Unit 30: Hold on
– Interrupting to ask for clarification
– Clarifying
Part 1
Vocabulary
Read the news story below.
Last night, police officers arrested a criminal who they believe is responsible for a series of burglaries they have been investigating for months. The man is known to break into homes and force his way in. Victims reported that they were missing jewelry. A witness saw something suspicious in her neighbor’s house and called the police. It turns out that the criminal was a 90-year-old man!
Summarize the news story above to your teacher.
Sample answer
A: Last night the police finally arrested a man they have been looking for.
B: The criminal has been breaking into homes and stealing jewelry for months.
A: A neighbor saw something suspicious and called the police. That’s how they caught the criminal.
B: But the suspect is 90 years old.
Part 2
Conversation
Listen and answer 2 questions.
1. What did the man try to steal?
2. What happened to the man?
Nina & Erika
Transcript
Nina: Did you read about this guy who tried to steal a car yesterday?
Erika: What do you mean he “tried” to steal it?
Nina: He forced a woman out of the car in front of witnesses, but he didn’t know how to drive it! So, he asked the woman to show him how to drive the car.
Erika: Hold on. What did you say the guy did?
Nina: He actually asked the woman to come back to the car to show him how to start it.
Erika: No way! What did the woman do?
Nina: She ran away and called the police! When the police arrived, the guy was still trying to figure out how to start the car!
Example answer
- The man tried to steal a car.
- The man was arrested because he couldn't start the car, so when the police arrived he was still there.
Practice the conversation with teacher
Listen. Then find the best places to add the sentences
below to the conversation and practice it again.
They arrested him and took him to jail!
It’s an unbelievable story.
Did she show him how to start the car?
Isn’t that ridiculous?
Answer
Nina: Did you read about this guy who tried to steal a car yesterday? (2) It's an unbelievable story.
Erika: What do you mean he “tried” to steal it?
Nina: He forced a woman out of the car in front of witnesses, but he didn’t know how to drive it! So, he asked the woman to show him how to drive the car. (4) Isn't that ridiculous?
Erika: Hold on. What did you say the guy did?
Nina: He actually asked the woman to come back to the car to show him how to start it.
Erika: No way! What did the woman do? (3) Did she show him how to start the car?
Nina: She ran away and called the police! When the police arrived, the guy was still trying to figure out how to start the car! (1) They arrested him and took him to jail!
Part 3
Language Booster
Notice the ways we interrupt to ask for clarification and to clarify.
Interrupting to ask for clarification
| What do you mean |
he “tried to steal it? |
| What did you say that |
Hold on. What did you say (the guy) did?
Clarifying
- Well, what happened was (he knew how to drive, but he didn’t know how to drive a hybrid).
- (He) actually (asked the woman to come back to the car to show him how to start it).
Think of something that happened to you last week. Your teacher will ask for clarification, and you will clarify.
Example
A: Last week, I thought I saw Lady Gaga on the street.
B: Wait, did you say that you saw Lady Gaga?
A: She actually was just someone who looked like Lady Gaga.
Part 4
Listening
Listen to people talk about cultural faux pas. Then number the pictures in the order that you hear the situations.
A woman stole a laptop from her neighbor. ____
The woman tried to sell the laptop to her friend. ____
The woman told the truth to the neighbor. ____
The woman’s neighbor took the laptop away from her and walked away with it. ____
The woman called the police to arrest the man who took the laptop from her. ____
Answer
- T
- F: The thief tried to sell the laptop back to the next-door neighbor.
- F: The woman told the neighbor he had to pay for the laptop.
- T
- T
Listen to the rest of the conversation and write answers to the questions.
How did the owner of the laptop prove that it was his?
What happened to the woman?
Answer
- The man proved the laptop was his because all of the files were his.
- The thief was arrested and taken to jail.
Part 5
Speak with confidence
Write notes about a strange crime that you heard about, or make up your own crime story.
1: ____________________________________________________________________.
2: ____________________________________________________________________.
3: ____________________________________________________________________.
Sample answer
A Strange Crime Story
One night in a quiet town, a man broke into a bakery—not to steal money, but to bake bread. The bakery owner arrived early in the morning and found fresh loaves of bread neatly arranged on the shelves. Confused, she checked the security cameras and saw a masked man baking all night.
The police were called, and after some investigation, they discovered that the man was once a famous baker who had lost his job. He missed baking so much that he broke into the shop just to make bread again. Instead of punishing him harshly, the bakery owner offered him a job, and he became the most popular baker in town!
Questions & Answers
Teacher: "What was strange about the crime?"
Student: "The man didn’t steal anything. Instead, he baked bread in the bakery."
Teacher: "How did the bakery owner react?"
Student: "She was confused at first, but later she offered the man a job."
Teacher: "Why did the man break into the bakery?"
Student: "He was a baker who lost his job and just wanted to bake again."
Teacher: "What happened in the end?"
Student: "He got a job at the bakery and became very popular."