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UNIT 2. ANECDOTES
GETTING STARTED
Activity 1
The grammar in the following sentences is correct, but the sentences don’t make sense. The endings
have been mixed up. Rearrange the sentences so that they make sense.
- Have you ever ridden a snake?
- Have you ever been asked to the top of a mountain?
- Have you ever met a desert?
- Have you ever driven a television programme?
- Have you ever been to a Ferrari?
- Have you ever crossed a famous person?
- Have you ever appeared in make a speech?
- Have you ever caught a horse on a beach?
Activity 2
Read the following five interviews about the past experiences of some people
A (I = Interviewer; B = Interviewee) I: Have you ever had a sports injury? B: Yes, I have. I was playing rugby for the local team and it was just after kick-off. I was jumping up to catch the ball when a player from the other team knocked me over and I fell heavily on my left leg. I: Oh, dear. Were you badly hurt? B: Ah, yes, I twisted my ankle and couldn’t play rugby for more than three months.
B (I = Interviewer); B= Interviewee) I: Have you ever been in a dangerous situation? B: Yes, I... I have. I was walking my dog one day with my sister and we were crossing this field. There was a horse in it and it suddenly started running towards us, looking really mad. I: What did you do? B: Well, I know you’re not supposed to run away from animals because they can sense your fear. But we ran away as fast as we could.
C (I = Interviewer; B = Interviewee) I: Have you ever broken a bone? B: Yes, I’ve broken my nose twice. The first time I was playing football and one of the other players hit me in the face. The second time, I was playing tennis. I missed the ball and it hit me right on my nose.
D (I = Interviewer; B = Interviewee) I: Have you ever been frightened? B: Yes, I have. Last summer I was driving on the motorway in Spain and we were getting close to Barcelona. So I got into the right-hand lane ready to turn off the motorway when this car screeched up next to me, pulled in front of me and slammed on his brakes. I don’t know how I managed to slow down fast enough to avoid him. I’ve never been so frightened in my life.
E (I = Interviewer; B = Interviewee) I: Have you ever thought you were going to die? B: Yeah. It was when I was eight or nine and I was at the beach with my parents. I was playing in the sea, but on the edge because I couldn’t swim. Suddenly, I realised that I couldn’t feel the bottom and the sea was pulling me further from the beach .For a few seconds, I panicked and I started swallowing a lot of water. Then I felt really calm, as if I was floating away. I was drowning. Fortunately, someone saw me and pulled me out in time.
Activity 3
Three verb tenses are used in the interviews: the Simple Past, the Past Progressive and the Present
Perfect. Look at the tapescript of the interviews, and find examples of the three tenses.
Which tense is used to introduce the topic of the anecdote?
Which would you probably use if you wanted to say exactly when something happened?
You want to tell a story. Which of these two beginnings do you prefer? Justify your answer.
(a) It was late summer. People were sitting in street cafes, enjoying the sunshine and
watching the world go by.
(b) It was late summer. People sat in street cafes, enjoyed the sunshine and watched the
world go by.
Activity 4
Think back to a moment when you felt a rush of adrenalin. You are going to tell your classmates
about it, so think about what you want to say and what language you will need. TIPS
Where were you? At home? In the car? At a sports event? In town?
Did it happen recently? How old were you? Who were you with? What were you doing?
What happened? How did you feel? What were the consequences?
Would you like to have the same experience again?
TEXT FOCUS: NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
We often tell people stories about something funny, interesting, or unexpected that happened to us
in the form of anecdotes. To keep the narrative going we use various narrative techniques to (a)
give variety and interest to our story, and (b) keep the flow of narrative going.
STRUCTURE OF ANECDOTES
Anecdotes are usually organised in the following way:
An –optional– abstract. This is a short statement that summarises what the story is about.
Examples:
“Have I ever told about the time I …?” “Have you heard about the time I …?” “I must tell you about the other day … ” “You’ll never guess what happened yesterday …”
A “scene setting” or ‘new’ opening ( orientation ) of the story which provides some kind of
background information (about the people involved, the time, the place, etc.). Examples:
PAIR WORK The following is the ‘bare bones’ version of an anecdote. Study it, and using
what you have learned in this unit write a full version.
