Objectives & Sequence: This lesson is intended to be used as a review of Grammar - Past Passive.
Students work in pairs and open the corresponding pages below.
On each page, students are presented with two stories along with comprehension questions and answers. Students are to read their stories one at a time to their partners and then quiz them with the comprehension questions. Partners need to answer the comprehension questions, but they need to form answers in the passive voice. The students' answers should match the ones provided under each question.
Bear Attack
On Tuesday afternoon, Peter was getting his teeth cleaned at the dentist when he received a phone call from the local hospital. A nurse said that his father was there, lying in bed. A bear had attacked and almost killed him while he was hiking in the mountains. He was able to escape and get to the nearest road. A car drove by and the driver brought him to the hospital.
- What was happening to Peter when he received the phone call from the hospital?
- His teeth were being cleaned at the dentist.
- Why was Peter's father at the hospital?
- Because he had been attacked by a bear.
- How did Peter's father get to the hospital?
- He had been found on the road and driven there.
Shark In The Water
It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon. We were at the beach in front of our five-star resort. We had been there for a few days and had had a wonderful time so far. I was in the water learning how to surf with an instructor when suddenly, a loud alarm went off on the beach. The instructor immediately took my surfboard and told me that we had to go fast. He explained that the alarm meant that someone had seen a shark swimming nearby. For the next few days, we weren't allowed to go swimming or surfing in the water. The hotel staff had closed the beaches. Later, we found out that fishermen had found the shark and taken it back out into the ocean far away from the beaches. Luckily, it didn't have the chance to hurt me or anyone else.
- What was the writer doing when the alarm went off?
- He was being taught how to surf.
- Why was the alarm going off?
- Because a shark had been seen in the water.
- Why couldn't people go swimming in ocean?
- Because the beaches had been closed.
- Why did the writer feel that the situation was lucky?
- Because nobody had been hurt by the shark.
The Earthquake
My husband, Brian and I were sleeping in bed one Sunday night when our dog, Rex jumped on the bed to wake us up. About ten seconds later, our apartment began to shake. The three of us stayed in bed as our lamps and pictures hanging on the walls fell down onto the floor. Furniture started to move and crash around the room. The noise was incredibly loud from all this plus it sounded like at least twenty alarms were going off outside. One very long minute later, the shaking stopped.
The next day, we found out that twenty people in our city had died and that hundreds had been hurt. The earthquake had caused a lot of damage and several fires had completely destroyed some buildings in the older part of town.
- Did the shaking of the earthquake wake up the writer and her husband?
- No, they were woken up by their dog.
- What happened to the twenty people mentioned in the story?
- They were killed.
- What happened to some of the buildings in the older part of town?
- They were destroyed by fire.
The Bicycle
I love my bike so much. I ride it every day. I go everywhere with it. But, two weeks ago, while I was at school at night, someone stole it. It had been locked up, but they were able to cut the lock. When I called the police, they told me they had bigger problems to worry about and that I should find a new bike.
Because I didn't have money for a new bike, my only choice was to try to find my bike. I put information on Facebook and Twitter about my bike and I went to lots of different bike stores to put up posters with photos of stolen bikes. About two days later, one of my friends sent me an email. He had found an advertisement on Craigslist for a bike that looked exactly like mine. I immediately told the police about the ad and they were able to arrest the person selling the bike.
I have my bike back now, but I am pretty careful where I leave it.
- How was the bike stolen?
- The lock was cut.
- What did the writer's friend email him about?
- His bicycle was being sold on Craigslist.
- What happened to the person selling the bike?
- He was arrested.