English B1 Threshold

In this unit, you will learn how to use the past perfect tense using verb phrases
UNIT VIII: as well as Will and Going to with common verbs

Lesson 1: Talking about past situations

Can do: Talk about past experiences and events
Vocabulary: Verb phrases
Grammar: Past perfect

1 READING/SPEAKING

a. Read and listen to the text below.

A catastrophe picture
Alisson, Félix and Frank went to the art gallery in Managua last
weekend. They were amazed by the works which were displayed
there. It was the first time Alisson and Félix had been to an art
gallery. Frank had seen many art galleries before when he was in
Honduras. However, he hadn’t seen such an interesting one before.
They stayed there for about two hours. While they were visiting the
galleries, an artist came for a talk about his latest works. In the meantime, Alisson attended a
workshop in the basement. By the time Alisson’s workshop ended, Frank and Félix had already
got out of the talk with the artist. Then, they visited all the galleries and they saw a very interesting
picture of a neighborhood. Immediately, they realized they were looking at the place where they
actually live. The picture revealed the consequences after a catastrophe there. After they saw the
picture, they were really scared to see their neighborhood on a disaster like that.

b. Based on the text, number the events into the correct order.

a. ___ They saw a very interesting picture of a neighborhood.

b. ___ They were really scared.
c. _1_ Alisson, Félix and Frank went to the art gallery in Managua.
d. ___ Alisson attended a workshop in the basement.
e. ___ It was the first time Alisson and Félix had been to an art gallery.
f. ___ They were looking at the place where they actually live.
g. ___ Frank had seen many art galleries before.
h. ___ They stayed there for about two hours.
i. ___ An artist came for a talk about his latest works.

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c. Work in groups. Discuss the following questions with your classmates.

Why did Felix, Alisson and Frank visit an art gallery?

What was the surprise these people had at the gallery?
How did they feel at the end?
Would you like to visit an art galley? Why?
Do you think art can change the world? Why?

Past Perfect
Look at the example sentences with Past perfect
Go to grammar appendix
1. It was the first time Alisson and Félix had been
on page 153
to an art gallery.
2. Frank had seen many art galleries before.
3. Frank hadn’t seen such an interesting one
before.

2 LISTENING/SPEAKING

a. Listen and repeat the verb phrases.

1. invite (someone) to 2. have fun 3. prepare a lesson 4. arrive early 5. be late

have dinner plan

6. break a glass 7. lend money 8. get a reward 9. borrow a book 10. catch a ball

11. fail a test 12. get a present 13. write articles 14. lose the keys 15. repair the car

16. pull the door 17. Improve your 18. turn the mobile off 19. get fit 20. push the button
mindset

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b. Listen to the audio about the annual dancing competition of the city and number the
sentences into the correct order.

a. ___ Their friends had never seen Nahisha and Alexander dancing.
b. ___ Nahisha said she had never practiced so hard before.
c. ___ They danced in the salsa category.
d. ___ They had practiced for eight months
e. _1_ Nahisha and Alexander participated in the annual competition.
f. ___ They had never danced in front of anyone before.
g. ___ They were very good.
h. ___ It was a surprise for everyone there.
i. ___ She was glad they had practiced a lot.
j. ___ Nahisha and Alexander’s friends and family were in the audience.

3 SPEAKING

a. Look at the speaking cards below and discuss your answer with your classmates.

What languages had you What had your hobbies What had you heard about
wanted to learn before you been before you turned 15? this school before you chose
started learning English? to come here?

What had your dream job What places had you Before you moved out of home,
been before you left high visited before the what had your thoughts been
school? Why? pandemic? about living alone?

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 Unit VIII - Lesson 1: Talking about past situations

b. Work in pairs. Match the statements from student A with the answers from student B. Then,
practice the statements orally.
Student A: Read a statement from your box.
Student B: Answer with the correct response from your box.

Student A Student B
1. I was homesick the whole time I was ____ No, I'd read the book, so I already knew
living in England. the story.
2. My uncle had three sons from his first ____ That's a pity. Hadn't you stayed there
marriage. before?
3. Were you surprised by the ending of the
film? ____ Why? Had you left your passport at
home?
4. I met my girlfriend's parents for the first
time last Saturday. ____ Really? I didn't know he'd been married
before.
5. I went to the airport, but I couldn't get on
the plane. ____ Why? Had you heard it before?
6. The hotel where I stayed on holidays
____ Really? I thought you'd met them before.
was terrible.
7. I didn't laugh at his joke. ____ That's really sad. Had you never lived
abroad before?

c. Work in groups. Look at the pictures and discuss what had happened?

1. Ana was crying. What had happened?

2. Lucas couldn't remember his name and where he was.

3. Estefania was holding her high-heel shoe going back home.

4. Alex was at the gym.

5. Mario was sitting in a cell at the local police station.

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4 WRITING

a. Complete the following statements with Past perfect.

e.g.
When I got to the station, the train had already left.

1. I didn't recognize her at first because_____________________________

2. Unfortunately, we got to the cinema after__________________________
3. Sofia went to visit her when____________________________________
4. When the police arrived, ______________________________________
5. Robert had lunch after________________________________________
6. My new job wasn't exactly what_________________________________
7. My husband couldn't make a sandwich because____________________

b. Write a story about how a normal person became a hero. Make sure to include a title,
narrative tenses and specific details.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Remember TIP How to write a narrative story?

Narrative is a writing that tells a story with
Tittle: Relates to the story and grabs the
a sequence of events, (the plot). Also, it has reader’s attention.
characters and a setting as well as a narrator Orientation: Introduces the characters
or person. and describes the setting.
• Use the past continuous (was raining, Complication: The problem in the story.
was watching) to set the scene. Resolution: The solution to the problem.
• Use the simple past (heard, got up, Ending: What has come from the
etc.) to say what happened. experience?
• Use the past perfect (had knocked, had
disappeared) to say what happened
before the previous past action.

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 Unit VIII - Lesson 2: Talking about predictions and decisions

Lesson 2: Talking about predictions and decisions

Can do: Talk about future events
Vocabulary: Common verbs
Grammar: Will and going to

1 LISTENING/READING/WRITING

a. Listen and repeat the common verbs vocabulary.

1. sew 2. snore 3. weep 4. crawl

5. pursue 6. blow 7. stink 8. fold

9. sell 10. feed 11. peel 12. hide

13. steal 14. relieve 15. dig 16. wave

17. stack 18. pull 19. serve 20. cling

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b. Read and listen to Javier's weekend plans. Then, fill in the blanks using will or going to.

Next Saturday, ____________________ at home all day

cleaning my apartment. I know it sounds pretty boring, but
my apartment is a bit messy and it is time to clean it up. At
night, _______________ to the cinema with my girlfriend, a
romantic movie is currently playing, so I am planning a special
date with her. On Sunday, I have some interesting plans too.
_________________ my friends at the soccer field, we have an
important match against the best team of the competition and
surely we need to win. In the afternoon, __________________
to the market in order to buy some groceries, my family and I
are planning a barbecue in my uncle's house. We think to play
music, have some drinks and a great family time. However, the
best part of the day _________ at night because I have two of
tickets for a rock concert. My favorite band is performing here
in Managua, so I think _________ with my girlfriend and some
friends to sing along and jam around. Oh God!______________
a memorable weekend.

c. Listen again and write Javier's future plans in the correct box.

Saturday's activities Sunday's activities

Javier will probably stay at home all day

cleaning his apartment on Saturday.

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2 READING/SPEAKING

a. Read and listen to an article about how our life will be in 2030. Then, underline the simple
future statements.

What will life be in 2030?

Technologically, the 20-year jump from 2010 to 2030 will be huge.

Back in 1995 we were in the early days of the internet. There were
no touch screen phones or flat screen TVs; people laughed at the
idea of reading electronic books, and watching a home movie
meant loading a clunky cassette into your VCR.

So, what does the future hold for the food we eat, the technology
we use and the lifestyle we have? It would be tempting to roll out the
clichés; food pills, flying cars and bases on the moon but the reality
will probably be less exciting. The world in 2030 will probably be
like it is today, but smarter and more automatic. Some innovations
we might not notice, while others will knock us sideways, changing
our lives forever.
What food could be like? The next major food revolution will be
vertical agriculture in which we grow food in vertical buildings
rather than horizontal land: hydroponic plants for fruits and
vegetables. This change is already happening. Green Spirit
Farms grows spinach and other greens under LED lights in an
old plastics factory near Chicago.

