A brave pilot who broke records — and then flew into a mystery.
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These are the new words for Amelia Earhart. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a pilot) · 2 = F (a plane) · 3 = C (a record) · 4 = G (brave)
5 = A (an ocean) · 6 = H (to disappear) · 7 = E (a mystery) · 8 = B (to search)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in the United States. As a girl, she was brave and full of energy. People said some things were "only for boys", but Amelia did not believe this.
One day, she went to an air show and sat in a small plane. After this short flight, she knew the truth: she had to fly. In 1921 she started flying lessons. Soon she bought her own small plane. She did normal jobs to pay for it.
In 1928 she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a plane — but only as a passenger. Two men flew the plane. The trip made her famous very fast. But Amelia was not happy. She wanted to fly the plane herself. So she made a promise: one day she would cross that ocean alone, as the pilot.
1. What happened when Amelia sat in a plane at the air show?
2. Why was Amelia not happy after her famous 1928 trip?
1. She took a short flight, and after it she knew she had to fly. It changed her life.
2. She crossed the ocean only as a passenger — two men flew the plane — so she felt she had not really done it herself.
In 1932, Amelia kept her promise. She took off alone and flew her red plane out over the Atlantic Ocean. It was a hard and dangerous flight. Ice formed on the wings. The plane nearly fell into the sea. Part of the engine broke, and some fuel started to leak.
After almost fifteen hours, she landed in a field in Ireland. A surprised farmer asked her where she came from. "From America," she said. Now she was the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic.
Amelia became very famous, and she used her fame in a good way. She wrote books and gave talks. She told women that they could do anything men could do. She broke more records too. But she still wanted one more big adventure — the biggest of all.
1. What problems did Amelia have during the 1932 flight?
2. How did Amelia use her fame?
1. Ice formed on the wings, the plane nearly fell into the sea, part of the engine broke, and fuel leaked. She landed in a field in Ireland.
2. She wrote books and gave talks, and she told women they could do anything men could do.
Amelia's biggest dream was to fly all the way around the world. In 1937, she started this long trip with a navigator called Fred Noonan. He helped her find the way across the empty oceans.
They flew about 22,000 miles, from country to country. Then only the huge Pacific Ocean was left. The next part was the hardest of all: a very long flight to a tiny island called Howland Island. The island was very small and hard to find. A ship waited near it to help them by radio.
They took off, but then there was a problem with the radio. The ship could hear Amelia's voice, but Amelia could not hear the ship. "Fuel is running low," she said. Then her voice stopped. Amelia and Fred never arrived. They disappeared, and no one saw them again. People have searched for many years, with ships and robots and old photographs, but no one has found the plane. Almost ninety years later, it is still a mystery.
1. Why was the flight to Howland Island so difficult?
2. What happened to Amelia and Fred?
1. It was a very long flight over the ocean to a tiny island that was hard to find. The radio did not work well, so the ship could not help them, and their fuel was running low.
2. They disappeared and never arrived. No one saw them again, and no one has found the plane — it is still a mystery.
This story uses two tenses. One is for the finished past. One is for the past that still touches today.
Look at the time-words. Put the verb in the past simple or the present perfect.
1. Amelia (fly) across the Atlantic in 1932.
2. No one (find) the plane so far.
3. They (take off) from Lae in 1937.
4. People (search) for the plane since that day.
1. flew (finished time: "in 1932")
2. has found ("so far" → still true now)
3. took off (finished time: "in 1937")
4. have searched ("since that day" → up to now)
Put the verbs in the past simple or the present perfect. Then read it out loud.
In 1937, Amelia and Fred (leave) Lae, but they never (arrive). Since that day, the world (wonder) what happened. Many teams (look) for the plane, but so far no one (solve) the mystery.
left · arrived · has wondered · have looked · has solved
The finished events of 1937 are past simple. Everything that reaches to today is present perfect.
There is a real podcast about Amelia Earhart. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of Amelia Earhart" on Spotify.
Play on Noiser →Prefer Spotify? Open the show and find the Amelia Earhart episode.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Amelia Earhart in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a brave girl who wanted to fly → flying lessons and her own plane → alone across the Atlantic in 1932 → famous, and helping women → the trip around the world → the last flight → she disappeared.
Try to use the past simple and the present perfect, and some of the key words (pilot, plane, record, brave, ocean, disappear, mystery, search).
Amelia was very brave. Who is the bravest person you know, or the bravest person from your country's history? What did they do? Why do you admire them?
Tell a story of your own. It can be about a mystery, a brave person, or a long journey. Use the past simple for what happened, and the present perfect for what is still true now.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: