A man named Andy had a company where people could share their cars with others. But his company did not do well because of a big sickness and a fight in another place. People stopped traveling, so they didn’t need to borrow cars. Andy tried to change how his company worked. But bad people used the cars for wrong things and tricked the company’s computer.

Andy’s company shows that sharing things can be hard. There were many problems like sickness, fights, and bad people. His company was growing, but then it had to stop. Andy had to spend a lot of money to stop the bad people. He is not sad and wants to start something new with plants and technology.

Original news source: Covid and criminals ruined my Airbnb for cars idea’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Write down a few key words or phrases from the article on small pieces of paper. Have students take turns picking a piece of paper and acting out the word or phrase without speaking. The other students must guess what it is.

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Have one student read the article and summarize it to their partner. Then, have the other student summarize it back to the first student. Encourage them to use their own words and ask each other questions to check understanding.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into teams. One student from each team must come to the board and draw a picture to represent one of the words. The other students in the team must guess what word it is. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Give each student a blank piece of paper. Instruct them to create a catchy headline for the article. Encourage them to think about the main points and use their creativity. After a few minutes, have students share their headlines with the class.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have students take turns sharing three statements about the article, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. The other students must guess which statement is the lie. This activity encourages listening comprehension and critical thinking.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the man in the story?
2. What did Andy’s company do?
3. Why did Andy’s company not do well?
4. What happened to people’s traveling?
5. Why did Andy have to change how his company worked?
6. What kind of people used the cars for wrong things?
7. What does Andy want to start with plants and technology?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man (1)______ Andy had a company where people could share their (2)______ with others. But his company did not do well because of a big sickness and a fight in another place. (3)______ (4)______ traveling, so they didn’t need to borrow cars. Andy tried to change how his company worked. But bad people used the cars for wrong things and tricked the company’s computer.

Andy’s company shows that (5)______ things can be hard. There were (6)______ problems like sickness, fights, and bad people. His company was growing, but then it had to stop. Andy had to spend a lot of money to stop the bad people. He is not sad and (7)______ to (8)______ something new with plants and technology.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a company?
2. How would you feel if you had to share your car with someone else?
3. Do you like traveling? Why or why not?
4. What do you think happened to Andy’s company?
5. How would you feel if bad people used your car for wrong things?
6. Do you think it’s important to stop bad people from doing wrong things? Why or why not?
7. What do you think Andy should do now that his company stopped?
8. What are plants?
9. Do you like technology? Why or why not?
10. How do you think plants and technology can be used together?
11. Have you ever shared something with someone else? How did it make you feel?
12. What is something new that you would like to start? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. company
2. sickness
3. cars
4. people
5. problems
6. money
7. plants
8. technology

Meanings:
(a) Living things that grow in the ground
(b) When you feel very bad and need to rest
(c) Difficult things that happen and need to be fixed
(d) A group of people who work together
(e) The thing you use to buy things
(f) The tools and machines that help us do things
(g) The humans who use the cars
(h) Things that you drive on the road
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company where people could share their cars?
(a) Bob
(b) John
(c) Sam
(d) Andy

2. Why did Andy’s company not do well?
(a) People started traveling more
(b) Andy didn’t like his company
(c) Andy’s company was too expensive
(d) People stopped traveling

3. What were some of the problems Andy’s company faced?
(a) Sickness, fights, and bad people
(b) Happiness, peace, and good people
(c) Money, time, and computers
(d) Plants, technology, and cars

4. What did bad people do with the company’s cars?
(a) Used them for wrong things
(b) Shared them with others
(c) Fixed them when they were broken
(d) Tricked the company’s computer

5. Why did Andy have to spend a lot of money?
(a) To buy more cars
(b) To travel to another place
(c) To stop the bad people
(d) To start something new

6. How does Andy feel about starting something new?
(a) Very happy
(b) Not sad
(c) Very angry
(d) Very scared

7. What does Andy want to start something new with?
(a) Cars and computers
(b) Money and time
(c) Plants and technology
(d) Sickness and fights

8. What is the main idea of the article?
(a) Sharing things can be hard
(b) Andy had a company where people could share cars
(c) Andy’s company faced many problems
(d) Andy wants to start something new with plants and technology

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Andy is not happy and wants to end something old with plants and technology.
2. Good people used the cars for right things and fooled the company’s computer.
3. Andy’s company did not do well because of a big sickness and a fight in another place.
4. Andy had a company where people could share their cars with others.
5. Andy had to spend a lot of money to stop the bad people.
6. Andy’s company was shrinking, but then it had to continue.
7. Andy tried to change how his company worked.
8. People started traveling, so they needed to borrow cars.
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 happened to Andy’s company?
2. Why did people stop traveling?
3. What did bad people do with the cars?
4. How did Andy feel about his company?
5. What does Andy want to start next?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the name of the man in the story?
The man’s name was Andy.

2. What did Andy’s company do?
Andy’s company allowed people to share their cars with others.

3. Why did Andy’s company not do well?
Andy’s company did not do well because of a big sickness and a fight in another place.

4. What happened to people’s traveling?
People stopped traveling because of the sickness.

5. Why did Andy have to change how his company worked?
Andy had to change how his company worked because bad people used the cars for wrong things and tricked the company’s computer.

6. What kind of people used the cars for wrong things?
Bad people used the cars for wrong things.

7. What does Andy want to start with plants and technology?
Andy wants to start something new with plants and technology.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) named
(2) cars
(3) People
(4) stopped
(5) sharing
(6) many
(7) wants
(8) start
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. company
Answer: (d) A group of people who work together

2. sickness
Answer: (b) When you feel very bad and need to rest

3. cars
Answer: (h) Things that you drive on the road

4. people
Answer: (g) The humans who use the cars

5. problems
Answer: (c) Difficult things that happen and need to be fixed

6. money
Answer: (e) The thing you use to buy things

7. plants
Answer: (a) Living things that grow in the ground

8. technology
Answer: (f) The tools and machines that help us do things
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What was the name of the man who had a company where people could share their cars?
Answer: (d) Andy

2. Why did Andy’s company not do well?
Answer: (d) People stopped traveling

3. What were some of the problems Andy’s company faced?
Answer: (a) Sickness, fights, and bad people

4. What did bad people do with the company’s cars?
Answer: (a) Used them for wrong things

5. Why did Andy have to spend a lot of money?
Answer: (c) To stop the bad people

6. How does Andy feel about starting something new?
Answer: (b) Not sad

7. What does Andy want to start something new with?
Answer: (c) Plants and technology

8. What is the main idea of the article?
Answer: (b) Andy had a company where people could share cars
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Andy is not happy and wants to end something old with plants and technology. (Answer: False)
2. Good people used the cars for right things and fooled the company’s computer. (Answer: False)
3. Andy’s company did not do well because of a big sickness and a fight in another place. (Answer: True)
4. Andy had a company where people could share their cars with others. (Answer: True)
5. Andy had to spend a lot of money to stop the bad people. (Answer: True)
6. Andy’s company was shrinking, but then it had to continue. (Answer: False)
7. Andy tried to change how his company worked. (Answer: True)
8. People started traveling, so they needed to borrow cars. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