PET PROZAC A woman called Julia lives alone except for her dog. Every day she leaves for work early and comes home late, so the dog stays at home by itself all day. Julia has been worrying about leaving her dog alone so much. She has tried to cut down her working hours, but this is impossible. She went to the vet to get some advice. The vet told her that dogs are social animals and need company. He gave Julia some pills for the dog –they are supposed to help a dog to cope with being separated from its owner.
Think of some funny, remarkable, etc. experience and turn it into an anecdote. Write the anecdote in your dossier.
Anecdotes may occur in a number of formats. They may occur in the form of oral stories, of stories written for a magazine, and also in the form of letters. Have a look at the following two texts: H OSPITAL H OWLER I have loads of cringey stories, like what happened last week. As usual, I’d left my summer project until the last minute so I hadn’t finished it by the time school started. When my teacher asked me where it was, I made up a story about how my mum had been in hospital most of the summer and I had had to look after my brother, so I hadn’t had time for homework. She was really nice about it and gave me an extra week to finish it off. That weekend, my mum and I went to the supermarket and bumped into Miss Jones. She rushed over to my mum, saying how she was sorry to hear about her illness. Now my furious mum and teacher both think I’m the one who’s sick! [S. P., 16, Dorking. Bliss magazine Jan. 2003]
7 May 2001 Dear Kelly, Thank you very much for your last letter. It was interesting to read about your holidays in Greece. I’ve also been on vacation recently. Perhaps you remember that I spent my last summer in New York to improve my English, and so I decided to visit my friends over there. We had a great time; however, on the last day something unpleasant happened to me. As I was driving through Queens on Ocean Boulevard, suddenly there was an enormous bang in the back and the car began to veer. For a couple of seconds, which appeared like hours to me, I lost control over the automobile, but finally I was able to stop the car just a few inches in front of a hydrant. After having taken a deep breath I got out of the vehicle and saw that my back wheel had exploded. As you can imagine, I wasn’t very pleased because the car was only rented. Fortunately, just as I was bending to remove the wheel, a handsome young man on a bike came by, stopped, and offered to help me. He changed the wheel, which was very kind of him. To thank him I invited him for a cup of coffee at Star Bucks, my favourite coffee shop. What can I say, it was very nice …! By the way, he’s coming to see me next week, and, who knows? I’m starting to think it’s been the sweetest puncture of my whole life! Well, that’s all for now. I’ll write a.s.a.p. with more news. Love, Susanne P.S. Last week I broke up with my boyfriend Holger, who was getting on my nerves anyway.
The first text is a short anecdote written for a magazine whereas the second text is an anecdote written as part of a personal letter. In fact, many personal letters are used to tell our friends or family about anecdotes that have happened to us.
All letters, whether personal or formal, should contain the following information: date greetings body (what the writer wants to say) closing and signature
A typical informal or personal letter is organised as follows: DATE Since a personal letter is not formal, many people do not write the year GREETINGS The standard form is “Dear __________________” Skip a line between the greeting and the body. Both the greeting and the closing are followed by commas. BODY You should indent the paragraph in a personal letter
CLOSING This can also vary. You could write “your friend” or “love” depending on who you are writing to. Skip a line between the body and the closing. SIGNATURE In a business letter you must sign your full name, but for a personal letter you can write only your first name.
Write a letter to a friend telling him/her something interesting that has happened to you lately.
Swap your letter with a classmate and revise his/hers while s/he does the same with yours.
EXPLORING GRAMMAR: TIME & ASPECT IN PAST
NARRATIVES
Verb tense also helps convey different types of information in anecdotes (and in narratives in
general). Thus, the events in the stories are usually narrated in the Simple Past tense. Other
information is expressed by means of other tenses.
Consider the beginning of the anecdotes you have just read, and try to explain the use of the verb tenses in them:
As usual, I had left my summer project until the last minute and I hadn’t finished it by the time school started.
