Universidad Autónoma de Occidente Topic: Talk About Past Events

Language Institute Teacher: Katerine Tabares

Level: 5

DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE?

1. Read the following storytelling expressions and make sentences using them.

2. Highlight the correct answer.

● We danced a lot during / meanwhile the party.

● As soon as / Soon Ann got to the bus stop, it started to rain.
● After looking for over an hour, we eventually / later found the restaurant.
● By the time / At that moment he got home, everyone was eating dinner.
● Tom baked a cake. Meanwhile / Soon, my dad was wrapping presents.
● I couldn’t meet with him because I was busy later / at that moment.

3. Make sentences using the storytelling expressions above.

4. Listen to the story. What is the woman talking about?

a. an interesting trip she took

b. how she met her husband
c. a concert she went to

5. Listen again. Put the events from the story in order. Write the number in the box.

4 She went to a concert with her friends, and the man was there.

3 She went to the supermarket and saw the man.

2 She saw a man with a book she liked.

6 They got married.

5 They went to dinner and talked for a long time.

1 She took the train to work.

6. Now, watch this video and take notes below. Then, discuss it in class.
 7. According to what was understood from the video, complete the following exercise.
Highlight the correct answers.

I drove / was driving to work last week when a police officer stopped / was stopping
me. I didn’t hear / wasn’t hearing the police car at first because I listened / was
listening to loud music at that moment. I was thinking / thought about other things. As
soon as I saw / was seeing the flashing lights behind me, I drove / was driving to the
side of the road. The police officer was / was being very nice, but she still gave / was
giving me a speeding ticket. I learned / was learning an expensive lesson! I won’t drive
too fast again.

8. Highlight in bold the verbs in simple past and in red the verbs in past progressive.
Also, underline the storytelling expressions found.

Do you believe in fate? That things happen for a reason? I never did, until a couple
of years ago, when a series of strange events happened to me over the course of
a week. And because of that, I now believe that things happen for a reason.

It was Monday morning, and I was taking the train to work. For some reason, I
looked up and out the window toward another train in the station. I saw someone
holding my favorite book, The Elephant Vanishes. It’s not a book you see every
day, so I was surprised. Just at that moment, the man put his book down, and
looked out his window. He saw me, and smiled. My heart beat a little faster, but I
thought, “Well, he’s cute, but I’ll never see him again.”
That evening, I stopped at the supermarket to buy something for dinner. I was
waiting to pay for my groceries, when all of a sudden I saw the man from the train
in the line next to me. He was buying the same kind of pizza as I was. Now, I
thought, “This is a little strange, but I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. He probably
lives near here. And he just happens to have good taste in pizza!”
A few days passed but I didn’t see the “mystery man” again. To be honest, I was
beginning to think I had imagined him! Then on Thursday, I went to a concert with a
few friends. We sat down and I couldn’t believe it. The man from the train and the
supermarket was sitting next to me! We laughed when we saw each other. We
talked and talked during the rest of the concert . . . I don’t even think we heard any
music! By the time the concert was over, it was like we had known each other for
years.
Later, I said goodbye to my friends. Mike—that’s the mystery man’s name—and I
went to get something to eat. We talked for another six hours! We started dating,
and eventually we got married. So now when people ask me if I believe in fate, the
answer is definitely “Yes!”

9. Go to this document and write a short story about how you met your special someone.