517
7 minutes
7. his or
her side of
the story
G to invent an excuse
8. make
up a story
H something negative that has hap-
pened
to you many times before
Task 2. Read the dialogues and circle the correct words.
1.
A: Dad – I thought I might go out with my friends to-
night.
B: Well, OK, but if you want to go out, you have to do
your homework first –
end of story / a sob story
!
A: Where’s your homework?
B: Sorry, miss. I had to go shopping and… well,
to cut
a long story short
/
to make up a story
, I didn’t have
time to do it.
A: I’m sorry I lost your camera, but really it was Sally’s fault.
B: Well, I’m going to talk to Sally and hear
the story of
her life
/
her side of the story
.
4.
A: Let’s go to the cinema.
B: Yeah, good idea – but I’m broke, can you buy my
ticket?
A: Again?!
It’s the same old story / End of story
, isn’t
it?
5.
A: Sorry, I didn’t come last night!
B: But why didn’t you phone me? And please
don’t
make up a story
/
cut a long story short
about your
phone not working!
6.
A: Where’s your homework?
B: Well, I did it, but then my dog ate it.
A: Oh, right! It’s
a likely story
/
a sob story
!
7.
A: Here’s your test. You got 20 per cent. You failed!
B: Again?
It’s the story of my life / It’s my side of the
story
!
8.
A: Has Mike given you back money you lent him?
B: Not yet. He told me
a sob story
/
cut a long story
short
about how he had to
spend a lot of money to go
and visit his sick grandmother.
Answers:
Task 1: 2d, 3e, 4b, 5a, 6h, 7c, 8g
Task 2: 1 end of the story, 2 to cut a long story short, 3 her side
of the story, 4 it’s the same old story, 5 make up a story, 6 a
likely story, 7 it’s the story of my life, 8 told me a sob story.
518
3 minutes
Speaking:
play A LIKELY STORY
Teacher instructs learners that each of them will take a short
outline of a story and they should embellish it with additional
details and then tell to their partner. They should also decide
whether the story is true or false
Outline of a story
This happened in Califor-
nia.
A couple were driving
their car and their baby
was in the car.
They stopped for a break.
They also took baby out of
the car.
They forgot to put the ba-
by back in the car and
drove off.
Two hours later they found
the baby again and it was
OK.
Outline of a story
You saw this in an e-mail.
The planet Mars is moving to-
wards Earth.
In the year 2060 it will be clos-
er to Earth than ever before.
This will change the tides and
the
electrical charges around
Earth.
Aeroplanes will have problems
flying, and there will be other
problems too.
At the end of the lesson, learners reflect on their learning:
❖
What has been learned
❖
What remained unclear
❖
What is necessary to work on
Hometask:
1) Students read the dialogues and circle the correct word from
Vocabulary handout. (Answers: 1 end of the story, 2 to cut a
long story short, 3 her side of the story, 4 it’s the same old sto-
ry, 5 make up a story, 6 a likely story, 7 it’s the story of my
life, 8 told me a sob story.)
2) Ss write
one short story that is true, one false story, using
topical vocabulary.