YANUWd “S - NOSLNOW ‘4RS Ustening MAGEE g nlermediate E. MOUTSOU - S. PARKER /. PUBLICATIONSPlus Intermediate Listening-Speaking-Writing E. Moutsou - S. Parker Published by MM Publications 72 New Bond Street, London, W1Y 9DD, Great Britain Internet: [Link] e-mail: editor@[Link] France Greece Poland 4, Chemin de Mejan Deligiorgi 58, Alimos, UL. Borek, Pawilion 9, 13820 Ensues La Redonne 17456, Athens, Greece Ostrzeszow, 63500, France e-mail: sales@mmpinet Poland ‘e-mail: sales@[Link] e-mail: sales@[Link] Associated companies and representatives throughout the world. Copyright © 1998 MM Publications All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers. ISBN 960-7955-29-3INTRODUCTION Plus Intermediate is intended for Intermediate level students. Its aim is to improve students’ Listening, Speaking and Writing skills and to familiarise students with the Cambridge FCE Examination. All the activities in the book have been pre-tested on students. The book consists of 12 Units. Each unit is based on a different theme and is divided into three sections: Listening, Speaking and Writing. The Listening and Speaking sections lead to Writing. They provide students with vocabulary and ideas related to the theme of each unit, which will be useful in the Writing section. There is also a glossary at the end of the book.UNIT 1 UNIT 2 UNIT 3 UNIT 4 UNITS UNIT 6 UNIT 7 UNIT 8 CONTENTS People Listening Speaking ‘Writing a description of a person Places / Buildings istening Speaking Writing a description ofa place / building . Everyday Life Listening .. Speaking Writing an informal letter (I) ~ to give news, talk about plans, congratulate, thank, apologise. 19 24 Strange Events Listening .. Speaking .. Writing a story .. 28 Holidays Listening .. Speaking Writing an informal letter (11) - to invite, give directions, make arrangements, accept or refuse an invitation... Advertising Listening .. Speaking Writing a formal letter (1) - to ask for information. News Reports Listening . Speaking... Writing an article (I) - to report news.. Entertainment Listening. Speaking. Writing a report - to report events and experiences.UNIT 9 UNIT 10 UNIT 11 UNIT 12 Family / Relationships Listenin Speaking Writing an informal letter (III) ~ to ask for advice Rat Employment / Career Listening .. Speaking. Writing a formal letter (11) - to apply for a job. Environment / Animals Listening .. Speaking. Writing an article (11) - to state your opinion, make suggestions, give Information Education Listening .. Speaking. Writing an essay (advantages and disadvantages)People Listening ~-PRE-LISTENING Class game: Guess the student Think of a person in your class. The other students in the class have to guess which student you are thinking about by asking you questions. (e.g. Is it a boy? Does he/she have black hair?) You can only answer Yes or No. ACTIVITY 1 You will hear four people, each describing a different person they know. In the spaces provided, write which person A-F is being described, There are two extra photographs which you do not need to use. 9 Speaker 1 Speaker 3 Speaker 2 Speaker 4 ACTIVITY. 2. You will now listen to the tape again. Match the names of the people being described with the description of the personality/character that best suits each of them. There is one extra option which do not need aces erences friendly and outgoing Ruth quiet and clever John hardworking and responsible Kathleen Peter active and optimistic humorous and forgetfulSPEAKING Unit 1 Speaking ~ ACTIVITY 1 Two of the people in the photographs on page 6 were not described on the tape. Describe them, talking about their age/facelhair/eyes etc. Use the vocabulary given youngimiddle-aged —_round/oval face slim/chubby straightcurly/wavy hair black/brown/bluelgreen eyes The speakers you heard on the tape did not only describe the people's appearance but they also mentioned something about their personality/character: Think of someone you know well. Describe this person's appearance and personality/character. Use the vocabulary and expressions given. Suggested expressions shy eee HelShe is very/quite.....but sometimes... outgoing creative. responsible ; humorous selfish helpful TROP IO In general... lazy polite generous Look at the picture on the right, which shows a teenager's [Link] can you say about his/her interests and personality/character? Use the expressions given. Suggested expressions | think he/she likes....because... | suppose he/she is interested i HelShe has got... He/She must