Developing writing
Stories wanted
A story 1
Look at the task and read the story. Has the writer answered the task?
Your story must begin with this sentence: Mum told me to take a cake to our elderly neighbour. Your story must include:
• a museum • a painting
Mum told me to take a cake to our elderly neighbour, Mrs Whiting, who lives on her own. I was tired after a long day at school, but I used to go and see Mrs Whiting a lot. It had been cloudy and grey all day and now it was raining. I rang the bell and Mrs Whiting came slowly to the door. She told me to come in and get warm by the fire. While she made a pot of tea, I admired the landscape painting on her kitchen wall. I had seen it every time I visited. It was a painting I liked very much. Mrs Whiting told me some very sad news. She said she might have to sell everything because she couldn’t afford to go on living in her house. I felt so upset because I didn’t know how to help her. The next day, I was on a school trip to a museum. I had got up early and I was still sleepy. We were all following the guide, when suddenly I saw something that surprised me very much. I stopped. That painting on the wall looked incredibly similar to Mrs Whiting’s! My friend Ellie asked me what the matter was. When I explained, she said her dad was an art specialist and he could come and look at Mrs Whiting’s painting. That same evening, Ellie’s dad came to see Mrs Whiting. He immediately recognised that the painting was valuable. It was sold at an auction for a very high price and so in the end Mrs Whiting could stay in her house.
Use the past perfect for background. Use the past
Use the past continuous to describe scenes. Use modal verbs to make speculations. Use the past continuous to describe activities in progress. Use used to to talk about past habits.
Use the past perfect to talk about actions that happened before other actions in the past. simple to tell the main events and actions in the story.
Read the story again. Are the sentences
Read the four parts of another short story and put them in the correct order. A My parents had decided to come back early. They were angry with me because I had left the house without telling them where I was. B That weekend, my parents had gone away. A new girl from school had asked me to go cycling. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to seem unfriendly, so I agreed. I used to go cycling a lot. C First of all, we went to the park and afterwards we stopped for a picnic. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I had not enjoyed myself so much for a long time. I looked at my watch. It was getting late. D As soon as I arrived home, I knew something was wrong. The door was wide open. I must have forgotten to lock it! Could I have been so silly? My heart was beating quickly as I walked inside.
2
4
True (T) or False (F)? 1 The writer would often visit Mrs Whiting. 2 Mrs Whiting needed to sell her furniture to have enough money. 3 The writer saw exactly the same painting on a school trip to a museum. 4 The art specialist believed the painting was worth a lot of money.
T / F
T / F
T / F
T / F 5 Mrs Whiting didn’t have to leave her home. T / F
Complete the sentences with these
3
sequencing words and expressions. afterwards • a s soon as • a t first • the first thing • this weekend • while 1
I got home, I ran
over to her house.
Find examples in 4 for the different tenses
5
2
I thought I’d
we use to tell a story. 1 Past simple
misheard, but then I understood. 3 his parents and then his friend.
he did was to talk to
4
was going to be relaxing, or at least that’s what we thought! 5 She sold the painting and took all her neighbours out for a celebration. 6 he was walking round the museum, he suddenly saw the painting.
2 Past continuous
3 Past perfect
4 used to
5 Modal verbs
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Unit 9
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