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Talking about Fear

Discussion Warm Up

1. Do you get scared easily?

2. What types of things scare you?
3. When you were a child, were you afraid of the dark?

Vocabulary Check

without a doubt, terrified, cursed, expect, startle

afraid of (one’s) own shadow, shake like a leaf, harmless, maniac

pitch dark, trip, disgust, get under (one’s) skin, prop, freak (one) out

scared - terrified - horrified - petrified

Listening Comprehension

Watch the following YouTube video and answer the following questions?
Copy and paste the following link to watch the video:
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/epuneQOQwPk

1. Why does Shelley get scared at the beginning of the video?

2. What does Shelley mean when she replies, “I guess you could say that?”

3. What happened last week that scared Shelley? How does Johnny describe Mark’s
dog?

4. What does Shelley think of Mark’s dog?

5. What does Mark’s dog do every time it sees Shelley?

6. According to Johnny, what does Shelley do during most scary movie scenes?
What is Shelley’s explanation?

7. According to Johnny, how does she react when Johnny drives fast?
What is Shelley’s explanation?

8. According to Johnny, how does Shelley feel about dark places?

What is Shelley’s explanation?

9. According to Johnny, how does she feel about spiders and

other insects?
What is Shelley’s explanation?

10. How does Shelley feel about Halloween?

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Matching
Match the words on the left with words or expressions on the right that are closest in
meaning.

1. without a doubt A. A strong feeling of dislike caused by something

unpleasant.

2. terrified B. To cause sudden shock.

3. expect C. One hundred percent certain about something.

4. startle D. An object that is a replica, but is meant to make people

believe it’s real.

5. afraid of (one’s) own shadow E. To assume that something will happen.

6. shake like a leaf F. For something or someone to really bother someone.

7. harmless G. A crazy person or someone displaying wild behavior.

8. maniac H. To tremble.

9. pitch dark I. Unable to cause injury in any way.

10. trip J. Extremely scared.

11. disgust K. Completely lacking light.

12. get under (one’s) skin L. To fall over something.



13. prop M. Afraid of your own shadow.

14. freak (one) out N.To become anxious, upset or afraid as a result of something.

More Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe in ghosts?

2. How do you feel about cockroaches and spiders?

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Words in Context - Fill-in-the-blanks

1. I can’t stand cockroaches. They really ______________________ me.

2. Did you see the way Frank was behaving at the party?
He was acting like a ______________________. Did you know?
It really scared me. Some fears are common
across all cultures when we
3. ______________________ I believe that he will succeed are born. Fear of strangers and
fear of separation are just a
with his new business.
couple examples.

4. The new manager really ______________________ when

he speaks to me like a child.

5. The scenery for the play looked real. They used a lot of really cool
______________________.

6. Be careful not to ______________________ over that wire.

7. I was so scared during that movie that I was ______________________.

8. Don’t worry my dog is ______________________. She just barks loudly.

9. Did you see Cindy jump when she saw that spider? She’s really __________________.

10. We will never find my keys out here. It’s ______________________.

11. Oh my gosh! You ______________________ me. Don’t surprise me like that.

12. I didn’t ______________________ to get a raise, but of course I am happy that I did!

13. Tony didn’t look too good after that game. I think the hit he took really
______________________.

14. I can’t believe he has a pet snake. I’m completely ______________________ of them!

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Listening Scripts

Johnny: Boo!

Shelley: Oh my god! You scared me.

Johnny: Haha!

Shelley: Not funny!

Johnny: You really do get scared quickly though, don’t you?

Shelley: Yes, I guess you could say that.

Johnny: Without a doubt!

Do you remember just last week when Mark’s dog jumped on you?
You were terrified!

Shelley: Yes, that dog is cursed though.

Johnny: Shelley, his dog is very small and cute!

Shelley: Yes, I know but she always jumps on me when I am not expecting it.
She always startles me.

Johnny: I swear, you are afraid of your own shadow!

You cover your eyes during most scary movie scenes.
You shake like a leaf whenever I drive fast.
You are terrified of the dark when we go camping.
You are horrified at the site of harmless spiders and other insects.

Shelley: Johnny give me a break.

I don’t like the look of blood.
You drive like a maniac.
It is pitch dark when we go camping.
It’s impossible to even see your hand in front of your face.
I could trip over and hit my head and die.

And yes I am petrified of spiders and other creepy insects.

They disgust me.

Johnny: Haha! That’s a riot!

Halloween must really get under your skin.

Shelley: Actually, some of the props these days look real.

It’s hard to tell the difference between some plastic spiders and real ones.
The creepy sound effects and noises that come from the decorations really freak me out too.

Johnny: Don’t worry; I’ll take care of you!

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Answer Key

Listening Comprehension Answers

1. Johnny sneaks up on her and scares her. (Teach “sneak up on”)

2. She gets scared very easily.

3. Mark’s dog jumped on her.

4. She thinks his dog is cursed. His dog is small and cute.

5. His dog jumps on her when she isn’t expecting it.

6. She covers her eyes. Shelley doesn’t like blood.

7. She shakes like a leaf. Shelley thinks Johnny drives like a maniac.

8. She is terrified. Shelley describes the camp place as being pitch dark and difficult to
even see her hand in front of her face. She may trip and die.

9. She is horrified of harmless spiders and other insects. She thinks they are creepy and
they disgust her.

10. She thinks that some of the props look real. She can’t tell if some plastic spiders are
real or not. The creepy sounds that come from decorations also freak her out.

Matching

1. C without a doubt - One hundred percent certain about something. 2. J terrified -

Extremely scared. 3. E expect - To assume that something will happen. 4. B startle - To
cause sudden shock. 5. M afraid of your own shadow - Very easily frightened. 6. H shake
like a leaf - To tremble. 7. I harmless - Unable to cause injury in any way. 8. G maniac - A
crazy person or someone displaying wild behavior. 9. K pitch dark - Completely lacking
light. 10. L trip - To fall over something. 11. A disgust - A strong feeling of dislike caused by
something unpleasant. 12. F get under your skin - For something or someone to really
bother someone. 13. D prop - An object that is a replica, but is meant to make people
believe it’s real. 14. N freaked (him) out - To become anxious, upset or afraid as a result of
something.

Words in Context - Fill-in-the-Blanks

1. disgust 2. maniac 3. without a doubt 4. get under your skin 5. prop 6. trip 7. shake like a
leaf 8. harmless 9. afraid of your own shadow 10. pitch dark 11. startle 12. expect 13. freak
out 14. terrified

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