W07 - Int 2

Week 07 – Intermediate 2 – A Motorbike Trip

I)            Reading & Listening

1)   Read the article about Nick Campbell's motorbike trip across the US: Coast to coast

Nick Campbell sat at the side of the road and wondered what to do next. He looked at the second-hand Harley- Davidson he'd bought from a back-street garage in Miami at the beginning of his trip six weeks before.

For years he had dreamt of crossing the United States from east to west by motorbike and he'd finally decided that it was now or never. He'd given up his job, sold his car and set off for the journey of his dreams. He'd been lucky, or so he thought, to find this old Harley-Davidson and had bought it for a very reasonable price - it had cost him just $600. But five kilometres from Atlanta, he had run out of luck. The motorbike had broken down.

He pushed the bike into town and found a garage. The young mechanic told him to leave the bike overnight and come back the next day. The following morning, to his surprise, the man asked if the bike was for sale. 'Certainly not; he replied, paid his bill and hit the road.

When he got to Kansas the old machine ran out of steam again. This time Nick thought about selling it and buying something more reliable, but decided to carry on. When the bike was going well, he loved it.

However, in Denver, Colorado the bike broke down yet again, so he decided to take it to a garage and offer it for sale. The mechanic told him to come back in the 25 morning.

The next day, to his amazement, the man offered him $2,000. Realising the man must be soft in the head, but clearly not short of money, Nick asked for $3,000. The man agreed, and they signed the papers. Then the mechanic started laughing. In fact it was several minutes before he could speak, and when he could he said. That's the worst deal you'll ever make, boy: The mechanic ...

2)   What problems did he have?

3)   Discuss the questions.

a) How much did Nick pay for the bike?

b) How much did the mechanic in Denver offer Nick?

c) How much did Nick sell it for?

d) Guess why the mechanic said, 'That's the worst deal you'll ever make, boy'?

4)   Listen to the story and compare the ending with your ideas.

5)   Do you think the mechanic was fair?

6)   How do you think Nick felt?

II)         Vocabulary

1)   Look at the underlined expression from the article above. What does it mean?

'... and he'd finally decided that it was now or never.'

a)   either now or in the future

b)   b) only now and not in the future

2)   Use the following words to complete some more fixed expressions.

All       clean        come       give        peace        Sooner         take

a) I don't particularly like watching television. I can __________ it or leave it.

b) When I go on holiday, all I want is some ___________ and quiet.

c) I vacuum my car regularly because I like it to be ___________ and tidy.

d) It's 200 kilometres to the coast from here, ___________ or take a few kilometres.

e) My computer is getting old. ______________ or later I'll have to buy a new one.

f) I don't eat chocolate for weeks. Then I'll eat three bars in one day! It's _________ or nothing with me.

g) My teenagers treat our house like a hotel. They just _____________ and go as they please.

Are any of the sentences true for you?

III)       Grammar: Past Perfect

Affirmative	Negative	Question	Short answer Yes	Short answer No
I/you/he/we/they ‘d (had) worked	I/you/he/we/they hadn’t (had not) worked	Had I/you/he/we/they worked?	Yes, I/you/he /we/they had	No, I/you/he/ we/they hadn’t

You use the past perfect when you are talking about the past and you want to refer to an earlier past time. The past perfect clearly shows that one past event happened earlier than other past events.

1) Look at Nick Campbell's route across America and answer the questions.

a) Where was he at the beginning of the story?

b) Where had he begun his motorbike journey?

c) Where did he finish his motorbike journey?

2 Look at these extracts. Add the name of the city where these events happened.

a) Nick Campbell sat at the side of the road and wondered what to do next. Atlanta

b) he had dreamt of crossing the United States.

c) he'd given up his job, sold his car and set off.

d) he had bought the Harley-Davidson for a very reasonable price ...

e) the old machine ran out of steam again.

f) the bike broke down yet again ...

Why are all the events that happened in Miami described in the past perfect?

IV)        Homework:

Complete each of these sentences with a verb in the past perfect to make up a story about Michael's journey to Moscow.

a) Michael was looking forward to his business trip to Moscow because __________________________________________________________________

b) He was late leaving the house because __________________________________________________________________

c) The traffic was very slow from his house to the airport because __________________________________________________________________

d) At the check-in he had to accept a seat at the back of the plane because __________________________________________________________________

e) The departure was delayed because __________________________________________________________________

f) As the plane was taking off, he suddenly remembered that __________________________________________________________________