I´ve also been on vacation recently. Perhaps you remember that I spent my last summer in New York to improve my English, and so I decided to visit my friends over there. We had a great time; however, on the last day something unpleasant happened to me.
As I was driving through Queens on Ocean Boulevard, suddenly there was an enormous bang in the back and the car began to veer. […] Fortunately, just as I was bending to remove the wheel, a handsome young man on a bike came by, stopped, and offered to help me. He changed the wheel, which was very kind of him. […]
Past Progressive to ___ & Simple Past to _____
Present Perfect to ____ Simple Past to _______
Past Perfect to _______
GROUP WORK Choose two or three reference materials from the reference list, and explore
the Past Perfect and the progressive form of past tenses in English. The questions below may help
you find information about this tense ( you can add questions of your own ):
When do we use the Past Perfect?
When do we use the progressive form of past tenses?
In which ways are these tenses different from other past tenses (i.e., those seen in the
previous unit)?
Which are the most common time expressions occurring with each tense?
Check your findings with the texts in this block and in the previous one, and organise
them using the pie chart below.
Form: How is it formed?
Meaning: What does it mean?
Use: When/Why is it used?
Class discussion
FOCUSED PRACTICE
A) IMAGINE YOU HAVE MOVED INTO A HOUSE WHERE EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG. WRITE ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED AND WHAT YOU WERE DOING AT THE TIME.
Example:
The television screen went blank. ) I was watching my favourite programme when the television screen
went blank.
- All the lights suddenly went out. 5. The phone went dead.
- The bath water overflowed. 6. A frying pan caught fire.
- The smoke alarm went off. 7. A mouse appeared on the stairs.
- The microwave exploded. 8. A mirror came off the wall.
Now think of three real life events of this kind that have occurred at home. Tell us about them, saying what you, or other people, were doing at the time.
B) COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING AN APPROPRIATE TENSE :
- When I woke up this morning __________________________________________________________
- While I was having breakfast __________________________________________________________
- When I arrived here today _____________________________________________________________
- While I was doing my homework _______________________________________________________
- While I was watching television ________________________________________________________
C) DID THE PART IN BOLD HAPPEN FIRST OR SECOND? CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER FOR EACH QUESTION.
EXAMPLE :
I had played soccer before I went home for dinner. The first thing that happened: I played soccer.
- I had eaten dinner before I did my home work.
- Before I watched television , I had studied for the test.
- I had turned off the television before I went to bed.
- After I had gone to bed, I turned on the radio.
- I went to sleep after I had listened to the radio for one hour.
- By the time that I woke up , the radio had played all night.
D) FILL THE BLANKS BELOW WITH THE PAST PERFECT, PRESENT PERFECT OR SIMPLE PAST FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS:
- When I (arrive) ______ home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) ______ a beautiful candle-lit dinner.
- Since I began acting, I (perform) ______ in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama. However, I (speak, never even) ______ publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.
- By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) ______ without me. My boss (be) ______ furious with me and I (be) ______ fired.
- When I (turn) ______ the radio on yesterday, I (hear) ______ a song that was popular when I was in high school. I (hear, not) ______ the song in years, and it (bring) ______ back some great memories.
- Last week, I (run) ______ into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We (see, not) ______ each other in years, and both of us (change) ______ a great deal. I (enjoy) ______ talking to her so much that I (ask) ______ her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.
- When Jack (enter) ______ the room, I (recognize, not) ______ him because he (lose) ______ so much weight and (grow) ______ a beard. He looked totally different!
- The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan; however, their culture (disappear, virtually) ______ by the time Europeans first (arrive) ______ in the New World.
- I (visit) ______ so many beautiful places since I (come) ______ to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear, never) ______ of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches or Canyonlands.
E) FILL THE BLANKS BELOW WITH THE PRESENT PERFECT, PAST PERFECT , PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE OR PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS :
- It is already 9:30 pm and I (wait) ______ here for over an hour. If John does not get here in the next five minutes, I am going to leave.
