2A GRAMMAR

A strange story
STUDENT A

1 Choose the correct option to complete the sentences. They are

part of a story.
A When they asked / have asked / were asking the new player for his
name, they were amazed to hear that he was also called Falcon.
B No one could believe it. The new player was better than Falcon, and
two hours later he beat / had beaten / was beating all the other
players to win the tournament.
C They were very angry, and the organizers were calling / had called /
called the police.
D Last year, while I traveled / had traveled / was traveling in the U.S., I
heard a strange story.
E The man agreed, was taking / took / has taken the empty chair, and started playing.
2 Read your sentences to Student B, and listen to his/her sentences. Put the sentences in the correct order to
create the whole story.

Personal Best Write four comprehension questions about the story. Then, ask your classmates the questions, and answer their questions.

A strange story
STUDENT B

1 Choose the correct option to complete the sentences. They are

part of a story.
F His father had taught him to play chess, but he didn’t see /
hadn’t seen / wasn’t seeing him for over twenty years.
G The other players were surprised, but no one wanted to take the
prize. So, they have asked / asked / were asking another man, who
was new in town, to play.
H They were waiting / waited / had waited for the police when they
noticed Falcon had gone, leaving his prize.
I By six o’clock, Falcon win / was winning / had won first prize, but
some of the other players thought he was cheating.
J One day, in the 1920s, a man called Robert Falcon had played / was playing / played in a chess tournament.
2 Read your sentences to Student A, and listen to his/her sentences. Put the sentences in the correct order to
create the whole story.

Personal Best Write four comprehension questions about the story. Then, ask your classmates the questions, and answer their questions.

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 GRAMMAR 2A

2A Grammar
A strange story
Narrative tenses

Sts complete five sentences. Then, they reorder them in pairs to create a story. The aim is to review narrative tenses.

PREPARE PERSONAL BEST

Make one copy of the resource sheet for every pair of sts. Cut
Sts work in pairs. They think of four comprehension
or tear the sheet where indicated.
questions to ask the rest of the class.
PRACTICE
EXTRA PRACTICE
1 Sts work in A/B pairs. Give each student half of the
resource sheet. Tell them not to show their sheet to their Fast finishers practice retelling the story in their own words.
partner.
2 Explain that sts are going to use their five sentences to
create a story with their partner.
3 Tell sts that first they need to choose the correct option to
complete each sentence on their resource sheet. Pre-teach
any vocabulary that your sts may not know; e.g., to beat,
to cheat, tournament.
4 Sts take turns reading their completed sentences to their
partner, and listening to and checking their partner’s
sentences. Monitor while they work.
5 Sts work together to put the sentences in the correct
order.
6 Set a time limit for sts to do the activity. Then, go through
the answers. After this, sts can practice retelling the story.

Answers
A asked
B had beaten
C called
D was traveling
E took
F hadn’t seen
G asked
H were waiting
I had won
J was playing
The correct order is: D, J, I, C, H, G, E, B, A, F

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2A VOCABULARY

How did you feel?

1 I was d 2 3 4
when I got a C on my
exam.
How do you feel We were really
When do people
when a flight is e when
blush? When they
delayed? we thought we had
are e .
A . won the lottery.

5 6 My mother was 7 8 I was s

absolutely when I got the check.
t when The meal was so
We stayed at an she saw the spider. He is very expensive!
a hotel a .
in Florida with its He tells really funny
own zoo. stories.

9 10 What do you think 11 12

when you see your
father dance? He’s
My neighbors are so e ! The news was
The game was
really a . s .
e . It was
They play loud Lots of people were
3-3 after 90 minutes.
music all the time. very badly injured.

13 14 15 16 My cat is
f by
soccer on TV. He just
I told a joke in Some people get
Bungee jumping sits and watches it.
class. The teacher very d in
is t !
didn’t think it was the winter because
I was so scared
funny and wasn’t there’s not enough
when I did it.
a . sunlight.

Personal Best Look back at the sentences in the game. Use the -ed/-ing adjectives to describe similar situations that you have been in, and
tell your partner how you felt.

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 VOCABULARY 2A

2A Vocabulary
How did you feel?
-ed and -ing adjectives

Sts play a game in pairs or small groups. The aim is to review -ed and -ing adjectives; e.g., amazed/amazing, disappointed/
disappointing.

PREPARE PERSONAL BEST

Make one copy of the resource sheet for each pair or group of
Sts look back at the sentences in the game. They think of
four.
similar situations that they have been in. Then, they tell
their partner how they felt in that situation.
PRACTICE
1 Sts work in pairs or groups of four with two competing EXTRA PRACTICE
pairs. Give each student or pair a copy of the resource
sheet. Fast finishers make some new sentences for the game with
2 Explain the rules of the game. Sts decide who will be their partner using the -ed/-ing adjectives.
“odds” (1, 3, 5, etc.) and who will be “evens” (2, 4, 6,
etc.). They take turns moving around the board, following
either the odd or even numbers. With each of their
squares, sts must complete the sentence with the correct
-ing or -ed adjective. If they answer correctly, they move to
their next square when it is their turn. If not, they miss a
turn.
3 Set a time limit for sts to play the game. Check in a
feedback session at the end that sts have completed the
sentences in the squares correctly.

Answers
1 disappointed
2 annoyed
3 embarrassed
4 excited
5 amazing
6 terrified
7 amusing
8 shocked
9 annoying
10 embarrassing
11 exciting
12 shocking
13 amused
14 terrifying
15 depressed
16 fascinated

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2B VOCABULARY

The phrasal verb game

STUDENT A

1 Mime a phrasal verb.

1 bring up (children) 4 break up (with someone)

2 sign up (for a class) 5 pay back (money)

3 fall over (something) 6 set off (for work)

2 Make a sentence for each phrasal verb. Leave a blank for the phrasal verb. Your partner completes the
sentence.

Personal Best Use as many of the phrasal verbs as you can to talk about something interesting that you have done or a friend has
done recently.

The phrasal verb game

STUDENT B

1 Mime a phrasal verb.

1 go out (with someone) 4 (prices) go up

2 hurry up! (We’re late) 5 look forward to (a party)

3 run out of (money) 6 try on (shoes/clothes)

2 Make a sentence for each phrasal verb. Leave a blank for the phrasal verb. Your partner completes the
sentence.

Personal Best Use as many of the phrasal verbs as you can to talk about something interesting that you have done or a friend has
done recently.

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 VOCABULARY 2B

2B Vocabulary
The phrasal verb game
Phrasal verbs

Sts play a game in pairs. The aim is to review phrasal verbs; e.g., bring up, go out, fall over.

PREPARE PERSONAL BEST

Make enough copies of the resource sheet so that half of the
Sts use as many of the phrasal verbs from the resource
class can have the Student A section and the other half the
sheet as they can to describe something that they have
Student B section. (Make an extra copy for yourself.) Cut or
done or a friend has done recently.
tear the sheet where indicated.

PRACTICE EXTRA PRACTICE

1 Divide the class into two teams, A and B. In larger groups, Fast finishers choose one of the particles (e.g., up, over, back)
divide the class into four teams. Give each student their and brainstorm more phrasal verbs and an example sentence
half of the resource sheet. for each.
2 Put sts in A/B pairs. Sts take turns miming a phrasal verb
from their resource sheet for their partner. If their partner
guesses correctly first time, they score two points. If their
partner guesses correctly on the second guess, they score
one point. Tell sts to keep a note of their total number of
points.
3 When all the sts have completed the activity, they add up
the points for their team.
4 Sts work in new A/B pairs. They take turns making
sentences using their phrasal verbs, leaving a blank for the
phrasal verb for their partner to complete. For a correct
sentence and a correct guess, sts each get 1 point. Tell sts
to keep a note of their total number of points. Monitor
and help in case sts are not sure if a sentence is correct.
5 Sts report back to the rest of their team. They add up the
total scores for both parts of the game. Find out which
team has the most points to declare a winning team.

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2C GRAMMAR

Now and then

Find someone who … Name Details

1 … use to/live in another place

2 … use to/have long hair

3 … usually/go out three evenings a week or more

4 … use to/have a CD player

5 … use to/like different music

6 … usually/listen to rock music

7 … usually/eat healthily

8 … use to/eat differently

9 … usually/go to bed early

10 … usually/do homework at the last minute

11 … usually/go abroad on vacation

12 … use to/collect something interesting

13 … usually/get good grades

Personal Best Tell your partner about your parents/grandparents

using used to and usually.

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 GRAMMAR 2C

2C Grammar
Now and then
used to and usually

Sts mingle as a class to ask and answer questions about their classmates. The aim is to review used to and usually; e.g., Isabella used
to have long hair. John usually goes to bed early.

