I

Aren’t we amazing?
Read, listen and talk about amazing people, geniuses and intelligence.
Practise narrative tenses with the Past Perfect Continuous, participle clauses; suffixes.
Focus on presentation skills: keeping your audience involved.
Write a memorable story.
GRAMMAR AND READING
I
1 Look at the photos, the title and the headings.
In pairs, predict what each text might be about.
n this week’s edition of Amazing People,
we have decided to include some less wellknown celebrities. They may not be world
famous or household names, but as we often
say, there’s more than one way to be special!
2 Read the texts and check your predictions.
What is so special about these people?
N
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U
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Disabled sailor crosses Channel
E
1 Hilary Lister was the first disabled
woman to sail from England to France.
2 She’d never done any sailing until two
years before the crossing.
3 Lightning struck Roy Sullivan for the
third time in 1970.
4 By 1973, he’d survived five lightning strikes.
5 Mozart wrote his earliest symphonies
when he was four.
6 Beethoven was twice the age of
Mozart when he died.
IT
3 Read the texts again. Are the statements true (T),
false (F) or is there no information (NI)?
4 Think Back! Write the names of the tenses and add
three more examples of each from the texts.
Examples
1 _________
sailed, set,
_________
_________
was driving,
_________
_________
had helped,
_________
_________
SA
M
Tense
2 _________
3 _________
On August 23rd 2005, a British woman who can
only move her head, eyes and mouth, sailed across
the English Channel and into the record books.
Completing her journey in just over six hours, Hilary
Lister set a record for the world’s longest solo sail
by a disabled person. Using only her breathing to
navigate her boat, she reached Calais to a hero’s
welcome. Having arrived in France, Mrs Lister said,
‘I’m just thrilled’, and attributed her success to
the people who’d helped her. When she made her
crossing, she’d been paralysed for four years. And
she’d been sailing for only two. Having lived an
active life before her illness, she took up sailing to
boost her confidence.
PL
c
Lightning never strikes twice?
5 Replace the verb with the two other tenses from
Exercise 4. How does the meaning change?
• When Mozart was six, he composed his
earliest symphonies.
• When Mozart was six, he _______ his earliest
symphonies.
• When Mozart was six, he _______ his earliest
symphonies.
Roy Sullivan, a forest ranger from Virginia, was
struck by lightning seven times in his thirty-six-year
career. The first strike was in 1942. He wasn’t hit
again until twenty-seven years later, driving his truck.
The following year, another bolt of lightning burnt his
shoulder, while his hair caught fire in a fourth strike
in 1972. A year later, Sullivan was driving around
the park when a bolt came out of a small cloud,
knocking off his shoe. ‘I actually saw the lightning
coming straight for me,’ he said. Lightning struck
for the sixth time in 1976. But it was the final strike
in 1977, while he was fishing, that put him in the
Guinness Book of World Records. Two of his Ranger
hats, burnt by lightning, are now in Guinness Exhibit
Halls – proof that lightning does strike in the same
place twice.
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4/1/07 14:44:32
LIFESTYLEAMAZINGPEOPLE
Aren’t we amazing?
Child prodigy
Work it out
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart showed musical gifts
at a very early age, and was already composing his
first works when he was four. Born in Salzburg in
1756, he was one of the greatest musical geniuses
in history. By the age of six, he’d played before
the Austrian empress and had begun to write his
earliest symphonies. A year later, he was playing to
audiences in London and Paris, astonishing them
with his brilliance. He worked all over Europe during
the next seventeen years, finally settling in Vienna.
He lived just a little over half of Beethoven’s life
span but was amazingly prolific. He died in 1791,
aged only thirty-five, having composed over 600
works, including great operas like The Magic Flute.
Just before his death, he’d been composing the
Requiem, one of his most famous works.
6 Lookatsentencesaandbandanswerquestions1and2.
aBeforehisdeath,he’dbeencomposingthe
Requiem.(PastPerfectContinuous)
bBeforehisdeath,he’dcomposed600works.
(PastPerfect)
1Whichformshowsacompletedaction?
2 Whichformshowsanactionthatwas
notcompleted?
7 Matchsentencesaandbtosentences1and2.Howdoes
theformchangethemeaninginsentences1and2?
c
c
IT
1WhenIgothome,Isawthathe’dbeen
paintingthekitchen.
2WhenIgothome,Isawthathe’dpainted
thekitchen.
