Practise your English

Using in class

levels: B1 - B2 First Certificate University of Cambridge

Exeter : The Ghost Capital of England

WARM UP Answer the questions orally. GRAMMAR PRACTICE
1 Read the reported speech in italics and then decide which of the sentences (a, b or c) the man

1 Do you believe in ghosts? Why? Why not? 2 Do you know of any places in your own country

that are supposed to be haunted? Which ghosts haunt the place? What are they supposed to do? 3 Have you personally had any experience of supernatural activity? READING COMPREHENSION
1 Read and listen to the article quickly and decide

actually said. He said he would stay there in the dark.

a I stayed here in the dark. b Im staying here in the dark. c Ill stay here in the dark.

2 Put the following items of reported speech into

if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

a Exeter is famous for its ghosts. b One man died of fright after

direct speech. e.g. The doctor said it was as though a frozen piece of metal had been pressed against him. Its as though a frozen piece of metal has been pressed against you.
a She said she didnt believe in ghosts. b The man said he wasnt afraid of sleeping in

spending the night in the attic of the Well Inn.

the cellar.

c He told his friends to come and get him the

c Sir Francis Drakes ghost haunts the

next day.

Ship Inn.

d They said they had seen the ghost of the black pig. e He said he had been sleeping on the top floor

d The infamous Judge Jeffreys is often

seen together with a black pig.

when the ghost woke him up.

e The Hotel Barcelona used to be

a hospital.

f She said she would never stay in that hotel

again.

f The ghost of Uri Geller haunts

Exeter football stadium. a huge spire.

3 Put the following items of direct speech into

g Exeter cathedral used to have

reported speech.
a b c d e f

2 Now correct the false statements. 3 Read the article again and answer the questions

below.

You look as if youve seen a ghost. Ill stay with you. This one isnt dead. I havent seen him since yesterday. I just heard a strange noise. Youre all too cynical. SPEAKING / WRITING PRACTICE

a Which place near Exeter inspired Conan Doyle

to write The Hound of the Baskervilles?

b In what way had the Victorian man changed

after spending the night at the Well Inn?

c What is strange about this mans grave? d Why is Judge Jeffreys described as sadistic? e Why does the ghost of a nurse haunt the Hotel

Barcelona?

f Which two famous people did Uri Geller take to

see a football match? used to be?

g What did the green around Exeter cathedral h What was the ghost of the grave digger trying to

do to the student who fell asleep on the lawn?

In pairs or small groups imagine that you are redcoat guides in your own town or city. Prepare a guided walking tour entitled Ghosts and legends of. Include any real legends you may know and invent the rest: Which places will you include in your tour? Which ghosts haunt them and who were they in real life? How do the ghosts manifest themselves? Do they make noises, move things or do they do things they used to do in life? Are any of them particularly frightening? Discuss your ideas, then write up the information as a brochure with a map of the tour. Read out your tour to the rest of the class.

Leslie Silbert
WARM UP Answer the questions orally. the title? Did you enjoy it?
a b c d e f g

make the reader __________ (g) that he or she has learnt something. A A A A A A A working save to be inventing getting to talk to feel B B B B B B B worked to save being invent get talk feel C C C C C C C work saving be to invent to get talking feeling

1 Have you ever read a detective novel? What was 2 Do you like detective stories or films in general? 3 Can you think of any fictional detectives who

Why? Why not?

have become particularly famous?

