Some ticket machines at train stations are making people pay a lot more for tickets than if they bought them online. On average, tickets from machines are 50% more expensive than online. When people buy tickets from machines, they often can’t find the cheapest options. There was a plan to close many places where you can buy tickets at stations, but people didn’t like that idea, so it didn’t happen.

A group called Which? checked prices at 15 train stations and found big differences. They looked at 75 trips and saw that some tickets from machines cost more than twice as much as online. The machines didn’t offer cheaper tickets that you could buy before your trip or special deals for splitting your trip into parts. This means that people who can’t use the internet or don’t have a ticket office at their station might pay too much.

The Rail Delivery Group, which works for train companies, knows they need to make ticket prices better. They are trying to make it easier to understand prices and let people pay as they go with a special card. They want to keep making things better for people who ride trains. In December, the government said that some train ticket prices would go up in March, but the increase is smaller than before and is happening later than usual. These tickets that are going up in price are the kind that a lot of people use, like for going to work every day.

Original news source: Train ticket machines charging double online price (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Provide a brief summary of the article to the students.
2. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
3. Each group has to write a short news summary of the article, including the main points and key information.
4. After a set time, have each group share their summaries with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Ask the students to discuss their opinions on the topic of train ticket prices and buying tickets from machines.
3. Each group should come up with at least three questions related to the topic.
4. Have each group take turns asking their questions to the rest of the class and record the responses.
5. Discuss the different opinions and reasons behind them as a class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Choose 5-10 vocabulary words from the article.
2. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
3. Give each group a vocabulary word and ask them to draw a picture that represents the word.
4. The other groups have to guess the word based on the drawing.
5. Repeat with the remaining vocabulary words.

– Keyword Taboo
Instructions:
1. Choose 5-10 important keywords from the article.
2. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
3. Give each group a keyword and ask them to describe it without using the word itself.
4. The other groups have to guess the keyword based on the description.
5. Repeat with the remaining keywords.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Ask the students to discuss the pros and cons of buying train tickets from machines.
3. Each group should come up with a list of at least three advantages and three disadvantages.
4. After a set time, have each group share their lists with the class.
5. Discuss the different perspectives and reasons behind them as a class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why are some people paying more for train tickets at ticket machines compared to buying them online?
2. How much more expensive are tickets from machines on average compared to online?
3. What was the plan that people didn’t like and therefore didn’t happen?
4. What did the group called Which? find when they checked prices at train stations?
5. How much more expensive were some tickets from machines compared to online according to Which?
6. What options did the machines not offer for buying tickets?
7. What is the Rail Delivery Group trying to do to make ticket prices better?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some ticket machines at train stations are making people pay a lot (1)______ for tickets than if they bought them online. On average, tickets from machines are 50% more (2)______ than online. When people buy tickets from machines, they often can’t find the cheapest options. There was a plan to close (3)______ places where you can buy tickets at stations, but people didn’t like that idea, so it didn’t (4)______.

A group called Which? checked prices at 15 train stations and found big differences. They looked at 75 trips and saw that some (5)______ from machines cost more than twice as much as online. The machines didn’t (6)______ cheaper tickets that you could buy before your trip or special deals for splitting your (7)______ into (8)______. This means that people who can’t use the internet or don’t have a ticket office at their station might pay too much.

The Rail Delivery Group, which works for train companies, knows they need to (9)______ ticket prices better. They are trying to make it easier to understand prices and let people pay as they go with a special card. They (10)______ to keep making (11)______ better for people who ride (12)______. In December, the government said that some train ticket prices would go up in March, but the increase is smaller than before and is happening later than usual. These tickets that are going up in price are the kind that a lot of people use, like for going to work every day.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a ticket machine?
2. How would you feel if you had to pay more for a train ticket from a machine than if you bought it online?
3. Do you like the idea of closing places where you can buy tickets at train stations? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s fair that some people have to pay more for train tickets because they can’t use the internet or don’t have a ticket office at their station? Why or why not?
5. What is the Rail Delivery Group?
6. How do you think train companies can make ticket prices better?
7. Do you think it’s a good idea to have a special card to pay for train tickets? Why or why not?
8. How do you feel about train ticket prices going up in March?
9. Do you use train tickets to go to work every day? Why or why not?
10. How would you feel if train ticket prices went up for the kind of tickets you use? Why?
11. What other ways do you think train companies could improve their services for people who ride trains?
12. Do you think it’s important for train companies to keep making things better for people who ride trains? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. expensive
2. average
3. options
4. plan
5. checked
6. differences
7. deals
8. splitting
9. Rail Delivery Group
10. understand
11. increase
12. commute

Meanings:
(A) Traveling to work or school and back home again
(B) Costs a lot of money
(C) Things that are not the same
(D) Looked at something carefully
(E) Breaking something into parts
(F) Choices
(G) The normal amount
(H) Special offers that save you money
(I) When something gets bigger or more
(J) To know what something means
(K) An idea for what to do in the future
(L) A team that works for train companies
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did a group called Which? check at train stations?
(a) Train schedules
(b) Types of trains
(c) Prices of tickets
(d) Train station locations