N
aItlookedreallyfantasticandthecolour
wasgreat.
bTherewerecansofpaintandbrushes
allovertheplace.
U
➤ Check it outpages152–153
8 Completethesentenceswiththecorrectformsofthe
PastPerfectContinuousofthephrasesfromthebox.
SA
M
PL
E
rainforaweek trainformonths notworkhardenough notlistencarefully
waitforanhour
1Helosthisjobbecausehe…
2Thetownwasfloodedbecauseit…
3Theywerefuriouswhenshearrived
becausethey…
4Ididn’tunderstandwhattodobecauseI…
5Wewonthematchbecausewe…
9 Completethesentenceswiththeverbsinbracketsin
thePastPerfectorthePastPerfectContinuous.
1Bythetimehewastwenty-five,he_____
(earn)hisfirstmillion.
2She_____(live)inthetownfortenyears
beforeshemethim.
3Afterthey_____(finish)dinner,theywentout.
4WhenIwenttopaythebill,IrealisedthatI
_____(leave)mywalletathome.
5Justbeforetheaccident,he_____(drive)at
150mph.
6Atthetimeofthewedding,they_____
(goout)togetherforsixyears.
7We_____(play)footballinthesameclub
foragesbeforewebecamefriends.
8I_____(already/giveup)waitingwhen
hephoned.
10 CompleteeachsentencewiththePastSimple,
thePastContinuous,thePastPerfectand
thePastPerfectContinuous.Compareyoursentences
anddiscusswhyyouusedeachtense.
1WhenIlookedatmywatch,Irealisedthat…
2Tomwasupsetbecause…
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1
Work it out
11 What do the underlined participles mean? Circle the correct forms in
italics. Then match them to the rules a and b.
1Mozart worked all over Europe, finally settling in Vienna.
and finally settled / and had finally settled 2He wasn’t hit again until twenty-seven years later, driving his truck. while he was driving / while he is driving
3Having arrived in France, she said, ‘I’m just thrilled!’
After she had arrived / Because she had arrived
Virginia Woolf
2
Which participle do we use
a when two actions happen at the same time, or one after the other?
b to show the earlier of two actions?
12 Find other examples of participle clauses in the texts on pages 38–39.
IT
Mind the trap!
The participle and main clause must have the SAME subject.
Mahatma Gandhi
N
Driving through the park, he was struck by a bolt of lightning. NOT Driving through the park, a bolt of lightning struck him.
3
U
➤ Check it out page 153
13 Complete the sentences with the correct participle from the box.
E
having finished turning off having studied playing
having been driving
Sigmund Freud
PL
1_________ to the dentist, he felt much better.
2_________ the light, she left the room.
3_________ for two weeks, they felt prepared for the exam.
4I hurt my ankle _________ tennis.
5_________ to work, we saw an accident.
6_________ lunch, they decided to go out.
4
M
14 Rewrite the underlined parts using participle clauses. Do not change the
meaning of the original. SA
1She walked into the room and introduced herself.
2He’d forgotten to switch on his alarm clock so he overslept.
3Our team played very well and scored five goals.
4When we’d finished our homework, we watched a DVD.
15 Complete the text with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets. The Rainmaker
In December 1915, Lake Morena was nearly empty and everybody
in San Diego 1_________ (pray) for rain. In desperation, the city
council 2_________ (contact) Charles Hatfield, the Rainmaker.
Hatfield 3_________ (agree) to fill the lake for $10,000. On January 1 1916, he started work, 4_________ (use) his secret rain-making chemicals. By January 5, the rain 5_________ (start). By January 20, it 6_________ (rain) non-stop for two weeks. On January 26, the level of the lake 7_________ (rise) by two feet
per hour when suddenly it 8_________ (stop) – just five inches
from the top. 9_________ (kept) his promise, Hatfield 10_________
(want) his money. But the city council 11_________ (refuse) to
pay, 12_________ (say) that the rain was an ‘act of God’. Hatfield 13
_________ (only/make) a verbal agreement, and 14_________ (not sign) a contract. He never 15_________ (receive) a penny.
5
Bob Marley
16 In groups, tell each other about an amazing person you know and what
makes them amazing.
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SuccessUppIntUnit04.indd 40
Albert Einstein
6/12/06 16:49:06
Aren’t we amazing?
