Read a ghost story. Fill in the gaps (1-6) with the sentences (A-F). Reproduce the whole story.

A

A big crackling fire was burning in the fireplace.

B

He had slept very well the night before and felt refreshed.

C

The waitress looked at him in amazement.

D

As she looked up at George her face lit up.

E

He tried to start the car again, but nothing happened.

F

She was carrying the silver tray with a large teapot and three china cups.

 

A Ghostly Welcome

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by the crash of thunder. George Philips was driving carefully along the narrow country lane. It was late at night and he was looking forward to reaching his hotel. Suddenly his car engine died. 1………..… “Blast!” he said angrily. Up ahead in the distance he could see a light coming from a castle. He got out of the car and ran quickly through the pouring rain towards the huge building.

George reached the castle’s big wooden door and rang the bell. The heavy door slowly creaked open. In front of him stood a young woman. 2……….…. “Oh, please come in out of the rain”, she said. George thanked her and entered a big hall, then introduced himself and explained what had happened. She told him that he was welcome to spend the night in the castle and led him to the library. 3…………. George went to warm himself in front of it. he young woman offered to make some tea and left the room.

George had been standing there for a few minutes when he heard a voice behind him. “Good evening! I’m Mrs McDougall. My daughter told me we had a guest. Please, have a seat.”

Soon afterwards the daughter came in. 4………..…. After they had finished their tea, Mrs McDougall offered to show him to his room George was following her up ton the huge staircase when he heard her weeping. “Is something wrong?” he asked her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as tears ran down her wrinkled cheeks. “It’s just that you remind me so much of my husband. I haven’t seen him for ten years.” The wind was howling outside and George felt a chill run down his spine.

When George woke up the next morning, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. 5………..…. He put on his clothes, and went downstairs to thank the two women. He had been looking for them for some time before he realized that he was alone in the castle. He wrote a note thanking them for their kindness and returned to his car. To his relief, when he turned the key, the car started with a roar.

Ten minutes later, George stopped at a café to have breakfast. As the waitress was filling his coffee cup she said, “That was a terrible storm we had last night, wasn’t it?” George nodded and took a sip of a hot coffee. He told her that, as his car had broken down, the McDougalls had put him up for he night in their castle. 6………..…. “But that’s impossible!” she exclaimed. “Nobody has lived in that castle since Mrs McDougall and her daughter died in a car accident ten years ago!”

George stared at her in disbelief and, trembling with shock, dropped his coffee cup onto the floor.

 

Pre-writing task 4

Read the beginning of the science fiction story. Complete it with your own ideas and write the whole story. Choose an appropriate heading.

A Science Fiction Story

The spaceship flew around the new planet several times. The planet was blue and green. They couldn’t see the surface of the planet because there were too many white clouds. The spaceship descended slowly through the clouds and landed in the middle of green forest. The two astronauts put on their space suits, opened the door, climbed carefully down the ladder and stepped onto the planet. The woman looked at a small control unit on her arm. “It’s all right.” she said to the man. “We can breathe the air… it’s a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.”

Both of them took off their helmets and breathed deeply. They looked at everything carefully. All the plants and animals looked new and strange. They couldn’t find any intelligent life.

After several hours, they returned to their spaceship. Everything looked normal. The man switched on the controls, but nothing happened. “Something’s wrong,“ he said. ”I don’t understand… the engines aren’t working.” He switched on the computer, but that didn’t work either. “Eve,” he said, ”We’re stuck here. We can’t take off!”

Pre-writing task 5

Use the notes below to write a story “Lucky to be alive” There are some words to be used in the story:

sunny Sunday morning – beach – golden sand – sign ”No swimming – Sharks” – ignore – start surfing – shark appear – yell get onto his board – paddle towards the beach – other board in pieces – safe – lucky to be alive

 

VII. Perform the following writing task:

Write an essay “ The most amazing story ” which is supposed to be written in the third person (third-person narratives). Remember the notes how to write narrative stories.

MODULE 11 Rules and freedom

WRITING

1. Write a letter of applying for either the position of English teacher at private school or the position of translator in a travel agency.

2. Write a letter of complaint to a hotel manager about the things you found annoying while traveling. Learn the notes below how to write formal letters.

 

WRITING NOTES

FORMAL LETTERS

Formal letters are normally sent to people in an official position or people you don’t know welt (e.g. Director of Studies, Personnel Manager, etc). They are written in a formal style with a polite, impersonal tone. You can write a formal letter to apply for a job/course, make a complaint, give/request official information, etc.

A formal letter should consist of:

Formal greeting (e.g. Dear Sir/Madam·- when you do not know the person’s name;

Dear Ms Green -· when you know the person’s name);

Introduction in which you write your opening remarks and mention your

reason(s) for writing (e.g. I am writing to apply for the position of)

Main body in which you write about the main subject(s) of the letter in detail,

starting a new paragraph for each topic;

Conclusion in which you write your closing remarks (e.g. Look forward to

hearing from you as soon as possible)

Formal ending ( e.g. Yours faithfully – when you do not know the person ‘s name;

Yours sincerely when you know the person‘s name + your full name ).

FORMAL STYLE

Formal style is characterized by the use of:

· advanced vocabulary

e.g. I am writing to enquire whether NOT I want to ask you.

· formal linking words / phrases (consequently, however, therefore, for this reason) e.g. I have worked as a primary school teacher for ten years and therefore have

experience working with children)

· passive voice

e.g. I can be contacted NOTYou can contact me...

· polite forms without contractions

e.g. I would be grateful if

I would appreciate it if you could...

I would like to apply... NOT I’d like to apply

Colloquial expressions, phrasal verbs, idioms and short forms are NOT used in formal style.

LETTERS OF APPLICATION

When you write a letter applying for a job or a course, you should include the following information: