News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 1

June 2010
Level ≥ Advanced
Style ≥ Individual or group activities
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of
English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to
practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: Advanced and Lower Intermediate.
These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardianweekly.co.uk/learningenglish/. You can also
find more advice for teachers and learners from the Guardian Weekly’s Learning English section on the site.
Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Zero-carbon super-yacht sets course for green luxury

Fuelling envy ... an artist’s impression of Soliloquy Callender Designs

mean? What other nouns or adjectives do you know

Before reading beginning with super-?
1 Look at the headline, picture and caption. Answer
the questions below.
a What is special about this yacht?

c Are super-yachts normally “green”?

b What is a “super-yacht”? What type of things

might you find on it? What does the prefix super-
≥2
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June 2010

2 Vocabulary from the article. climate we are unlikely to see as many yachts as
Look at the people below. Check unknown words in large as the Eclipse, but people will want to be
a dictionary. Which person might do the following first in other ways, such as being the first with a
with the super-yacht? – own it, create it, buy and sell green yacht.”
it for their job.
a a Russian oligarch 6 Last June, the world’s largest private yacht, the
b a yacht broker
163-metre Eclipse, owned by Russian oligarch
c a sheikh
Roman Abramovich, was launched complete
d a boat designer
e a super-rich person with a missile defence system and an escape
f a billionaire submarine.

7 Callender said he intends his $59m vessel to

Article appeal to the super-rich who until the global
Zero-carbon super-yacht sets economic crisis competed to own ever-larger
yachts. In 2008, 260 yachts longer than 30 metres
course for green luxury were launched.
1 It is the super-yacht for the carbon-conscious
8 A conventional yacht of the same size as
billionaire. Instead of polluting the Caribbean
Soliloquy powered on the usual marine diesel
and Mediterranean with clouds of diesel smoke,
can burn up to 2,000 litres an hour travelling
oligarchs and sheikhs are being offered the
at 35 knots, according to Yacht Carbon Offset, a
chance to sail zero-carbon, with everything on
company that provides carbon offsetting. A two-
board powered by the sun.
hour journey at that speed creates 12 tonnes of
carbon dioxide.
2 A 24-year-old British boat designer has drawn up
plans for what is thought to be the world’s first
9 “These giant gin palaces use a huge amount of
carbon-neutral super-yacht, and has received
fuel and produce so much pollution, I wanted to
inquiries from wealthy potential clients after
prove that eco-luxury no longer needs to be an
unveiling the designs at recent yacht shows in
oxymoron,” Callender said.
Monaco and Abu Dhabi.
Robert Booth
3 Alastair Callender is promoting the idea of “eco-
luxury” with plans for Soliloquy, an electricity-
powered craft covered in photovoltaic film that Glossary
harnesses the power of the sun. Rigid sails will
double as solar panels to produce enough energy zero-carbon (adjective) when the amount of carbon
to propel the 58-metre-long boat at a cruising dioxide produced by something has been reduced
speed of eight knots, and even the hull will be to nothing or is balanced by actions that protect the
made of sustainable timber instead of more environment
set course for (phrasal verb) to sail in a planned
energy-intensive aluminium.
direction to reach a destination
fuel envy (verb) to make worse the feeling of envy
4 According to Hein Velema, a prominent yacht amongst others
broker based in Monaco, his richest clients are oxymoron (noun) a phrase that combines two
intrigued by the idea of zero-carbon cruising. words that seem to be the opposite of each other, for
example an open secret, a genuine imitation
5 “I was sceptical at first, but I have spoken to a few
clients who are willing to spend a serious amount
extra to go green,” he said. “In the current ≥3
News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 3

