Hot air balloon in Australia

[World News ★]

85_800px-lake_burley_griffin_with_rowers_and_hot_air_balloon_461374692

(P1) A hot air balloon was flying over the ocean in Australia with 9 people onboard. It was running low on fuel and it was not able to land properly.

(P2) The people were afraid that the balloon would ditch into the ocean, but a passing boat saw it and helped. The pilot was able to offload the passengers one at a time. Once the passengers were safe, the balloon was light enough for the pilot to land safely on a beach. He received a lot of praise for his actions.

WORDS: 90

SOURCE: http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/hot-air-balloon-in-australia-level-2/

VOCABULARY: on-board, fuel, properly, ditch, offload, beach, praise

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Have you ever been on a hot air balloon ride? If so, describe how you felt. If not, would you like to go on one?
  3. Do you think hot air balloons are safe? Why or why not?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Which country was the hot air balloon in?
  2. How many people were in the hot air balloon?
  3. The pilot didn’t receive any praise? (T or F)

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Flying over  (P1)
  • One at a time (p2)
  • light enough (p2)

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Image Source: By Ruth Ellison from Canberra, Australia, CC by 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Burley_Griffin_with_rowers_and_hot_air_balloon_(461374692).jpg