Web International Advanced Private Class Lesson 7&8

Advanced Private Class

Lesson 7
The Secret Code (Review)

Goals of the Lesson

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Objective 1: To understand and express different degrees of logical connection between a series of events in

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the past, using the modals (must, could, might, may…) and logical connectives such as a result, even though
and unless.

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Objective 2: To understand and express the difference between past conditionals and contrary to fact
conditionals when making inferences.

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Classroom Activities

I. Warm-up

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Greet the students. Get them to talk to each other about their favourite television programme – have them
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summarize it’s basic premise and why they like it.

II. Review Activities

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Activity 1: Summarizing
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Elicit information from the students to check comprehension from the computer lesson.
The following is a suggestion: start by asking one student to summarize the whole story, preferably in three
complete sentences. Next, get the students to summarize each of the main characters’ backgrounds and
motivations to commit the crime.
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Finally, get them to provide a step-by-step analysis of how they solved the mystery. When they have finished,
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assign Homework 1 getting students to do the homework the same way they just talked about the courseware.

Activity 2: Who is Guilty?

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Objective: Focus on cause/effect statements with modals and conditionals to express logical inferences about
the past.

The teacher should check students’ understanding/ability to use modals in spoken language. The modals
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indicate the logical force of the inference.

Must = necessity
Most = possibility
Could = potentiality/ability

The teacher should get students to make a few example sentences either from the computer or from real life
examples to display understanding.

Activity 3: Reported Speech

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Objective: Focus students on the use and importance of reported speech in English.

Note that, “I lived in Beijing.” Becomes, “She told me that she had lived in Beijing” in reported speech.
Reported speech is important in understanding the language used in newspaper English and is also an
important skill in receptionist/telephone English. Get the students to change a few examples of the teacher’s
statements into reported speech and then see who can do the following on the white board, paying special
attention to the pronoun changes involved.
“I saw you at the bank but you didn’t see me.”

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“I am sorry that I didn’t come to your party because I had the flu.”

Activity 4: Difficult Grammar

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Objective: Focus students on the grammar on which this lesson is based. Let the students know that this is just

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a light-hearted exercise and even some native speakers would find this grammar difficult. They are not
expected to get it all right.

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Contrast the difference in meaning between,
If she went to the office, she couldn’t have been there past 11:00.
And,
If she had gone to the office, she couldn’t have been there past 11:00.

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(In the first sentence, it is unknown if she went or not. In the second sentence, there is the supposition that if
she had gone).
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Prepare some further model examples and get the students as a group to come up with their own. Don’t spend
too much time on this.
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III. Extension Activities
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Activity 5: Interrogation Techniques

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Objective: Focus students on techniques of eliciting information from uncooperative sources, including
rhetoric, guided questions and framed arguments.
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Explain to the students the idea of guided or rhetorical questions, basically questions with only one answer,
“Isn’t China great?” and “Isn’t it true that….?”. Use the example of a prosecutor to illustrate the point. Two
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interrogation role-plays are provided for the teacher to play out with a student in a one-on-one class or they can
get the students to do it amongst themselves in a larger class.

The idea of the role-plays is that the students use both the grammar from the lesson and the interrogation
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techniques but with the time provided and the complexity involved the teacher needs to set the bar accordingly.
Very good students can do this well. Less capable students will struggle…
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IV. Warm-down
Review any grammar points that the teacher feels necessary.

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V. Homework Assignments
1. Read a mystery book or watch a mystery movie. Report on it in the following manner:
 summarize it in about three sentences
 briefly summarize the main characters and their motives in the story
 provide a step-by-step analysis of how you solved the mystery/how the story unraveled.

2. Review and familiarize yourself with the O.J. Simpson murder trial. This homework is required for the

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next class. Handout at the end of the lesson.

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Interrogation Role-plays

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You are a police officer from the local district in your city. You are about to interrogate a suspect who was
caught in a jewelry store with a dead store attendant at their feet. The suspect was found with expensive
necklaces in their hands and their fingerprints were on the handle of the knife. You know the following facts:
the video camera shows the local security man enter the store at 4:30, briefly chat with the attendant and then

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leave. At exactly 4:34 the security camera cuts off and it was found later that the cord was cut. From this time
until 5:06 when the security man returned and found the suspect in the store there is no evidence of what
happened. Interrogate the suspect and fill in the events during this period.

