KEY
Predict the story with these phrases:
An aerial video
A safety feature
An automatic landing
A GPS (Global Positioning System)
Answer these questions:
1. Is this a hobby that anyone here is interested in – making drone
aerial videos
?
2.Can you guess how much a drone like this would cost?
3. There’s something important that isn’t included in the price. Can you guess what it is?
4. Imagine this: you are flying a drone and the battery dies. What do you think would
happen?
Answers:
2. (Answer: between 500
€
and 1500
€
)
3. (Answer: the video camera. Other guesses may include: the remote control; the battery.)
4. (Answer: the DJI Phantom has a
safety feature
. The drone will make
an
automatic landing
just before the battery dies. A
GPS
inside the drone will guide it back
to the same spot where it took off from.)
Story text
Part one
Drone aerial videos
are becoming more and more popular these days. Perhaps you’ve seen
some on YouTube –
bird’s-eye views
of urban landscapes and city landmarks for example.
For
amateur enthusiasts
, the
DJI Phantom
is a popular model. A drone from the
DJI
Phantom
series can cost anything from between 500
€
and 1500
€
. That’s quite an expensive
piece of equipment and it doesn’t include the video camera.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the battery died while the drone was in
flight? Well, the DJI Phantom has
a safety feature
. Just before this happens, the drone will
make an automatic landing. A
GPS
(Global Positioning System) inside the machine will
guide it back to the same spot where it took off from.
Clever, no? What could go possibly
wrong?
YOUR TASK:
Constructing a narrative
Tell a story which involves a drone. It takes place in the Netherlands
and it involves the following:
- A cold day in December
- An amateur drone aerial video enthusiast
- A ditch filled with ice-cold water
- Fully clothed
- Over 4 million views
Using these prompts construct a narrative!
Now I want you to work together to guess what you think happens in the story. It doesn’t matter if you are right or if you are wrong. This is a speaking activity. I want you to share ideas and construct a narrative. Consider all of the details!
__________________________________________________________________________
TIP:
The use of adjectives, adverbials, collocations, idioms,... will make your stories more colourful:
Examples of adverbials
relatively, easily, suddenly, extremely, gratefully, desperately, dangerously, continuously, possibly, urgently, immediately,
Attitude adverbials
amazingly, apparently, astonishingly, unbelievably, clearly, conveniently, curiously, disappointingly, disturbingly, evidently, (un)fortunately, funnily, happily, indisputably, inevitably, interestingly, ironically, laughably, luckily, miraculously, naturally, obviously, personally, predictably, presumably, reassuringly, regrettably, rightly, sadly, sensibly, strangely, (not) surprisingly, understandably, undoubtedly, unexpectedly, unmistakably, (un)wisely, worryingly.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary:
a ditch
: a long hole beside a road or a field that water goes into. Sp. zanja, cuneta, acequia. Note that in the
Netherlands, ditches can be very wide and deep!
Google maps:
http://lessonstream.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Ditch.jpg
an enthusiast
: someone who is passionate about something (a hobby, for
example)
fully clothed
: If someone is fully clothed, they have all of their clothes on. Fully dressed.
fully dressed. adjective wearing clothes, including things such as shoes. E.g. She collapsed fully dressed on the bed
Sample answer
Story text
Part two
A Great Catch
It’s a cold day in December. A (1)_____________ (RELATE) young Dutch man called Zwier goes out with a group of friends to test his brand new DJI Phantom drone. He begins by placing it in the middle of a (2)___________ (FAIR) quiet road. As if by (3)___________ (MAGICALLY), it takes off (4)_______________ (VERTICAL) and Zwier flies it (5)______________ (SMOOTHNESS) above the local (6)______________ (SUBURBS) houses, the (7)______________ (LEAVE) trees, the almost (8)______________ (DESERT) roads and Holland’s (9)________________ (UBIQUITY) canals.
After about 15 minutes, however, Zwier has a (10)_______________ (WHAT) (11)__________________ (EXPECTATIONS) problem: the battery seems to start to die and the (12)____________________ (STATE) drone begins to make an (13)__________________ (AUTOMATE) (14)_______________ (LAND). But to everybody’s surprise, instead of landing on the (15)___________________ (PRACTICE) empty road, the drone slowly starts to come down above a water-filled ditch. The minor problem is that Zwier didn’t set the GPS (16)_______________ (CORRECTNESS)!
The ditch is (17)_______________ (WIDTH) and (18)____________ (DEPTH) and the drone is going to land right in the middle of it. Zwier has (19)____________________ (ABSOLUTE) no choice but to quickly run to the ditch and without (20)____________________ (HESITANTLY) jump in, fully clothed at that. (21)___________________ (OBVIOUSNESS), the ice-cold water (22)_______________ (GRADUAL) comes up to his waist.
Zwier (23)______________(ARDUOUS) wades to the centre of the ditch as quickly as he can, desperate to catch the rather (24)_____________ (COST) drone before it lands in the water. The water gets deeper and deeper as he goes: first, up to his chest, then up to his neck and next up to his chin.
