Unit 2: Did you hear about...?
- Introducing interesting stories
- Asking for details
Part 1
Vocabulary
Complete the paragraph with the correct form of a verb in the box.
| injure | pass out | react |
| respond | report | witness |
Last week, there was a fire at a local school. A lot of people (1) _________ the scene. They were worried because the fire kept growing. Luckily, fire fighters (2) _________ very quickly. No one was (3) _________ from the fire, but a witness was taken to the hospital. The news (4) _________ that a woman (5) _________ hysterically and couldn’t take the excitement. She (6) _________ in the middle of the street!
Answers
- witnessed
- responded
- injured
- reported
- reacted
- passed out
Teacher & Student:
Tell your partner about something interesting you recently heard about.
Sample Conversation
A: Yesterday I heard a story about a man who saved
a boy from drowning.
B: Really? How old was the boy?
Part 2
Conversation
Listen and answer 2 questions.
1. How did the man fall onto the subway track?
2. What did he do after he woke up?
Transcript
Adam: Hey, did you hear about the man who fell onto a subway track last week?
Teresa: No, how did that happen?
Adam: He was texting a friend, and he wasn’t watching where he was going. He fell, hit his head, and passed out.
Teresa: No way. What happened next?
Adam: Luckily, someone witnessed the whole thing. He jumped onto the track and pulled the guy out.
Teresa: Wow! Did the guy injure himself in the fall?
Adam: Not really. The guy woke up after a few minutes, and he was fine. He got up and finished typing his text message!
Example answer
- The man fell onto the subway track because he wasn't watching where he was going
- After he woke up, he finished typing his text message.
Practice the conversation with teacher
Listen. Write the three extra sentences you hear in the conversation. Practice the new conversation.
Adam: Hey, did you hear about the man who fell onto a subway track last week?
Teresa: No, how did that happen?
Adam: He was texting a friend, and he wasn’t watching where he was going. He fell, hit his head, and passed out. _________________
Teresa: No way. What happened next?
Adam: Luckily, someone witnessed the whole thing. He jumped onto the track and pulled the guy out. _________________
Teresa: Wow! Did the guy injure himself in the fall? _________________
Adam: Not really. The guy woke up after a few minutes, and he was fine. He got up and finished typing his text message!
Answers
Adam: Hey, did you hear about the man who fell onto a subway track last week?
Teresa: No, how did that happen?
Adam: He was texting a friend, and he wasn’t watching where he was going. He fell, hit his head, and passed out. He was just lying there, and a train was coming.
Teresa: No way. What happened next?
Adam: Luckily, someone witnessed the whole thing. He jumped onto the track and pulled the guy out. Someone else called the emergency services.
Teresa: Wow! Did the guy injure himself in the fall? People really shouldn't text while they're walking.
Adam: Not really. The guy woke up after a few minutes, and he was fine. He got up and finished typing his text message!
Part 3
Language Booster
Notice the ways we introduce interesting stories and ask for details.
Introducing interesting stories
Did you hear about (the man who fell onto a subway track last week)?
You’ll never believe what happened.
You’re not going to believe the story I heard.
Asking for details
So what did (he) do?
How did (he) react?
How did that happen?
What happened?
Student & teacher
Tell your partner an interesting story that you know.
Example conversation
A: You'll never believe what happened. My neighbors and I kept losing things, like keys and shoes.
B: How did that happen?
A: It turned out that the neighbor's new cat was taking things and hiding them in the basement!
Part 4
Pronunciation: Linking vowels in phrases
Listen to these phrases. Notice that any word that begins with a vowel inside a phrase links with the word before it.
1. heard about
2. to a friend
3. the story I heard
4. passes out
Complete the conversation below with your own ideas. Then circle the words that begin with vowels.
A: Did you hear about the woman in California who ________________________
B: What happened?
A: Well, this woman _______________________________________________________
Sample answer
A: Did you hear about the woman in California who gave $500,000 to a charity to help students study music education?
B: What happened?
A: Well, this woman realized that her music teacher had encouraged her to never give up on her dreams, and she wanted to help other people become music teachers.
Part 5
Speak with confidence
Work with a partner to make a list of interesting or unusual stories you’ve heard about recently.
Sample answer
- a dog saved a boy from a fire
- a teacher offers to pay for a student's operation
- a group of elementary school students make a
charity event to raise money for the homeless - people on the Internet give a man enough money to give his daughter her last wish.