Unit 9

Video Scripts

START IT! GRAMMAR IN ACTION 1

9.1
Changing Stories 9.2
Funny News
Do you like reading stories? For some people, there is
nothing better than having time to enjoy a good book. Hi there!
For hundreds of years, however, stories were spoken For my communications class I had to produce
rather than written down. No one knows when or where a news report. This is based on a true story
these first tales were told, but those who told them from 2013.
probably shared them with others around campfires And today in “Weird News Headlines from
at night. What do you think these campfire stories around the World” …
were about? And why did people need to tell them? It’s A zoo in China put a huge, fluffy dog in a lion’s
believed that people first began to tell stories to explain cage. The lion was not in the cage at the time.
the weather, or why the seasons changed, or why there Visitors heard the big animal inside the cage
bark!
were terrifying natural phenomena like volcanoes and
They complained that the zoo had tried to
earthquakes. Ancient people also told each other tales
cheat them.
to explain the wonders of the night sky, and imagined
They said the zoo had disguised a dog as a
that the stars above them formed pictures of animals lion.
and people. Do we tell different stories about the stars Eventually, the zoo admitted that the animal
today? Stories can also teach us how to live. We call was a Tibetan Mastiff dog, like this one.
stories with this kind of moral message “fables.” One They explained they had put a zoo employee’s
of the greatest tellers of such tales was Aesop, from dog in the cage while the lion was out.
Ancient Greece, whose stories about animals and the I have a few questions about this story …
things they learn are still told today. One of Aesop’s Why did the employee take his dog to work?
most famous fables is The Tortoise and the Hare. And who suggested putting his dog into the
In the story, a hare and a tortoise race each other. The lion’s cage?
hare thinks, “I can beat that tortoise easily,” and so Anyway, the zoo offered to pay back the
takes a break in the middle of the race. Although the disappointed visitors that day. So everything
tortoise is slow, it doesn’t stop, and so it wins the race. was OK after all.
What do you think is the lesson in this story? Today, So, next time you’re at the zoo and the sign
many of us get our stories and our messages about
says you’re looking at a lion, just listen: Does it
roar or bark?
life from TV and movies. Hollywood, with its fast cars
That’s all for today. Bye!
and special effects, has had a big effect on storytelling.
I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
We now expect stories to move quickly, to be exciting,
Bye!
and to have a hero for us to cheer for. Social media has
changed things, too. The Internet allows us to share our
stories with anyone in the world. Are there too many Grammar in Action
stories to read now? Wherever we get them from, and Reported Speech
however they may change over time, stories connect us Which language does the vlogger use to report what
to other people, to the places we come from, and the people say?
places we’d like to go to. What kind of stories do you We use reported speech to give information about
most enjoy? Those on the pages of a book, those on a something a person said. We can introduce reported
screen, or the stories people tell you face to face? And speech with different words like say, explain, insist, and
what do you think is the purpose of a story? To teach us admit.
important lessons or just to entertain us? When we report what people said, we usually change
the verb tense.
We change the simple present in direct speech to the
simple past in reported speech.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2020 Shape It! 4 Unit 9 – Video Scripts
 The zoo admitted that the animal was a
GRAMMAR IN ACTION 2
Tibetan Mastiff dog.
9.3
Don’t Trust the Internet
We usually change the simple past in direct speech to
the past perfect in reported speech. Hello!
Have you ever used the Internet as a source for
your homework?
They explained they had put a zoo employee’s
I’m sure you have.
dog in the cage.
Anyway, our English teacher keeps reminding
us not to use it as our only source.
Some verbs require a preposition and a gerund, such as
One day, she asked us how the Internet
apologize for or insist on.
worked.
They insisted on seeing the lion.
We all knew that anyone could create a
When we give commands with tell, we use an indirect webpage, but we didn’t think you could
object and to + infinitive. publish anything you wanted.
He told us to listen to the sound a lion makes. Well, we were wrong! Our teacher told us this
We use to + infinitive after verbs like offer, refuse, and story.
promise. A couple of friends wanted to see their favorite
The zoo offered to pay back the disappointed visitors. band who were being interviewed on a radio
show.
Use It! So, they created a website about the band,
Complete the following sentences. saying they were their fan club presidents.
“I have a lot of work to do!” Then, they tried to get into the radio studio,
He explained that he had a lot of work to do. but the security guard asked if he could see
their IDs.
Now you try!
They showed the guard the webpage that they,
“Excuse me. I’m lost and I need help.”
themselves, had created.
He said that he was lost and needed help. And the security guard believed they were the
“Watch this video. It’s hilarious!” fan club presidents and let them in. And they
She told us to watch a video. It was hilarious! got to see the band!
“We’ll do our chores after the game.” The moral of this story is: Who can you trust
They offered to do their chores after the game. on the Internet?
That’s all for now!
Bye!

Grammar in Action
Reported Questions
Which language does the vlogger use to report
statements and questions?
When we use reported speech in statements and
questions, we often change the verb tense from a
present form to past form.
How does the Internet work?

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2020 Shape It! 4 Unit 9 – Video Scripts
 Chinese history. This means that it connects the people
She asked us how the Internet worked. of modern China with the country’s past. Surprisingly,
“Who can you trust on the Internet?” as you can see, there is little on the stage. Why do you
think this is? Well, it’s because the Beijing opera is all
The vlogger asked us who we could trust on the Internet. about the performers – not the stage decoration. And
Notice: We add or change pronouns in reported speech if you’d like to become a performer, you have to work
to show who is speaking and sometimes who they are very, very hard. Performers begin training when they
talking to. are eight or nine years old, and spend several years
developing certain skills. Two of these are singing and
We use if to report Yes/No questions. speaking on stage. Another skill young performers
“Can I see your ID?” have to master is dance-acting. And the final skill is
acrobatics and play-fighting with swords. After many
The security guard asked if he could see their years of intense training, performers are ready to be
IDs. on stage, where they wear complicated and colorful
“Have you ever used the Internet as a source costumes, and dramatic makeup. Every performer
for your homework?” in the Beijing opera wants to make their movements
beautiful, and bring the stories of China’s past to life.
The vlogger asked if we’d ever used the Internet as a What do you think about storytelling traditions such
source for our homework. as these? Do you think old forms of storytelling are
Notice: We don’t use question marks in reported important? Or does every generation need to find its
questions. own way of telling its tales?

Use It!
Complete the following reported questions.
“Where did they see the concert?”
She asked where they had seen the concert.
Now you try!
“Is that her most popular song?”
He asked if that was her most popular song.
“Can I borrow a pen?”
She asked if she could borrow a pen.
“Have you ever hiked this trail before?”
They asked if he had ever hiked this trail before.

GLOBETROTTERS
9.5
Stories on Stage
Everyone likes a good story, and a great place to enjoy
one is the theater, where puppets, dancers, and actors
in costumes take us into imaginary worlds. One of
the most well-known forms of storytelling on stage is
opera. Opera developed in Italy in the 16th century,
and later became popular throughout Europe, from
England to Russia. But let’s move far away from the
European continent, and visit Beijing, where a different
kind of opera is produced. The Chinese capital is
one of the oldest cities in the world, and has many
cultural traditions. One of them is Jīngjù, which is more
commonly known in English as Beijing opera. It began
at the end of the 18th century, and it combines music,
dance, and acrobatics. The Beijing opera takes its
stories from historical novels and traditional tales from

PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2020 Shape It! 4 Unit 9 – Video Scripts