Caracas intermediate

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Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 2
Intermediate
1
Key words
Fill the gaps using these key words from the text:
commuter
road rage
shoot-out
irritable
tense
disruption
stationary
potholed
neglect
shanty town
1. If a vehicle is ____________, it isn’t moving.
2. A ____________ is a ight in which guns are used.
3. ____________ is a situation in which something cannot continue because of a problem.
4. A ____________ is an area in which poor people live in badly built houses made of wood, metal or other thin
material.
5. ____________ is a situation where drivers behave violently towards other drivers.
6. If a road or street is ____________, it is full of holes.
7. If you ____________ something, you don’t look after it properly and you don’t pay any attention to it.
8. If you are ____________, you become angry or impatient very easily.
9. A ____________ is someone who travels regularly to and from work.
10. If you are ____________, you feel nervous and you cannot relax.
2
What do you think?
The article gives advice on what to do if you are stuck in a trafic-jam. Which three of these six pieces of
advice do you think will be given?
1. read a newspaper
2. close your eyes
3. take deep breaths
4. do a crossword puzzle
5. eat a snack
6. punch someone
Now look in the text and check your answers.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam / Intermediate
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 2
Intermediate
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 have now
begun to give advice to commuters 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 punch
or shoot anyone.
trafic streams into potholed streets that have
been neglected for years.
Caracas lies in a long narrow valley between
skyscrapers and shanty towns. In the hot tropical
sun it can appear to be the site of a battle against
both geography and climate.
The government, with plenty of money from the
sale of oil, has started a programme of build-
ing bridges and metro lines before next month’s
presidential election, but many of these are unin-
ished, including a bridge connecting Caracas to
the airport, which means that drivers have to take
detours through hillside barrios that can turn the
16-mile trip into a ive-hour nightmare.
The number of car owners in Caracas has
increased dramatically and the result of this has
been blocked motorways and side-streets that
are jammed from early morning until late at night.
Entire districts are paralysed and the situation
is driving some motorists crazy. Doctors say the
stress is causing both physical and mental dam-
age and is leading to more cases of road rage,
including shoot-outs.
Everyone agrees that the trafic jams are getting
worse every month. Taxi drivers say their income
has fallen dramatically because they are down
from an average of ive to three fares a day. “It’s
impossible. If someone asks to go into especially
heavy trafic I say no because it will take up half
my day,” said Fredy Afanador, a local taxi driver.
People who try to avoid the trafic jams by leav-
ing home at 5 a.m. have been warned that they
may suffer from lack of sleep, which will reduce
productivity, make them irritable and have a
negative effect on their sex lives.
People are feeling more and more anxious and
tense, Robert Lespinasse, the former head of
the Venezuelan Society of Psychiatry, told the
daily newspaper
Ultimas Noticias
. A psycholo-
gist, Hernan D’Oliveira, said that the disruption in
mental processes was making people less open
to criticism. Armed motorcycle gangs who attack
and rob stationary motorists in broad daylight do
not help the situation.
President Hugo Chávez has criticised former
infrastructure ministers but has praised the
present minister for doing a good job. He is also
looking abroad for help. In return for cheap fuel
for London buses, the mayor of London, Ken
Livingstone, will share his ideas on congestion
charging and other policies in an attempt to solve
the problem of trafic jams in Caracas.
With no obvious solution, people have been
advised that when they are sitting in a trafic jam
they should have a drink or something to eat and
occupy their minds with music, a book, newspa-
per or crossword.
© Guardian News & Media 2006
The rapid increase in vehicle ownership in Ven-
ezuela is the result of huge proits from the sale
of Venezuelan oil. Last year car sales doubled
to 300,000. There are no new roads so the extra
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam / Intermediate
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 2
Intermediate
3
Comprehension check
Are these statements True or False according to the text?
1. Trafic jams in Caracas are not as bad as in other parts of the world.
2. The jams are caused by a rapid increase in car ownership.
3. There is no simple solution to the problem.
4. The government has a lot of money from the sale of oil.
5. Taxi drivers are earning more money now.
6. There is a new bridge linking Caracas with the airport.
7. The president has criticised the work of the current infrastructure minister.
8. The mayor of London will try to help solve the trafic problems in Caracas.
4
Vocabulary Opposites
Replace the underlined words with their opposites. Check your answers in the text.
1.
increase
productivity ____________
2. increase
slightly
____________
3.
gradual
increase ____________
4.
very small
proits ____________
5. getting
better
____________
6.
light
trafic ____________
7.
too much
sleep ____________
8. a long
wide
valley ____________
5
Vocabulary Find the word or expression
Find these words or expressions.
1. A word meaning a street that is not a main street. (para. 2)
2. Two more words for blocked. (para. 2)
3. An expression meaning in the middle of the day. (para. 4)
4. A verb meaning to increase by 100%. (para. 6)
5. A word meaning a very tall building containing ofices or lats. (para. 7)
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam / Intermediate
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 2
Intermediate
6. A word meaning a way of going from one place to another that is not the shortest or the usual way. (para. 8)
7. A word meaning a poor district in a city in a Spanish-speaking country. (para. 8)
8. A system of making drivers pay to enter city centres. (para. 10)
6
Vocabulary Word building
Complete the table.
Verb
Noun
1. advise ____________
2. warn ____________
3. criticise ____________
4. reduce ____________
5. rob ____________
6. disrupt ____________
7. attack ____________
8. appear ____________
7
Discussion
Do you have trafic jams in your town or city? What are the best ways to avoid such jams in the future?
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam / Intermediate
Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam
Level 2
Intermediate
KEY
1 Key words
1. stationary
2. shoot-out
3. disruption
4. shanty town
5. road rage
6. potholed
7. neglect
8. irritable
9. commuter
10. tense
5 Vocabulary: Find the word or expression
1. side-street
2. jammed / paralysed
3. in broad daylight
4. double
5. skyscraper
6. detour
7. barrio
8. congestion charging
2 What do you think?
1; 4; 5
6 Vocabulary: Word building
1. advice
2. warning
3. criticism
4. reduction
5. robbery
6. disruption
7. attack
8. appearance
3 Comprehension check
1. F
2. T
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. F
8. T
4 Vocabulary: Opposites
1. reduce
2. dramatically
3. rapid
4. huge
5. worse
6. heavy
7. a lack of
8. narrow
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006
NEWS LESSONS / Car boom leaves Caracas in one big jam / Intermediate
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