A pilot in South Africa had a scary experience when he found a dangerous snake on his plane. The pilot, Rudolph Erasmus, was flying at 11,000 feet when he felt a cold sensation on his back. He thought it was water from his bottle, but when he looked, he saw a cobra snake under his seat! Mr. Erasmus made an emergency landing and told the passengers about the snake. Everyone on the plane was very quiet and scared. The snake was very dangerous and could kill someone in just thirty minutes. The passengers and the pilot were lucky to be safe. Later, the plane was checked, but the snake was not found. The pilot has been praised for being calm and brave in a scary situation.
Original news source: South Africa snake on plane: Deadly cobra in cockpit forces emergency
landing (BBC)
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Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– What’s the Story?
Instructions: Summarize the article in 1-2 sentences. Then, have students work in pairs to retell the story to each other in their own words. Encourage them to use new vocabulary words from the article.
– Emergency Situations
Instructions: Ask students to brainstorm different emergency situations that could happen on a plane. Write their answers on the whiteboard. Then, have them work in pairs to come up with a plan for how they would handle that situation. Encourage them to use English to discuss their plan.
– Vocabulary Table
Instructions: On the whiteboard, create a table with two columns: “New Vocabulary” and “Definition.” Write the following words on the board: pilot, cobra, emergency landing, poisonous, praised. Have students work in pairs or small groups to come up with definitions for each word. Then, as a class, fill in the table together.
– Scary Stories
Instructions: Have students work in pairs to share a scary story they know. Encourage them to use English to tell the story. After each pair shares their story, have the class vote on which story was the scariest. This will help them practice speaking and listening in English.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What did the pilot feel on his back?
2. What did the pilot find under his seat?
3. Was the cobra snake dangerous?
4. How long could it take for the snake to kill someone?
5. Did anyone get hurt?
6. Was the snake found?
7. Was the pilot praised for his bravery?
8. What is the name of the pilot in the story?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
A pilot in South Africa had a scary experience when he found a __________ snake on his plane. The pilot, Rudolph Erasmus, was flying at __________ feet when he felt a cold sensation on his back. He thought it was __________ from his bottle, but when he looked, he saw a __________ under his seat! Mr. Erasmus made an emergency landing and told the passengers about the snake. Everyone on the plane was very quiet and __________. The snake was very __________ and could kill someone in just thirty minutes. The passengers and the pilot were lucky to be safe. Later, the plane was checked, but the snake was not found. The pilot has been praised for being __________ and brave in a scary situation.
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Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. Have you ever seen a snake before?
2. Do you like snakes?
3. How would you feel if you saw a snake on a plane?
4. Do you think it was scary for the pilot to find a snake on his plane?
5. What did the pilot feel on his back?
6. What did the pilot think it was at first?
7. What did the pilot see when he looked under his seat?
8. Was the snake dangerous?
9. How quickly could the snake kill someone?
10. Were the passengers scared?
11. What did the pilot do when he found the snake?
12. Did the pilot and passengers stay safe?
13. Was the snake found on the plane?
14. Do you think the pilot was brave?
15. Would you be scared if you were on the plane?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. snake
2. pilot
3. cobra
4. landing
5. passengers
6. emergency
7. dangerous
8. brave
Meanings:
A) People who are flying in a plane
B) Able to cause harm or injury
C) A type of poisonous snake
D) A safe return to the ground after being in the air
E) The person who flies the plane
F) Showing courage or strength in a scary situation
G) Something that needs immediate action or attention
H) A type of reptile with a long, thin body
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Where did the pilot find the snake?
