Unit 2: Hidden talents
Present perfect continuous
Select a unit
- 1 Pop-ups
- 2 Hidden talents
- 3 Can't buy me love
- 4 Travellers' tales
- 5 The colleague from hell
- 6 Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
- 7 Career changes
- 8 Art
- 9 Project management
- 10 The dog ate my homework!
- 11 The diary of a double agent
- 12 Fashion forward
- 13 Flat pack skyscrapers
- 14 Extreme sports
- 15 Food fads
- 16 Me, my selfie and I
- 17 Endangered animals
- 18 A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
- 19 I'm really sorry...
- 20 Telling stories
- 21 Fakes and phrasals
- 22 Looking to the future
- 23 Becoming familiar with things
- 24 From rags to riches
- 25 Against the odds
- 26 Our future on Mars?
- 27 Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
- 28 Dodgy dating
- 29 Annoying advice
- 30 I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks
Session 3
Have you ever dreamt of being a singing superstar? What do you think about contestants on talent shows? In this session we're going to hear from three hopefuls who have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time!
Activity 1
'I've been waiting for this moment my whole life'
Have you been practising?
Many people dream of fame and fortune. They sign up for reality television or radio programmes and try to impress the judges with their singing talent. Maybe you have even dreamt of this yourself? Talent shows like this attract a lot of different people. We're going to meet three of them: Bobbi, Judy and Tim.
Listen as the presenter Derek meets them and see if you can answer these questions:
- Who prepares for auditions in a strange way?
- Who is doing their audition for someone else?
- Who has a problem with the temperature?
Listen to the audio and complete the activity
Derek
OK, welcome back to Song Stars! We’re looking for the country's next singing sensation. I'm Derek O'Donnell and here, lining up for the auditions, are the contestants.
[SFX: cheering]
Derek
Hi, what's your name?
Bobbi
Er, Bobbi.
Derek
Bobbi, you're here to audition. How are you feeling?
Bobbi
Alright, I guess. I've been practising a lot.
Derek
Have you been waiting out here for long time, Bobbi?
Bobbi
Er, only just got here, really. It's a bit cold.
Derek
It is a bit nippy! So, how long have you been singing, Bobbi? Is it your passion? Would you die for it?
Bobbi
Since forever really. Yeah, I've been doing this for a long, long time.
Derek
Yeah, OK, good luck!
[SFX: singers warming up]
Derek
So, we're inside now. Everybody's getting ready to perform for our judges. And some of them have some rather unusual ways of warming up. Like here, we have... Hello, what's your name?
Judy
Judy.
Derek
Hi, Judy. Now you're about to go into the audition room and you're standing on your head?
Judy
Yeah, I am. I'm standing on my head.
Derek
Er, how long have you been standing on your head?
Judy
Probably about two hours now. It really helps me calm down before I go into an audition.
Derek
OK. Great. You just keep going there. Best of luck.
Judy
Thank you.
Derek
We're outside the audition room and I think, yes, someone is in there. They're about to get the judges' feedback.
A woman sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Judge
[In the distance] I didn't like it. I hated it. My gosh. You haven't been singing professionally, have you?!
Derek
Er. That didn't sound good. Anyway, here's...
Tim
Um, it's Tim.
Derek
Tim. Hi. How are you feeling?
Tim
A bit nervous, I guess.
Derek
What made you come and audition today?
Tim
It's for my family. They've been saying to me: "You know Tim, you should have a go."
Derek
So, this is for them! Brilliant.
Tim
Yeah, brilliant. But it's a bit sad really. Just before I came here, my parents broke up.
Derek
I'm sorry to hear that, Tim. How have you been dealing with it all?
Tim
OK, really. I mean... I can't back out now. Maybe my mum and dad will see this and they'll get back together.
Derek
Maybe! Are you ready?
Tim
Yeah. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life!
Derek
We're with you, Tim. Go in there. Knock the judges' socks off! Yeah.
Tim
OK. Thanks!
STING
Did you work out the answers to the three questions? Here they are:
- Who prepares for auditions in a strange way? Judy - she stands on her head.
- Who is doing their audition for someone else? Tim - he talks about his family.
- Who has a problem with the temperature? Bobbi - she feels cold.
To do
That was the Song Star auditions show. We hope you enjoyed it. How much can you remember? Try out this quiz!
Song Stars quiz
8 Questions
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
Who says they 'only just got here'?Question 1 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
Who has been practising a lot?Question 2 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
Who has been trying to calm down?Question 3 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
How long has she been standing on her head?Question 4 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
What does the word 'feedback' mean?Question 5 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
How do we make questions in the present perfect continuous?Question 6 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
Who has been saying: "Tim, you should have a go"?Question 7 of 8
Help
Activity
Who will be the next singing sensation? How much can you remember about our talent show contestants? Choose the correct answers for all these questions
Hint
What does 'knock the judges' socks off' mean?Question 8 of 8
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
End of Session 3
That's it for this session! We hope you enjoyed hearing from our singing hopefuls. Join us in Session 4 where you'll read about the future of TV talent show judges.
Session Grammar
-
Present perfect continuous tense
Meaning and use
To talk about an activity that started in the past and is continuing now or has recently finished.
- I’ve been reading that new book you lent me
Form - positive and negative
subject + have/has/haven’t/hasn’t + been + present participle of main verb
- He’s been revising all day
- I haven’t been drinking coffee recently
Form - question
- Have you been eating biscuits?
-
Session Vocabulary
sensation
(here) something or someone that causes great excitement or interestauditions
short performances, usually by actors, musicians or dancers, to show that they are right for a particular play, film or showcontestants
people who take part in a competitionnippy (informal)
coldwarming up
preparing for a performancefeedback
opinions or thoughts about something, usually intended to improve itknock the judges' socks off (idiom)
really impress the judges