II. Memorize extra vocabulary: proverbs / words of wisdom

One story is good till another is told.

A tale never loses in the telling.

There are no dull subjects, there are only dull writers.

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Words are loaded pistols. (J. Sartre, French philosopher)

 

III. Make up as many sentences as you can using words and phrases suggested above.

IV. Perform the following pre-writing tasks:

Pre-writing task 1

Read the story. Number the sentences in its summary in the correct order.

8… A fire engine appeared

….. Bob picked Fay up in his car.

….. The balloon landed in a tree.

1.... Fay woke up.

….. Bob radioed for help.

….. Firefighters helped Bob & Fay to the ground.

….. They climbed into the basket of the balloon.

5.... Fay hit her head.

….. The balloon shook violently from side to side.

Unforgettable Birthday!

As soon as Fay woke up, she knew this birthday was going to be very special, It was a sunny morning and a gentle breeze was blowing in through the window. “A perfect day for a balloon ride!” Fay said excitedly to herself. Half an hour later, her friend Bob, a pilot, was taking Fay for a ride in a hot-air balloon.

Fay was thrilled when she saw the huge, bright yellow hot-air balloon. Bob made sure that everything was okay, then they climbed carefully into the basket. Moments later, the balloon began to rise slowly into the air. “This is fantastic!” she shouted cheerfully to Bob. “Happy Birthday! I’m glad you like your present!” he replied.

Suddenly the smile disappeared from Bob’s face. Dark clouds were racing towards them and, before he could say anything, there was a loud rumble of thunder. The balloon shook violently from side to side. ”Oh, no!” screamed Fay. “We’re going to die!” Just as Bob was reaching for the radio, there was a bright flash of lightning. Fay fell backwards and hit her head, and everything went black.

When Fay opened her eyes, she saw Bob’s worried face in front of her. ”Are you alright?” he asked anxiously. ”The balloon went down”, he explained, “but fortunately we’ve landed in a tree. I’ve already radioed for help.” Fay looked over the side of the basket and realized that they were hanging from a branch. “Don’t worry,” said Bob calmly. “It’ll hold us.”

At that moment a fire engine appeared. Its siren was wailing and its red lights were flashing brightly. Two firefighters jumped out and five minutes later, Fay and Bob were standing safely on the ground.

“We’ve safe at last!” she cried. “Fay, I’m so sorry,” replied Bob. “It wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but I’m sure you won’t forget this birthday!”

Pre-writing task 2

Write a humorous story based on the letter below. Give the story an appropriate heading.

Letter from the Scout Camp

Dear Mom and Dad,

We are having a great time here at Lake Typhoid. Mr. Sorensen is making all of us write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and got worried. We are OK. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags and Steven’s back pack got washed away. Luckily none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Travis when it happened.

Oh, please call Travis’s Mom and tell her he is OK. He can’t write because of the cast. Mr. Sorensen got mad at Travis for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Travis said he did tell him but it was during the fire, so Mr. Sorensen probably didn’t hear him. By the way, did you know that if you pour gas on a fire the gas can will blow up? We were making barbecue, and the wet wood didn’t burn. But one of our tents did. also some of our clothes. Never in my life have I seen such fun! Mark is going to look great until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Mr. Sorensen gets the truck fixed. It wasn’t his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left. Mr. Sorensen said with a truck so old you have to expect something to break down, that’s probably why he can’t get insurance on it. It’s a great truck, only it gets pretty hot with ten scouts in the cab. If it’s hot Mr. Sorensen lets us take turns riding in the trailer. Mr. Sorensen is a great Scout Master!

This morning all of us were jumping off the rocs and swimming in the lake. Mr. Sorensen wouldn’t let me because I can’t swim, and Travis was afraid he would sink because of the cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great! Mr. Sorensen isn’t a bore as some Scout Masters are. He didn’t even get mad about the life jackets. Neither did we. He has to spend a lot of time working on the truck, so we are trying not to cause him any troubles.

Guess what? We have all passed our First-Aid Skill Award. When Jim dived off into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Also Jim and I threw up. Mr. Sorensen said it was probably just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.

I have to go now. We are going to town and mail all these letters and buy some bullets. Don’t worry about anything.

Love,

your son.

P.S. How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

Vocabulary:

typhoid – тиф	life jacket – спасательный жилет
cast – повязка	Scout Master – вожатый скаутов
cab – кабина	a bore – зануда, скучный человек
truck – грузовик	dive off – нырять в воду
trailer – прицеп	sink – тонуть
brakes – тормоза	tourniquet – мед. жгут
wreck – авария	tetanus shot– укол от столбняка
insurance – страховка	to throw up – стошнить, вырвать
First-Aid Skill Award – экзамен по правилам оказания первой медицинской помощи

 

Pre-writing task 3