What about work? Experts suggest we will see a return to more vibrant local communities in the
future as people will work within walking distance of their homes. Rather than the office, people
will work from a remote workspace, specific places will be use by employees from many different
companies and within each will be rooms filled with giant wall-sized screens allowing us to work
in a fully virtual model.
Surely some of this might happen or none of it. However, technology will get smaller, smarter
and cheaper. Actually, it will be a fact that we’ll be able to put computers and sensors into almost
anything. We’re on the road where everything will be connected, not only to the internet but
also to one another. However, no one can predict the future, but it can still be a good idea to be
prepared for yours.

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b. Talk about the future. Discuss the following questions in class.

1. How do you think will be the world in 2030?

2. Do you think technology will make our life easier?
3. How do you think will be education in 2030?
4. How do you think economy will change in the future?
5. Do you think artificial intelligence will replace human
intelligence?

Look at the example sentences with Will and Going to.

1. Technologically, the 20-year jump from 2010 to Will and Going to
2030 will be huge.
2. The next major food revolution will be vertical Go to grammar appendix
agriculture. on page
3. We will see a return to more vibrant local communities in the future as people will work
within walking distance of their homes.
4. Technology will get smaller, smarter and cheaper.

3 SPEAKING

a. Work in groups, look at the picture and predict Frank’s future.

2016
2014 2019

2009
2020

Frank’s Future
2053
2024

2042 2030

2035 2034

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 Unit VIII - Lesson 2: Talking about predictions and decisions

b. Work in groups, observe each picture and make as many predictions as possible.

a. b. c. d. e. f.

4 WRITING / SPEAKING

a. Work in pairs, ask questions about your classmate's week plans. Complete the notes writing
his/her answer for each day.

e.g.
Student A: What are you going to do on Monday?
Student B: Maybe I will visit my sister in Esteli on Monday, and you?

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday

b. Discussion. Talk about your classmate's week plans. What activities will he/she do? What do
you think about his/her week plans?

c. Write a paragraph about your future plans.

e.g.
In the future, I'll have my own house and a beautiful car. Also, I'm going to study hard in
order to graduate from my major and finally get my dream job as well as I'll learn to play a
musical instrument, I think it will be the guitar because…

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REVIEW

1. READING/LISTENING

Read and listen to Buffet's story. Then, complete the text using the verbs in parenthesis and the
simple past or past perfect tense.

Waren Buffet, the second richest man in the

world has given almost all his $44 billion
fortune away. Buffet _____________ (buy)
shares before he ________ (be) 12 years old,
and by the time he _________ (be) 14, he
____________ (make) his first purchase of
land. After he _____________ (complete) his
master degree at Columbia Business School,
he ___________ (begin) his own investment
partnership in 1956. Buffet's wife was going
to surprise his charity work with donations,
but she ___________ (die) in 2004. They _____________ (not live) together since 1977.
Buffet had given his fortune to a charity run by the world's richest man, Bill Gates. Once Gates
____________ (make) a fortune with Microsoft, he (set up) the Gates foundation. Before he
__________ (be) 50, Gates ___________ (give) $26 billion to charity. The Gates Foundation
is now the biggest charitable trust in the world.

Read the text again. Then, write true or false.

1. Waren Buffet is the world's richest man ____

2. Buffet became a billionaire at the age of 12 ____
3. Buffet's wife died in 2004 ____
4. Buffet and his wife stayed together until the last day she was alive ____
5. Buffet had given his fortune to a charity run by Bill Gates ____
6. The Gates Foundation is now the biggest charitable in the world. ____

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2. LISTENING / SPEAKING
Listen to the message Jacob left in his brother’s voice mail. Then, write true or false the
statements below.

1. Katherine and Jacob are going to travel to South America. ___

2. The flight leaves on Tuesday at eight in the morning. ___
3. They’re going to spend six weeks there. ___
4. They’re going to swim through the sacred valley to Machu Picchu. ___
5. Jacob will ask Katherine to marry him there. ___
6. They have saved enough money for three years. ___
7. Jacob and Katherine have planned averything carefully. ___
8. They’re going to buy strong backpacks and a lot of water. ___

3. WRITING

Listen to Jacob again and answer his message by writing an email about your summer plans.

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