A man named Mike had a problem with a driverless car. The car went in circles and wouldn’t stop. People watched and wondered if these cars are safe. The company, Waymo, fixed the problem with a software update. But many people still worry about using cars that drive themselves.

Waymo is a big company making driverless cars. Other companies like GM and Uber stopped trying because it’s hard and expensive. Waymo keeps going because they have a lot of money and smart people. They want to make sure their cars are safe. In the future, these cars might work better in warm places like the southern U.S.

Original news source: The slow but steady advance of driverless vehicles (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Students will take turns acting out a scenario related to driverless cars without speaking. For example, one student can pretend to be inside a driverless car that is going in circles. The rest of the class will guess what is happening.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Students will walk around the classroom and ask each other if they think driverless cars are safe or not. They will record the number of “yes” and “no” answers and then share their findings with the class.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: In pairs, students will create a catchy headline for the article about Mike and his driverless car experience. They can then share their headlines with the class.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Choose key vocabulary words from the article (like “driverless,” “update,” “company”). One student will draw the word, while the others guess what it is. This helps reinforce vocabulary understanding.

– THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Instructions: Students will think about whether they would ride in a driverless car or not. They will then pair up to discuss their thoughts before sharing their opinions with the whole class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the man in the story?
2. What did the driverless car do that was strange?
3. What did people think about the driverless cars?
4. What did Waymo do to help the car stop going in circles?
5. Why did other companies stop making driverless cars?
6. What does Waymo want to make sure about their cars?
7. Where might the driverless cars work better in the future?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A man named Mike had a problem with a driverless car. The car went in circles and wouldn’t stop. People watched and (1)______ if these (2)______ are safe. The company, Waymo, fixed the (3)______ with a (4)______ update. But many people still worry about using cars that drive themselves.

Waymo is a big company (5)______ driverless cars. Other companies like GM and Uber (6)______ trying because it’s hard and expensive. Waymo keeps going because they have a lot of money and smart (7)______. They want to make (8)______ their cars are safe. In the future, these cars might work better in warm places like the southern U.S.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a driverless car?
2. Do you think driverless cars are safe? Why?
3. How would you feel if a car drove by itself?
4. Do you like cars that can drive without a person? Why or why not?
5. What is a problem you have had with a car?
6. How would you feel if you saw a car going in circles?
7. Do you think it is good to make new kinds of cars? Why?
8. What is your favorite kind of car?
9. How would you feel if you had to ride in a driverless car?
10. Do you think people will like driverless cars in the future? Why or why not?
11. What is a good thing about driverless cars?
12. How do you feel about companies making new cars?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. driverless
2. circles
3. software
4. update
5. expensive
6. company
7. future
8. warm
9. southern
10. problem

Meanings:
(A) Instructions that tell a computer what to do
(B) Not cold, a little hot
(C) Costs a lot of money
(D) Making something new or better
(E) A round shape, like a ring
(F) A car that moves without a person driving it
(G) Something that is wrong or not working right
(H) Time that comes after now
(I) The bottom part of a place, like the bottom of the U.S.
(J) A group of people working together to make things
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the driverless car do?
(a) Went in circles
(b) Went straight
(c) Stopped fast
(d) Drove backward

2. Who fixed the car’s problem?
(a) GM
(b) Uber
(c) Mike
(d) Waymo

3. What do people think about driverless cars?
(a) They think they are fun
(b) They worry if they are safe
(c) They want to drive them
(d) They don’t care

4. What kind of company is Waymo?
(a) A company that makes toys
(b) A company that makes driverless cars
(c) A company that sells food
(d) A company that fixes bikes

5. Why did GM and Uber stop making driverless cars?
(a) They ran out of money
(b) They did not want to try anymore
(c) It is hard and costs a lot of money
(d) They did not have enough people

6. What does Waymo want to make sure about their cars?
(a) That they are safe
(b) That they are fast
(c) That they are colorful
(d) That they are big

7. Where might driverless cars work better in the future?
(a) In cold places
(b) In rainy places
(c) In warm places
(d) In snowy places

8. Who is Mike?
(a) A driverless car
(b) A worker at Waymo
(c) A famous driver
(d) A man with a problem

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. People watched the car and were worried.
2. Waymo has a lot of money and smart people.
3. Waymo is a company that makes driverless cars.
4. A man named Mike had a problem with a driverless car.
5. Driverless cars might work better in cold places.
6. Other companies like GM and Uber started making driverless cars.
7. The car went straight and stopped smoothly.
8. Waymo worsened the car’s problem with a software update.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. What happened to Mike and the driverless car?
2. Why do people worry about driverless cars?
3. What did Waymo do to help the car?
4. Which other companies stopped making driverless cars?
5. Where might driverless cars work better in the future?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is the man in the story?
Mike is the man in the story.

2. What did the driverless car do that was strange?
The car went in circles and wouldn’t stop.

3. What did people think about the driverless cars?
People wondered if the driverless cars are safe.

4. What did Waymo do to help the car stop going in circles?
Waymo fixed the problem with a software update.

5. Why did other companies stop making driverless cars?
Other companies stopped because it is hard and expensive.

6. What does Waymo want to make sure about their cars?
Waymo wants to make sure their cars are safe.

7. Where might the driverless cars work better in the future?
The driverless cars might work better in warm places like the southern U.S.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) wondered
(2) cars
(3) problem
(4) software
(5) making
(6) stopped
(7) people
(8) sure
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. driverless
Answer: (F) A car that moves without a person driving it

2. circles
Answer: (E) A round shape, like a ring

3. software
Answer: (A) Instructions that tell a computer what to do

4. update
Answer: (D) Making something new or better

5. expensive
Answer: (C) Costs a lot of money

6. company
Answer: (J) A group of people working together to make things

7. future
Answer: (H) Time that comes after now

8. warm
Answer: (B) Not cold, a little hot

9. southern
Answer: (I) The bottom part of a place, like the bottom of the U.S.

10. problem
Answer: (G) Something that is wrong or not working right
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the driverless car do?
Answer: (a) Went in circles

2. Who fixed the car’s problem?
Answer: (d) Waymo

3. What do people think about driverless cars?
Answer: (b) They worry if they are safe

4. What kind of company is Waymo?
Answer: (b) A company that makes driverless cars

5. Why did GM and Uber stop making driverless cars?
Answer: (c) It is hard and costs a lot of money

6. What does Waymo want to make sure about their cars?
Answer: (a) That they are safe

7. Where might driverless cars work better in the future?
Answer: (c) In warm places

8. Who is Mike?
Answer: (d) A man with a problem
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. People watched the car and were worried. (Answer: True)
2. Waymo has a lot of money and smart people. (Answer: True)
3. Waymo is a company that makes driverless cars. (Answer: True)
4. A man named Mike had a problem with a driverless car. (Answer: True)
5. Driverless cars might work better in cold places. (Answer: False)
6. Other companies like GM and Uber started making driverless cars. (Answer: False)
7. The car went straight and stopped smoothly. (Answer: False)
8. Waymo worsened the car’s problem with a software update. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