EF 5.3 Telling story

blairchen

Publish：Jun 25, 2017

1. Explaining how you met someone

Dialog
[KATE] So did I tell you I met this guy?
[EMMA] Yeah, the one from the bank? or The guy at the beach?
[KATE] No! Not them.
[KATE] Someone … better.
[KATE] Well, let me tell you the story.
[KATE] Um, I was shopping.
[KATE] And, uh, as I was leaving, I was in the car.
[KATE] … and you know how suddenly things just come out of nowhere?
[KATE] Well, I had a lot of shopping bags, and I was putting on my lip gloss as I was driving.
[KATE] I know - stupid. And then … and then, I just didn’t see it.
[KATE] `It all happened so, so fast`.
[KATE] I was putting on my lip gloss, and then ‘Bang!’
[KATE] I hit his car.
[KATE] But there was a reward: the driver.
[KATE] He is great !
[EMMA] Oh, I see. So now this guy is interested in you.
[EMMA] You hit his car!
[KATE] Yeah. and it’s a nice car, too.
[EMMA] Yeah, and he was probably very angry.
[KATE] Not very angry.
[KATE] He called me later about the accident, and he invited me to dinner.
[EMMA] No way!
[KATE] Yep. We have a date.
[EMMA] Why am I not surprised?
[KATE] Come on! Let’s go.

1.1 Grammar

In 1960, they were both living in France.
Larry was working in Orleans.
Where did they meet ?
Was she hoping to find a husband?
They’re celebrating 25 years of marriage.
What was she doing?

1.2 Sequencing events in a story

At first, I didn’t like him.
In the beginning, he seemed unfriendly.
Later, we started talking in the break room.
After that, we had lunch a couple of times.
Next, we went on a date.
Finally, he asked me to marry him.
In the end, we got married and had three children.

2. Talking about a relationship

close friends
old friends
My buddy
relatives
colleagues
acquaintance [ə’kweɪnt(ə)ns]
instrument
gorgeous

Dialog
[LISA] Petey! Peter Oakes.
[LISA] Hi! Lisa. Lisa Gomez. Remember me?
[PETER] Lisa Gomez. How can I forget?
[PETER] Lisa and I, eh, knew each other at university.
[PETER] Well, actually, you were dating Leo Cole when we first met, do you remember?
[LISA] Leo? Dating? No, not really.
[LISA] Well, he was so romantic, you know, with the flowers and the chocolates and everything. Oh, my …
[PETER] Lisa, it was really nice to meet you, but we really have to be going now.
[PETER] see you around
[KATE] So, uh, she was dating Leo when she met you?
[PETER] It wasn’t really like that.

2.2 Grammar

I’ve known my best friend for 22 years.
I was writing an email when the phone rang.
I was taking a shower when someone knocked on the door.

word
swimming
8 years old
incredibly tall
taller than others
asked a question
an orange swim cap
a purple mouth
laughed

My Best Friend Natasha

I first met my best friend when we were swimming at summer camp. We were 8 years old. Natasha was incredibly tall. She was taller than all the other children. She asked me a question: ‘Why are you wearing that orange swim cap?’ So I asked her: ‘Why are you so tall?’ Natasha laughed. Her mouth was purple from eating strange candy. I laughed, too.

2.3 Reading and Writing

I first met my colleague, John, when we were studying at Duke University. He walked into my room, said hello, and then we started talking about history together. John looks like one of those little people in ‘Lord of the Rings,’ with funny ears. He always has a smile in his eyes. He also tells crazy stories. He has one story about playing the flute in New Orleans. He was playing on the street when a river of water came down the street. He ran! In the end, both John and I got hired by BTC. Now he’s an old friend.

I first met my colleague, Jamie, when I was getting coffee at the office eight years ago. She was putting five spoons of sugar in her cup when I walked into the coffee room. When I saw that, I really liked her. She has gorgeous red hair and a funny laugh, like a little mouse. She has lived in 12 countries;

3. Talking about a good experience

backyard
guilty
embarrassed

Dialog
[PETER] Leo is my best friend.
[PETER] But I did not steal his girlfriend
[PETER] A couple of years ago, I was studying business at the university, and Lisa was in my class.
[PETER] I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.
[PETER] One evening I was waiting for Lisa outside a movie theater.
[PETER] And, uh, I saw this other guy.
[PETER] He was also waiting outside the movie theater.
[PETER] And we started talking.
[PETER] Well, his date was late, too.
[PETER] When Lisa arrived, she looked at me, she looked at Leo, and then she ran away.
[PETER] She had two dates at the same time!
[PETER] Well, anyways, I saw Leo at school the next day, and now we’re best friends!

3.1 Grammar

Adjective	Adverb
lucky	luckily
unexpected	unexpectedly
fortunate	fortunately
grateful	gratefully
positive	positively
surpring	surpringly

Heather got an unexpected promotion at work.
Fortunately, Jean found her wallet.
Surprisingly, John didn’t get the job.
I was really embarrassed.
I felt guilty.
He seemed upset.
The hike was fantastic!
Something crazy happened.

3.2 Expressions

Listen to the audio. Move the text to the correct gaps.

text
I finally went up OId Rag Mountain.
I feel fantastic !
Something crazy happened, though. I felt guilty leaving him here.
Yeah, he was a little upset when you left.
He seems okay now.

Did he seem calm after going to the spa?
Everyone seemed so embarrassed.
I forgot the date and felt guilty for three days.

Dialog
MELISSA: Okay, so Ralph walks up to me, and he has a picture in his hand.
NICK: A picture of what?
MELISSA: A cat. In a pink sweater.
NICK: What? Whose cat?
MELISSA: His. The cat in the pink sweater is Ralph’s!
NICK: Really?
MELISSA: Yep, and so Ralph gives me the picture. He says , ‘Isn’t Lucky cute in this picture?’
NICK: Ha! Very surprising.
MELISSA: I know! I couldn’t believe it! Ralph isn’t all bad. He is very strange, though.

4. Telling a story about a bad experience

Word	meaning
delivery [dɪ’lɪv(ə)rɪ]
disaster [dɪ’zɑːstə]
pothole ['pɒthəʊl]
motorcycle

swerved [swɜːv] | vi, vt, n.

Dialog
[JAKE] Have I ever told you about my job as a pizza delivery guy?
[SIMON] No. What about it?
[JAKE] It ended in disaster.
[SIMON] What happened?
[JAKE] One night, I had a really big delivery, like, 20 pizzas. They were on the back of the motorcycle.
[JAKE] I was driving down the road, and I was in a hurry, and then this dog ran out in front of me.
[JAKE] So I swerved, and I missed the dog. But I hit this really big pothole.
[SIMON] So then what happened?
[JAKE] There were pizzas all over the street, and I ended up on the sidewalk.
[SIMON] Ouch !
[JAKE] And while they were putting me into the ambulance, the neighborhood dogs were having a pizza party.
[SIMON] Were you badly hurt?
[JAKE] No. I just had a broken arm … and no job.

How terrible!

4.1 Grammar

clauses with past continuous
While it was raining, the electricity went out.
The electricity came back on while we were sleeping.
While it was raining, he took a nap.
The phone rang while I was taking a shower.
She was watching TV while he was studying.