Elon Musk is in China to talk about making Tesla cars drive by themselves. This is called Full Self Driving (FSD). FSD is already used in places like the US, but not in China yet. Musk wants to use data from China to help make FSD better. Some people worry because Tesla’s self-driving cars have been in crashes.

China is very important for Tesla. Other car companies in China are also making self-driving cars. Tesla is trying to make China happy by following their rules. Musk says Teslas will one day drive people around like taxis. Some people think Musk is saying big things to keep Tesla’s stock price up.

Original news source: Musk in China to discuss enabling Full Self Driving (BBC)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary cards related to the article (e.g. Tesla, self-driving cars, China, Elon Musk). One player from each team will come to the front of the class and act out the word on the card without speaking. The team members will try to guess the word within a certain time limit. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns summarizing the article to their partner. They should try to include the main points of the article in their summary. After both partners have shared their summaries, they can compare and discuss any differences or similarities.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a set of vocabulary words from the article (e.g. FSD, crashes, stock price). In pairs or small groups, students will take turns drawing a picture to represent one of the words while their classmates try to guess the word. The student who guesses correctly gets a point, and the team with the most points at the end wins.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Give each team a set of sentence strips with key information from the article (e.g. “Elon Musk is in China to talk about FSD”, “Tesla’s self-driving cars have been in crashes”). One player from each team will come to the front of the class and try to arrange the sentence strips in the correct order to summarize the article. The team that completes the summary correctly in the shortest amount of time wins.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: In pairs, students will take turns discussing their thoughts and opinions about the article. They should share their ideas and respond to their partner’s ideas. After both partners have had a chance to share, the pairs can join with another pair and continue the discussion as a small group. Finally, a few groups can share their thoughts with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is Elon Musk?
2. What is Elon Musk talking about in China?
3. What is Full Self Driving?
4. Is Full Self Driving used in China yet?
5. Why does Elon Musk want to use data from China?
6. Why are some people worried about Tesla’s self-driving cars?
7. What does Elon Musk want Teslas to do in the future?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Elon Musk is in (1)______ to talk about making Tesla cars drive by themselves. This is called Full (2)______ Driving (FSD). FSD is already used in places like the US, but not in China yet. Musk wants to use data from China to help make FSD better. Some people (3)______ because Tesla’s self-driving (4)______ have been in crashes.

China is very important for Tesla. (5)______ car companies in China are also making self-driving cars. Tesla is trying to make China (6)______ by following their rules. Musk says Teslas will one day (7)______ people around like taxis. Some people think Musk is (8)______ big things to keep Tesla’s stock price up.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is Full Self Driving (FSD)?
2. How would you feel if cars could drive by themselves?
3. Do you like the idea of self-driving cars? Why or why not?
4. What do you think about Tesla’s plan to use data from China to improve FSD?
5. How important do you think China is for Tesla?
6. Do you think other car companies in China will also make self-driving cars?
7. What do you think about Musk’s idea of Teslas driving people around like taxis?
8. Why do some people worry about Tesla’s self-driving cars being in crashes?
9. Do you think Musk is saying big things to keep Tesla’s stock price up?
10. How do you think Tesla can make China happy?
11. What would you do if you had a self-driving car?
12. Why do you think self-driving cars are becoming more popular?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. important
2. companies
3. data
4. crashes
5. rules
6. taxis
7. stock
8. price
9. drive
10. follow

Meanings:
(A) How much money you need to buy something
(B) To control a car and make it move
(C) Groups of people working together to make things
(D) Information collected to learn or understand something
(E) Things you must do or follow
(F) Cars that take people places for money
(G) A share in a company that you can buy or sell
(H) To go after or do what someone says
(I) When cars hit each other or something else
(J) Something that matters a lot
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is Elon Musk in China to talk about?
(a) Making Tesla cars fly
(b) Making Tesla cars invisible
(c) Making Tesla cars drive by themselves
(d) Making Tesla cars swim

2. What is it called when a car can drive by itself?
(a) Full Self Driving (FSD)
(b) Half Self Driving (HSD)
(c) No Self Driving (NSD)
(d) Some Self Driving (SSD)

3. Where is FSD already used?
(a) China
(b) The US
(c) Russia
(d) Spain

4. Why does Elon Musk want to use data from China?
(a) To make China happy
(b) To make Tesla’s stock price go up
(c) To make Tesla cars fly
(d) To help make FSD better

