Apple had been thinking about making electric cars for ten years, but now they’ve decided not to. Instead, they’re moving the people who were working on the car project to work on artificial intelligence, or AI, which is a kind of smart computer technology. Experts think Apple made this choice because more people want AI now than electric cars. Apple is also making new things like a virtual reality headset called Vision Pro.

The company stopped its car project when more people started wanting AI things, like smart phones that can do special tasks by themselves. A research group thinks that soon, lots of people will buy these smart phones. But not as many people want electric cars right now because they cost a lot to borrow money to buy them. Big car companies and a truck company are also having a hard time and are making fewer cars or letting some workers go.

Elon Musk, who runs a car company called Tesla, made a small joke on the internet about Apple stopping its car project. Tesla is also finding it hard to sell as many electric cars and had to make them cheaper in some places. Apple’s choice to work on AI instead of cars shows that technology companies are getting more interested in AI. This is because AI can be used in many different ways and is becoming very important.

Original news source: Apple unplugs self-driving electric car project, reports say (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Write down words related to the article (e.g. Apple, electric cars, artificial intelligence, smart phones) on small pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. One student from each team will take turns picking a word and silently acting it out while their team tries to guess the word within a time limit.

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs, students take turns summarizing the main points of the article to their partner. Encourage them to use their own words and focus on the most important information.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Ask the students to form small groups and discuss their opinions on Apple’s decision to shift their focus to AI instead of electric cars. Each group should appoint a spokesperson to present their group’s opinions to the class. Encourage the class to engage in a respectful discussion and compare different points of view.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Give each student a small whiteboard or a piece of paper. Choose key vocabulary words from the article (e.g. electric cars, artificial intelligence, smart phones) and ask the students to draw a picture representing each word. They can then take turns showing their drawings to the class and guessing the corresponding word.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs, students discuss and make predictions about the future of technology. They can use the article as a starting point and think about how AI and electric cars might develop in the coming years. Encourage them to support their predictions with reasons and evidence from the article or their own knowledge.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Apple decide not to make after thinking about it for ten years?
2. What will the people who were working on the car project now be working on?
3. Why do experts think Apple made this choice?
4. What is the name of the virtual reality headset that Apple is making?
5. Why did Apple stop its car project?
6. Why do fewer people want electric cars right now?
7. What does Apple’s choice to work on AI instead of cars show about technology companies?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Apple had been thinking about making electric cars for ten (1)______, but now they’ve decided not to. Instead, they’re (2)______ the (3)______ who were working on the car project to work on artificial intelligence, or AI, which is a kind of smart computer technology. Experts think Apple made this choice because more people want AI now than electric cars. Apple is also (4)______ new things like a virtual reality headset called Vision Pro.

The company stopped its car project when more people started wanting AI things, like (5)______ (6)______ that can do special tasks by themselves. A research group thinks that soon, lots of people will buy these smart phones. But not as many people want electric cars right now because they (7)______ a lot to borrow money to buy them. Big car companies and a truck company are also having a hard time and are making fewer cars or letting some workers go.

Elon Musk, who runs a car company called Tesla, (8)______ a small joke on the (9)______ about Apple stopping its car project. Tesla is also finding it hard to sell as (10)______ electric cars and had to make them (11)______ in some places. Apple’s choice to work on AI instead of cars shows that technology companies are getting more interested in AI. This is because AI can be (12)______ in many different ways and is becoming very important.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is artificial intelligence, or AI?
2. How do you think Apple made the decision to work on AI instead of electric cars?
3. Do you think more people want AI or electric cars right now? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you had a smart phone that could do special tasks by itself?
5. Do you like the idea of virtual reality headsets like Vision Pro? Why or why not?
6. What do you think about big car companies and a truck company making fewer cars or letting workers go?
7. How do you think Elon Musk felt when he made a joke about Apple stopping its car project?
8. Do you think it’s a good idea for Tesla to make electric cars cheaper in some places? Why or why not?
9. Why do you think technology companies are becoming more interested in AI?
10. Can you think of any ways that AI could be used in our everyday lives?
11. How important do you think AI is becoming in our world? Why or why not?
12. If you had the choice, would you rather work on AI or electric cars? Why?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. artificial
2. intelligence
3. virtual
4. reality
5. headset
6. research
7. borrow
8. companies
9. truck
10. internet
11. technology
12. important

Meanings:
(A) Very significant or valuable
(B) The ability to learn and understand things
(C) Something you wear on your head to see or hear things better
(D) A big vehicle used for carrying goods
(E) Made by people, not natural
(F) Businesses that make or sell things
(G) Carefully studying something to learn more about it
(H) To get something from someone with the plan to give it back later
(I) A huge network that lets you see websites and talk to people online
(J) Not real, made by computers
(K) The world around us, what we see and experience
(L) The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What has Apple decided to focus on instead of making electric cars?
(a) Virtual reality headsets
(b) Smart phones
(c) Artificial intelligence (AI)
(d) Trucks

2. Why did Apple choose to work on AI instead of cars?
(a) More people want AI now than electric cars
(b) Electric cars are too expensive to buy
(c) Big car companies are making fewer cars
(d) Elon Musk made a joke about Apple’s car project

