University English: the blog for ESL students

October 4, 2010

Unit 9: Things Happen

Filed under: lessons — richardlstansfield @ 2:48 am

Page 86

Books closed

Some bad things happened to Sean, Julia, and Chen. What?








Page 86, Exercise 1, Part B

1. Sean was talking to a woman on the train, and he missed his stop.

2. Julia’s friend deleted her files when she was using Julia’s computer.

3. Roberto and his friend were trying to look cool when they walked into a glass door.


Page 87

We usually use the simple past tense. Usually, we only use the past continuous in these two situations:

1. Interrupted Actions

e.g. “I was driving from Toronto to Montreal when my car broke down.”

I may have repaired (fixed) my car and completed my journey to Montreal, or I may have stopped there. We don’t know from this sentence.

The interrupted action uses the past continuous. The interrupting action uses the simple past.

2. Settings

A setting is like the background for the beginning of a story.

e.g. “It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. People were chatting when suddenly the sound of a gunshot rang out. A man in a gray suit grabbed his chest and slowly sank to the ground.”

Page 87, Exercise 2, Part A

1. was making … called … forgot … burned

2. damaged … was driving … ran

3. hurt … was doing … fell

4. was having … spilled … got

5. were talking … weren’t paying … was standing … were listening


Practice the conversations using the fall-rise intonation that you learned about in Exercise 3.


Where is Mr. Bean? Why is the woman there? Why is Mr. Bean there?

(from 2:00 to 3:30)


Page 88

sprain: (verb) to injure part of your body by twisting it, but not so badly that it breaks

Be careful not to confuse “hip” with “buttocks.”

hip: (noun) one of the two parts of your body above your leg and below your waist

buttock: (noun) one of the two sides of your bottom


Page 89

Books closed.

Listen to the conversation between Nicole and Barry, and answer the questions.

1. What kind of trip did Barry go on?

2. What happened during his trip?

3. Why did it happen?


1. He went on a ski trip.

2. He had an accident and broke his leg.

3. He was talking on his cell-phone while skiing.


Page 89, Exercise 3, Part A

1. c

2. d

3. e

4. b

5. f

6. a


Page 90

Conversation Strategy: Reacting to a story

Books closed.

Listen to the conversation between Matt and Emily, and answer the questions.

First Listening

1. What was Matt doing?

a. cooking

b. skiing

c. driving

2. Did something good or something bad happen to Matt?


1. a. He was cooking.

2. Something bad happened to Matt.

Second Listening

1. What happened to Matt?

2. How did he solve his problem?


1. He dropped rice onto the floor.

2. He bought some rice from a restaurant.



Rejoinders are special phrases. We use them for three reasons:

1. to show that we are listening

2. to show that we understand

3. to show that we are interested

For example, for each conversation, choose the best rejoinder.

Example #1

A: My dog died last night.


(a) That’s great!

(b) That’s nice.

(c) I’m sorry to hear that.

(d) Oh, really?

Example #2

A: I won the lottery last night. (Lottery = “lotto” in Konglish)


(a) That’s great!

(b) That’s nice.

(c) I’m sorry to hear that.

(d) Oh, really?

Here are the different kinds of rejoinders.


– That’s great!

– Terrific!

– Wonderful!


– That’s too bad.

– I’m sorry to hear that.

– Oh, no!


– I see.

– That’s nice.

– Oh, yeah?


– You’re kidding!

– I can’t believe it!

– Oh, really!/Oh, really?


Step 1

Student A reads out a sentence.

Student B listens and then gives an appropriate rejoinder.

Example #1:

A: I broke my finger yesterday.


(a) Wonderful!

(b) Oh, yeah?

(c) Oh, no!

(d) Oh, really?

Example #2:

A: Jae-beom will be returning to the boy band 2PM.


(a) That’s too bad.

(b) You’re kidding!

(c) I see.

(d) That’s great!

Step 2

Vice versa.

Student B reads out a sentence.

Student A listens and then gives an appropriate rejoinder.

Step 3

First, fill in the blanks.

Then, take turns reading out your sentences and giving appropriate rejoinders.

Step 4

Take turns with your partner. One person tells about a recent travel experience, and the other gives rejoinders.


A: This past vacation, I went on a trip to Jeju Island.

B: That’s nice.

A: My uncle is the mayor of Jeju City.

B: Oh, really!

A: So I stayed at his house for a few days.

B: I see.

A: Unfortunately, I was punched by a drunk man.

B: Oh, no!

A: But I wasn’t too hurt, and I received a lot of “blood money.”

B: That’s great!

[ etc. … ]


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