Funnily enough we are all dealing with the skills that allow
us to tell a story in an interesting way. In the process we have learnt some
stimulating vocabulary (silver bullet, major, page-turner) as well as some useful phrasal verbs (come down with something, get away with something, look up to somebody, look down on somebdoy). But since the
main focus of the current lessons is the art of storytelling I’m going to ask
you to consider the differences between these two versions of a story that one
of you told at school.
The bare bones version
I read about a man and a woman from
America who were building a house. The woman thought she was sick and went to
see a doctor. After some tests, the doctor told her she had cancer. It was
extremely surprising for the man and the woman but they decided to continue
building the house. Now she is getting better and she thinks that building the
house helped her face her problem. There is always something positive in
negative situations.
This is certainly not perfect but
looks a lot better:
Just last week I read a story
about an American couple who agreed to build the house of their dreams
themselves. One day the woman, who had been feeling sick for some time, decided
to see a doctor about some chest pains. After running some tests the doctors
asked her to come back. Eventually she was diagnosed with cancer, which came as
a shock to both her and her husband. However they chose to focus their
attention on the house they were building. She is now gradually recovering and they
both live in the house they built together. She is convinced that she wouldn’t
have known how to handle the situation if they hadn’t had a project like the
house. Apparently it is true that every cloud has a silver lining.
You see the differences? Now you know what to do. The next
time you feel the need to say something like I thought Mr. Sheil’s behavior
was bad make an effort to come up with something along the lines of It was
then that I realized how unprofessional Mr. Sheil had been. Just an example.
Avanzado 1 and Avanzado 2. Remember the essay I asked you to
write. You’re supposed to discuss your views on the following statement: Most
people waste their leisure time on meaningless activities. Don’t forget it is
due next Friday.
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