- I was really angry at John yesterday. By the time he finally arrived, I (wait) ______ for over an hour. I almost left without him.
- Did you hear that Ben was fired last month? He (work) ______ for that import company for more than ten years and he (work) ______ in almost every department. Nobody knew the company like he did.
- I (see) ______ many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small.
- Sarah (climb) ______ the Matterhorn, (sail) ______ around the world, and (go) ______ on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person.
- Sarah (climb) ______ the Matterhorn, (sail) ______ around the world and (go) ______ on safari in Kenya by the time she turned twenty-five. She (experience) ______ more by that age than most people do in their entire lives.
- When Melanie came into the office yesterday, her eyes were red and watery. I think she (cry) ______.
F) COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES BY CHANGING THE VERBS IN BRACKETS INTO THE PAST SIMPLE OR THE PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE :
- They __________ (go out) together for several years before the accident ___________ (happen).
- Their friends ________ (wait) for them for three hours when they finally __________ (turn up).
- Witnesses __________ (say) that the boys who __________ (play) with the lighters were responsible for the tragedy. They __________ (make) noise and __________ (behave) stupidly since the party __________ (begin).
K) FILL THE BLANKS BELOW WITH THE PAST PERFECT OR PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE VERBS
IN BRACKETS:
I’m sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early because the show started at 8:00. I (try) ______ to get tickets for that play for months, and I didn’t want to miss it. By the time I finally left the coffee shop where we were supposed to meet, I (have) ______ five cups of coffee and I (wait) ______ over an hour. I had to leave because I (arrange) ______ to meet Kathy in front of the theatre. When I arrived at the theatre, Kathy (pick, already) ______ up the tickets and she was waiting for us near the entrance. She was really angry because she (wait) ______ for more than half an hour. She said she (give, almost) ______ up and (go) ______ into the theatre without us. Kathy told me you (be) ______ late several times in the past and that she would not make plans with you again in the future. She mentioned that she (miss) ______ several movies because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her an apology. And in the future, try to be on time!
L) PRESENT AND PAST TENSE REVIEW. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE APPROPRIATE FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS:
Lars : Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for? Tony : We (wait) ______ for the new Stars Wars Phantom Menace movie. In fact, we (wait) ______ here for more than five hours. Lars : Five hours? When did you arrive? Tony : We (get) got here at 6:00 o'clock this morning. More than forty people (stand, already) ______ here waiting for tickets when we arrived. Lars : I can’t believe that! Are you serious? Tony : Yeah, people (take) ______ Star Wars movies seriously. In fact, this particular showing has been sold out for over a week. We (wait, just) ______ in line to get a good seat in the theatre. Lars : When did you buy your tickets? Tony : I (buy) ______ them last week by phone. I (know) ______ tickets would be hard to get because I (hear) ______ on the news that a group of people in Los Angeles (wait) ______ in line for almost a month to buy some. Lars : I don’t believe that! Tony : It’s true. They (camp) ______ out in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles for about a month because they (want) ______ to be the first people to see the movie.
M) THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS SEVEN WORDS THAT SHOULDN ’ T BE THERE. FIND THEM AND UNDERLINE THEM:
I shall never forget the New Year’s Eve party at the Stellar Hotel as long as I live. We had gone there for to meet a group of special friends I had known since at school. We had been meeting there every New Year for six years. When Paul and I were finally turned up at three o’clock, we went straight to the discotheque in the basement. Everybody was dancing and having a marvellous time. Paul had proposed to me at midnight and we had been driving around and discussing the wedding plans. My old friends were delighted to hear the news. They had been wondering what had happened to us. They congratulated us and admired themselves the beautiful ring he had given me. Paul was buying drinks at the bar, when disaster struck. Some stupid boys they were playing with cigarette lighters when suddenly some of the decorations caught fire. Within the seconds, a fire broke out and spread to lots of gas-filled balloons, which started to explode. Within seconds, the ceiling was on fire and the disco filled with thick green poisonous smoke. Someone managed to get hold of a fire extinguisher but, by now, there was no possibility of putting it out. Everybody was panicked and started coughing and screaming and then the lights went out. I never saw Paul again.