5. What are some people worried about with Tesla’s self-driving cars?
(a) They are too slow
(b) They have been in crashes
(c) They are too expensive
(d) They are too small

6. Why is China important for Tesla?
(a) China has a lot of Tesla stores
(b) China has a lot of Tesla charging stations
(c) Other car companies in China are making self-driving cars
(d) China has a lot of Tesla factories

7. What does Elon Musk say Teslas will do one day?
(a) Fly people to the moon
(b) Swim in the ocean
(c) Cook dinner for people
(d) Drive people around like taxis

8. Why do some people think Musk is saying big things?
(a) To keep Tesla’s stock price up
(b) To make China happy
(c) To make Tesla cars invisible
(d) To make Tesla cars swim

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Some people are relieved because Tesla’s self-driving cars have been in crashes.
2. FSD is already used in some places, but not in China yet.
3. Musk says that one day, Teslas will not be able to drive people around like taxis.
4. Tesla is trying to make China happy by following their rules.
5. This kind of technology is called Full Self Driving (FSD).
6. China is very important for Tesla because other car companies there are also making self-driving cars.
7. Elon Musk is not in China to talk about making cars that can drive by themselves.
8. Musk doesn’t want to use data from China to help make FSD even better.
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 is Elon Musk talking about in China?
2. What is Full Self Driving (FSD)?
3. Is FSD already used in China?
4. Why is China important for Tesla?
5. What does Elon Musk want Teslas to do in the future?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is a famous entrepreneur and the CEO of Tesla, a company that makes electric cars.

2. What is Elon Musk talking about in China?
Elon Musk is talking about making Tesla cars drive by themselves in China.

3. What is Full Self Driving?
Full Self Driving (FSD) is a technology that allows cars to drive themselves without needing a human driver.

4. Is Full Self Driving used in China yet?
No, Full Self Driving is not used in China yet.

5. Why does Elon Musk want to use data from China?
Elon Musk wants to use data from China to help improve the Full Self Driving technology.

6. Why are some people worried about Tesla’s self-driving cars?
Some people are worried because Tesla’s self-driving cars have been in crashes, and they are concerned about the safety of the technology.

7. What does Elon Musk want Teslas to do in the future?
Elon Musk wants Teslas to be able to drive people around like taxis in the future.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) China
(2) Self
(3) worry
(4) cars
(5) Other
(6) happy
(7) drive
(8) saying
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. important
Answer: (J) Something that matters a lot

2. companies
Answer: (C) Groups of people working together to make things

3. data
Answer: (D) Information collected to learn or understand something

4. crashes
Answer: (I) When cars hit each other or something else

5. rules
Answer: (E) Things you must do or follow

6. taxis
Answer: (F) Cars that take people places for money

7. stock
Answer: (G) A share in a company that you can buy or sell

8. price
Answer: (A) How much money you need to buy something

9. drive
Answer: (B) To control a car and make it move

10. follow
Answer: (H) To go after or do what someone says
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is Elon Musk in China to talk about?
Answer: (c) Making Tesla cars drive by themselves

2. What is it called when a car can drive by itself?
Answer: (a) Full Self Driving (FSD)

3. Where is FSD already used?
Answer: (b) The US

4. Why does Elon Musk want to use data from China?
Answer: (d) To help make FSD better

5. What are some people worried about with Tesla’s self-driving cars?
Answer: (b) They have been in crashes

6. Why is China important for Tesla?
Answer: (c) Other car companies in China are making self-driving cars

7. What does Elon Musk say Teslas will do one day?
Answer: (d) Drive people around like taxis

8. Why do some people think Musk is saying big things?
Answer: (a) To keep Tesla’s stock price up
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Some people are relieved because Tesla’s self-driving cars have been in crashes. (Answer: False)
2. FSD is already used in some places, but not in China yet. (Answer: True)
3. Musk says that one day, Teslas will not be able to drive people around like taxis. (Answer: False)
4. Tesla is trying to make China happy by following their rules. (Answer: True)
5. This kind of technology is called Full Self Driving (FSD). (Answer: True)
6. China is very important for Tesla because other car companies there are also making self-driving cars. (Answer: True)
7. Elon Musk is not in China to talk about making cars that can drive by themselves. (Answer: False)
8. Musk doesn’t want to use data from China to help make FSD even better. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