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You are a local resident in your town. You are sitting in the local police station and are about to be
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interrogated for your role in a robbery/murder at a nearby jewelry store. Although things look very bad, you
didn’t do it and are going to prove you didn’t do it. Here is what happened. At about 4:45 you entered the
empty jewelry store and looked around for a few minutes. When you got around to the cashier you noticed
that several of the drawers were open and some jewelry was scattered around the counter and floor. When you
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looked at the floor behind the cashier you saw the attendant lying on the floor with a knife in their chest. You
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checked them (although you aren’t sure if you touched the knife…) and determined that he was indeed dead.
You then checked the jewelry in the drawers and, although you aren’t really sure why, picked up a couple of
necklaces. Suddenly, a security man came running in called the police….
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You are a police officer from the local district in your city. You are about to interrogate a suspect who was
caught in an apartment with a large bag full of the owners’ personal belongings. The suspect was caught by
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the security guard of the apartment complex. Here is the information that you know: the security camera in
the apartment building shows the suspect walking down the hallway of the apartment at 7:10 p.m. The
security guard is sure they didn’t see the person enter the complex. The door of the apartment was obviously
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forced open, as the lock was broken. The apartment shows obvious signs of being searched – clothes on the
floor, items broken…The security camera doesn’t show anyone else enter or leave the building until the
security guard enters at 7:33. The guard says he found the suspect in the dark apartment with a bag full of
expensive items in their hand. The suspect’s fingerprints are all over the apartment’s furniture.
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You are a worker in the city with nowhere to stay at the moment. You broke into an apartment around 7:00
after slipping past the security guards at a local apartment complex and were about to make off with a bag full
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of items when you were caught by the security guard. You are now at the local police station and are about to
be interrogated. You do not want to go to jail so here is your story…Tell the police officer that you asked the
security guard to enter the complex to use a phone and that they let you. You became lost while looking for
the phone and entered the apartment building where the crime happened. Tell the cop that when you walked
past the apartment you saw the door open and apparently broken into. You heard a strange noise behind the
door which made you suspicious so you charged in and found a burglar in the process of stealing. You
grabbed him and struggled but he was stronger and you were knocked down. He then fled. You saw a large
bag on the ground so you picked it up and looked inside, just as the security guard opened the door and turned
on the light…

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 Web International Advanced Private Class Lesson 7&8

Advanced Private Class

Lesson 8
The Secret Code (Extension)

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Goals of the Lesson

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To be able to make inferences about a past sequence of events.
To be able to explain why and how a set of facts leads to a range of possible conclusions.

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To be able to use language as a problem solving tool.
To be able to make inferences with different degrees of certainty.

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Classroom Activities

I. Warm-up

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Have a bit of small chat with the students focusing on the past tense. Check students’ homework assignments
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of the book/movie that they reviewed.

II. Main Activities

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Activity 1: Reliving: Ask the students to answer the question: “If you could do one thing in your life over
again, what would it be?” and explain why.
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Activity 2: Hindsight – Ask the students to answer the question: “If you could change one thing that you did
in your past, what would it be?” and explain why.
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Activity 3: Past – Ask the students to think of a decision they had to make in the past and explain why they
made the decision that they did.
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Activity 4: The OJ Simpson Case – This exercise is a follow-up to the interrogation exercise in Advanced
Private Class 7. Review the ideas of guided questions, rhetorical questions and framing an argument.

Divide the class accordingly – with a class of four there are two OJ’s, a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. A
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class of three would have a prosecutor and a defense lawyer with one OJ. A class of two means each student
plays OJ once and a lawyer once. In a one-on-one, the teacher and the student swap roles.
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The students need to be familiar with the case and if they didn’t do the homework they should be referred at
this point. Give the students 5 minutes or so to prepare and then simulate a courtroom exchange between OJ
and the lawyer. The lawyer’s chore is to build an argument, preferably with the grammatical structures from
the lesson and/or rhetorical style questions to paint OJ as being guilty/not guilty of the crime. OJ’s job is to
make themselves look innocent.

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The OJ Simpson Case

Case Overview:

OJ Simpson and his wife Nicole had been separated for several months before the murders took place. Despite
not living together, Nicole, with their children (6 and 8), had bought a house quite close to OJ’s estate and
could easily be reached on foot in the time frame presented in the timeline. The relationship between Nicole

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and Ronald Goldman is not entirely clear but the two were clearly on a friendly basis and, considering the
relationship between OJ and Nicole, perhaps more. Kato Kaelin was a friend of OJ who was a houseguest and
companion of OJ at the time.

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Arguments for the Prosecution:

Nicole Simpson had called OJ the day of the murders, telling him that she wanted a divorce.
911 records show that Nicole and OJ had violent quarrels in the past.

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Bloodstains found in OJ’s car after the murders matched bloodstains found at the murder scene (OJ’s blood
type).
A bloody glove found at the murder scene was OJ’s sized glove.

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OJ, despite being in his late 40’s, remained a strong, athletic man capable of sizable activities.
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Arguments for the Defense:

Nicole and OJ had been separated for several months and talks of divorce were not a new thing.
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0.5% of the American population has the same blood type as OJ.
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OJ retired from professional football because of injuries to his knees. For a man in his mid-40’s to overpower
and kill two people 10 years (Nicole) and 20 years (Ronald) younger than him without screams or great
struggle is questionable.
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The following is the sequence of events on the night of June 12, 1994 and early morning hours of June 13,
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based on the testimony of witnesses. OJ Simpson has said he was at his Brentwood home waiting for a
limousine at the time the victims were fatally stabbed.
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The Cast:
OJ Simpson – famous American football player
Nicole Simpson – OJ’s wife
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Ronald Goldman – waiter at restaurant and friend of Nicole Simpson

Kato Kaelin – house guest of the OJ Simpson
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Allan Park – limousine driver

6:30 pm – Nicole Simpson, her children and several others go to dinner at the
Mezzaluna restaurant.

8:00 pm – Nicole Simpson and her children leave Mezzaluna and stop for ice
cream on the way home.

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9:15 pm – One of Nicole Simpson’s sisters calls Mezzaluna to say the Nicole’s
mother had left her glasses at the restaurant. Ronald Goldman volunteers to return
the glasses.

9-9:30 pm – Kato Kaelin and OJ Simpson go to McDonald’s for dinner.

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9:45 pm – Kaelin and OJ Simpson return home.

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9:48-9:50 pm – Goldman leaves the restaurant with a white envelope containing
the glasses.

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10:15 pm – While watching TV, a neighbor of the Nicole Simpson, hears the cries

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and constant barking of a dog.

10:25 pm – Driver Allan Park arrives at the Simpson’s home.

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10:40 pm – Kaelin hears three loud thumps on an outside wall of his room.
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10:40-10:50 pm – Park knocks at the door several times but does not get any
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response.
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10:55 pm – Park calls his boss and tells him Simpson is not home. He is told to
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wait until 11:15 since Simpson is always late.

Shortly before 11:00 pm – Park sees a black person, six feet, 200 pounds, walking
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across the driveway towards the house.

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About 11:00 pm – Kaelin goes to the front of the house to check the noise. He sees
the limousine driver at the gate. Several seconds later, Park again knocks at the
door and Simpson answers. He says he had overslept and just gotten out of the
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shower.
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11-11:15 pm – limousine leaves for Los Angeles Airport.

11:35 pm – limousine arrives at airport.

11:45 pm – Simpson leaves on an American Airlines flight to Chicago.

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12:10 am – the bodies of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman are discovered
outside her townhouse.

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adverb and noun clauses

Bob became suspicious that someone had gotten in to his drawer. It looked as if things had been moved
around. He wasn’t sure if anyone had looked in the book. Only a few people could have known that the book
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even existed. It kept a record of when the files were opened. Bob found out that someone was getting into his
files. He was sure that whoever it was had a copy of his key. He couldn’t figure out how they could have gotten
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it. It could detect when the drawer was opened. He discovered that someone had accessed his files twice
during the weekend
past possibilities
Someone may have opened the drawer. He may have been able to access the files because he knows a lot about
computers. She might have been at the office before 11:00 on Saturday. One possibility is that a competitor
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sent someone to break in. The only way to have gotten in was if the drawer wasn’t locked. If it was before
11:00, it could have been Shirley.
past conditionals (in contrast to contrary-to-fact conditionals)
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If + subj. + V(d) subj. (modal) have + V(n)