Listening and vocabulary
5
1 Complete the word web with the words and phrases
in the box. Use a dictionary to help you.
the master the maker the introspector
the influencer
brainy brainwave brainwash
brainbox be the brains behind brainless
pick someone’s brains brain dead
use your brain brainstorm
Verbs
1 ____
2 ____
CD1.26 Below there are four types of genius. In pairs,
discuss who/what they might be like. Then listen to
Part 1 of a radio programme and check.
6
Listen to Part 1 again and choose the correct
answer.
CD1.26
1Dr Gardner thinks
a academic work is the most important.
b everybody has different strengths.
c exams make people brain dead.
d we are all intelligent in one way.
Nouns
1 _____
2_____
IT
2Mozart was a ‘master’ because he
a was a genius.
b created a new kind of music.
c wasn’t like Freud.
d was brilliant at what he did.
Adjectives
1 ____
2 ____
3 ____
4Virginia Woolf
a wrote about introspective people.
b was very self-conscious.
c was like Mrs Dalloway.
d worked on understanding people.
E
Idioms
1 ____
2 ____
3 ____
U
N
3Freud was a ‘maker’ because he
a was a musician.
b created many new things.
c developed a completely new field.
d was a psychoanalyst.
PL
2 Complete the sentences with the correct expressions
from Exercise 1.
SA
M
1Let’s get together and _________ ideas for
our next project.
2My brother’s the _________ one, but I’m
better-looking!
3If you keep watching TV all the time, you’ll
end up being _________ .
4Bob Geldof _________ Live Aid and Live8.
5I’ve just had a _________ ! Let’s go to Prague
for the weekend!
6Advertisements _________ us into buying
things we don’t need.
7Dad, I can’t do my homework. Can I _______?
8You just went through a red light, Dan! That
was a _________ thing to do.
9Martin’s the _________ of the class. He always
gets top marks.
10You had to _________ to do this exercise!
3 How would you describe a genius? Write your
definition and compare ideas in small groups.
4 In pairs, look at the photos and answer the questions.
1What do you know about these people?
2What was extraordinary about them?
3Which of them was a genius, do you think?
Why?
4Who would you consider to be a ‘twenty-first-century genius’? Why?
5Gandhi a tried to influence Nelson Mandela.
b wasn’t interested in other people.
c changed the way people thought.
d didn’t affect people in India.
7
CD1.27 Before you listen to Part 2 of the programme,
decide if the statements are true (T) or false (F), and why. Then listen and check.
1A genius is made by ambition, luck and the time they live in.
2When Einstein was born, physicists were confident about their subject.
3Einstein was able to think in terms of both space and music.
4In general, people usually want to learn from their problems.
5Extraordinary people spend a lot of time reflecting.
6It doesn’t take them long to work out the answers to problems.
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8 Look back at Exercises 3 and 4. In groups, discuss
the questions.
•How similar/different was your definition of a genius to Dr Gardner’s?
•What can you add to your answers in
Exercise 4, using the information from the
radio programme?
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SuccessUppIntUnit04.indd 41
6/12/06 16:49:10
Quiz
What are my multiple intelligences?
2
__________ intelligence
You use words and language
– something lawyers, writers and
comedians are good at.
4
_________ intelligence
You use reason, logic and numbers
– often found with doctors,
accountants and scientists.
5
_________ intelligence
You control body movements and
handle objects skilfully – something
found in athletes, dancers, actors
and builders.
IT
3
_________ intelligence
You appreciate and produce music
– strong in singers, composers and
musicians.
6
_________ intelligence
You think in pictures – something
artists, designers and architects are
particularly good at.
E
U
N
1
__________ intelligence
You relate to and understand other
people – strong in salespeople,
politicians and teachers.
PL
Do our quiz and find out your strongest intelligence.
Putatick(✔)nexttoanystatementswhicharetrueforyou.Thenworkoutyourscoreonpage146.
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13
M
Ihavenotroublereadingmapsandnavigating.
Peopleoftenseekmeouttoaskforadvice.
Irememberthingsbestbyseeingthem.
Iamoftenaskedtoexplainthemeaningof
thewordsIuse.
Thereisapowerfullinkbetweenmusicand
mymoods.
Ihaveagoodsenseofbalanceandcoordination.
Iliketoworkwithcalculatorsandcomputers.
IfinditeasytosaywhatIthinkinan
argumentoradebate.
Iworkbestinanorganisedworkarea.
