Caracas elementary

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Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 1
Elementary
1
Key words
Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:
trafic jam crossword stressed side-street
bad-tempered advice motorway avoid
1. If you are ____________, you get angry very easily.
2. If you are ____________, you feel nervous and worried all the time.
3. A ____________ is a wide road with several lanes of trafic in each direction.
4. A ____________ is a small street that is connected to a major street.
5. A ____________ is a situation when cars cannot move because the road is blocked.
6. If you give someone ____________, you tell them the best thing to do in a particular situation.
7. If you ____________ something, you don’t go near it.
8. A ____________ is a word game on paper where you write the answers in rows of squares.
2
Find the information
Look in the text and ind this information.
1. What is the capital of Venezuela?
2. How many cars were sold two years ago?
3. How many cars were sold last year?
4. Who is the President of Venezuela?
5. How far is it from the centre to the airport?
6. Who is Ken Livingstone?
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom in Caracas
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 1
Elementary
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
by Rory Carroll in Caracas
The capital city of Venezuela, Caracas, has some
of the worst trafic jams in the world. The situation
is so bad that psychiatrists are now giving advice
to drivers about what to do when they are in a
trafic jam. The advice includes the following: eat
a snack, read a book, do a crossword, listen to
music but don’t hit or shoot other people!
everything travels on old streets full of holes.
The government has a lot of money from the
sale of oil. It has started a programme of building
bridges and metro lines before the presidential
election next month. But many of these bridges
and metro lines are still not inished. One of them
is a bridge that will connect the centre of Caracas
to the airport. This means that drivers have to
use an old road. It is only 16 miles from the city
to the airport but the journey can take ive hours.
More and more people own a car in Caracas.
Because of this the motorways are blocked
and the side-streets are full of cars from early
morning until late at night. Sometimes whole
districts of the city are completely blocked by
cars. Doctors say the situation is making drivers
very stressed and that this stress is causing
both physical and mental damage. The trafic
problems also cause ights between drivers and
sometimes people shoot each other.
Everyone agrees that the trafic jams are getting
worse every month. Taxi drivers say they are
losing money because they can only make
three journeys a day instead of the ive journeys
they used to make. “It’s impossible. If someone
asks to go into especially heavy trafic I say
no because I will lose half a day,” said Fredy
Afanador, a local taxi driver.
Some people try to avoid the trafic jams by
leaving home at 5 a.m. but this often means that
they don’t get enough sleep and cannot work
properly as a result. They also become bad-
tempered because they are tired all the time and
this may have a negative effect on their sex lives.
Many people are feeling more and more worried
and nervous, Robert Lespinasse, the former
head of the Venezuelan Society of Psychiatry,
told the daily newspaper
Ultimas Noticias
. Armed
gangs also attack and rob drivers in trafic jams
and this makes the situation worse because
people are afraid all the time.
There is no easy solution to the problem.
Doctors have advised people who are sitting
in trafic jams to have a drink or something to
eat and occupy their minds with music, a book,
newspaper or crossword.
The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has
criticised former transport ministers but says the
present minister is doing a good job. He is also
looking to other countries for help. One idea is to
work with the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.
In London, drivers have to pay to enter the centre
of the city. This means there is now less trafic.
Mr Livingstone will give advice to President
Chávez and, in return, Venezuela will sell fuel
to London at a cheaper price. Perhaps this idea
will help to solve the problem of trafic jams in
Caracas.
© Guardian News & Media 2006
Venezuela has a lot of oil and many people
have become rich as a result. Car sales have
increased rapidly. Two years ago 150,000 cars
were sold. Last year 300,000 were sold. But
there are no new roads for the extra trafic so
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom in Caracas
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 1
Elementary
3
Comprehension check
Tick the answers that are correct in each list.
1. If you are in a trafic jam, you should…
a. read a newspaper.
b. watch TV.
c. hit someone.
d. do a crossword.
e. listen to music.
f. have something to eat or drink.
g. read a book.
h. go to sleep.
2. Trafic jams are very bad in Caracas because…
a. there are too many cars.
b. the roads are very old.
c. the drivers are very bad.
d. the new metro lines and bridges are not inished.
e. armed gangs attack and rob drivers.
3. Trafic jams make people feel…
a. stressed.
b. bad-tempered.
c. sad.
d. worried.
e. hungry.
4
Vocabulary Opposites
Find the words in the text that are the opposites of these words:
1. best ____________
2. late ____________
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom in Caracas / Elementary
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 1
Elementary
3. positive ____________
4. better ____________
5. dificult ____________
6. poor ____________
7. light ____________
8. more ____________
5
Vocabulary Prepositions
Fill the gaps using prepositions.
1. Caracas has some of the worst trafic jams _______ the world.
2. Psychiatrists are giving advice _______ drivers.
3. Streets are full of cars from early morning _______ late at night.
4. There is no easy solution _______ the problem.
5. The streets are full _______ holes.
6. Taxi drivers can only make three journeys a day instead _______ the ive journeys they used to make.
7. It is 16 miles _______ the city _______ the airport.
8. In London, drivers have to pay to enter the centre _______ the city.
6
Vocabulary Collocations
Match the verbs with the nouns.
1. solve a. music
2. build b. a car
3. avoid c. advice
4. own d. a crossword
5. eat e. a problem
6. listen to f. a trafic jam
7. do g. a snack
8. give
h. a new road
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom in Caracas
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 1
Elementary
KEY
1 Key words
1. bad-tempered
2. stressed
3. motorway
4. side-street
5. trafic-jam
6. advice
7. avoid
8. crossword
5 Vocabulary: Prepositions
1. in
2. to
3. until
4. to
5. of
6. of
7. from/to
8. of
2 Find the information
1. Caracas
2. 150,000
3. 300,000
4. Hugo Chávez
5. 16 miles
6. mayor of London
6 Vocabulary: Collocations
1. e
2. h
3. f
4. b
5. g
6. a
7. d
8. c
3 Comprehension check
1. a, d, e, f, g
2. a, b, d
3. a, b, d
4 Vocabulary: Opposites
1. worst
2. early
3. negative
4. worse
5. easy
6. rich
7. heavy
8. less
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom in Caracas
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