enjoy/be..... because...Unit 1 {were waiting Describe your best friend's appearance and personality. What interests do you and your friend share? a description of a person A teenage magazine is running a competition and is inviting its readers to write a description of their best friend. Read the description written by a teenager about his best friend Mark. What does the writer like about Mark? I have known my friend Mark since | was eight. | feel ‘that: | know him well enough to consider him my best: friend, Mark is now in his mid-teens. He is of medium height, with almond-shaped, brown eyes and short, straight, blonde hair. He loves trendy clothes. Mark is very lively and usually quite talkative. One of ‘the things that: | admire most about him is his ambition. Ifhe wantts to achieve something, hell work really hard to make it happen. What's more, he is very understanding and tries to help people whenever he can. He likes to spend his free time with his friends. Together we go bike-riding round our neighbourhood. We aloo listen to music, mostly rock. He never cleans his room, which is something his parents are always complaining about. Mark is a good friend and someone | can always rely on..'m sure that: welll continue to be friends for a long time. Each of the following statements corresponds to one of the paragraphs in the description. Write the numbers 1-5 in the boxes provided. In this paragraph the writer: a. describes how he feels about his friend. b. tells us about his friend's personality/character. . presents the person he is going to describe. LI iend’s physical appearance. e. presents his friend's interests. d. describesWRITING! Unit 1 A description of a person can be written for many different reasons: to be included in a letter, a story, a police report etc. Below is a general plan + give general information Introduction ebctt tks sehen describe the person's: —— + appearance/physical Main part characteristics 23 paragraphs) + personality/character + interests * give your general jon about this person Conclusion of a description, with questions to guide you. Whaat is the person’s name? How did you meet this person? What is your relationship to him/her? Why are you writing about this person? ‘Whaat does this person look like (age, facial features, hair etc.)? How does this person dress? What is/was he/she wearing? What sort of personality/character does he/she have? What does this person like doing in his/her free time? What does this person like/dislike? ‘What do you think of this person? Do you like him/her? 2. Start a new paragraph for every major point. 1. Use appropriate tenses. This will make it easier for Use the Present Simple when the reader to follow your 3. Group similar pieces of you describe people you know description. information together. now, the Past Simple when you For instance, do not describe people you met in the describe a person's facial past and the Past Simple for features and clothes in the people who are no longer alive. same sentence. beautiful, pretty, handsome, good-looking, attractive seher tall, shore, well-built, thin, slim, chubby, fat appearance | young, old, middle-aged, elderly 2 Foun facial | f€8# Found, oval, long iS eyes: big, small, almond-shaped, brown, blue atures 4 Inchidea tanec small, long, straight, crooked, rounded adjectives in your hair | 3talght, curly wavy, long, short, hick, chin description. Look at the | blonde, brown, dark, grey rable iG clothes | trendy, fashionable, casual, formal, shabby ‘outgoing, nervous, calm, talkative, friendly, patient, personality/ | optimistic, pessimistic, quick-tempered, self-confident, character | sensitive, trustworthy, pleasant, selfish, aggressive, ___| considerate, shy, honest, creative, responsible, helpful 5 Use the following opinion _|size/length| age | shapeltype|colour |+ noun order of adjectives | good-looking slim | young men when you put several | beautiful Tong curly | Black | hair adjectives before a noun.10 Unit 11 WRITING ~ WRITING PRACTICE — 1 Below is part of a description of a famous person. Use the adjectives in the box to complete the blanks. Welldressed caring confident fair shy short | fashionable blue attractive big tall casual Diana, Princess of Wales, was a(n) Om, (2) woman. She had (3) skin and @), (5) eyes. Her hair was neatly cut and (6) in length. ‘ Princess Diana was always (7) and liked (8) clothes which were usually made by famous designers. However, when she was on holiday with her children, she enjoyed wearing (9) clothes. During her first appearances with Prince Charles,she was very (10) and didn’t speak much, Later on, however, she became more (11), Unlike most members of the Royal Family, she was more involved with ordinary people. She was a very (12) person who supported various charities. 