Iunderstandhowdifferentcolourswork
welltogether.
IgetrestlessifIhavetositstillforlong.
Ihaveastrongpreferenceforgroupactivities
ratherthanonesIdoalone.
Ioftenusegesturesandotherbodylanguage
toexpressmyself.
SA
1
2
3
4
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Icanoftenbeheardhumming,whistlingorsinging
whenI’mintheshower.
Ifeelcomfortablewhendealingwithwords.
Ineedtocategoriseandgroupthingsinorderto
seetheirrelevance.
Ioftenseepatternsandrelationshipsbetween
numbersfasterthanotherpeople.
Arhymeisaneffectivewayofhelpingme
remembersomething.
Havingagoodsociallifeisimportantto
myhappiness.
Ifinditirritatingwhensomeonesays
somethingillogical.
IoftentouchthingsbecauseIamcurioustoknow
howtheyfeel.
IliketohavebackgroundmusicwhenI’mworking.
I’mquiteanartisticperson.
Ienjoytakingtheleadandbeingresponsiblefor
otherpeople.
c
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Aren’t we amazing?
vocabuLary
6 Completethesentenceswiththecorrectformsofthe
wordsincapitalletters.
1 Matchthetypesofintelligenceintheboxtothe
definitionsabovethequiz.
linguistic bodily-kinaesthetic interpersonal
logical-mathematical musical visual-spatial
2 Whichintelligencesdoyouthinkareyourstrongest/
weakestandwhy?
3 Dothequiz.Thenanswerthequestionsandcompare
youranswerswithapartner.
•Wereyourightaboutyourintelligences?
•Whichintelligencewouldyouliketodevelop
more?Why?
IT
4 Lookattheunderlinedsuffixesinthequizand
completeTrainYourBrain.Whichsuffixisusedto
makenounsandadjectives?
N
Train your brain | Suffixes
-ment1_________
-ion2_________
-ing3_________
-ence/-ance4_________,5_________
adjective+ -ness6_________
-ity7_________
noun+
-ship 8_________
suffixes to form adjectives
M
-ful9_________
-less10_________
-al11_________
-ic12_________
-y13_________
-ive14_________
-able/-ible15_________,16_________
-ing17_________
-ed/-d18_________
-ent/-ant19_________,20_________
SA
noun+
verb+
PL
E
U
suffixes to form nouns
verb+
1Geri’svery_________ofmydancing–I’m
completely_________!
TOLERATE,COORDINATE
2Ithink_________testsareabsolutely
_________–Ineveragreewiththeanswers!
PERSONAL,USE
3I’mfeelingvery_________andI’dliketo
joinagym,butthe_________feesarevery
expensive.
HEALTH,MEMBER
4Whatisthesecretofareally_________
_________?
SUCCESS,RELATION
5Mygrandmotherhadan__________________
toreadpeoples’minds.
AMAZE,ABLE
6Ihopeyou’vegota__________________:
thisisthethirdtimeyou’vebeenlatethisweek.
CONVINCE,EXPLAIN
7Philhadsomevery__________________for
howtosolveourspaceproblems.
SENSE,SUGGEST
8Pleasebe_________aboutmyideas.Your
opinionisextremely_________tome.
TRUTH,VALUE
9IadmireAlex’s_________,butIdon’tthink
she’s_________enoughtobeadesigneryet.
CREATE,CONSIST
10 Wewenttoa__________________atthe
OperaHouseonSaturday. WONDER,PERFORM
5 Completethewordswiththecorrectsuffixes.Which
typeofintelligencedoeseachofthesesentences
referto?
1Ienjoythemostthrill___ridesatthefunfair.
2Iliketotakepartindebatesordiscuss___.
3Musicplaysasignific___roleinmylife.
4Icanmultiplymeasure___inmyheadeasily.
5I’dratherdrawadiagramthangivesomeone
verb___instruct___.
6Imakefrequentrefer___tothingsthatI’ve
heardorread.
7Ifindmusicthatisoutoftuneveryannoy___.
8Iamsensit___tootherpeoples’feel___.
9Iplayatleastonesportordoaphysic___
activ___regularly.
10Ihaveagoodsenseofdirect___.
11Ifindnewscientif___develop___interest___.
12Ihaveseveralcloseperson___friends.
7 Finishthesentencestomakethemtrueforyou.
Thenreadthemtoyourpartnerandrespondtohis/
hersentences.