If she went to the office (if she had gone), she couldn’t have been there past 11:00. They couldn’t have known
about the book unless someone told them (had told them). The only way to have gotten in was if the drawer
wasn’t locked (hadn’t been locked). If the drawer was unlocked, the thief must have done it during the day. If
the files were accessed (had been accessed) after 2:00 on Saturday, it couldn’t have been Leslie.
modals, degrees of certainty and logical necessity in making inferences and predictions
(would, could, must have, could have, may have)
Suddenly he realized what must have happened. There are several companies that would be interested in the
project. Bob thinks they would pay a lot. There’s no way they could have known about Bob’s book. Shirley

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couldn’t have been at the office at either time. Whoever wrote the program must have known about computers.
Since nobody opened Bob’s drawer, there must have been another way to get the codes.
passives, past perfect passive be + V(n), V(d) have + V(n) be + V(n)
He found that the files were accessed twice over the weekend. It looked as if things had been moved around. It
could detect when the drawer was opened. It kept a record of when the files were opened. He checked to see
when his desk drawer had been opened.
past perfect in past narrative and reported speech V(d) have + V(n)
He became suspicious that someone had gotten into his drawer. It looked as if things had been moved around.
He wasn’t sure if anyone had looked in the book. He told several people that he had solved the problem.

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III. Transcripts

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Setting a Trap

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Bob is an engineer at Ace Electronics. He is the lead researcher on an important project for the
company. The purpose of the project is to develop a more efficient way to store energy such as in very small
batteries. The project is nearing completion. If it’s successful it could bring a lot of business to his company.

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Because of its importance, only a few people are familiar with its details. Bob keeps his work on the
company’s computer network. The only person who has complete access to it is him. In order to access his
personal files, it’s necessary to use a password. About six weeks ago Bob became suspicious that someone

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had gotten into his desk drawer. He wasn’t sure, but it looked as if things had been moved around. In his
drawer, Bob kept a small codebook. In the book he kept the passwords necessary to access his project files.
He generally changed the passwords every week or two, and the book was where he wrote them down. He
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wasn’t sure if anyone had looked in the book. But, if someone did, he wanted to find out who it was. Only a
few people could have known that the book even existed. The first thing he did was write a program that
monitored access to his files. It kept a record of when the files were opened. It also made a record of any
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passwords which were used. Within a few days Bob found out that someone was, in fact, into his files. This
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confirmed his suspicions, so he continued to monitor the situation. He thought about changing the lock on his
desk drawer but decided against it. He didn’t want the guilty person to know that he was suspicious. The files
were usually accessed at night or on the weekend. Since several of the people in his group worked late at night
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and on weekends, he couldn’t be sure who it was. He was sure that whoever it was had a copy of his key. He
couldn’t figure out how they could have gotten it.
Last Thursday night he installed a silent alarm in his desk drawer. It could detect when the drawer
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was opened and would transmit the information into another computer. Then, on Friday he told several people
that he had solved an important problem related to the project. Before leaving, he changed the passwords and
wrote them into his book. Then he locked the drawer. Early Monday morning, Bob arrived at the office and
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checked his computer. He discovered that someone had accessed files twice during the weekend. He looked
at the times and made a note of them. Then he checked to see when his desk drawer had been opened. To his
surprise however, nobody had opened it. There was no record on the computer of entry into the drawer.
Suddenly he realized what must have happened. He still isn’t sure who did it however. See if you can find out
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who it is and how they did it.

The Suspects
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There are several suspects: Dan Carter, Leslie Ho, Shirley Long and Phil Rose. Each of these people has
known about the project for at least six weeks. That was when Bob first noticed that something was wrong.
Another possibility is that a competitor sent someone to break in.

Shirley
Shirley is a computer programmer. She is very smart and she knows a lot about computer security. She has
been with the company for six months. She used to work for a competitor before Phil hired her. Shirley left
for a vacation in Europe early Saturday afternoon. Her flight left at 1:00 p.m. and she checked in around noon.
It takes at least an hour to drive from the office to the airport.

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Phil
Phil Rose is Bob’s boss. He is quite wealthy and unmarried. Phil has recently been critical of the company.
He has met with several competitors to discuss a possible sale of the company. He doesn’t know much about
computers or programming. He played golf on Saturday and went to a concert Saturday night. He worked at
the office on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours. He met Shirley more than a year ago when she worked
for a competitor.

