Amelia Earhart

One of the most widely-known female pilots – and the mystery of her death.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• pilot: a person who flies an airplane
• passenger: a person who travels in a vehicle or plane, who is not the person driving it
• capable: skilled, competent
• solo: alone; not accompanied by other people
• depart: to leave a place, especially for a journey

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

American pilot Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897. She became interested in flying after her first ride at age 23. She began to take flying lessons in 1921, and earned her pilot’s license in 1923. In 1928, Earhart was a passenger on a flight across the Atlantic ocean. The flight took over 20 hours, and after the plane landed, Earhart quickly became . Determined to prove that she was a capable pilot herself, Earhart made another trip across the Atlantic – this time as the pilot of the plane. She completed this flight in 14 hours, which was a new . After her solo flight across the Atlantic, Earhart made several other historic flights, including the first solo flight from Hawaii to California. In 1937, Earhart decided that she wanted to fly around the world. She departed from Miami, Florida, and nearly 40,000 kilometres before her plane mysteriously disappeared. Earhart was never found. The most common explanation is that she crashed in the Pacific ocean after her plane ran out of fuel.

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. While it is very likely that Amelia Earhart crashed in the Pacific Ocean, no one knows for sure what happened to her. Do you have any other theories about why her plane disappeared?

Transcript

American pilot Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897. She became interested in flying after her first airplane ride at age 23. She began to take flying lessons in 1921, and earned her pilot’s license in 1923. In 1928, Earhart was a passenger on a historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The flight took over 20 hours, and after the plane landed, Earhart quickly became famous. Determined to prove that she was a capable pilot herself, Earhart made another trip across the Atlantic – this time as the pilot of the plane. She completed this flight in 14 hours, which was a new record. After her solo flight across the Atlantic, Earhart made several other historic flights, including the first solo flight from Hawaii to California. In 1937, Earhart decided that she wanted to fly around the world. She departed from Miami, Florida, and travelled nearly 40,000 kilometres before her plane mysteriously disappeared. Earhart was never found. The most common explanation is that she crashed in the Pacific Ocean after her plane ran out of fuel.