1Ihaven’tgotmuchpatiencewith…
2I’mquiteoptimisticabout…
3It’smoreimportanttobeconfidentthan…
because…
4Ineverfeelveryenergetic…
5Therearealotofsimilaritiesbetweenmeand…
6Isometimeshaveargumentswith…about…
7Ifind…veryirritatingbecause…
8Ihaveaverygoodrelationshipwith…atthe
moment.
AI haven’t got much patience with small children.
BReally? Why not?
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SuccessUppIntUnit04.indd 43
6/12/06 16:49:19
IT
N
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E
PL
M
SA
FACTFILE
1
_ Sumner
Real name ________
2
_
w he got it ________
Stage name and ho
3
_______
Born Newcastle, in __
4
_________
Most famous song
ek
song 5$_________ a we
Royalties from this
6
_____
Ex-member of ____
7
_________
Former profession
hy 8_________
Name of autobiograp
9
_________
est Foundation in
Started The Rainfor
10
_________
beth made him a
za
Eli
n
ee
Qu
,
04
20
In
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SuccessUppIntUnit04.indd 44
6/12/06 16:49:46
Aren’t we amazing?
sPeaKing and Listening
1
2
6 Workinsmallgroups.Chooseoneofthepeopleand
prepareapresentationusingSpeakOut.Giveyour
presentationstotheclassandchoosethebestone.
CD1.28 Lookatthephotosandlistentothemusic.In
pairs,discussthequestions.
•What’sthenameofthesong?Whowroteit?
•Whatdoyouknowaboutthisperson?Whatis
hefamousfor?
PROFILEEMINEM
Listentothepresentationandcompletethe
Factfile.TheinformationintheFactfileisNOTinthe
sameorderasintherecording.
Stage name Eminem. Sounds like M&M, his
initials and the brand name of famous US sweets.
Real name Marshall Mathers
CD1.29
Profession rap singer and musician. Also a
talented record producer; starred in the film 8 Mile
in 2001, loosely based on his life.
3 Whatlanguagedoesthespeakeruseateachstageof
thepresentation?Matchsentencesa–ftothethree
stages.
1Introduction
2Themaincontent
3Conclusion
IT
cc
cc
cc
Career Started performing raps when he was 14.
Was discovered and supported by Dr Dre. Became
famous in 1999 with release of Slim Shady CD.
Some criticised its graphic violence;
others praised its surreal humour.
In 2000, Marshall Mathers was
fastest-selling CD in rap history.
U
N
aLetmejustfinishbysaying…
bAsforhisbackground,…
c I’msurethewriterofthissongneedsno
introduction.
dThere’ssomuchmoreIcouldtellyou…
eThereasonI’vechosenhimis…
f Themostamazingthingabouthimis…
CD1.29 Listenagainandnumberthesentencesin
SpeakOutintheorderyouhearthem.
PL
SPEaK ouT | Presentation skills
E
4
Background Born 17 October 1973 in St. Joseph,
Missouri. Poor childhood spent there and in
Detroit, the birthplace of rap. Married high-school
sweetheart, Kim, in 1998. Divorced in 2000 but
remarried in 2006. They have one child.
Keeping your audience involved
SA
M
a Maybeyou’rewonderingwhy/what…
b Whatdowealreadyknowabout…?
c Whydoyouthinkhe’s been so successful?
d Andwereyouawarethat…?
e Did/Doyouknow…?
f Ihopeyou’lllearnafewthingsabout…
g Youmight/might notknowthat…
h Whatyouprobablydon’t/didn’tknowisthat…
i I’msureyou’llagreethat…
j Youwill/won’t/mightbesurprisedtohearthat...
5
c
c
c
c
c
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c
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c
c
Completethisextractfromanother
presentationaboutStingwithlanguagefrom
SpeakOut.Thenlistenandcheck.
CD1.30
Andwhatdowe1_________abouthisfamily
life?He’sbeenmarriedtwice,andhassix
childrenandsevenhomes.He’salsoverykeen
onyogaandpractisesdaily.Maybe2_________.
Hesaysthatithelpshimrelaxaswellaskeep
fit.Soyou3_________tohearthathedida
yogapositiononTV!You4_________alsoknow
thatheintroducedMadonnatoherhusband,
GuyRitchie.Butwhatyouprobably5_________
thathe’sactedinseveralfilmstoo.Andwere
6
_________healsowritesmoviesoundtracks
andhaswonnearlyfiftymusicawards?Healso
wonahumanitarianawardin2004.I’m
7
_________agreethathedeservedit.
SuccessUppIntUnit04.indd 45
Other albums The Eminem Show
(2002), Encore (2004) and Curtain
Call (2005).