O) REPLACE THE ASTERISKS IN THE FOLLOWING TEXTS WITH A SUITABLE VERB FROM THE BOX BELOW:
Finish Be Decide Have Bite Take Look Cook Cut Want See Can (not)
A woman * to make her daughter a wedding cake. She * to make a big cake for the 100 guests coming to the wedding. It * the woman all afternoon to make the cake. When she * , she * that her wedding ring was missing. She * all over the house but * find it. Six weeks later at the wedding, the woman’s daughter * the cake and then everyone * a piece. The daughter * her piece of cake. There * something hard in it. It * her mother’s wedding ring!
RESOURCES If you need further practise, have a look at the following materials: Eastwood, J. 1992. Oxford Practice Grammar****. Oxford: OUP. Hashemi, L. & Murphy, R. 1998. English Grammar in Use. Supplementary Exercises****. Cambridge: CUP. Murphy, R. 1994. English Grammar in Use****. Cambridge: CUP. Schrampfer Azar, B. 1989. Understanding and Using English Grammar****. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
The following websites are also interesting: http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/tenses.html http://a4esl.org/ http://www.quia.com/dir/eng/ http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/grammar/activities.html http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/eslgract.htm http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Grammar_and_English_Usage/
You have revised some verb tenses in English so far. It might be a good idea to prepare your dossier so that you can keep a record of the grammar points seen throughout the course. The following guidelines will help you organise your dossier with regard to verb tense (but you can adapt them to organise any other grammar point of your interest). TIPS : Collect examples of different verb tenses of the following list: a verb in Present Perfect a verb in Past Progressive a verb in Past Perfect a verb in Simple Past Copy or cut & paste the text where it occurs in your learner diary. Remember to include enough of the context (at least the sentence before and after) to make the meaning clear. Document the source (It CANNOT be an English grammar text, handbook, or dictionary!). For each, explain: What time frame is it in? (past, present, or future?) Why? Is there an adverb of duration? (showing how long an action or situation continues) Why is the verb in the progressive or perfect aspect? (Why isn’t it in a simple tense?) Example
I was eating a bag of chocolates when I noticed a group of lads looking over at me. I decided it would be really cool to throw one up in the air and catch it in my mouth.
I was eating: Past Progressive Time frame: past Adverb of duration: no Aspect: progressive (signals ongoing action, sets the frame for the rest of the sentence)
In this way, you can keep an updated account of any grammar point seen in class.
COMPARING ORAL & WRITTEN ANECDOTES GROUP WORK
Read the tapescript of an anecdote below:
Speaker: I heard a lovely story about somebody who took revenge on her husband. Voice: Mm Speaker: Chap picked up a copy of the Evening Standard one day, and was glancing through the adverts of cars … and he saw this car, a Rolls Royce, four years old, advertised for £25. So … he assumed, obviously, that it was a printing mistake, but just in case, he rang up the phone number … Voices: Mm Speaker: … in the advert and a woman answered the phone … and he said ‘You’ve got a Rolls Royce advertised for £25, is that right?’ and she said ‘Yes’.
Check the anecdote(s) you have performed and/or written in the light of what you have found in the previous exploratory tasks.
VOCABULARY TASKS
TASK 1 GROUP WORK
Below are 20 anecdotes. Read them and do the following activities. Note also that each text has a
mini vocabulary exercise attached to its right-hand side.
These are the titles of the anecdotes. Match each text with its corresponding title, and
justify your choice. Beware: one of the titles does not belong to any of the anecdotes.
PEE IS FOR PARTY SHOWER OF SHAME WEDDING WOES SMELLY CHRISTMAS NAUGHTY NAP SEEING DOUBLE ACCIDENT PRONE
THE PARENT TRAP TRICK OR TREAT? SHOE SHAME BABY BLUES ACTING UP A BRIEF ENCOUNTER SOD ’ S LAW
FIST FIGHTS TABLE SERVICE SOMETHING FISHY THE LAST DANCE UNHAPPY ENDING BAD BOYS STOP THAT BUS
Group the anecdotes according to the main topic (e.g. ‘school’ anecdotes). How did
you guess it? Provide evidence from the texts.
