Racing at 200 miles an hour

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Check your understandingReading comprehension
7. 7Listen: Alicia's pit crewListening comprehension
8. 8Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
9. 9What does it mean?Grammar exercise
10. 10Contrast and purposeGrammar rule
11. 11Contrast or purpose?Grammar exercise
12. 12Say it naturallySpeaking practice
13. 13Is it worth it?Speaking practice
14. 14Let's discussDiscussion
15. 15Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: contrast and purposeGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: a sport I love (or hate)Discussion

Words

• grueling/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/

  very hard and tiring, for a long time

• reflexes/ˈriːfleksɪz/

  the ability to react very quickly without thinking (a reflex: one such reaction)

• overtake/ˌoʊvərˈteɪk/

  to go past a car, a runner or a competitor that is in front of you (for cars on the road, Americans usually say pass)

• pit stop/ˈpɪt stɑːp/

  a short stop during a race to change tires or fix a car (also: a short stop during a trip)

• podium/ˈpoʊdiəm/

  the small platform where the top three in a competition stand to get their prizes (finish on the podium: finish in the top three)

• cutting-edge/ˌkʌtɪŋ ˈedʒ/

  the newest and most advanced

• fan base/ˈfæn beɪs/

  all the fans of a team, a sport, a singer or a show

• rookie/ˈrʊki/

  a person in their first year in a job or a professional sport

• contender/kənˈtendər/

  a person or team with a good chance of winning

• rivalry/ˈraɪvlri/

  a situation in which two people or teams compete with each other, often for a long time

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about sports.

1. Which sport would you most like to see live, in a stadium or at a track? Why?
2. Would you call car racing a sport? Why, or why not?
3. What is the fastest you have ever traveled, in any kind of vehicle?

Grammar rule

Contrast and purpose

Meaning	Words	Example
a surprising contrast	although / even though + clause	Even though the museum was free, it was almost empty.
a surprising contrast	despite / in spite of + noun or -ing	Despite the high prices, the shop is always busy. In spite of having little money, they traveled the world.
two different facts	whereas / while + clause	Cats can be happy alone, whereas dogs need company.
purpose (why)	to / in order to / so as to + verb	He got up at five in order to watch the race live.
purpose (why)	so that + clause (often with can, could, will, would)	I'll print the tickets so that we don't need our phones.

despite does not take of, and it is not followed by a full clause: not despite it was expensive (say despite the price, or although it was expensive). For a negative purpose, use so as not to, in order not to or so that … won't: Wear gloves so as not to cut your hands. The unit's grammar lesson practices these fully.