[Travel ★★★]
(P1) You can now fly on one of India’s largest airlines without fear you’ll get stuck in front of a screaming baby or a kid who likes to kick seats. IndiGo is the latest airline to offer “Quiet Zones” on each of its flights, with two sections of four rows each set aside for passengers 12 and older only. The airline says no young children will be seated in the surrounding rows or seats with extra leg room, either though “there’s no guarantee you won’t be seated next to an adult chatterbox,” per Good Morning America. IndiGo isn’t the first to offer such an option: AirAsia, Malaysian Airlines, and Singapore’s Scoot also have kid-free sections.
(P2) “These zones have been created for business travelers who prefer to use the quiet time to do their work,” IndiGo says. Traveler reports the reaction on social media has been mostly positive, but not all are pleased. “The policy is discriminatory. It means that you cannot ask for more leg space while traveling with your children,” a flier tells the Hindustan Times. “You know how uncomfortable you are sitting in that cramped seat yourself. Try sitting there with a crying infant,” adds a Huffington Post columnist. Meanwhile, a Traveller columnist suggests flights should instead ban drunk and smelly adults responsible for “some of the worst flights I’ve had.”
WORDS: 221
SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/232516/latest-turbulence-in-the-skies-kid-free-zones-on-planes.html
VOCABULARY: chatterbox, discriminatory, cramped, columnist, drunk
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- In your opinion, do you think kid-free zones are discriminatory? Why or why not?
- Have you ever had an experience with a disruptive child on a plane? If yes, explain what happened.
- Do you think drunk and smelly passengers should be banned from flights? Why or why not?
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
- IndiGo is India’s largest airlines. (T or F)
- What is IndiGo’s age requirement to sit in the “quiet zone”?
- According to the article, AirAsia was the first airline to offer a kid-free zone. (T or F)
- Nobody on social media reacted negatively to the “quiet zones” offered by IndiGo. (T or F)
- According to a columnist, who else should not be allowed on flights?
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
- get stuck (P1)
- two sections of four rows each (P1)
- with extra leg room (P1)
- a flier (P2)
Image source: by André Letria https://static01.nyt.com/images/2010/11/14/travel/14journeys-span/Journeys-jumbo.jpg