PREPARE PERSONAL BEST

Make a copy of the resource sheet for each student.
Sts work in pairs and talk about what their parents or
grandparents used to and usually do.
PRACTICE
1 Give each student a copy of the resource sheet, and EXTRA PRACTICE
explain the activity.
2 Go through a few of the prompts on the sheet, and elicit Fast finishers think of three other things they used to do but
questions sts could ask their classmates; e.g., Did you use don’t do any more; e.g., games they played as children or
to live in another place? Then elicit examples of follow-up activities/subjects they did in school.
questions; e.g., Where did you live? Why … ? How long …?
Also elicit possible answers to the questions; e.g., Do you
usually go out three evenings a week or more? Yes, I do. I
usually go out on Friday and Saturday evenings and also
another evening in the week.
3 Sts move around the classroom asking different people
the questions on their sheet. If someone answers yes, sts
should ask one or two follow-up questions. They note
answers under Name and Details.
4 Set a time limit for sts to do the activity. Monitor and
help. Then, get some feedback when sts have finished the
activity.

Answers
1 Did you use to live in another place?
2 Did you use to have long hair?
3 Do you usually go out three evenings a week or more?
4 Did you use to have a CD player?
5 Did you use to like different music?
6 Do you usually listen to rock music?
7 Do you usually eat healthily?
8 Did you use to eat differently?
9 Do you usually go to bed early?
10 Do you usually do homework at the last minute?
11 Do you usually go abroad on vacation?
12 Did you use to collect something interesting?
13 Do you usually get good grades?

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2D
2B SKILLS

Travelers’ tales
Work in pairs. Put the paragraphs in the correct order to make a story.

A For the next hour, everything was going well, until suddenly the train stopped. As soon as I looked
out of the window to see what was happening, all the lights went out. I sat down again, and after
half an hour, the lights came back on, and the train started moving again. The old man looked at
me again, but still said nothing.

B The old man slowly opened his box. He looked carefully inside and then, in perfect English, spoke
to me for the first time in three hours. “Enjoy your meal! Don’t eat the meat!” That is definitely the
best icebreaker I have ever heard!

C A few minutes later, I found carriage number 13. I opened the door to my compartment and saw
an old man sitting there. He had a white beard and very dark eyes. He looked at me and nodded
his head slowly. After putting my suitcase under my seat, I sat down and waited for more people
to come into the compartment, but no one came.

D I was happy that we were moving once more. I picked up my book, and as soon as I started
reading, the door opened, and a tiny, elderly lady came into the compartment with two small
boxes. She gave one to me and one to the old man. They felt warm.

E It was a freezing cold night in January as I got on the train in St Petersburg in Russia. The train
was packed, and I struggled through people and their luggage to find my seat. I didn’t speak a
word of Russian, so I was a little nervous about the journey to Moscow. Just before I got on the
train, it had started to snow, and I began to imagine the train getting stuck somewhere in the night.

F The old man and I sat in silence, and I felt quite alone, so I decided to text my wife, but
unfortunately there was no signal at all. I was tired and a little anxious. The man continued to look
at me without saying anything, but as soon as the train started to leave the station, I began to relax
and started reading the book I had bought at the airport in London.

Personal Best Try to remember the story without looking at the text. Retell the story with your partner, using time linkers.

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 SKILLS 2D
2B

2D Skills
Travelers’ tales
Time linkers

Sts reorder the paragraphs of a story in pairs. The aim is to review the time linkers before, as soon as, after, and until; e.g., As soon as
I started reading, the door opened.

PREPARE PERSONAL BEST

Make one copy of the resource sheet for every pair of sts.
Sts try to reconstruct the story from memory with their
partner, using the time linkers.
PRACTICE
1 Sts work in pairs. Give each pair a copy of the resource EXTRA PRACTICE
sheet.
2 Tell sts they are going to read about an overnight train Fast finishers try to describe the narrator from the old man’s
trip that someone took in Russia in the winter. Elicit/Pre- point of view.
teach freezing, packed, struggled, carriage, compartment,
get stuck, icebreaker, and elicit some ideas about what
might have happened.
3 In pairs, sts take turns reading aloud each paragraph.
Then, they put the paragraphs of the story in the correct
order.
4 When you have checked the order, you could ask sts to
work in their pairs and write extra sentences to make the
story more interesting:
Paragraph E: Describe the scene at the train station.
Paragraph C: What was the old man wearing?
Paragraph A: Describe the view from the train.
Paragraph D: What did the elderly lady look like? What
was she wearing?
5 Extend the activity by asking sts to work in their pairs to
try to think of a different ending for the story, starting
from the sentence in paragraph A: For the next hour,
everything was going well, until suddenly the train stopped.
They can share their ideas with other pairs.

Answers
The correct order is: E, C, F, A, D, B

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