What happened? Read the following paragraph. It describes a situation which has changed. ‘John and Jim used to play tennis every Saturday afternoon, but now John goes to the cinema with Mary on Saturday afternoons and they watch silly romantic films’, said John’s mother sadly. Now, what do you think might have happened to cause this situation? Read the following statements, and note whether you think each one is likely, possible, or unlikely. (Write L, P, or U after each one.) Be prepared to share your answers in class and say why you chose each option. 1. John is getting better at tennis. 2. John got bored of tennis. 3. John likes cinema more than tennis. 4. Tennis has become too expensive for John. 5. John is not as fit as he used to be. 6. John is not very good at tennis now. 7. Mary likes John. 8. John would rather play tennis on Saturday than go to the cinema. 9. Jim found a new tennis partner. 10. Mary likes tennis as much as Jim. 11. If John stops going to the cinema, he’ll start playing tennis again. 12. John told Jim that he never wanted to play tennis again. 13. John’s mother thinks romantic films a bad influence on John. 14. If John had never met Mary, he would still play tennis on Saturday afternoon. 15. John will be watching a film next Saturday afternoon. 16. John’s mother thinks tennis is better than the cinema. 17. John had stopped playing tennis before he met Mary. 18. John is getting fatter. 19. Mary is a bad inflence on John. 20. John’s mother likes Jim better than Mary. When you have done that, create your own version of the story - what you think happened that led to the situation described above. Write this below or overleaf, and be prepared to read your story to the rest of the class.
Adapted from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/oct09/less01.htm