2 Complete the description sng the Informatl ——My favourite aunt is my aunt Karen. she is a very enna aa interesting person te a — given [Link] ameresting person and a really good friend. introduction and the conclusion have already been written for you. ‘Occupation: social worker Hair: dark, wavy, shoulder-length Clothes: comfortable, casual Personality/ Character: patient, sensitive, a goodlistener, caring Interests: horse-riding, reading, painting | ——_ (sells her paintings) My aunt is a special person who has helped me on many occasions. she is someone | can trust and depend o 3 Task for homework. Your school newspaper has a column called The person | admire most. Write a description of a person for this column. (120-180 words)Places/Buildings Listening PREAISTENING Can you think of a building which has really impressed you? Describe it. ACTIVITY 1 You will hear four people each describing a different building they have seen while on holiday. Choose which building A-E each speaker is describing. Write your answers in the spaces provided. There is one extra picture which you do not need to use. a restaurant a museum Speaker 1 Speaker 3 Speaker 2 Speaker 4 You will hear a tour guide talking about castles. For questions 1-5, complete the sentences using a word or a short phrase. 1 Walls were built around a castle in order to 2 A moat was a narrow channel filled with 3 The enemy had to use to climb up the walls. 4 Kings and Queens, noble and knights lived in castles. 5 In times of danger, the local people went to their uuUnit 2 SPEAKING ACTIVITY 1 Describe the area you live in. Use the vocabulary given. quieubusy wide/narrow streets block of flats peaceful/dangerous large/small population _friendlylimpersonal clean/polluted atmosphere in the city centre/in the suburbs Your friend's family (parents, two boys, one girl) are going to move to your area and are looking for a house to buy. Look at plans A and B, showing two different types of houses. Find the similarities and differences and make notes in the space provided. Then, use the notes you have made, the vocabulary and the suggested expressions to discuss which house you think would be more suitable for your friend's family, giving reasons. SWIMMING POOL UVvING ROOM KITCHEN KITCHEN, DINING ROOM 12SPEAKING] Unit 2 L Similarities Differences e ‘VOCABULARY- Suggested expressions enjoy large/big/small safe/dangerous spacious necessary water closet (W.C.) extralmore convenient Imagine you are a tourist and have just bought a map of Greensted, the town you are visiting. ‘Work in pairs. Student A turn to page 14 and Student B turn to page 15. Don't look at each other’s map. Each map is the same but has different details missing. Ask each other questions in order to fill in the missing details. Use the vocabulary given. Example \ | Question: What's the building next to the playground? » Answer: The Leisure Centre. i on the right/left | infront of next to | behind diagonally across ' across from near 13STUDENTA sexoy ‘sjauuinbs pied FeUOHEN UF speuUY HEH UMOL sue (s) ayBioy Ul [Link] QZ :49MOL UOREAS ald sploy >j1ed > S SEP, 6 unas em 14STUDENT B THE TOWD OF GREENSTED a ee Ke Ep PN x is gs 6 % he Ree Animals in National Park: deer, rabbits, 15Unit 2 Iams ssi Waiting description of a place/building As part of a class project, students have been asked to describe a famous landmark. Read the description below, written by a student. What is the writer's overall impression of the Eiffel Tower? one of the world’s most famous landmarks is the Eiffel Tower, which was designed and built by Alexandre G. Eiffel in 1889. It is located in the centre of Paris and hhas become a major tourist attraction, with thousands of tourists visiting it every year. what makes the Eiffel Tower so special is its design ‘and height. Being 300 metres high, this impressive tower is one of the tallest Jandmarks in Paris and can be seen from great distances. Of course most people prefer to visit and admire it up close. The Eiffel Tower has three levels. By taking a lift or climbing hundreds of stairs, you can visit the restaurant on the first level and have a delicious French meal. The other two levels each have an observation deck, where you can enjoy spectacular views of Paris. However, the Eiffel Tower is mot only a tourist attraction. The department of meteorology has a weather station and an antenna at the top. This makes it even taller. Without a doubt, the Eiffel Tower is an impressive and unforgettable sight. tt is truly worth visiting. Answer these questions: a. Which tenses are used in the description? Why? [Link] is the topic of each paragraph? 