The Story of Thanksgiving. Watch the video and fill in the gaps (check your answers in "comments").
The year was ________________________ (1).
It was a normal day for me, sitting on the beach, getting some sun, ________________________
(2) my own business when lo and behold along comes this boat.
So the pilgrims got off the boat and began
the hard work of ________________________ (3) a settlement in the New World. Now, I don't know ________________________ (4) it was to try to
build a settlement at the beginning of winter but ________________________ (5)the
pilgrims had it ________________________ (6).
Finally came and the pilgrims went out to ________________________
(7). God had heard ________________________ (8) and sent along one of the ________________________
(9) to help them- an English-speaking Indian by the name of Squanto.
Add lots of hard work and working together
with their new friends, the Indians. By the end of the ________________________
(10), they had an abundant ________________________ (11).
The tradition of Thanksgiving began and
now people get together and eat and thank God for his ________________________
(12).
Glossary:
Lo and behold - Used for introducing something surprising that you're about to tell or show someone.
Hereby - Used for stating that something said or written in a statement or document is now official or for emphasizing what you're saying.
Click here to do another listening activity using a video from "Friends".
There are more posts about this topic (see "contents") where you can learn about the food they eat and more historical facts.
Click here to see the grammar and do some activities. Maybe you have problems with some links, but others work perfectly right. Do the ones related to the first and second conditionals.
Click here to see an old post about the same topic.
Click hereto do a listening activity about St Valentine's Day (it includes writing summaries and the answers are at the bottom of the page). This is the audio. Click hereto listen to a love song (My Valentine by Paul McCartney). Click here to see old posts about the same topic.
Click here to watch a video about the history of Valentine's Day and do a comprehension activity.
LISTENING: A love story: To R.P. Salazar, with Love
1 You’re going to hear a true story, a love story. It starts with a small mistake and two very similar email addresses. Read the extracts from the story and try to put them in the correct order. Then watch and listen to check your ideas.
A And so I forwarded it, I wrote a little message
B And so I got on my knee and asked you to marry me.
C Get to work, first thing I do is turn on my email, and I discovered this one. I didn’t know who it was from.
D I would stay up late at night, which was your morning and we would chat.
E I finalized my plans to visit the U.S.
F My co-worker sent you that email by mistake.
G So began a chain of emails.
H They now all tell us, “You’re perfect for each other. You found the right match!”
2 Listen again and decide if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE, or if the information is NOT GIVEN.
1 Rubin lived in Bangkok, Thailand.
2 Rubin found out what Rachel looked like by mistake.
3 Rubin asked Rachel to come and visit him in the US.
4 Rachel kept her travel plans a secret.
5 Rubin kept Rachel’s visit a secret.
6 Rubin proposed after less than a week together.
7 Rachel was completely surprised by the proposal.
8 Rubin’s parents didn’t approve at first.
3a VOCABULARY Look at these different ‘slang’ examples of ‘like’ from the story and match them with the uses. Two examples have the same use.
1 And I was like, ‘Here’s another R.P. Salazar.’
2 It was like “Wow, she’s really beautiful.
3 ..we would chat for like four or five hours.
4 We were, like, dancing one night and…
A A way of introducing direct speech
B A ‘filler’ or hesitation.
C A way of emphasizing or drawing attention to something.
b What other uses of ‘like’ do you know? Look at the examples below and explain the use of ‘like’.
1 I knew immediately that I liked her.
2 Ruben found out what Rachel looked like
3 Would you like to go out with me?
4 It’s kind of like sending a letter in a bottle.
4a GRAMMAR. Which use of ‘would’ means the same as ‘used to’?
I would stay up late at night, which was your morning and we would chat for like four or five hours.
You’re foolish to go halfway across the world to meet some strange guy you have not met. That would be crazy.”
b What is the difference in use between ‘would’ and ‘used to’ when talking about past habits? Change ‘used to’ for ‘would’ where possible.
1 Rachel used to live in Bangkok, but now she lives in Waco.
2 Ruben used to wonder if he would ever meet the right girl.
3 Rachel used to like receiving emails from Ruben.
4 Ruben used to miss Rachel when he wasn’t chatting with her.
5 Rachel used to look forward to their daily chats.
6 Ruben used to stay up late to talk to Rachel.
Check your answers here. This great activity has been taken from www.elt-resourceful.com
A love song. Cupid by Amy Winehouse
Watch the video and try to fill in the gaps. Check your answers in "comments".
CUPID [Chorus] Cupid Draw back your _____________(1) And let your _____________(2) flow Straight to my lover's ____________(3) For me, _____________(4) but me
Cupid Please hear my _____________(5) And let your arrow _____________(6) Straight to my lover's _____________(7) For me
[Verse 1] I don't want to _____________(8) you But I'm in distress There's _____________(9) of me losing All my _____________(10) For, I love a man Who doesn't know I _____________(11) And this you can _____________(12), so
[Chorus]
[Verse 2] Now, if your arrow makes His love _____________(13) for me I swear I'm going to love him 'til _____________(14) I know that 'tween the both of us His heart we can _____________(15) Cupid, help me if you _____________(16)
I. Watch this video and complete the sentences (you will need one or two words in each gap). Check your answers in "comments".
If
you could change anything in the world, what would you change?
·I don’t know ______________________.
I like everything about the world right now but...
·I would change that there would be no ______________________
and I wish there would be no ______________________!
·Stop focusing on the
look of ______________________,
·______________________we
travel
·The level of technology.
I ______________________ robots to be taking over the world - that kind of
situation.
·I would have ______________________,
because we don't have that yet
·For our skin colour,
preference, and everything
·I would want everybody
to treat each other equal.
·Inequality in terms of people who are ______________________, and have no place to ______________________and other people who have so much ______________________,
they don't know what to do with it.
·And everyone just be
able to like, ______________________whenever they want. They won't have to ______________________or
they won't have to work for it. It would just like grow out of the ground.
·Probably change currency
because all everybody wants now is ______________________.
·Change rich people to ______________________
·Just ______________________.
California
weather I adore
·Can it be big? Can I say
like income ______________________?
·Prison system in ______________________?
·Eliminate the invention
of the gun.
·People’s ego investment
in being right
·Stigmatism of mental ______________________.
·I don't know what I ______________________
·so... nothing can be
stolen
·Over using social media
as a way to ______________________
·As ______________________
as we are, we don't listen to each other
·This incredible
inability to ______________________, and listen to someone who doesn't ______________________
with you
·I would try to get rid
of a lot of bad ______________________. I think people believe in too many
things and they don't believe in ______________________.
·Like I wish people
noticed other people more
·More ______________________, people need more patience
· Change the amount of ______________________
that's in the world
· People are so ______________________
sometimes; the loud ones
·I would rather have them
be ______________________ like it was, back in the day. It was better back then.
·It sounds so generic,
but ______________________. I just want the wars to stop
· Be like ______________________
·I want to change, like
to ______________________ and joy
·______________________?
I don't know?
·Well, I actually think I
know of one thing, if...there was a way, like, to get ______________________ back.
I would make that, I don't know how that be
and I would change the ______________________. Hey, they can change the
world! A lot!
III. Go to lyricstraining.com and practise your conditional sentences with songs like "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton or "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.
