INSTITUTO SUPERIOR CULTURAL BRITANICO
FOURTH INTENSIVE - TASK UNIT 3
AIR TRAVEL
1. Read the article about Jack Vroom. Choose from the sentences A-F the one which fits each
gap (1-5). There is one extra sentence you do not need to use.
A Mr Vroom flew so often that he knew the planes better than most of the cabin crews
B In a period of 20 years, he estimates that he flew a staggering 38 million miles
C Although he believes he hadn’t done anything wrong, American Airlines disagreed.
D He worked as a catalogue sales representative.
E On top of that, the ticket holder could also collect airmiles each time they flew
F The AAirpass quickly paid for itself.
The ultimate frequent flyer
Jack Vroom, an American businessman from Dallas, Texas, has made a claim as the ultimate frequent flyer. (---1-
---) Even more amazingly, he did this without paying for any of the flights. But after having flown enough times to
go round the world 1,600 times, Mr Vroom has now been banned from flying on American Airlines.
Mr Vroom’s adventure began in 1988, when a friend told him about a unique opportunity. American Airlines were
selling an unlimited, life-long first-class travel pass called the AAirpass. For a fee of $350,000 plus interest, the
ticket-holder and one companion could fly first-class anywhere, whenever they wanted, and as much as they
wanted. (----2----). Although they were expensive, American Airlines sold a total of 40 tickets, before they stopped
issuing them in 2004.
The pass was designed mostly for business use, but Jack Vroom decided to use it all the time. (---3----) He would
fly across the USA to watch his son play American football at university, or to pick up his father-in-law from
Washington DC so he could babysit his children. He told friends it was cheaper than paying for a local babysitter.
He would also go abroad too, often just for a few hours. He flew to Milan to pick up some parts for a motorbike,
and to Guadalajara, Mexico, just to buy some belts. (---4----) He didn’t even need to show his pass, and everyone
at his local airport knew him by name.
His adventure came to end, though, in 2009 on a flight back from London. He had used his companion pass to fly
his daughter’s friend back to the US, but when they arrived at Heathrow airport, Mr Vroom was taken to the VIP
lounge and was given a letter saying that he could never use the ticket again. (----5----) When they checked who
he was flying with, they noticed he booked trips with people he had never flown with before. They also noticed he
would fly to far-away destinations in Europe and Asia, but only stay for a few hours. They accused him of selling
his companion ticket, which was against the rules. His frequent flying was also costing the airline millions of
dollars a year.
Mr Vroom disagrees with the decision, and believes there was nothing written anywhere which said he wasn’t
allowed to gain compensation from his companion ticket. He believes that any money made was for his business
services, or simply because friends wanted to pay him for the flight.
These days, Mr Vroom stays on the ground, working as a teacher and giving lectures in his house in the city of
Dallas in the United States.
1. B
2. E
3. D
4. A
5. C
1. B. Do you agree with the airline’s decision? Why (not)? Do you think that Jack Vroom
made a terrible mistake? Why (not)?
2. Complete the words in the sentences.
1 ecurity
You can’t take prohibited items such as sharp objects through s________.
2 aul
Passengers are not always served meals on short-h________ flights.
3 and
The plane l________ on the runway with a loud bang.
4 oardingpass.
Your seat number is printed on your b________
5 You have to go through passport c________ to get to the departures lounge.
6 eclaim
If you only have hand luggage, you don’t need to go to baggage r________.
7 isle
You can usually choose a window or a________ seat if the plane isn’t full.
8 et lagyou get for a few days afterwards.
The worst part of flying across time zones is the j_____
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
3. A. Rewrite the sentences using SUCH.
A. The flight was so bumpy that I got really nervous.
It was such a bumpy..
B. The mistake was so terrible that he lost his jo.
It
was such terrible...
C. Those flights were so terrifying that I didn’t want to travel any more.
The flights were such terrifying...
D. The music was so relaxing that I could sleep beautifully during the flight.
It was such relaxing...
3. B Rewrite the sentences using SO.
A. It was such a noisy child that I couldn’t sleep the whole flight.
The child was so noisy...
B. They were such uncomfortable seats that I couldn’t rest.
The seats were so uncomfortable...
C. It was such nice weather that we walked all day.
The weather was so nice ...
D. Heathrow is such a big airport that has 5 terminals.
Heathrow is so big...
4. Complete the sentences with the correct PAST TENSE.
PAST SIMPLE – PAST CONTINUOUS – PAST PERFECT SIMPLE – PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
1 was
I ________ (drive) on the motorway for ages when I realized I was on the wrong one!
driving
2 had
When I got on the place, I realized that I ________ (forget) one of my suitcases!
forgotten
3 was
When we got to the ski resort it ________ (snow) so heavily that we couldn’t ski.
snowing
4 I was disappointed the flight to Madrid was cancelled – I had been(look) forward to it for
________
months. looked
5 came (come) as soon as I got to the bus stop.
The bus ________
6 Weweren't
________ (not wait) outside the airport when you called, we were in the hall.
waiting
5. Put the words in the right place to make sentences. (ADVERBS)
1 hardly / to / find / we / ever / time / together / can / travel
2 the / had / had / already / difficulties / place / apparently / already / some
3 I’m / glad / flight / finished / has / extremely / the
4 the / be / an / in / on / you’ll / beach / sitting / hour / half
5 speak / slowly / passengers / I / I’m / more / with / always / English / when
6 taxi / fast / drove / early / we / fortunately / driver / incredibly / arrived / the / and
1
2
3
4
5
6
6. Complete the sentences with the correct word(s). (CONFUSING ADVERBS)
1 I’ve written two novels, but I’m writing short stories ________.
lately actually at the moment
2 Are we ________ there, dad? We’ve been driving for hours and hours!
yet nearly still
3 Laura kept asking me about that book so ________ I bought her a copy.
in the end especially at the end
4 The pilot could ________ see the runway lights in the thick fog.
hard even hardly
5 Every flight I’ve been on recently has arrived ________.
lately in the end late
6 I read a lot of fiction, ________ crime fiction.
specially actually especially
7. WRITING. Write a story using the pictures and the adverbs given.
Number of words: 140
4th intensive teens
