12.6 Witnesses Practice
Work in pairs. You are pair A or pair B.
Pair A You live opposite a house where a murder was committed.
I saw/heard I could see/hear
I was standing on my balcony on the first floor. Some children were playing in the street. Then a car came down the road, and stopped on the other side, just opposite my house. There were two men in the car. One got out. He said to the other, ‘This won’t take long.’ He rang the doorbell of the house opposite. Mrs Jones opened the door and the man went inside. A few minutes later there was a shot from inside the house. Immediately after that, the door opened suddenly and the man came running out. He got into the car, and they drove away. Someone in the house opposite was screaming. |
Pair В You were a tenant in a house where a murder was committed.
I saw/heard/felt/smelt I could see/hear/feel/smell
It was breakfast time. I was getting dressed. There was bacon frying downstairs in the kitchen, and Mrs Jones was hoovering the hall. The doorbell rang. Mrs Jones stopped the hoover and opened the door. She was talking to the man. Then she shouted to her husband, ‘It’s for you.’ There was a pause. I went to listen from the top of the stairs: now the two men were exchanging angry words in a foreign language. Then somebody fired a shot. The whole house shook. Mrs Jones screamed. A cold sweat began to run down my back. I went downstairs. Mr Jones was lying motionless on the floor. There was blood coming from a wound in his chest. |
Form new pairs (one A and one B). Compare in as much detail as you can what you both saw, heard, etc.
12.7 Rupert and the space pirates Writing
1. Look at the four pairs of pictures, which give the outline of a science fiction story.
2. Decide what happened.
3 .Write the story. Begin:
‘One evening, Rupert was sitting on his porch admiring the night sky when ...’
12.8 The ghost of fernie castle
Listening
You will hear someone describing an experience she had at a hotel in Scotland. Listen to the tape and answer the questions.
1. a) What exactly did the speaker hear?
b) What was she doing when she heard it ?
c) What did she do when she heard it ?
2 .How did she explain it to herself
a) the first time ?
b) the second time?
3. How did she feel
a) immediately afterwards?
b) the next day?
4. a) Write down all the events that took place on the second night,
b) Why was the speaker ‘very worried’ ?
5. Listen to the story told by the owner of the hotel and write in the missing words.
She’s supposed to be
to get married, and her father
and they Fernie Castle and
the West Tower, and her father’s men
and where they , and there was ....
, and somehow while she
she and
on the stone courtyard below.
6. a) In what ways does the speaker’s experience fit the owner’s description of the
woman?
b)The owner suggests two possible explanations for what happened. What are they?
Discussion
Work in groups.
Discuss what you think the speaker really experienced, and why.
Tell the others about a mysterious or ‘supernatural’ experience that you have had, or that you’ve heard about from someone else.
Unit 12 Summary of language
In this unit you have learnt how to:
key points
1. Past Simple and Past Continuous He was skiing when he twisted his ankle. He twisted his ankle while he was skiing.
They were walking in the mountains when the mist came down. The mist came down while they were walking in the mountains.
When the mist came down, they stayed where they were and waited for it to clear.
2. Present Perfect and Past tenses ‘ ‘Have you ever seen a flying saucer?’ ‘Yes, I have. I saw one last summer. I was walking in the mountains when I suddenly saw a silver object in the sky ...’
3. Verbs of perception + infinitive/ + -ing I saw the girl faint. I could see smoke rising from the roof. I heard someone say ‘Who’s there?’ I felt a bee crawling slowly up my back.
|
Activities
FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE
You have read a newspaper article saying how much worse life is now than it was 50 years ago. The article claims that these things in particular have changed for the worse:
relationships between people the level of culture
attitudes of young people the standard of education
the environment conditions for old people
Pair A: You completely agree with the article’s point of view: you think that life was much better 50 years ago than it is now. You are going to meet a friend, who you know will disagree with you. Think what you will say to him/her.
Pair В: You completely disagree with the article’s point of view: you think that life is much better now than it was 50 years ago. You are going to meet a friend, who you know has the same opinions as the writer. Think what you will say to him/her.
Now form new pairs (one A and one B) and discuss what you have read.
COMPOSITION
You are a journalist. Write part of a newspaper article (100-150 words) entitled ‘The last 50 years: has the quality of life improved ?’ Write about any of the topics you discussed.
SITUATIONS
1. You’re in a restaurant. A waiter comes and takes your order. A few minutes later another waiter comes and asks you what you would like. What do you reply ?
2. You’ve got a nasty cut on your leg. A friend sees it and asks ‘How did it happen ?’ Tell him.
3. A foreign friend says she’s going to stay at the Crown Hotel, the most expensive place in town. You don’t want her to waste her money. Suggest an alternative place to stay.
4. A friend can’t decide what kind of car to buy. Recommend one, and say why.
5. You’ve just arrived in England, and you have no English money. You need iop for an urgent phone call. Ask a passer-by.
6. A friend suggests going to see The Sound of Music at the cinema. Refuse, giving a reason.
7. You’ve just moved into a new flat. The telephone rings, and the caller asks for Mrs Olivia, the previous owner of the flat. What do you say?
Unit 13 Leisure activities and skills