The drone is just centimetres from the surface. However, just in the nick of time, and with all his effort, Zwier reaches out his arms and makes a (25)____________ (HERO) one-handed catch. He spits out a (26)_____________________ (MOUTH) of water and (27)____________ (HAPPINESS) smiles. (28)__________________ (SURPRISE), his friends cheer and applaud him (29)____________________ (ENTHUSIASM). (30)_____________ (CURIOSITY), Zwier’s (31)____________________ (COURAGE) catch was caught on camera, which was attached to the drone that he saved! He then decides to publish the video on YouTube and (32)_____________ (WITH) weeks, it goes (33)_____________ (VIRULENT) and it is viewed over 4 million times.
KEY
1. relatively
2. fairly
3. magic
4. vertically
5. smoothly
smoothness: the quality a surface has when it is completely flat and even, without any rough areas or holes.
- the smoothness of her skin
6. suburban
7. leafy
8. deserted
9. ubiquitous
ubiquity noun /juːˈbɪkwəti/ [uncountable] (formal or humorous) the fact that something seems to be everywhere or in several places at the same time; the fact that something is very common. E.g. the ubiquity of the mass media.
ubiquitous adjective /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/ [usually before noun] (formal or humorous) seeming to be everywhere or in several places at the same time; very common. E.g. the ubiquitous bicycles of university towns. The ubiquitous movie star, Tom Hanks.
10. somewhat
somewhat adverb /ˈsʌmwɒt/ (rather formal) to some degree, rather. E.g. somewhat different/similar. I was somewhat surprised to see him. The situation has changed somewhat since we last met. What happened to them remains somewhat of a mystery. My options are somewhat limited.
11. unexpected
12. state-of-the-art
/ˌsteɪt əv ði ˈɑːt/
using the most modern or advanced techniques or methods; as good as it can be at the present time
- The system was state of the art.
- a state-of-the-art system
- The Physics Department has state of the art facilities.
13. automatic
/ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk/
automate verb /ˈɔːtəmeɪt/ [usually passive] to use machines and computers instead of people to do a job or task. Be automated. The entire manufacturing process has been automated. The factory is now fully automated.
14. landing
15. practically
16. correctly
17. wide
18. deep
19. absolutely
20. hesitation
hesitantly adverb /ˈhezɪtəntli/ in a way that is slow because you feel uncertain, embarrassed or unwilling. E.g. He smiled hesitantly
21. Obviously
obviousness noun /ˈɒbviəsnəs/ [uncountable] the fact of being easy to see or understand. E.g. the obviousness of his injuries.
22. gradually
23. arduously
arduously adverb /ˈɑːdʒuəsli/ in a way that involves a lot of effort and energy, especially over a period of time. E.g. They searched arduously for clues.
24. costly
25. heroic
26. mouthful
27. happily
28. Unsurprisingly
29. enthusiastically
30. Curiously
31. courageous
/kəˈreɪdʒəs/ showing courage. brave.
- a very courageous decision
- I hope people will be courageous enough to speak out against this injustice.
32. within
33. viral
virulent adjective /ˈvɪrələnt/
1. (of a disease or poison) extremely dangerous or harmful and quick to have an effect. E.g. a virulent form of influenza. A particularly virulent flu germ.
2. showing strong negative and bitter feelings
- virulent criticism
- virulent nationalism
Entire text:
It’s a cold day in December. A relatively young Dutch man called Zwier goes out with a group of friends to test his brand new DJI Phantom drone. He begins by placing it in the middle of a fairly quiet road. As if by magic, it takes off vertically and Zwier flies it smoothly above the local suburban houses, the leafy trees, the almost deserted roads and Holland’s ubiquitous canals.
After about 15 minutes, however, Zwier has a somewhat unexpected problem: the battery seems to start to die and the state-of-the-art drone begins to make an automatic landing. But to everybody’s surprise, instead of landing on the practically empty road, the drone slowly starts to come down above a water-filled ditch. The minor problem is that Zwier didn’t set the GPS correctly!
The ditch is wide and deep and the drone is going to land right in the middle of it. Zwier has absolutely no choice but to quickly run to the ditch and without hesitation jump in, fully clothed at that. Obviously, the ice-cold water gradually comes up to his waist.
Zwier arduously wades to the centre of the ditch as quickly as he can, desperate to catch the rather costly drone before it lands in the water. The water gets deeper and deeper as he goes: first, up to his chest, then up to his neck and next up to his chin.
The drone is just centimetres from the surface. However, just in the nick of time, and with all his effort, Zwier reaches out his arms and makes a heroic one-handed catch. He spits out a mouthful of water and happily smiles. Unsurprisingly, his friends cheer and applaud him enthusiastically. Curiously,
Zwier’s courageous catch was caught on camera – the camera attached to the
drone that he saved! He then decides to publish the video on YouTube and
within weeks, it goes viral and it is viewed over 4 million times.