16WRITING | Unit 2 PLAN — A description of a place/building is usually part of another type of writing:a magazine article,a brochure, a story etc. That is why descriptions are not all written in the same way. Below is a general plan of a description of a place/building, with questions to guide you. « give general information What is the place/building? eee ling Who built it and when? Ineroduction > about the lace/buldirg Where is it located? x eee ‘What makes this place/building interesting? desert! Why are you writing about this place/building? + describe the place What does the place/building look like? = (famous sights, ‘What are the important features of this place/bullding? eestalpare > population etc.) or the What makes this place/building special? E building (size, things to. What can you do/see there? do and see etc.) What is the atmosphere of the place/building? + conclude by summarising your poines i a ‘Conciision| » ‘What is your general opinion of the place/building? gree Enels. How do you fee! about the place/building? comment or your feelings » GUIDE TO WRITING 2 Write about a a ORE place/building you are etnies 1 Decide what you are familiar wich ‘major point. going to write about Otherwise, you won't grclshe ce hsats) you know what to write. , are going to use 4 Don't include unimportant (Present and/or Past), details in your description. Choose to write about the most important and interesting features of the place/building. ~~] boring, busy, colourful, crowded, dangerous, exciting, 5 Include a variety of place _ friendly, lively, noisy, polluted, popular, spectacular, adjectives. Don't use welcoming, wonderful the same ones all the time. Look at the table for ideas. building | cosy, decorated, huge, luxurious, spacious, spooky, warm ancient, attractive, beautiful, charming, empty, historic, both _| impressive, interesting, isolated, large, modern, significant, traditional, ugly, unique, well-planned 7 Use the pronoun “you” (informal) or “one” (formal) when you want to refer to people in general (e.g There is a restaurant where you/one can enjoy a delicious meal) 6 Use the Passive Voice whenever possible (e.g The town is situated. The skyscraper was built...) 7Unit 21 WRITING. _ WRITING PRACTICE 1 Below is a description of a village. Read the description and divide it into paragraphs. Tarantino is a beautiful, peaceful village situated on the top of huge mountain, This tiny village is quite welkknown for its magnificent views. Not many people live in Tarantino, In fact, there are about ninety people, most of them old, However, one thing you notice as soon as you meet them is that they are very friendly. The vilage is built around a large square with a marble fountain in the centre, which was built in the nineteenth century. All the houses are made of stone. They are not spacious or luxurious, but they are very charming, warm and cosy. There is nothing much to do inthis village but go for walks and appreciate nature. The only form of entertainment is the small local café which offers coffee, soft drinks and ice-cream. This picturesque village is great for anyone who wants fo relox cand get away from the stress ofthe cty and enjoy a pleasant and quiet environment. It is a place where time seems to have stood still, lar in meaning to the adjectives below. 2 Find the adjectives in the description which are si In most cases, more than one answer is possible. allitdle dopretty [Link] [Link] calm f. famous ate 3 Your teacher has asked you to write a description of your school. Make a plan for the description in the space provided. 4 Tasks for homework. cs a awrite the description of your school using the plan you have made in exercise 3. (120-180 words) writ tion of a b. Your class has been discussing cities and towns. You have been asked to write a description city or town you know well. (120-180 words) 18Everyday Life Listening What do you usually talk about with your friends over the telephone? You will hear parts of four different telephone conversations between Jonathan and four people. For questions 1-4, choose the best answer A, B or C. 1 Why does Dennis want to cancel the tennis match? A Heis sick. B_ The weather is bad © He has to attend a meeting. 