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1
MISTAKES AND MYSTERIES
LESSON A

VOCABULARY
Life lessons

Correct the underlined mistakes in each sentence. Write the correct form of a verb from the
box after each sentence. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

aggravate avoid cause deal with identify ignore run into solve

1. Jim said I solved the problem with my tablet when I spilled water on it.
caused
2. Grace didn’t pay her credit card bill last month. When she didn’t pay it
again this month, she only ran into her debt problem.

3. I always ask Kate for help with math. She can ignore any problem.

4. Tim’s report was late. He aggravated problems with his computer that
he didn’t expect.

5. John caused his weight problem for years. Now he can’t fit into any of
his clothes!

6. Mike has many problems with his projects at work, so he often stays
late to identify them.

7. My brother is an amazing auto mechanic. He can look at a car’s engine

and ignore what is causing problems.

8. Pedro identifies problems with computer viruses by updating his

antivirus software every week.

2 GRAMMAR
Choose the past modal or phrasal modal of obligation that best completes each sentence.

1. I wasn’t supposed to / had to give Mr. Lee my phone when he caught me texting
in class.

2. Eve was worried that she needed to / didn’t have to pass her exam to graduate.

3. Frank didn’t have to / was supposed to take his grandmother to the store, but he
wanted to.

4. I needed to buy / shouldn’t have bought these boots, but they were on sale!

5. Bob was supposed to / didn’t need to bring dessert to the party, but he brought
an appetizer instead.

6. I didn’t need to / was supposed to clean my apartment before my friend arrived,

but I didn’t have time.

LESSON A Life lessons 7

 3 GRAMMAR
Complete the email with the past modals and phrasal modals of obligation in the box.
Use each modal only once.

didn’t have to had to needed to should have shouldn’t have was supposed to

New Message

Hey Ally,
I (1) was supposed to pick up my brother at practice yesterday,
but I forgot. Well, I didn’t forget . . . I went to the café instead.
I (2) ___________________ go, but I wanted to see you guys.
I (3) thought about my brother, but I didn’t. When
my mom discovered that my brother (4) walk
home alone, she got upset with me. She said I (5)
forgotten about my brother. So now she doesn’t trust me. She said I
(6) think about my responsibilities and behave
more responsibly to regain her trust. Anyway, this means I won’t be
able to go on the trip with you guys this weekend. I’m so frustrated!
Gigi

4 GRAMMAR
Use past modals and phrasal modals of obligation to write a sentence for each situation.

1. make a left turn instead of a right turn 2. hand in a research paper today
I should have made a left turn
instead of a right turn.

3. pick up a friend from the airport 4. not eat a big lunch

8 UNIT 2 Mistakes and mysteries

5 WRITING
A Look at the brainstorming notes and add two more ideas to each category.

Apologizing for being late

to an appointment
 

 

 



 

 



   

   



    



   

 
  







B Complete the sentences with ideas from your brainstorming notes.

1. You need to when you apologize.
2. You shouldn’t when you apologize.

C Choose one of the sentences you completed above and brainstorm

supporting ideas for its topic. Then write a paragraph based on your
brainstorming notes.

You shouldn’t make excuses when you apologize. You have to simply say you are
sorry. For example, if you are late for an appointment, you should never say you were
confused about the meeting time. Next, you shouldn’t say your directions were bad.
In addition, you shouldn’t blame public transportation for your lateness. . . .

LESSON A Life lessons 9

 LESSON B I can’t explain it!

1 GRAMMAR
Underline the modals in the sentences. Then write C for modals expressing degrees of
certainty or O for modals expressing obligation, advice, or opinion.
C 1. Some people are certain the boats and airplanes
that have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle
must have vanished due to human error.
Bermuda
2. Others believe the boats and airplanes that
disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle could have
been affected by supernatural forces.

3. The people who vanished should have planned

their route more carefully to avoid entering the
Bermuda Triangle.
Florida
4. Experts say the people who got lost in the Bermuda
Triangle must not have been prepared for strong Puerto Rico
water currents and changing weather patterns.

