Author: Gareth

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Structure: ‘What was it like?’

Fly High English - Structure

This time in our structure help we talk about the preposition ‘like’ and in particular the question; what was it like? Students sometimes confuse the verb ‘like’ with the preposition ‘like’ and can be confused about the meaning of this type of question. Check out the diagram below to discover what it means and and then try to write some questions of your own.

Diagram explaining the question 'What was it like?'
What was it like?

Look at the following conversation.
A: I flew first class from New York to Dubai last month.
B: What was it like?
A: It was amazing! Wonderful food, champagne and a proper bed to sleep in!

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Have a great day!

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Video answers: ‘Solar Impulse completes its round-the-world trip’

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It started (and finished) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
  2. It’s as wide as a jumbo jet and has the weight of a family car, according to the video.
  3. It gets its power from the 17,000 solar cells along the wings fuselage and other surfaces of the plane.
  4. The flight between Burma and China was one of the trickiest parts of the trip because of the terrain.
  5. The objective was the make society greener and cleaner through awareness of new technologies.

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Video: ‘Solar Impulse completes its round-the-world trip’

Fly High English - Video

Here’s a video that reports on the completion of the Solar Impulse round-the-world trip.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Where did the record breaking journey start?
  2. What size and weight is the plane?
  3. Where does the plane get its power?
  4. What was one of the most difficult parts of the trip?
  5. What was the objective of the trip?

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Have a great weekend!

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Structure: ‘Modals 4’

Modals related to ability, permission, prohibition and obligation

We talked previously about how our modal verbs related to probability. Next we look at specific meanings to each of our modal verbs. Follow the examples and write some of your own to practice.

Ability

Ability
– Can you fly a multiengine plane?
– I could fly a glider when I was 17.

Permission

Permission
– Can we use runway 11 to land?
– The controller said that they could begin their startup.
– You may use the lavatory when the seatbelt sign is switched off.
– Might I switch seats? This one doesn’t recline.

Prohibition

Prohibition
– You can’t sit in the emergency exit seat with a baby.
– They told us that we couldn’t board the plane first.
– You may not bring liquids of more than 100ml on the flight.
– You shouldn’t drink a lot of alcohol on a flight.
– You mustn’t smoke on a flight.

Obligation

Obligation
– He should review the weather charts before the flight.
– Passengers must sit in their assigned seats.

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Video answers: ‘Farnborough narrow-body disruptors’

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. The Bombardier CSeries and the Embraer E2 are the wannabe disruptors from the show.
  2. They were taken on flights to show that the plane is a serious contender to Airbus and Boeing.
  3. People usually notice the wider seats, wider aisle, larger windows and the fact that each row has one and a half windows each.
  4. They didn’t have previous requirements from legacy airplanes so they were able to design it as they wanted.
  5. It’s an evolution of the previous generation with new wings and new engines.

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Video: ‘Farnborough narrow-body disruptors’

Fly High English - Video

This week’s video reports on the narrow-body disruptors from Farnborough; those smaller manufacturers that are trying to take a bigger piece of the aviation pie for themselves. Watch the video to find out who they are and what they’re offering.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Who are the wannabe disruptors from Farnborough?
  2. Why were journalists, suppliers and dignitaries taken on CSeries flights?
  3. What do people first notice when they walk on board the plane?
  4. What was different about the design process of the CSeries cockpit.
  5. How does the E2 compare to the first generation of E-Jet?

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Have a great weekend!

Narrowbody Disruptors At The Farnborough Airshow

Two new narrowbody competitors to Airbus and Boeing are at this year’s Farnborough Airshow. Bombardier has been showing off the C Series with media and VIP flights on the eve of the show, while Embraer’s E2 is making its international debut just six weeks after first flight.