How old are the writers of these anecdotes? Justify your answer with information from
the texts.
Mark the anecdotes from 1 (the worst one) to 10 (the best one). Justify your decision.
TEXTS
One day I was cycling along the main road when suddenly –I don’t know how it happened– my bike swerved over to the other side of the road. Then a big white car hit my back wheel and flipped me off. I don’t remember much after that. At hospital, they told me my right femur was broken –the bone had folded over itself. They put me in traction to straighten it and then operated to put a metal plate in to hold my bone together. Sod’s law, I broke the same bone again in January just by walking. So in total I spent a year on crutches. Laura
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING turn aside, deviate from straight course throw apply mechanical pull to correct fractured bone bad luck
I was late for college and running for the train, but just as I got to the platform, the doors started closing. I charged through them –but they closed on the back of my skirt and sent me sprawling to the floor. I was left with my skirt round my knees and my pants on display! That’s one experience I won’t forget in a hurry! Hollie
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING with the body and limbs spread out showing
One of the events at our class Christmas party was ‘Secret Santa’, where we had to pick a name out of a hat and buy an anonymous present for that person. I ended up having to buy for our smelly old teacher, who hated Christmas, hated us, and was determined to ruin our party. Imagine her face when she unwrapped a can of deodorant and some mouth wash, labelled ‘Use this!’ Joanna When I was little I used to take ballet classes, but as I got older I started to find them dull and really embarrassing. But my Mum wouldn’t let me quit and every year I had to take part in this stupid dance recital in the town hall. Last year I was so fed up that I ‘accidentally’ pirouetted into the scenery and dragged it down on top of all of the other dancers. It made the local newspaper, and got me kicked out of the dance school. Result! Sarah
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING boring give up, abandon, stop doing pull down to be published I’d just got a job at a new restaurant in town and couldn’t believe my luck when I saw one of the guys I was working with –he was gorgeous! I spent most of the night flirting with him, but just as I was giving him one of my special sexy smiles, I bumped into a table and dropped the tray of drinks I was holding all over the customers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I knocked over a candle and the curtain beside the table caught fire. My gorgeous colleague had to put out the fire and clean up the customers as I hid my shame. Anna
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING very handsome knock against an obstacle extinguish
My brother and I used to have massive fights, which he would always win. One day I walked into a door and gave myself a massive black eye, and told Mum and Dad that my brother had done it. He got into so much trouble, but it put and end to the fights –if he comes anywhere near me my parents go completely ballistic. Janey
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING very intense/hard very angry
My parents agreed to let me have a party as long as they were in the house, so I made them swear not to leave their bedroom. But as the party got going, I sneaked up and locked their door. I heard them shouting, but I pretended not to hear. Later, I told them that someone else must have locked them in as a joke! Martine
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING move in a quiet, stealthy way
I was at a Christmas party being thrown by some really dull people, so I offered to help out in the kitchen to avoid talking to anyone. I filled some bowls with nibbly things I found in a tin and handed them out. It was only when a lad spat one out that I realised I’d fed the guests cat treats! Paula
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING snacks delicacy (food) I’ve always wanted to play Cinderella, so when I saw posters advertising auditions for my school’s Christmas pantomime, I was really excited. Worried that someone else might be better than me, I tore down all the posters and hid them in my locker –the fewer people to compete with the better! After I’d nailed the part I was sooo pleased … until the posters fell out of my locker the next day in front of everyone. When the Drama teacher found out, I wasn’t even allowed to play an ugly sister! Emma
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING trial performance small, usually metal compartment get, win
At my birthday party, this really annoying girl I hadn’t even invited started flirting with my crush. As a good hostess, I decided I should ask her if she wanted a glass of fruit punch. What she didn’t know is that I filled her plastic cup with a little bit if fruit juice and lots of water from my fish tank. And is she tries crashing in on my boy or party again, she’ll find a whole fish in her drink! Simone
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING person loved or liked occupy or attend (here also flirt) usually uninvited
My brother got married last year and, before the wedding, his mate Simon asked me all these questions about my bro so he had juicy gossip for the best man’s speech. I got a bit carried away and started telling him that when he got together with Anna –who’s now his wife– he actually fancied her friend, one of her bridesmaids. Simon told all my stories at the wedding and Anna didn’t speak to the groom or the bridesmaid for ages! Polly
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING very interesting like, love, be attracted
My mum and dad had banned all lads at my Christmas bash last year, so I waited for them to go out before I phoned and told all my boy mates to come round. But my dad arrived home earlier than expected. “What are these boys doing here?” he shouted. Thinking fast, I started crying, and told him they’d gate-crashed and wouldn’t leave. My dad went mad and threw the lads out, then he gave me a big hug and asked if I was OK. The lads at school didn’t talk to me for weeks! Bobbi
FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS MEANING forbid a celebration, party
STEP 2. Keep the instances where the prepositions occur with a verb before them (e.g.
