Close menu
20

Unit 20: Telling stories
Narrative tenses

Select a unit

  1. 1 Pop-ups
  2. 2 Hidden talents
  3. 3 Can't buy me love
  4. 4 Travellers' tales
  5. 5 The colleague from hell
  6. 6 Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
  7. 7 Career changes
  8. 8 Art
  9. 9 Project management
  10. 10 The dog ate my homework!
  11. 11 The diary of a double agent
  12. 12 Fashion forward
  13. 13 Flat pack skyscrapers
  14. 14 Extreme sports
  15. 15 Food fads
  16. 16 Me, my selfie and I
  17. 17 Endangered animals
  18. 18 A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
  19. 19 I'm really sorry...
  20. 20 Telling stories
  21. 21 Fakes and phrasals
  22. 22 Looking to the future
  23. 23 Becoming familiar with things
  24. 24 From rags to riches
  25. 25 Against the odds
  26. 26 Our future on Mars?
  27. 27 Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
  28. 28 Dodgy dating
  29. 29 Annoying advice
  30. 30 I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks

Session 4

Your friend tells you that he got on a bus one day - and Justin Bieber was the driver! What do you say? Learn expressions to use when you hear surprising information

Sessions in this unit

12345

Session 4 score

0 / 14

  • 0 / 7
    Activity 1
  • 0 / 7
    Activity 2
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2

Activity 1

Expressions of surprise and disbelief

Brian's incredible life

Meet Brian. He's one of those people whose life is full of incredible events – like the time he got on a bus to college one morning and Justin Bieber was the driver! Or the time he went to Paris and climbed all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower because he couldn't afford a ticket. Or the time… hmm, perhaps Brian's just a liar…

Here's a conversation between Brian and his friend Ken. Most of the things he says are surprising, but not all of them.

To do

Listen to Brian talking about his amazing life to Ken. Listen to Ken's responses and pay attention to the way Ken responds. Mostly, he's expressing surprise - but not always! Then, test your understanding of this language in the quiz.

Learning tip: This is a listening activity - so don't read the transcript until after you've tried the activity!

Listen to the audio and complete the activity

Show transcript Hide transcript

1. Brian
I was waiting for the bus to college - same as every morning – but when I got on and went to show the driver my bus pass, I noticed that it was Justin Bieber driving the bus.

Ken
No way!

2. Brian
I didn't have enough money for a ticket for the Eiffel Tower so I just climbed up instead – right to the top! 

Ken
Get out of here!

3. Brian
Did you know I once swam across the Atlantic Ocean?

Ken
You're kidding!

4. Brian
I had a pizza for lunch.

Ken
Really?

5. Brian
I won the lottery and am going to buy an island in the Caribbean.

Ken
Are you for real?

6. Brian
It's my sister's birthday tomorrow.

Ken
Oh yeah?

7. Brian
I just ate a kilo of raw chili peppers.

Ken
You're not serious.

Downloads

You can download the programme and transcript from our Unit 20 Downloads page.

What did Ken say?

7 Questions

Read what Brian said - then choose the phrase Ken used to express his surprise.

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Next

How did you get on? In the next activity, we'll give you some more information about these expressions of disbelief.

You'll also learn how important intonation is when you use them - that's how the tone of your voice affects the meaning of what you're saying.

Download centre

Latest course content