READING COMPREHENSION
1 Read and listen to the article and find out: a the name of the heroine of Silberts novel. b the

2 Underline

name of an Elizabethan mentioned in the novel.

playwright

the correct form of the verb in brackets: gerund or infinitive. Ex.: I was late for work but I stopped (to post / posting) a letter. Ive stopped (to send / sending) letters now I can use the e-mail.
a I remembered (to talk / talking) to the woman,

c the name of the organization Silberts (and her

but I couldnt remember what Id said.

heroines) boss used to work for. she was investigating.

b Remember (to post / posting) Janes birthday

d two cover identities Silbert often used when e the title of Silberts next novel. 2 Now read the article more carefully and answer

card or it wont get there in time. it was sold out.

c I tried (to buy / buying) Silberts latest novel, but d Ive got a terrible headache. Try (to take /

the following questions.

taking) an asprin. dirty.

a What

similarities are there between Leslie Silbert and Kate Morgan? Silbert find boring?

e I need (to wash / washing) my hair; its really f Your car needs (to wash / washing). Look at the

b Which aspect of her job as an investigator did c Why did Silbert travel to London? d What did the woman with the dog tell her about

state of it!

g I introduced myself because I had forgotten (to

meet / meeting) her at a party last year.

break-ins on the royal property?

h I forgot (to buy / buying) any bread so we cant

have sandwiches.

e What does Silbert say about novels about serial

killers?

VOCABULARY
1 Which word does not belong with the other

GRAMMAR PRACTICE
1 Complete the summary of the article below

three? Explain why not.

choosing from A, B or C.

Leslie Silbert used to __________ (a) as a fulltime private investigator, but now she is also a writer. There are some similarities between herself and the heroine of her novel, but the heroine has a more dynamic job because she is able __________ (b) lives. Silbert has also made her stronger and wittier. Although __________ (c) a private investigator is not always as fascinating as it seems, the job has given Silbert some excellent material for her book. She is good at __________ (d) cover identities so as to get information out of people. Sometimes it is easier __________ (e) information this way than by telling the truth. When she told a guard on a royal property in London that she was researching a novel, and asked him about security arrangements, he refused __________ (f) to her. Silbert feels that thrillers are a popular genre because they help people to forget their daily problems. Historical thrillers are particularly popular, because they

a b c d e

mysterious ingenious strange enigmatic sharp witty rapid quick monotonous uninteresting boring difficult gripping complicated absorbing enthralling frightening intriguing curious interesting SPEAKING / WRITING PRACTICE

SPEAKING PRACTICE Work in small groups. Imagine you want to write a detective story. Decide together: who the detective is, his/her name, age etc. where he/she lives, works. what sort of character the detective has. some special feature that will make the detective interesting to your readers.

WRITING PRACTICE Work either in groups or individually. Imagine your detective has to investigate a murder. Write a basic plot for the story.

Exam style activities

LEVEL B1 Look at the two photographs below. Compare and contrast them orally for one minute.
A B

LEVEL B2 Read the text below about Elle MacDonald, who travelled down the Nile with her husband in a hot air balloon. Look at the sentences and decide if they are true (T) or false (F).

5 a.m. - A white van came to pick John and me up from the hotel. We drove somewhere along the east bank of the Nile River where we were met by 12 other people all taking the balloon flight. We went across the Nile in a ferry boat. Hot drinks were served. It was still dark and the weather is cold in Egypt when there is no sun. Sailing down the Nile at that time of the early morning is breathtaking. The ferry took us to the west bank and the we were driven to a field nearby. The Captain, an Englishman, sent several normal sized balloons up into the air, to check the winds. If it is too windy you cant go up. The balloon itself lay flat on the field. Once it was determined that it was not windy, the balloon was filled with hot air, which took about ten minutes. Then we all climbed into the basket and the captain sent blasts of fire to the balloon to make it rise. We sailed into the air as the sun rose over the Nile River. The view was magnificent. The city below us was just waking up as we flew over. I could hear dogs barking and children
1 In total there were 14 tourists in the balloon. 2 The sun had already risen.

