
Answer: (d) The cars sometimes stop for no reason

6. What does the company say about their cars with the special driving help?
Answer: (a) They get in fewer crashes

7. Who is trying to learn more about this?
Answer: (d) A big group in the United States

8. What did the man win a prize for?
Answer: (a) Being brave and sharing what he knew
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. A man used to work at a car company called Tesla and he told people that the cars that drive themselves might be safe. (Answer: False)
2. The man found no problems when he looked at the car company’s information and saw that the cars never stop for no reason, which is not scary. (Answer: False)
3. The man shared stories from people who bought the cars and said that sometimes the cars continue moving when they shouldn’t. (Answer: False)
4. Some people are not worried about cars that can drive themselves. (Answer: False)
5. The man who told everyone about the problems won a prize for being brave and sharing what he knew. (Answer: True)
6. The car company, Tesla, did not say anything when people asked them about this. (Answer: True)
7. The company says that their cars with the special driving help get in fewer crashes, but we can’t be sure if that’s true. (Answer: True)
8. The man thinks the cars are not ready to be on the roads with other cars and might be dangerous. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