1 Work in pairs. Discuss the questions.
1 Do you know any stories about burglaries in your town or city?
2 What’s the best thing to do if you find some stolen goods?
2 Read a story by Milly. What did she and her friends find in the park? What did they do?
Last summer, I was walking home with my friends. It was a lovely sunny evening and we were all chatting and laughing.
Suddenly, we saw two men. They were running into the park. One of the men was carrying a large bag and they looked scared. Two minutes later, we saw a police car. The police didn’t see the men and they drove away.
We decided to see what was happening, so we went into the park. We couldn’t see the men, but while we were looking for them, we noticed their bag behind some bushes. When we looked inside, we found that it was full of jewellery. We called the police immediately!
The police caught the thieves and we received a reward of £100. We were really happy!
3 Look at Milly’s story again. Choose two correct answers for each question.
1 What should the beginning of a story do?
A Describe the background to the story.
B Say who all the people in the story are.
C Say when the story happened.
D Mention some of the main events of the story.
2 What should the middle paragraphs of a story do?
A Describe the main events of the story.
B Give your opinion of the events.
C Use verbs in the present tense.
D Show clearly what order the events happened in.
3 What should the ending of a story do?
A Give some extra background information.
B Explain the final events of the story.
C Leave the reader with more questions about what happened.
D Say what happened as a result of the story.
4 Choose the best title for Milly’s story. Can you think of another title?
A An exciting police chase
B How to catch a burglar!
C A lucky find
5 Look at the Key Language for stories. Find words in Milly’s story to complete it.
KEY LANGUAGE FOR A STORY
Saying when the story happened:
Last month / year / 1……………………, A few days / weeks / months ago, One day
Past simple verbs for the main events:
saw, looked, drove
Past continuous verbs for longer actions:
was walking, were chatting
When and while to join actions together:
2…………………… we were looking for them …, when we looked inside
Adjectives:
lovely, sunny, large, 3……………………, happy
Adverbs:
Suddenly, 4……………………
6 Complete the story with the correct past simple or past continuous form of the verbs.
Two weeks ago, I 1…………………… (go) to my grandma’s house to visit her. When I 2…………………… (arrive) she 3…………………… (sit) at her computer. She 4…………………… (want) to buy some new shoes online, so she 5…………………… (ask) me to help her. While we 6…………………… (search) for some good websites, a notice suddenly 7…………………… (appear) on her screen. It said that she was the winner of a competition and it asked for her bank details! But I 8…………………… (know) that it wasn’t true. Someone 9…………………… (try) to steal her money online. I 10…………………… (tell) her immediately to close the notice. I was really glad that I was there to help her!
7 Look at the examples and complete the rules.
I saw Jack while I was waiting for the bus.
When I got to Sara’s house, she was doing her homework.
We can use when and while to use the past simple and past continuous together in a sentence.
We use 1…………………… + past simple.
We use 2…………………… + past continuous.
8 Complete the sentences with when or while.
1 Eva called me …………………. I was having dinner.
2 The thieves were running away …………………. the police caught them.
3 …………………. I was waiting for the bus, someone tried to steal my purse.
4 We stayed inside …………………. it was raining.
5 We were driving home …………………. we saw the accident.
6 …………………. I saw the bank robbers, I was talking to my friend on my phone.
9 Choose the best adjective to complete each sentence.
1 The hotel was next to a …………………. beach. (careful / beautiful / quick)
2 The man kept looking at his watch and he looked …………………. (nervous / personal / excellent)
3 The woman was carrying a …………………. suitcase. (patient / friendly / heavy)
4 It was a very …………………. day! (annoyed / exciting / right)
5 The girl gave me a …………………. smile. (lucky / friendly / boring)
6 We had some …………………. food at the restaurant later. (amazing / noisy / brave)
10 Choose the best adverb to complete each sentence.
1 Suddenly / Slowly, two men ran out of the bank.
2 When we saw the burglars, we called the police unfortunately / immediately.
3 Luckily / Quickly, I had my phone with me, so I called for help.
4 I carefully / kindly opened the bag and looked inside.
5 Badly / Unfortunately, I never found my bike again.
6 The man shouted at us happily / angrily.
11 You are going to write a story which must begin with the sentence:
Plan your story
Beginning
What is the background to your story?
Where does it take place?
Who were you with?
Main events
What happened first?
What happened next?
Ending
What happened in the end?
What were the results?
How did you feel?
12 Write your story. Use your notes from Exercise 11.
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
………………………….……………………………………….……………
Answer
1
1 Students’ own answers.
2 Students’ own answers.
2
They found some stolen jewellery. They called the police.
3
1 A and C 2 A and D 3 B and D
4
C
5
1 summer 2 while 3 scared 4 immediately
6
1 went 2 arrived 3 was sitting 4 wanted
5 asked 6 were searching 7 appeared
8 knew 9 was trying 10 told
7
1 when 2 while
8
1 while 2 when 3 While 4 while
5 when 6 When
9
1 beautiful 2 nervous 3 heavy 4 exciting
5 friendly 6 amazing
10
1 Suddenly 2 immediately 3 Luckily
4 carefully 5 Unfortunately 6 angrily
11 12
Students’ own answers.
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