3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed

Written by David S. Wills · January 15, 2019

Today we’re going to listen to a TED Talk by Ric Elias, who was involved in a famous event that occurred ten years ago. He was on a plane that crashed into the Hudson River, near New York.

Can you imagine how he must have felt?

I can because the same thing happened to me in 2010. It is an experience that will change your life forever.

Let’s listen to his talk and do some practice questions to help boost our IELTS skills:

Listen

Listen to the talk and make notes.

Listen for Details

Listen again and answer the following questions:

1. What was his seat number on the plane?
2. What did the pilot say without any trace of emotion?
3. What does he want to eliminate from his life?
4. What is his only goal in life

Gap-fill

Let’s listen another time. This time skip to 01:11 and fill in the blanks:

Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself ___1___. I learned that it all changes in an instant. We have this ___2___, we have these things we want to do in life, and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to that I didn’t, all the ___3___ I wanted to mend, all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did. As I thought about that later on, I came up with a saying, which is, “_____4____.” Because if the wine is ready and the person is there, I’m opening it. I no longer want to ____5___ anything in life. And that urgency, that purpose, has really changed my life.

Answers

Listen for Details

1. 1D
2. “Brace for impact”
3. Negative energy
4. To be a good dad

Gap-fill

1. that day
2. bucket list
3. fences
4. I collect bad wines
5. postpone