went up ), and delete those which don’t.
STEP 3. Which verbs occur before the prepositions? What do the verbs express? What do
the prepositions express? Are they similar to any other pattern seen previously in this course? In
which way? Why do you think these constructions are used? In order to discuss the patterns,
compare the following:
(1a) I ‘accidentally’ pirouetted into the scenery and dragged it down on top of all of the
other dancers
(1b) I ‘accidentally’ went/got into the scenery and dragged it down on top of all of the
other dancers
(2a) She’d heard everything my mum had said and had watched me parading round in
them.
(2b) She’d heard everything my mum had said and had watched me walking round in
them.
Are these constructions different/similar? In which ways? Does the choice of verb affect the
meaning of the sentence and/or the general tone of the text?
STEP 4. Can you think of strategies to learn or remember these constructions?
Class discussion
Write an anecdote using some of the motion patterns explored in this task.
TASKS
The paragraph below is the opening of an anecdote. You have to finish it using no more than
200 words.
I was just driving out of my village when I saw an old lady standing by the road
with a crude hand-written sign saying “Toledo” in her hand. I was surprised
because I had never seen an old lady hitchhiking before. […]
Share your anecdotes with your classmates.
The following is a story that was sent to a magazine. Read it and do the
activities below.
TEXT
ALLIGATOR’ S ATTACK
Two summers ago, when I was 16, my friend Edna and I were part of a pretty close group of girls and guys. On 18 August 2001, a few of us met up at Edna’s house at around 6pm to watch a music TV show and eat burgers. It was such a hot day, and when we finished eating, Edna said, “Let’s go boogie boarding on the lake,” which was just across the street from where she lived. At first our friends Mark and Ryan didn’t want to go and nor did I –two people had been killed by alligators that summer. Living in Florida, you learn that alligators like to feed at dusk and the sun was setting. But when I said I didn’t think we should go, Edna laughed me off. “There aren’t any alligators in Lake Conway,” she said. “I’ve lived here for 12 years and I’ve never heard of anyone even seeing an alligator in there.” She sounded so certain we’d be safe, I said OK. We took our boards over to the lake and, after a few minutes, I said, “Let’s race to the middle and play truth or dare.” When we got to the middle of the lake, Edna dared all of us to touch the bottom, but I wouldn’t do it because I was still nervous there might be alligators down there and I didn’t want to disturb them. “We knew you wouldn’t do it,” our friend Dylan said. I didn’t like him taunting me, but something in my gut told me not to do it, so I followed my instinct. While everyone else kept playing truth or dare, I swam away from the group to practise on my boogie board. After a few minutes, Edna shouted, “Stop messing around Mark!” I looked back to see what she was yelling about and saw her disappear under the water. I thought she was just joking around, but then Mark screamed, “Oh my God!” An alligator had clamped its jaw down on Edna’s arm. It was yanking her back and forth and smacking Mark in the stomach with its scaly body. As soon as Mark screamed, all my friends saw the alligator and swam back to shore as fast as they could. But since I was further away, I didn’t realise what was happening. I though they were racing back to shore and leaving me behind. Then, suddenly Edna burst out of the water and screamed, “Alligator!” At that point, I still didn’t realise what Edna was talking about. But when she saw I was still in the lake, she begged me to help her. “Please don’t leave me,” she kept saying in a terrified voice. I didn’t want to leave her alone, so I swam towards her, without fully realising I might be in danger. When I got to Edna she was treading water. “What happened?” I asked. Edna yelled, “I’ve been attacked by an alligator. My arm is gone.” She lifted her left arm to the