Achievements Has won
many Grammy and other
music awards, including a
2003 Oscar for Best Song
LoseYourself in 8 Mile. First
white rapper to make a
big impact on rap scene.
Real name Annie Lennox
Profession singer, songwriter,
talented artist. Did all the artwork
for her CD Bare.
Background: Born 25 December
1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Attended
school for the exceptionally intelligent and
studied the flute at the Royal Academy of Musi
c. Left in
1974 before her final exams. Married and divor
ced twice,
she has two daughters, Lola and Tali. Often
wears wigs as
a disguise. Supports many charities including
Oxfam and
played at the Live8 concert in 2005.
Career From 1976, played with Dave Stew
art in The
Tourists band and formed the Eurythmics in
1980. Their
first album in a long line of classics‚ Sweet
Dreams, was
released in 1983 and stayed in the charts for
60 weeks.
Went solo in 1990 and had equally successfu
l career with
CDs Diva (1992), Medusa (1995) and Bare (2003
). Wrote
I’ve Got a Life with Dave Stewart for Eurythmic
s Ultimate
Collection CD in 2005.
Achievements Has won numerous awards
including 1996
Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocalist and
2004 Oscar for
Best Song Into the West from the film, Lord
of the Rings.
6/12/06 16:50:02
Reading and writing
Story A
1 Look at the pictures round story A and find a teapot,
a spout, a toadstool and a stem. Do not read the
story yet!
2 Read story A and story B. Which do you find more
memorable? Why?
3 Which three of sentences 1–6 are not true about
story A? Make them true.
IT
1It contains vivid ‘pictures’ to help the memory.
2The events in the story are quite ordinary.
3Most of the events could happen in any order.
4There is a ‘turning point’, when something
happens to change the direction of the story
and make it interesting.
5There is a variety of past tenses and some
participle clauses.
6 There are very few adjectives and adverbs.
SA
M
PL
E
U
N
4 Look at the story about Jill again and follow the
instructions.
1Underline the verbs and phrases used instead
of the following: walk quickly, find, look at
carefully, want very much, think about,
open, move quickly, go carefully.
2Circle the adjectives which mean very big,
very small, very loud.
3Underline the adverbs used to describe Jill’s
feelings as she:
a slipped through the door, b picked her way down the staircase.
4Think of other words to replace the
underlined words.
She was amazed to find a window in the stem.
To her horror, Jill thought she could smell
burning.
5 Circle the time phrases which mean a short
time later, suddenly, at that moment.
Jill was hurrying through the woods to
her aunt’s house. It was her aunt’s fiftieth
birthday and Jill had a present for her: a
brand new china teapot. Jill had wrapped
it as best she could, but the spout was
sticking out of the paper, and it looked
rather odd.
After a little while, Jill came across
a huge toadstool on the path, which
was blocking her way. Inspecting the
toadstool – which was taller than she was – she was amazed to find a window
in the stem. ‘Is there a door anywhere?’
she wondered. She walked slowly all
round the toadstool, but couldn’t see any way in.
Jill longed to have a look inside this
curious toadstool, and she sat down
under a nearby tree, pondering what
to do. She leaned her head against the
tree trunk and all of a sudden, a hidden
door in the stem of the toadstool sprang
open. She must have discovered a
secret mechanism. Excitedly, Jill slipped
through the door.
Inside, the toadstool was even bigger
than it had looked from the outside.
There was a spiral staircase at Jill’s feet
leading into the ground, and she held on
to the bright blue railing as she picked
her way nervously downwards. Suddenly,
the stairs came to an end in front of
a tiny door. Just then, deafening rock
music started to play on the other side of
the door, and, to her horror, Jill thought
she could smell burning …
5 Read Train Your Brain and complete the gaps.
Train your brain | Writing skills
Making your stories more memorable
1Use a variety of tenses and some _________ clauses.
2Make sure your story has a _________ point.
3Use ‘dramatic’ verbs, eg _________ instead of find.
4Use extreme adjectives, eg _________ .
5Use adverbs to show how people are feeling, eg _________ .