2. How much more expensive are tickets from machines compared to online?
(a) 25%
(b) 50%
(c) 75%
(d) 100%

3. Why do people often pay more when buying tickets from machines?
(a) The machines only offer expensive tickets
(b) They can’t find the cheapest options
(c) The machines don’t accept cash
(d) The machines are broken

4. What was the plan that people didn’t like?
(a) Increasing ticket prices
(b) Adding more ticket machines
(c) Extending train schedules
(d) Closing ticket offices at train stations

5. How many train stations did Which? check prices at?
(a) 15
(b) 10
(c) 20
(d) 5

6. What did Which? find about some tickets from machines?
(a) They cost more than twice as much as online
(b) They cost the same as online
(c) They cost less than online
(d) They were free

7. What did the machines not offer?
(a) Special deals for splitting your trip into parts
(b) Tickets for children
(c) Cheaper tickets that you could buy before your trip
(d) Tickets for pets

8. What is the Rail Delivery Group trying to do?
(a) Close train stations
(b) Increase ticket prices
(c) Make train schedules longer
(d) Make ticket prices better

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The machines offer cheaper tickets that you can buy before your trip or special deals for splitting your trip into parts.
2. People often can find the cheapest options when buying tickets from machines.
3. The Rail Delivery Group is not trying to make ticket prices easier to understand and let people pay as they go with a special card.
4. Some ticket machines at train stations charge the same price for tickets as if you buy them online.
5. Some tickets from machines cost more than twice as much as online.
6. On average, tickets from machines are 50% more expensive than online.
7. A group called Which? checked prices at 15 train stations and found big differences.
8. There was a plan to close many ticket places at stations, but people didn’t like the idea, so it didn’t happen.
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 problem are some people facing when they buy train tickets from machines at train stations?
2. Why are tickets from machines more expensive than buying them online?
3. What did a group called Which? find when they checked prices at train stations?
4. Why might some people pay too much for their train tickets if they can’t use the internet or don’t have a ticket office at their station?
5. What is the Rail Delivery Group trying to do to make ticket prices better for people who ride trains?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Some people are paying more for train tickets at ticket machines because they can’t find the cheapest options and the machines don’t offer special deals or cheaper tickets that can be bought before the trip.
2. Tickets from machines are, on average, 50% more expensive than online.
3. The plan that people didn’t like and therefore didn’t happen was the plan to close many places where you can buy tickets at train stations.
4. The group called Which? found big differences in ticket prices at train stations when they checked them.
5. Some tickets from machines cost more than twice as much as online, according to Which?
6. The machines did not offer cheaper tickets that you could buy before your trip or special deals for splitting your trip into parts.
7. The Rail Delivery Group is trying to make ticket prices better by making it easier to understand prices and allowing people to pay as they go with a special card.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) more
(2) expensive
(3) many
(4) happen
(5) tickets
(6) offer
(7) trip
(8) parts
(9) make
(10) want
(11) things
(12) trains
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. expensive
Answer: (B) Costs a lot of money

2. average
Answer: (G) The normal amount

3. options
Answer: (F) Choices

4. plan
Answer: (K) An idea for what to do in the future

5. checked
Answer: (D) Looked at something carefully

6. differences
Answer: (C) Things that are not the same

7. deals
Answer: (H) Special offers that save you money

8. splitting
Answer: (E) Breaking something into parts

9. Rail Delivery Group
Answer: (L) A team that works for train companies

10. understand
Answer: (J) To know what something means

11. increase
Answer: (I) When something gets bigger or more

12. commute
Answer: (A) Traveling to work or school and back home again
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did a group called Which? check at train stations?
Answer: (c) Prices of tickets

2. How much more expensive are tickets from machines compared to online?
Answer: (b) 50%

3. Why do people often pay more when buying tickets from machines?
Answer: (b) They can’t find the cheapest options

4. What was the plan that people didn’t like?
Answer: (d) Closing ticket offices at train stations

5. How many train stations did Which? check prices at?
Answer: (a) 15

6. What did Which? find about some tickets from machines?
Answer: (a) They cost more than twice as much as online

7. What did the machines not offer?
Answer: (c) Cheaper tickets that you could buy before your trip

8. What is the Rail Delivery Group trying to do?
Answer: (d) Make ticket prices better
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The machines offer cheaper tickets that you can buy before your trip or special deals for splitting your trip into parts. (Answer: False)
2. People often can find the cheapest options when buying tickets from machines. (Answer: False)
3. The Rail Delivery Group is not trying to make ticket prices easier to understand and let people pay as they go with a special card. (Answer: False)
4. Some ticket machines at train stations charge the same price for tickets as if you buy them online. (Answer: False)
5. Some tickets from machines cost more than twice as much as online. (Answer: True)
6. On average, tickets from machines are 50% more expensive than online. (Answer: True)
7. A group called Which? checked prices at 15 train stations and found big differences. (Answer: True)
8. There was a plan to close many ticket places at stations, but people didn’t like the idea, so it didn’t happen. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