2 What is Diane going to do? A Organise a trip to 5 B Look for a new job in Edinburgh. Move to Edinburgh. 3 What does Susan want Jonathan to do? 4 What does Michael ask Jonathan to do? A Help her finish the report. A Meet him at the hospital. B_ Send the report to her office. B Contact their mother. © Check the report. © Take their mother to the hospital. ACTIVITY 2 ‘You will now listen to the tape again. How does Jonathan feel during each conversation? Match the four conversations with one of the words A-E. Write your answers in the boxes provided. There is one extra letter which you do not need to use. Conversation 1 1 A surprised ge Conversation 2 2 C upset D pleased Conversation 3 3 E grateful Conversation 4 4 1920 What would you do in each of the following situations? Choose from the given list of options and justify your choice, explaining why you don't find the rest of the options appropriate. Use the vocabulary given a. This year at school + Music you have the option + Sports of taking up one of + Arts and Crafts * Drama these subjects. Which one would you choose? * buy your friend a new camera + get the broken camera repaired * give the broken camera back to your friend and say nothing by accident and it i + give your friend the money to buy a broke. What do you eel intend to do? . VOCABULARY. a. confidence - creative - develop - exercise - relax - skill - talent b. appreciate - forgive - gesture - irresponsible - polite - replace [Link] had borrowed your friend's camera but you dropped it Role Play In pairs, act out the following role plays to your class. \ J Student A Student A Student A You meet a friend that you | | You have won a trip in a | | You had arranged to go out to haven't seen for several years | | competition organised by a | | dinner with a friend yesterday because he/she was in | | teenage magazine. Tell your | | evening, You waited for your another country. Tell him/her | | friend about the competition | | friend at the restaurant for your news and ask him/her | | and the trip you are going on. | | over an hour: You became very what he/she has been doing | tell him/her how you feel. Student B Student B | Student B You have returned to your | | Your friend tells you that | | You had arranged to go out to home country after several | | he/she has won a trip in a | | dinner with a friend yesterday years of living abroad and you | | competition. Congratulate | | evening, However, something meet a friend that you haven't | | him/her and ask for more | | happened and you couldn't go. seen since you left. Tell | | information. Explain the situation to your him/her your news. friend and apologise. angry and left. Ask your friend to explain what happened andcas WRITING | Unit 3 Writing an informal letter (I) DISCUSS. Who do you write personal letters to? Why do you write personal letters? Below is part of a letter which a boy has sent to his penfriend. Read it carefully. What news does Toby give his friend in the letter? 56 Rose St Canterbury Kent KT2O 21R 19 January I998 Dear Claire, I've got lots of things to tell you. At school, everybody in my class i¢ busy preparing for the school play we are going to put on. | got the part of Romeo {don’t laugh! in Shakecpeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, co I've got lots of lines to learn by heart. | reckon it’s going to be great in the enc! I've alco got come bad news. Unfortunately, we lost in rugby again, so we can forget about the inter-school championships. By the way, how ic your backetball team doing? I hope you have had better luck than us. Anyway, you know how I've always wanted to learn French. Wel, I'm going to start lessons next week, and I'm really excited about itt Yours, Toby Answer these questions: a. The beginning and ending to this letter are missing. Can you think of an appropriate beginning and ending? Write your answers in the spaces provided in the letter. b. What makes this letter informal? 