Present simple vs. present continuous (Review) · Please photocopy this page for use in class. Helbling Languages 1 Unit 1 Worksheet Present simple vs. present continuous (Review)
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Benjamin Zephaniah is a writer from London and the author of Refugee Boy. In the following text he explains his reasons for writing the book. Read the text and discuss.
“It’s a hard life being labelled ‘political’. It seems that because I’m constantly ranting about the ills of the world I’m expected to have all the answers, but I don’t, and I’ve never claimed to, besides I’m not a politician. What interests me is people. When I hear politicians saying that we are being ‘flooded’ by refugees, I always remind myself that each ‘refugee’ is a person, a person who for some reason has left everything they know and love to find safety in a strange, and sometimes hostile country.
I wrote Refugee Boy because I realised that every day I was meeting refugees, and each one of them had a unique, and usually terrifying story to tell. I have seen refugee camps in Gaza, Montenegro and other places around the world but when I met Million and Dereje Hailemariam, two teenagers who were being denied asylum in Britain, I knew that I had to write a
story that would illustrate the suffering and the struggles that many asylum seekers have to endure. Million and Dereje’s parents feared for the lives of their boys, they did not want them to grow up in an environment where they would witness war on a daily basis. I have also met children whose parents were executed in front of them, or who themselves had been kidnapped and tortured. For Refugee Boy I borrowed from the many stories that I have heard and created a story that I believe many refugees would recognise. I would like to know that anyone who reads the book would think before they accuse refugees of looking for a free ride. We all want to live in peace, we all want the best for our families. The Celts, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jamaicans are all refugees of one sort or another. What kind of a refugee are you? And what are you scared of?”
For example: A: Hi Anne, would you like to go out on Saturday?B: No sorry, I can’t make it. I’m getting a manicure. A: What about Friday instead?B: I’m busy on Friday. I’m having my motorbike repaired.
Arranging a date – Causatives
Look at the planner below. Try to make an arrangement with a partner using the causative get or have in your answers.
1
Now fill in your plans for the week, but leave a day free. Walk around the class and arrange a date with a friend.
You love the Internet, social networking and playing computer games. Think of reasons why spending a lot of time on your computer is a good thing.
You are a parent.
Your teenage son / daughter hardly ever speaks to you anymore and he / she is always on social networks on the Internet. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You are a teacher.
You have mixed feelings about computers. You understand the advantages and disadvantages. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You are an older person.
You don’t really understand why teenagers sit at home playing games and surfing the Internet. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You love the Internet, social networking and playing computer games. Think of reasons why spending a lot of time on your computer is a good thing.
You are a parent.
Your teenage son / daughter hardly ever speaks to you anymore and he / she is always on social networks on the Internet. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You are a teacher.
You have mixed feelings about computers. You understand the advantages and disadvantages. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You are an older person.
You don’t really understand why teenagers sit at home playing games and surfing the Internet. Think of your opinion about teenagers spending so much time using computers.
You are in court for a crime that you have committed. Justify your actions in front of the jury (your classmates). Think of some imaginative excuses and a justification for your actions.
Role cards:
You were a bank manager and you robbed your own bank by hacking
into the computer.
You used public transport for years without ever buying a ticket.
You cheated at a casino and won huge amounts of money.
You attacked your husband / wife after an argument.
You were a politician and cheated the country of its wealth.
You cheated in your medical exams to become a doctor. Many of your
patients are even more ill now because of your actions.
You became extremely rich by selling weapons to other countries.
You found an illegal way to avoid paying tax on your savings.
You cheated old people out of their life savings by selling
them worthless property.
You deliberately sank an oil tanker in the sea so you could claim the insurance money. The pollution
You are a journalist and just got a call about a car chase and some shooting downtown. You are going to interview an eye-witness. Think of questions you can ask. Then interview the witness and write down his / her answers.
Eye-witness
You have just seen the most unbelievable thing. You were walking down the street when there was a lot of noise and commotion. Watch the movie clip and write down all of the things you see and hear. Then talk to the journalist.