Hot Air Balloon Flight

DOWN THE NILE

playing. The houses were all of the same mud brick type. There were only a few cars on the roads or parked on the streets. In truth the areas we flew over looked very poor. The temples were beautiful and the Nile, majestic. All too soon it was time to return to the ground at our original departure point. Gently we sailed down to the ground and the men who had been waiting for us secured the balloon and helped us to get out. Once things were cleared up, and the balloon secured, we were given papyrus diplomas; then went off in our white vans to our next adventure ...
T F

3 The captain sent one small balloon up to check the wind. 4 The hot air balloon had not yet been inflated when they arrived. 5 The city was still quite quiet as they flew over. 6 The houses they flew over belonged to wealthy people. 7 They would have liked to stay in the air a bit longer. 8 Elle and John received certificates for their participation in the flight.

Functional English

COLLOQUIAL CORNER
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS Colours are often used in idiomatic expressions in English. Match the expressions on the left with the correct definitions on the right.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Look on the black side In the black In someones black books Whiter than white Bleed someone white Out of the blue Once in a blue moon See red Like a red rag to a bull Give it the green light

Without warning Morally beyond reproach On a very rare occasion An extremely provoking object or act Solvent, not owing any money Give permission for a project etc. Drain someone of their resources In disfavour with someone Be pessimistic Become very angry

KEYS
EXETER : THE GHOST CAPITAL OF ENGLAND READING COMPREHENSION 1&2 a. T b. F - He spent the night in the cellar. c. F - The son of the landlady, who died with Drake in battle, is supposed to haunt the inn. d. F - Judge Jeffreys was doomed to walk the earth in the shape of a black pig and it is the pig that is sometimes seen. e. T f. F - Uri Geller is still alive and sometimes goes to the stadium. g. F - It used to have small spires on top of its towers. 3 a. b. c. d. e. Dartmoor. He had aged overnight and his hair had gone grey. Nothing has grown on it since. Because he sentenced hundreds of men to death. Because it used to be the West of England Eye Infirmary and the ghost used to be the matron there. f. Michael Jackson and David Blaine. g. A cemetery. h. He was trying to bury him.
LESLIE SILBERT READING COMPREHENSION 1 a. Kate Morgan c. The CIA e. The Caravaggio Connection b. Christopher Marlowe d. A student / journalist

2 a. Same school background, similar job, bosses worked for the CIA. b. Making background checks on people who have never done anything wrong. c. To get information for her novel in order to make it as realistic as possible. d. Few break-ins the police release dogs at random times throughout the night. e. That she finds them boring after a while. GRAMMAR PRACTICE 1 a. C b. B c. B d. A 2 a. talking b. to post f. washing g. meeting e. C f. A g. B. e. to wash

c. to buy h. to buy

d. taking

GRAMMAR PRACTICE 1 c. 2 a. b. c. d. e. f. I dont believe in ghosts. Im not afraid of sleeping in the cellar. Come and get me tomorrow. Weve seen the ghost of the black pig. I was sleeping on the top floor when the ghost woke me up. Ill never stay in that hotel again.

VOCABULARY a. Ingenious = very clever, or brilliant. Other words: difficult to explain or out of the ordinary b. Rapid = fast. Other words: clever. c. Difficult = not easy. Other words: not interesting. d. Complicated = not simple. Other words: extremely interesting, thrilling e. Frightening = scary. Other words: interesting, stimulating.

EXAM STYLE ACTIVITIES

LEVEL B2 1T 2F

3F

4T

5T

6F

7T

8T

3 (N.B. The pronouns may be different, but the tenses should be as follows) a. She said I looked as if I had seen a ghost. b. He said he would stay with me. c. He said that one wasnt dead. d. She said she hadnt seen him since the day before. e. He said he had just heard a strange noise. f. She said they were all too cynical.

COLLOQUIAL CORNER 1 look on the black side be pessimistic 2 in the black solvent, not owing any money 3 in someones black books in disfavour with someone 4 whiter than white morally beyond reproach 5 bleed someone white drain someone of their resources 6 out of the blue without warning 7 once in a blue moon on a very rare occasion 8 see red become very angry 9 like a red rag to a bull an extremely provoking object or act 10 give it the green light give permission for a project etc.

Exercises by: Rachel J. Roberts