222 An informal letter is a personal letter written to a relative, friend or acquaintance. There are many reasons for writing an informal letter: to give news, talk about plans, congratulate, thank or apologise to someone etc. Below is a general plan of an informal letter, with questions to guide you. Greeting + use first names Openii + use set phrases (refer to Guide to paragraph Writing) to begin your letter + say why you are writing Main part Gfain part (> + develop your ideas Why are you writing this letter? Do you want to give news, congratulate the reader etc? Whaat exactly do you want to tell the reader? Is there anything you want to repeat? Closing Jp. + state anything you want to emphasise Paragraph + use set phrases to end your letter Signing off + use a signature ending and your first name below that 1. Make sure you follow the layout of informal letters: Dear Betty, “con Love, ie ill = ——— | 2 park tone | epsom address: on Surrey KT18 2LR ‘ihe righ 18 June 199. eee2 Refer to the reader in WRITING | Unit 3 4. Use linking words/phrases to a friendly way and use 3 Start a new paragraph for informal language. every major point. This will make it easier for the reader to follow your letter. 5. Use short forms (eg 14, can't). 6 Include exclamation marks 7 Use direct questions (eg. How were your to express your emotions holidays!) more clearly ([Link] had a wonderful time!) make your writing flow better (eg. well, by the way, anyway, what's more). 8 Remember to use a greeting, set phrases to begin and end your letter and a signature ending. Look at the table below for ideas. greetings [82 Phrases for opening | set phrases for signature paragraph closing paragraph __| endings Dear Henry | I hope you are fine ‘Well, that’s all for now | Yours Hello Mary! | It was nice to hear from you | | must go now Love Dear Mum | Thanks for your letter Write soon Lots of kisses | NOT | What have you been up to? | I'm looking forward to | Bye for now Dear brother | Sorry haven't written for | hearing from you _| Best wishes Dear friend | so long ‘Waiting for your letter | Take care 1 Below is a letter of apology. Find the mistakes in the layout and punctuation and correct them. 16 June 1998 Dear Janet we hope you are fine we reached Woodland yesterday and everything was great until we went to put up the tent you have lent uss | don't know how to say thie and | feel really bad about it Im afrald we have ruined your tent but Ill start from the beginning we arrived here in the afternoon and decided to set up camp Immediately before It got dark anyway while we were pitching the tent there was a sudden gust of wind Mack and | held on tightly to the tent but the wind was so strong that It ripped the front of the tent we're really sorry that we ruined your tent you can't imagine how bad we feel we managed to mend it a bit but we plan to replace it as soon as we get back if we don't find exactly the same one welll buy one that you lke once again we're really sorry about the tent we hope you can forgive us love Irene and Mack 23Unit 3 | WRITING 2 Below are the opening and closing paragraphs of three informal letters. Match the beginning of each letter with the appropriate en provided. Dear Mike, a Congratulations on Your new job and thank you so much for your postcards from Paris and Rome. You're so lucky to have seen these places. You must be happy to have found a Job you really like, um, 7 Dear Mt ‘sorry | haven't a jong, but ritten for sO we been busy pa driving lessons. Well, Yo8 ‘an now congratulate Mm 1 possed my driving test! Hello jill, g 1 hope everyone's fine at home. You can't imagine my surprise when | got your letter and the tickets to the U2 concert. 1 really appreciate your present and the fact that you didn’t forget. 24 g Ill be careful, going to be tra Europe on busin: to ring when yo 1g. Then, write what type of letter each one is (e.g. letter giving news, talking about plans, congratulating, thanl 18, apologising etc) in the boxes Well, | must go now. I'm meeting a few friends tonight to celebrate. Don't worry, | won't speed and Love, Josh TI Be helio. tp ie ie OF now, YY for me, rygfh and pit for titers oe Y birthday. yearn Yours °°" Angela _| well, now that you're ne travelling around ess, don’t forget u're in town. ‘Take care, kate3 Write a greeting and a few sentences to introduce eaca ot the following letters. a. While you were visiting London, you stayed with your aunt's family for a month. You are back home now and have decided to write her a letter: You want to thank her for putting you up and to let her know how you are getting on. b. You have moved to a new neighbourhood and have changed schools. Write a letter to a friend, telling him/her what everything has been like so far: . You are on a trip around Europe with your family. A friend of yours had asked you to buy him/her a Swiss army knife from Switzerland. However, you didn’t have the opportunity to buy it. Write a letter to your friend, apologising and explaining what happened. 