water’s surface to show me that a huge chunk of flesh had been torn out, right down to her bone. The water clouded up with her blood, and all I could think was Edna might die. I was trying to figure out how to get Edna to shore when she started motioning to the right with her head. When I looked that way, I finally saw the alligator about three metres away with its huge, glowing eyes fixed right on us. It was angrily baring its teeth, but it started to swim in the other direction. The, without warning, it turned back around, heading straight for us before disappearing under the water. “We’ve got to get out of here!” I screamed. Edna threw her bad arm onto my board and I wrapped my right arm around her waist. Then we each used our free hand and our legs to swim the 50 metres to shore as fast as we could. “Please God let me live,” Edna kept saying. “You’re going to make it,” I assured her, even though I had no idea if she would. I kept looking back for the alligator, but couldn’t see it anywhere. That made me even more nervous. I was expecting it to lunge at me and clamp down on my foot any second. When we finally reached dry land and I knew we were safe, Edna and I just hugged each other. I was crying and wondering if she was going to die, but Edna was calm –she must have been in shock. “You have no idea how much this hurts!” she said. “I know it’s broken, I heard it snap underwater.” Then a neighbour ran up, talking into his mobile phone. “I heard the screaming from my house,” he said. “I’m calling the emergency services. What happened?” Edna said, “I’ve been bitten by an alligator!”
UNIT 2. FOLLOW-UP TASKS & ACTIVITIES
Writing task 1
You are going to read six unfinished sentences. Your task is to complete them in the time allocated
for it.
My friend Angie was shopping alone in …… [write a description of where she was
shopping and what she was looking for]
The reason she wanted to buy ….. was that she felt … [write why she felt this way and what
she decided to do about it]
She went to the counter and asked the shop assistant …. [write what she did]
The shop assistant told her that …. [write what happened next]
So after that, Angie decided to ….
In the end, Angie ….
Listening activities (personal work)
The following activities deal with anecdotes. In order to do them, you need to go to the language
laboratory or be connected to Internet. The activities have been graded according to their difficulty.
Do them all. After listening to the stories and doing the activities on them (a) change the story you
liked most into a written anecdote, and (b) write a short report assessing both your performance and
the activities themselves.
Medium
UFO: A story to remember [http://www.esl-lab.com/story1/story1.htm]. Conversation.
A doctor’s appointment [http://www.esl-lab.com/office/offrd1.htm]. Conversation.
Just a haircut, please! [http://www.esl-lab.com/cut/cutrd1.htm]. Conversation.
Difficult
Friday night mishaps [http://www.esl-lab.com/night/nightrd1.htm]. Conversation.
You will find more anecdotes in the following websites:
www.anecdotage.com
http://www.anecdota.org/
Evaluation of Unit 2
Evaluate this block. Tips:
How do you feel about the unit (objectives, activities, texts)?
What were the most important points for you to remember/learn?
What did you enjoy most and least? Why?
Which tool was most useful (reference or activity books, dictionaries, the concordancer,
etc.)? Why?
What have you learnt?
Think of those things you have learned, and those you haven’t. Also, reflect on how you know that
you have or haven’t learned something, and about possible ways to overcome the latter situation.
Draw a table like the one below in your portfolio, and write down your ideas, feelings, etc.
What did you learn successfully?
How did you learn it?
How did you know you were successful?
Why were you successful?
Can you improve?
1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
What did you not learn successfully?
How did you try to learn it?
How did you know you failed?
Why did you fail? How can I do it better?
1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