6Use adjectives and noun phrases to describe feelings, eg
I was surprised/_________/amused/horrified to see/
hear/find …
To my _________/amazement/amusement/horror …
7Use a variety of time phrases, eg suddenly/all of a
_________ , after a little while/a _________ later,
just _________ /at that moment.
6 Complete the sentences with adverbs from the box to
show how the people are feeling.
anxiously excitedly nervously
reluctantly frantically
1It was time for Jim’s driving test to begin.
_________ , he started the car. 2Diana searched the house _________ , but her
handbag was nowhere to be seen.
3Sam waited _________ in the hospital
corridor. Then he saw the doctor coming
towards him.
4Carrie’s parcel from her uncle in America had
finally arrived. _________ , she untied the
string and pulled off the paper.
5It was a beautiful summer’s day. _________ ,
Jodie sat down to write her essay.
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Aren’t we amazing?
8 What common verbs can those in each of the
following groups replace?
Story B
1wander, stroll, stumble, limp
2exclaim, cry, yell, call out
3ponder, wonder, work out, consider
4spring open, slam shut, fly open, swing shut
9 Read the story and put the words and phrases from
the box into the gaps.
reluctantly just then anxiously
to her aunt’s amazement she was dismayed to see that U
N
IT
Maggie Banes looked 1_________ at her watch
– as she had done every few minutes for the
last three hours. 2_________ it was nearly eight
o’clock. ‘Where on earth is Jill?’ she thought.
‘It isn’t like her to be so late.’ 3_________ , she
picked up the plate of sandwiches she’d made
for tea and went to the kitchen. 4_________ the
door opened and Jill walked into the house. She
looked tired. ‘What a relief! Are you OK?’ said
Maggie loudly. ‘Yes, I’m fine, Auntie,’ replied Jill.
‘I’m so sorry I’m late, but something strange
happened on the way here.’ 5_________ , Jill
explained that, in her hurry to get through the
woods, she had tripped and knocked herself
unconscious. When she woke up, she realised
she was lost. ‘I walked around for ages until I
found the right path. Then I ran all the way here!’
SA
M
PL
E
Jack was walking along the beach
looking for his friends. He was carrying
his swimming trunks in a bag, along
with some sunscreen, a book and a
baseball cap. There was no sign of his
friends, so he bought an ice cream and
built a sandcastle. Then he lay down on
the sand and went to sleep.
When Jack woke up, his friends were
still nowhere to be seen. He bought a
drink from a kiosk, took out his book
and started to read. He looked up
every so often to see if his friends were
coming. But he got bored with the book
and started to look round the beach.
It was crowded with people who were
playing ball, walking dogs, and flying
kites – but where were his friends? It was the right day, and it was well
after two o’clock, the agreed time – so
where were they?
Jack was hungry again, so he bought
a hotdog and some chips. He walked
along the edge of the water, and saw
water skiers and people in boats. Then he stopped for a few moments to
watch a ball game. When he continued
his walk, he saw some children building
sandcastles and sunbathers enjoying the weather.
When Jack reached the end of the
beach he was ready to give up – then,
from the distance, he heard familiar
voices …
7 Choose a suitable noun or adjective from the box and
complete the sentences.
amazement/amazed dismay/dismayed
horror/horrified relief/relieved
surprise/surprised
1We were _________ to hear that Jack had
moved to South America: he always said he
loved Ireland.
2To her _________ , Sandy found Bob, her
kitten, hiding in the wardrobe.
3Rick was _________ to see a huge spider
walking across the bed.
4Barbara was _________ to find that a balloon
had landed in the back garden.
5To our _________ , it started to pour with rain
just as we were unpacking the picnic things.
10 Look at the story in Exercise 9 again and use the
verbs and adjectives in the box to replace the more
neutral ones in the text.
exhausted wandered flew open bizarre
wondered cried stumbled
11 You are going to rewrite the story about Jack to
make it more memorable. First, think about the
questions below. Then plan and write the story (200–250 words).
•What did Jack have in his bag and why? What
were he and his friends planning to do at the
beach?
•Where could the turning point of the story
be? Think about how long Jack was asleep/
what happened while he was asleep/what
happened when he woke up.
•Why were Jack’s friends not at the beach
when he arrived? Had Jack made a mistake
about the time or place? Or had something
happened to his friends on their way?
12 Write your own memorable story, beginning with the
sentence below.
It started like any other day.
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