Dan

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Dan Carter is a brilliant engineer but a little strange and he likes to gamble. Dan and Leslie don’t appear to get
along but they often work together. He was at the office on Friday night and after 2:00 on Saturday afternoon.
He says he was sick on Sunday but Bob thinks he went to a horse race. Several competitors have tried to hire

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him. Bob worries about these gambling debts.

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Leslie
Leslie is an excellent employee but she has personal problems. According to Shirley, Leslie’s husband is very
sick and they need money. She left earlier than usual on Friday to be with her husband. Leslie was with her

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husband at a hospital until 11:00 on Saturday morning. She came to the office on Saturday after leaving the
hospital. It takes twenty minutes to drive to the office from the hospital. Several companies have tried to hire
her but she seems happy at Ace.

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Competitors
There are several competitors who would be interested in the project. Bob thinks they would pay a lot of
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money for the details. Shirley used to work for one of them. Several of the competitors have tried to hire Dan
and Leslie. Phil has met with several of them. There’s no way they could have known about Bob’s book.
Bob doesn’t know if they are aware of Dan’s gambling problem.
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The Investigation
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Here are some of the facts that Bob found. He found that the files were accessed twice over the weekend.
They were accessed once on Saturday and again on Sunday. Nobody opened Bob’s desk drawer where the
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new codes were written down. Video cameras showed that Leslie left at 2:30 and Dan left around 4:30 on
Saturday afternoon. A woman came to the office on Saturday morning but it isn’t clear who it was because she
was wearing a large hat. It doesn’t show when she left. Phil was at the office on Sunday afternoon.
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Sample Inferences:
If it was Shirley she couldn’t have done it alone.
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If it was Shirley someone else must have helped her.

Since nobody opened Bob’s drawer there must have been another way to find the codes.
If the files were accessed after 2:30 on Saturday it couldn’t have been Leslie.
If the drawer was unlocked then the thief must have done it during the day.
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It couldn’t have been Shirley unless she did it with someone else.
If Shirley went to the office on Saturday it must have been at least an hour before her flight left.
If Shirley went to the office on Saturday she might have gotten the codes.
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If Shirley didn’t go to the office on Saturday it could have been Leslie or Dan.
Whoever got the codes might have written a program to get them.
Phil couldn’t have written the program.
If the files were accessed after 2:30 on Saturday it couldn’t have been Leslie.
The woman with the large hat might have been Shirley or Leslie.

Guilty or Not Guilty

Here is additional information that will help you to make a final decision.

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The program then shows one of the following two options, and the students must choose the correct solution
based on all the evidence.
Option A:
On Saturday, files accessed at 9:30 a.m.
On Sunday, files accessed at 2:45 p.m.
Option B:
On Saturday, files accessed at 3:00 p.m.
On Sunday, files accessed at 2:45 p.m.
If option A, then the guilty parties are Shirley and Phil. If Option B, then the guilty parties are Dan and Phil.

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Solution for Option A: Shirley and Phil. Shirley and Phil are planning to leave Ace and get married. They
are getting information for the company Shirley used to work for. Shirley discovered Bob’s codebook six
weeks ago while he was in a meeting. The drawer was unlocked, so she didn’t need a key. When she realized

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that he often changed the codes, she wrote a program to find the codes. The program recorded the first and last
500 keystrokes entered on Bob’s computer each day. With that data, it was possible to find the passwords by

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doing a simple search. On Saturday she came to the office, ran the program and got the passwords. She wrote
them down and left them in Phil’s office. Then she went to the airport. On Sunday, Phil used the passwords to
access the files. He used the Internet to send them to the competitor. Money had already been put into a Swiss

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bank account.

Solution for Option B: Dan and Phil

Phil and Dan are planning to leave Ace and join a competitor. Dan needed money to pay off his gambling

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debts, so it was easy for Phil to get him to help. Phil discovered Bob’s codebook six weeks ago while Bob was
in a meeting. The drawer was unlocked. When Phil realized that the codes were being changed, Dan wrote a
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program to find the codes. On Saturday Dan got the passwords from Bob’s computer. He had to be careful, so
he waited until Leslie left. Then he wrote them down and left them in Phil’s office.
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