4 Task for homework. vam Unit 3 Choose one of the topics given above and write a letter in an appropriate style. (120-180 words) 2526 Strange Events Listening ~PRE-LISTENING — Have you ever seen a horror or science fiction film? Describe the scenes which impressed you most. You will hear a radio programme about a strange creature. Look at the pictures A-E below and put them in the correct order by writing the numbers 1-4 in the boxes provided. There is one extra picture which you do not need to use. a oe ape 4 s Sidi Rs a Tee aes You will now listen to the tape again. Fill in the missing information. 1 Date the creature was seen: 2 Time it was seen: 3 Where it was seen: 4 Ichad legs. 5 Ie didn’t have 3 6 Ie could very quickly, as it had wings. 7 The witnesses felt and went to report it to the police. 8 The police searched for but found nothing. ee a‘SPEAKING Unit 4 Speaking _ ACTIVITY 1 Answer these questions. a. Have you ever seen anything strange or heard of any strange events? Share your experiences with the rest of the class. b. How would you feel if you saw a UFO/a ghost/a strange creature? What would you do? ACTIVITY 2 [Link] groups of four, narrate the story illustrated below. Each student should choose one picture and describe what is taking place. Try to make the story interesting. Use linking words/phrases (eg. suddenly, after, as soon as, when, although, so....that), the vocabulary and the expressions given. 'b. What happens at the end of the story? Discuss possible endings with your group. Suggested expressions panic Finally, we/they arrived.... It had... terrified iss WelThey entered... We/They could see.... canon oe As welthey were walking/looking.... atmosphere brave WHe decided to... 27Unit 41 WRITING Writi ng —<"a story DISCUSS. Do you believe in ghosts? Why/Why not? A teenage magazine has organised a short story competition. The competition rules say that the story must end with the following words: Nevertheless, | never went near that place again. Read the story below. Then, complete the blanks using the 1g words/phrases in the box. however since before so infact while when later (1) | was riding down a country road, | spotted a hitch-hiker. (2) it had started raining, | decided to stop and take her into town. | helped her onto my motorbike and gave her a helmet to wear. We had travelled two kilometres (3) all of a sudden I lost control of the motorbike. Luckily | managed to stop. | turned around to see if the ‘woman was [Link] my surprise, she was gone. (4) ,the helmet | had given her was neatly strapped to the pillion. | was (5) shocked that it took me a while (6) I could continue my journey. (7) that evening, | told my boss what had happened and described the woman.A man standing near us turned around and said in a trembling voice, “You've just described my sister! She was killed on that country road, (8), it happened on this very day last year!” Was near that place again. just a strange coi i It was just another normal Friday evening and I was making a delivery. | worked as a delivery boy for a pizza restaurant. | jence? | don't know. Nevertheless, | never went |‘WRITING | Unit 4 The most common way to write a story (also known as a narrative) is by narrating the events in chronological order (in the order in which they happened). Below is a plan of a story of this type, with questions to guide you. + describe background scene + introduce the main character(s) Introduction + describe how the story Main part a3 started and developed hs) + describe what happened at the end of the story (could also be included in the main part) + make a short comment on the story When did the story take place? Where were you and why? ‘What was the weather like? What were you doing? What were you going to do? Who were you with? What was your relationship with the other character(s)? ‘What happened? What did youlthe other character(s) do? How did you feel? ‘What were you expecting to happen? ‘What happened in the end? How did you feel afterwards? How do you feel about the event now? Has it changed your life? 1 Before you start writing your story, decide whether you are going to write about a true or an imaginary event. Think of a simple story. You can narrate the story using the first person ([Link]) or third person (He, She, They). 