In China, there was a special race with people and robot runners. The race was very long, 21 kilometers, and happened in Beijing. Robots looked like people and couldn’t use wheels to move. They ran just like humans do. This race showed how smart and advanced robots are becoming.

One robot named Tiangong Ultra did really well. It finished the race in two hours and 40 minutes. The fastest person finished much quicker, in one hour and two minutes. Tiangong was special because it had long legs and a smart way of running. People in China are excited about how good their robots are getting.

During the race, some robots had little accidents. One fell at the start, and another bumped into a railing. People helped the robots when they needed it. Some robots wore funny things like boxing gloves or a headband that said “Bound to Win.” This race showed how China is making cool new robots that can do many things.

Original news source: China hosts world’s first half-marathon race between humans and robots (Sky News)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Students will act out different actions related to the article without speaking, such as “running,” “helping a robot,” or “wearing a headband.” The other students will guess what they are acting out.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Students will walk around the classroom asking their classmates if they think robots will be better runners than humans in the future. They will collect answers and share the results with the class.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Students will draw key vocabulary words from the article, such as “robot,” “race,” and “accident,” on the board. The other students will guess the words based on the drawings.

– THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Instructions: Students will think about what they would like to see robots do in the future. They will pair up to discuss their ideas and then share them with the whole class.

– HEADLINE CREATION
Instructions: Students will work in small groups to create a catchy headline for the article, such as “Robots Race Humans in Beijing!” They will then present their headlines to the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Where did the special race happen?
2. How long was the race?
3. What is the name of the robot that ran in the race?
4. How long did Tiangong Ultra take to finish the race?
5. What funny things did some robots wear during the race?
6. What did people do when the robots had accidents?
7. Why are people in China excited about robots?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In China, there was a special race with people and robot (1)______. The race was very long, 21 kilometers, and happened in Beijing. Robots looked like people and couldn’t use wheels to (2)______. They ran just like humans do. This race showed how smart and advanced (3)______s are becoming.

One robot named Tiangong Ultra did really well. It finished the race in two (4)______s and 40 minutes. The fastest person finished much quicker, in one hour and two minutes. Tiangong was special because it had long legs and a smart way of running. People in China are excited about how (5)______ their (6)______ are getting.

During the race, some robots had little accidents. One fell at the start, and another bumped into a railing. People helped the robots when they needed it. Some robots wore funny things like boxing (7)______ or a headband that said “Bound to Win.” This (8)______ showed how China is making cool new robots that can do many things.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a robot?
2. Do you like robots? Why or why not?
3. How would you feel if you saw a robot running?
4. What is your favorite sport?
5. Do you think robots can be good at sports? Why?
6. Have you ever seen a race? What was it like?
7. How would you feel if a robot fell down during a race?
8. Do you think it is fun to help a robot? Why or why not?
9. What is something funny you have seen?
10. Do you like running? Why or why not?
11. How would you feel if you could race a robot?
12. Do you think robots will be better than people at running one day? Why?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. race
2. robot
3. kilometers
4. advanced
5. finished
6. excited
7. accidents
8. railing
9. gloves
10. headband

Meanings:
(A) When something is done or over
(B) A machine that looks like a person and can move
(C) A bar or fence to hold onto
(D) A way to measure how far something is
(E) Things you wear on your hands to keep them warm or safe
(F) A contest to see who is the fastest
(G) A band you wear around your head
(H) When something goes wrong or someone gets hurt
(I) Feeling very happy and looking forward to something
(J) Very smart or new
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did the robot race happen?
(a) Shanghai
(b) Hong Kong
(c) Beijing
(d) Guangzhou

2. How long was the race?
(a) 10 kilometers
(b) 5 kilometers
(c) 21 kilometers
(d) 15 kilometers

3. What did the robots look like?
(a) Cars
(b) Animals
(c) Trees
(d) People

4. What is the name of one robot in the race?
(a) Speedy Robot
(b) Fast Runner
(c) Robot Racer
(d) Tiangong Ultra

5. How long did Tiangong Ultra take to finish the race?
(a) Two hours and 40 minutes
(b) One hour and 30 minutes
(c) Three hours
(d) One hour

6. What did some robots wear during the race?
(a) Funny things like gloves
(b) Hats
(c) Shoes
(d) Dresses

7. What happened to some robots during the race?
(a) They won the race
(b) They had little accidents
(c) They stopped running
(d) They flew away

8. Why are people in China excited?
(a) They have new toys
(b) Their robots are getting better
(c) They are going on vacation
(d) They are making new friends

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The robots walked like humans and did not use wheels.
2. The race happened in Beijing.
3. The slowest person finished the race in one hour and two minutes.
4. Some robots wore funny things like boxing gloves.
5. Some robots had little accidents during the race.
6. One robot named Tiangong Ultra finished the race in two hours and 40 minutes.
7. There was a parade in China with people and robots.
8. The race was 20 kilometers long.
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. Where did the special race with robots happen?
2. How far was the race?
3. What is the name of the robot that did really well?
4. What funny things did some robots wear during the race?
5. Did the robots run like people or use wheels?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where did the special race happen?
The race happened in Beijing, China.

2. How long was the race?
The race was 21 kilometers long.

3. What is the name of the robot that ran in the race?
The robot’s name is Tiangong Ultra.

4. How long did Tiangong Ultra take to finish the race?
Tiangong Ultra took two hours and 40 minutes to finish.

5. What funny things did some robots wear during the race?
Some robots wore boxing gloves and a headband that said “Bound to Win.”

6. What did people do when the robots had accidents?
People helped the robots when they had accidents.

7. Why are people in China excited about robots?
People in China are excited because their robots are getting better and smarter.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) runners
(2) move
(3) robot
(4) hour
(5) good
(6) robots
(7) gloves
(8) race
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. race
Answer: (F) A contest to see who is the fastest

2. robot
Answer: (B) A machine that looks like a person and can move

3. kilometers
Answer: (D) A way to measure how far something is

4. advanced
Answer: (J) Very smart or new

5. finished
Answer: (A) When something is done or over

6. excited
Answer: (I) Feeling very happy and looking forward to something

7. accidents
Answer: (H) When something goes wrong or someone gets hurt

8. railing
Answer: (C) A bar or fence to hold onto

9. gloves
Answer: (E) Things you wear on your hands to keep them warm or safe

10. headband
Answer: (G) A band you wear around your head
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did the robot race happen?
Answer: (c) Beijing

2. How long was the race?
Answer: (c) 21 kilometers

3. What did the robots look like?
Answer: (d) People

4. What is the name of one robot in the race?
Answer: (d) Tiangong Ultra

5. How long did Tiangong Ultra take to finish the race?
Answer: (a) Two hours and 40 minutes

6. What did some robots wear during the race?
Answer: (a) Funny things like gloves

7. What happened to some robots during the race?
Answer: (b) They had little accidents

8. Why are people in China excited?
Answer: (b) Their robots are getting better
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The robots walked like humans and did not use wheels. (Answer: False)
2. The race happened in Beijing. (Answer: True)
3. The slowest person finished the race in one hour and two minutes. (Answer: False)
4. Some robots wore funny things like boxing gloves. (Answer: True)
5. Some robots had little accidents during the race. (Answer: True)
6. One robot named Tiangong Ultra finished the race in two hours and 40 minutes. (Answer: True)
7. There was a parade in China with people and robots. (Answer: False)
8. The race was 20 kilometers long. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