3. What is the name of Apple’s virtual reality headset?
(a) AI Pro
(b) Car Pro
(c) Tesla Pro
(d) Vision Pro

4. Why are fewer people buying electric cars right now?
(a) They are not as popular as smart phones
(b) Big car companies are making fewer cars
(c) Elon Musk made a joke about Apple’s car project
(d) They cost a lot to borrow money to buy them

5. Who is the CEO of Tesla?
(a) Tim Cook
(b) Elon Musk
(c) Steve Jobs
(d) Mark Zuckerberg

6. Why did Tesla have to make their electric cars cheaper in some places?
(a) They wanted to compete with Apple’s car project
(b) They wanted to focus on AI instead of cars
(c) They were not selling as many cars as they wanted
(d) Elon Musk made a joke about Apple’s car project

7. Why are technology companies becoming more interested in AI?
(a) AI is cheaper to develop than electric cars
(b) AI can be used in many different ways
(c) AI is more popular than smart phones
(d) AI is easier to sell than electric cars

8. What is AI?
(a) Artificial intelligence
(b) Electric cars
(c) Virtual reality headsets
(d) Smart phones

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Apple is also working on a virtual reality headset called Vision Pro.
2. Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular due to their affordability when purchased with borrowed money.
3. Experts believe that Apple made this choice because more people want AI technology than electric cars.
4. Apple had been thinking about making electric cars for ten years, but now they’ve decided not to.
5. Both big car companies and a truck company are thriving and increasing production by hiring more workers.
6. A research group predicts that fewer people will purchase smart phones with AI capabilities in the near future.
7. Instead of making cars, Apple is now focusing on artificial intelligence (AI).
8. The company continued its car project despite fewer people showing interest in AI technology, like smart phones that can perform specific tasks independently.
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 did Apple decide not to make after thinking about it for ten years?
2. What are the people who were working on the car project going to work on now?
3. Why did Apple choose to work on artificial intelligence instead of electric cars?
4. What is Apple making now besides artificial intelligence?
5. Why are more people interested in AI than electric cars right now?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did Apple decide not to make after thinking about it for ten years?
Apple decided not to make electric cars.

2. What will the people who were working on the car project now be working on?
The people who were working on the car project will now be working on artificial intelligence (AI).

3. Why do experts think Apple made this choice?
Experts think Apple made this choice because more people want AI now than electric cars.

4. What is the name of the virtual reality headset that Apple is making?
The virtual reality headset that Apple is making is called Vision Pro.

5. Why did Apple stop its car project?
Apple stopped its car project because more people started wanting AI things, like smart phones that can do special tasks by themselves.

6. Why do fewer people want electric cars right now?
Fewer people want electric cars right now because they cost a lot of money to buy and borrow money for.

7. What does Apple’s choice to work on AI instead of cars show about technology companies?
Apple’s choice to work on AI instead of cars shows that technology companies are getting more interested in AI because it can be used in many different ways and is becoming very important.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) years
(2) moving
(3) people
(4) making
(5) smart
(6) phones
(7) cost
(8) made
(9) internet
(10) many
(11) cheaper
(12) used
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. artificial
Answer: (E) Made by people, not natural

2. intelligence
Answer: (B) The ability to learn and understand things

3. virtual
Answer: (J) Not real, made by computers

4. reality
Answer: (K) The world around us, what we see and experience

5. headset
Answer: (C) Something you wear on your head to see or hear things better

6. research
Answer: (G) Carefully studying something to learn more about it

7. borrow
Answer: (H) To get something from someone with the plan to give it back later

8. companies
Answer: (F) Businesses that make or sell things

9. truck
Answer: (D) A big vehicle used for carrying goods

10. internet
Answer: (I) A huge network that lets you see websites and talk to people online

11. technology
Answer: (L) The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems

12. important
Answer: (A) Very significant or valuable
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What has Apple decided to focus on instead of making electric cars?
Answer: (c) Artificial intelligence (AI)

2. Why did Apple choose to work on AI instead of cars?
Answer: (a) More people want AI now than electric cars

3. What is the name of Apple’s virtual reality headset?
Answer: (d) Vision Pro

4. Why are fewer people buying electric cars right now?
Answer: (d) They cost a lot to borrow money to buy them

5. Who is the CEO of Tesla?
Answer: (b) Elon Musk

6. Why did Tesla have to make their electric cars cheaper in some places?
Answer: (c) They were not selling as many cars as they wanted

7. Why are technology companies becoming more interested in AI?
Answer: (b) AI can be used in many different ways

8. What is AI?
Answer: (a) Artificial intelligence
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Apple is also working on a virtual reality headset called Vision Pro. (Answer: True)
2. Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular due to their affordability when purchased with borrowed money. (Answer: False)
3. Experts believe that Apple made this choice because more people want AI technology than electric cars. (Answer: True)
4. Apple had been thinking about making electric cars for ten years, but now they’ve decided not to. (Answer: True)
5. Both big car companies and a truck company are thriving and increasing production by hiring more workers. (Answer: False)
6. A research group predicts that fewer people will purchase smart phones with AI capabilities in the near future. (Answer: False)
7. Instead of making cars, Apple is now focusing on artificial intelligence (AI). (Answer: True)
8. The company continued its car project despite fewer people showing interest in AI technology, like smart phones that can perform specific tasks independently. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