June 2010

f Why is the word “eco-luxury” normally an

While reading oxymoron?
1 Read the first five paragraphs of the article. Write yes
(Y) or no (N) next to the sentences.
The super-yacht Soliloquy …
a will be partly powered by diesel fuel.
b is only at the design stage.
c will be the first of its kind.
d has had interest from only one person so far. After reading
e uses sails that absorb the sun’s energy.
1 Vocabulary related to the environment.
f will travel at 58 metres a minute.
Complete the summary with the words below.
g will be partly made of wood.
burn, conscious, energy, film, harness pollution,
solar, fuel, sustainable, neutral,
2 Read the rest of the article. Answer the questions.
a What is unique about the yacht Eclipse? Boat designer Alastair Callender has created plans for
a revolutionary carbon (a)
vessel. The yacht will have photovoltaic
(b) and
(c) panels that will
b Who does it belong to? What can you find on board? (d) the power of the sun
and produce sufficient (e)
to propel it along.
The craft’s hull will be built from
(f) -timber rather than
c What is Callender’s target market for the new yacht?
energy-intensive metal. It is aimed at carbon
(g) billionaires who are
concerned by the fact that most super-yachts
(h) huge quantities of
d Which statistic shows the recent popularity of these (i) and cause air
new large boats? (j) .

2 Comparatives and superlatives.

e How much fuel can a traditional yacht use in one
hour? How much CO2 might be made in a couple of
hours?
Look at these examples from the text:
In 2008, 260 yachts longer than 30 metres were
launched.
Last June, the world’s largest private yacht … was
launched.
Complete the sentences below with the
comparative or superlative of the word in brackets.
a In recent years, a small number of the
(rich) people from the five
(affluent) countries have
bought huge private boats.
b These wealthy individuals have competed to ≥4
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June 2010

own super-yachts that are Fact Sheet

(big), (expensive) and Name: Eclipse
(luxurious) than those of Length: 170 metres
other billionaires. Current owner: Roman Abramovich
Crew: 70
c But some of the (bad) Annual running costs: $36m (estimate)
and (excessive) yachts in Features
the world cause serious environmental problems. Eleven guest cabins
Master suite windows fitted with bullet-proof glass
d Designers are now trying to create vessels that
Two swimming pools
are (efficient) and Private cinema
(cheap) to run than Sports complex
previous models. Private disco
Mini-submarine capable of submerging to 50 metres

Activity – roleplay
Work in groups of four. One student will play role
A, one role B and two students will each play role C.
The salespeople, students A and B, take it in turns to
try to sell the yacht to each client, students C. At the
end, each group will report back to the class.
Student A: you are the salesperson for Soliloquy at the
Monaco yacht show. Read the article again and make a
note of the yacht’s USPs (unique selling propositions).
Prepare your sales pitch.
Student B: you are the salesperson for a version of
Abramovich’s Eclipse. Look back at the article, note
USPs and prepare a pitch. Use the fact sheet and find
more information at: http://bit.ly/eclipsesale
Student C: you are a super-rich person. You have gone
to the show with the intention of acquiring a new and
unique yacht. Write six key questions to ask the two
salespeople

d In 2008 260 large yachts launched.

Answers e 2,000 litres. 12 tonnes.
f Luxury yachts or sports cars etc are usually the opposite of environmentally
Before reading friendly.
1 a It’s a luxury yacht with special features that make it zero-carbon.
b It’s an extremely large and luxurious yacht. Possible ideas: pool, disco, After reading
helicopter pad. Super- means extremely; more or better than normal. Examples: 1a neutral b film c solar d harness e energy f sustainable g conscious h burn i fuel
superhuman, supermodel, superpower. j pollution
c No, they often cause a lot of pollution. 2a richest, most affluent b bigger, more expensive, more luxurious c worst, most
2 Own: Russian oligarch, sheikh, super-rich person, billionaire. excessive d more efficient, cheaper
Create: boat designer. Buy and sell: yacht broker.

While reading
1a N b Y c Y d N e Y f N g Y
2a It’s the world’s largest private yacht.
b Roman Abramovich.
Missile defence system and escape submarine.
c The super-rich.