2 Write an interesting and original introduction in order to catch the reader's attention and make him/her want to continue reading 3 Start a new paragraph for each stage of your story. This will make it easier for the reader to follow it. your story. 4 Make sure you use the appropriate tenses. The most useful tenses when writing a story are: + The Past ple, to describe completed actions that took place one after the other in the past. (e.g. He got up, opened the door and left.) + The Past Continuous, to describe the background scenes to the story or a lengthy action that was in progress when a shorter or sudden one interrupted it. The longer action is in the Past Continuous and the shorter one is in the Past Simple. (e.g. It was raining heavily. They were walking in the woods when they heard a noise.) * The Past Perfect, to describe a past event that was completed before another past event or situation. (e.g. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise. The door had slammed shut) 29Unit 41 WRITING time | Before. when, as soon as, while, as, during, after that, 5 Use linking words/phrases later, soon, then, in the beginning, finally, by the time to join your ideas and sntrast | *tMOUEh. even though. however, but, while, whereas, make your story flow. Look contrast nevertheless, despite at the table which shows - te geet result- | so..that, such. that, therefore, so, for this reason, commonifited MExorF consequence | as a consequence, as a result writing cause-reason | because, because of, as, since ‘emphasis in fact, to tell you the truth 6 Create tif + Direct Speech, to make a situation seem real. atmosphere you want and make your story interesting by using some of the techniques in the box. + questions or exclamation marks, to make the story more exciting. + interesting vocabulary, to make your descriptions and the whole story more interesting e.g, "I was terrified” instead of “I was afraid”. + expressions/phrases It was too good to be true. | was in a good/bad mood. | couldn't believe my eyes. All of a sudden/Suddenly. | was in/out of luck. The next thing | knew. (Un}luckil.. | was out of breath. Ie made me jump. Ie was a real shock. 7 End your story in such a way that the 8 Remember that when you are given a sentence to begin or end a story with, you must reader will be include it without making any impressed. changes to it ~ WRITING PRACTICE 1 This is a story about verbs in brackets. Jane for it all morning and she still 2) (not find) it. How (@) (be) she going to go fon her business trip the following morning without her passport? She (4) (know) that if she () (miss) this trip, it would be the end of her career. ‘a strange event. Complete the blanks using the correct tense of the (1) (search)WRITING | Unit 4 By late evening, Jane (6) (be) in a state of panic. She @) (search) her house and her car. That night she (8) (Go) to bed feeling ill and exhausted. Maybe that (9) (be) the reason why she (10) (have) such a strange dream She (11) (dream) that she (12) (follow) someone. That person (13) (know) where her passport (14) (be). She (15) (run) quickly, trying to keep up with him, when suddenly he (16) (stop). They 7) (be) in Jane's living room. Then, he (18) (point) to the sofa. Jane (19) (wake) up in a cold sweat, thinking that she (20) (have) a silly dream. But, her curiosity got the better of her. She (21) (get) up, (22) (walk) to the living room and (23) (start) to take the cushions off the sofa. She 24) (not can) believe her eyes! Her passport (25) (be) there, under the cushions. She (26) (not sleep) the rest of the night. She (27) (keep) thinking about her dream. 2. A teenage magazine has organised a short story competition. The competition rules say that the story must end with the following words: It was a night | will never forget. Below is part of a story that a teenager has written. Make it more exc Direct Speech, questions and exclamation marks. Tt was night. It was raining outside . My friend Renae ae Harry and I were watching 5 TV, We heard a noise ‘coming from the basement. pee ee My friend said that we'd Se petter check it out. We went downstairs. ee eS ‘The lights weren't working in mane eS the basement. Ileft Harry there. I went upstairs to get 2 candle. When Iretumned, Harry was gone. 3 Tasks for homework. a. Complete the story from exercise 2 b. A teenage magazine has organised a short story competition. The competition rules say that the story must begin or end with the following words: It was certainly the strangest thing that had ever happened to himlher. (120-180 words) 31