STUDY GUIDE

UNIT 5
Global reading Skimming : Reading-comprehension exercise; find
out the meaning on each paragraph

Holding patterns
1 The flight is almost over. You have watched a couple of movies, taken a nap,
and eaten a meal. Time has gone quite quickly. However, you are glad you are
nearly there; it has been a long flight. You think about arriving and what you are
doing next. And then the captain says that landing has been delayed for at least
30 minutes. He tells you the plane has entered a holding pattern and that you
will be there for some time. So there you sit, going around and
around for the next hour.
2 Using holding patterns is the standard way for dealing with aircraft which are
unable to land. The problem may be because of the weather or busy runways
below. The airplane needs to stay in the air,so it enters a flight path called a
holding pattern. A holding pattern is the same shape as a racetrack, with long
sides and semi-circular ends.
3 Several aircraft can be part of a holding pattern at the same time, by forming
a stack. In this stack each aircraft flies in the same racetrack pattern, 1,000 feet
above or below the next airplane. New planes waiting to land will be added to
the stack at the top, and as the planes land one by one, the next one moves
down a level.
4 The pattern contains its own rules to keep planes safe. For example, the
standard pattern uses right-hand turns, and should take 4 minutes to complete.
Each side and end curve of the racetrack takes one minute to complete.
However,if it will be a long wait, the pattern is expanded, with the sides made
longer, so the plane turns less often.
5 Sitting in a mile-high holding pattern is not just boring for you; it is also very
costly in fuel, and so also bad for the environment. However, airlines try to avoid
the stack as early as they possibly can. Have you ever been on the runway,
waiting to take off, and they announce a delay? Usually the delay is not where
you are now, but in the place where you are going. There is a predicted delay

for your arrival destination. So dont be angry. Relax. It is better to stay on the
ground than to fly the four-minute racetrack pattern again and again and again.

Close reading : Determining main ideas and supporting details

Use prefixes to make the adjective negative
Grammar: Giving advice and making suggestions (correct the
mistake in each sentence)
Writing skill: Using end punctuation and capitalization (correct the
two mistakes in each sentence)
Global listening : Listening for the main ideas(listen to the
introduction and choose)

Listening for explanations and examples: Listen to all of Patterns

of behavior and complete these sentences.

Vocabulary: Complete the sentences with the root words from the
box and the suffix ology or ologist.(suffixes)
Asking for ideas and examples: Put the words in the correct order to
make questions. Practice, practice, practice!