(a) In the cockpit
(b) Under his seat
(c) In the passenger cabin
(d) On the wing
2. How did the pilot feel the snake?
(a) He saw it crawling
(b) He heard it hissing
(c) He felt a cold sensation on his back
(d) He smelled it
3. What altitude was the plane flying at?
(a) 1,000 feet
(b) 5,000 feet
(c) 11,000 feet
(d) 15,000 feet
4. How dangerous was the snake?
(a) It was not dangerous
(b) It could kill someone in thirty minutes
(c) It could kill someone in one hour
(d) It could only hurt small animals
5. What did the pilot do when he found the snake?
(a) He continued flying
(b) He made an emergency landing
(c) He tried to catch the snake
(d) He called a snake expert
6. What did the passengers do when they heard about the snake?
(a) They laughed and took pictures
(b) They screamed and panicked
(c) They stayed quiet and scared
(d) They helped the pilot search for the snake
7. Was the snake found after the plane landed?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) It was found in the cockpit
(d) It was found in the passenger cabin
8. How was the pilot described after the incident?
(a) He was praised for being calm and brave
(b) He was criticized for causing a panic
(c) He was fired for endangering the passengers
(d) He was given a reward for finding the snake
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. The pilot was flying in South Africa.
2. The pilot felt a cold sensation on his back.
3. The pilot found a cobra snake on his plane.
4. The snake was not dangerous.
5. The passengers on the plane were not scared.
6. The snake could kill someone in just thirty minutes.
7. The snake was found and removed from the plane.
8. The pilot was praised for being calm and brave.
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 happened to the pilot while he was flying?
2. Did the pilot see a cobra snake on his plane?
3. Were the passengers scared after the pilot told them about the snake?
4. Could the snake have killed someone on the plane?
5. Was the snake found when the plane was checked?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What did the pilot feel on his back?
Answer: The pilot felt something cold on his back.
2. What did the pilot find under his seat?
Answer: The pilot found a cobra snake under his seat.
3. Was the cobra snake dangerous?
Answer: Yes, the cobra snake was very dangerous.
4. How long could it take for the snake to kill someone?
Answer: The snake could kill someone in just thirty minutes.
5. Did anyone get hurt?
Answer: No, everyone was safe and no one got hurt.
6. Was the snake found?
Answer: No, the snake was not found.
7. Was the pilot praised for his bravery?
Answer: Yes, the pilot was praised for being calm and brave in a scary situation.
8. What is the name of the pilot in the story?
Answer: The pilot’s name is Rudolph Erasmus.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. dangerous
2. 11,000
3. water
4. cobra
5. scared
6. deadly
7. calm
8. brave
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. snake
Answer: H) A type of reptile with a long, thin body
2. pilot
Answer: E) The person who flies the plane
3. cobra
Answer: C) A type of poisonous snake
4. landing
Answer: D) A safe return to the ground after being in the air
5. passengers
Answer: A) People who are flying in a plane
6. emergency
Answer: G) Something that needs immediate action or attention
7. dangerous
Answer: B) Able to cause harm or injury
8. brave
Answer: F) Showing courage or strength in a scary situation
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. Where did the pilot find the snake?
Answer: (b) Under his seat
2. How did the pilot feel the snake?
Answer: (c) He felt a cold sensation on his back
3. What altitude was the plane flying at?
Answer: (c) 11,000 feet
4. How dangerous was the snake?
Answer: (b) It could kill someone in thirty minutes
5. What did the pilot do when he found the snake?
Answer: (b) He made an emergency landing
6. What did the passengers do when they heard about the snake?
Answer: (c) They stayed quiet and scared
7. Was the snake found after the plane landed?
Answer: (b) No
8. How was the pilot described after the incident?
Answer: (a) He was praised for being calm and brave
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. The pilot was flying in South Africa.
Answer: True
2. The pilot felt a cold sensation on his back.
Answer: True
3. The pilot found a cobra snake on his plane.
Answer: True
4. The snake was not dangerous.
Answer: False
5. The passengers on the plane were not scared.
Answer: False
6. The snake could kill someone in just thirty minutes.
Answer: True
7. The snake was found and removed from the plane.
Answer: False
8. The pilot was praised for being calm and brave.
Answer: True
Go back to questions ⇧