5. While many people have successfully navigated

through the Bermuda Triangle, there are others
who shouldn’t have tried, as they are now missing.

2 GRAMMAR
Choose the phrase that best completes each sentence.

THE BLOG SPACE August 31

I just watched a documentary about the princess who died in a mysterious car accident.
It was so interesting – everyone (1) should watch / should have been watching it. The
princess was too young and smart to die in such an awful accident. Many people feel
that she (2) shouldn’t have gone / may not have been going in the car that night. Anyway,
the documentary said there are many theories about how the car accident happened.
Some people think the car’s brakes (3) might have been tampered / should have tampered
with. Others believe that the princess’s driver (4) should have caused / could have caused
the accident. Some even think the princess (5) could have been kidnapped / could have
kidnapped. The police never figured out what really happened. I’m not sure what to believe,
but there (6) shouldn’t have been / must have been a way to solve this mystery!

Comments (4)

10 UNIT 2 Mistakes and mysteries

3 GRAMMAR
Use modals expressing degrees of certainty and your own ideas to write about
the following situations.

1. Your friend got the highest grade on a difficult English exam.

He must have studied really hard. It’s also possible the test may have been too easy.

2. You don’t hear from your best friend for several days.

3. Your favorite jacket isn’t in your closet.

4. You see some very large footprints while walking in the park.

4 VOCABULARY
Use the verbs of belief in the box to write a sentence about each topic.

assume be sure figure know for a fact

be certain bet guess suppose
be positive doubt have a hunch suspect

1. Elephants are the world’s smartest animals.

I am sure that elephants are the world’s
smartest animals.

2. There is a monster that lives in Loch Ness in Scotland.

3. Global warming is causing changes in worldwide weather patterns.

4. People eat bananas more than any other fruit in the world.

5. Some pyramids were built more than 2,000 years ago.

6. Dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid that caused changes in the climate.

LESSON B I can’t explain it! 11

 5 READING
A Read the article quickly to find the answers to the questions.
1. When did the British couple go on vacation?
2. Who gave the couple directions to Spain?

Hotel Time Warp

T he idea of traveling backward or forward through time
has long been a favorite subject of books, movies, and TV
shows. Although some scientists suspect that it may actually
be possible, no one has invented a way to make it happen.
However, many people have reported traveling in time.

One famous story is about a British couple who were vacationing

in France in 1979. They were looking for a place to stay for the
night and noticed a sign for an old circus. They found a hotel
nearby and discovered that almost everything inside the
hotel was made of heavy wood and there were no modern
conveniences such as telephones or TVs. Furthermore, their room
doors did not have locks, and the windows had wooden shutters
instead of glass. In the morning, two police officers entered the
hotel wearing old-fashioned uniforms with capes. After getting
confusing directions from the officers to Spain, the couple paid
their amazingly inexpensive hotel bill and left.
Two weeks later, the couple returned to France and decided to stay at the odd, but very cheap, hotel
again. This time, however, the hotel was nowhere to be found. Positive that they were in the exact same
spot because of the circus posters, the couple realized that the hotel had completely vanished. Even more
confusing, they found that the photographs they had taken inside the hotel did not develop. Later, their
research uncovered that the French officers had been wearing uniforms dating from before 1905.
Researchers analyzing these events call them “time slips” and believe that they must happen randomly and
spontaneously. However, researchers cannot explain why, when, or how they occur. But when they do occur,
people are so bewildered and confused that they can barely explain what happened to them, even though
they are sure they have experienced some sort of time travel.

B Read the article again. Choose the statements you think the author would
agree with.
1. Time travel is not a favorite subject of books, movies, and television shows.
2. Few people have reported traveling through time.
3. Scientists have invented a way to make time travel happen.
4. People who experience time slips do not remember the experience afterwards.
5. It is not known why, when, or how time slips occur.
6. Many people believe they have traveled through time.

12 UNIT 2 Mistakes and mysteries