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ReadingComprehensionandgradedactivities PreIntermediate
TeensGrammar:SimplePastirregular
pastprogressive,passive,relativeclauses
IfyouhaventheardofBigCornIslandintheCaribbeanSea,youmayfindthisstoryquite
interesting. Firstofall,
itsabeautifulplace.Manypeoplesaythatparadise isfoundon
Cornisland,andIthinktheyareright.
Itisfullofpalmandfruittreesandissurroundedby
whitebeachesanddeepbluewater.Butthehistoryoftheisland,filledwithmysteryand
adventure,
is
what
makes
Big
Corn
island
a
special
place.
History
tells
us
that
in
the
17
th
centurytheislandwasagreatplaceforpiratesandbuccaneers.Therewereanumberof
shipwrecks,andpeoplebelievethatsometreasuresstilllayscatteredalongtheshores.A
400yearoldSpanishship,which liesunderwateratWaulaPoint,keeps
thehopeofa
hiddentreasurealive.
IwenttoBigCorn islandwithagroupofstudents
lastsummerforourannualtrip. The
weatherwasextremelyhot,butwedecidedtoexploretheislandanyway.
Wedividedup
intothreegroups:onegroup,ledbyJohn,wouldvisittheSpanishwreck;asecondgroup,
ledbyGlenda,wouldtryto findsomeunusualobjectsamong the
rocksunderthesea;
andthethirdgroupwouldseethecoralformationcalledBlowingRockwithme.At5p.m.
everybodyhad
to
be
back
and
get
ready
for
dinner.
Atdinnertimeeveryonewassilent.
Nobodytalkedabouttheexcursionsoractivitieson
theisland.NeitherdidI. FinallyGlendabrokethesilenceandsaid:
Wewereswimming
whenwesawtwopeoplerowing,buttherewasNOboat!Johndidntseemsurprisedand
added, Maybewe are all having visions,becausewe saw two people
appearing and
disappearing."Inoddedandsaid,Andwewerelookingatthebeautifulcoralformations
whenwesawacarwithnowheelscrossingthesea!"
Averypolitemanwhowassittingnearuscameuptousand
introducedhimselfasDr
Lemark,
a
scientist
from
a
well
known
institute
of
technology.
He
explained
that
inside
a
pyramidneartheseatherewasahightechlab.Thepeoplewesawwerescientiststrying
outtheir
inventions.Thescientistwentontoexplainthefacts,notvisions,thatwehad
experiencedearlierintheafternoon.ThepopupmanJohnsawwasactuallywearingan
opticalcamouflagecoatthatmakesanyonewearing
itseemtodisappear.The"invisible
boat"was actually a transparent kayak, designed for observing
underwater life while
rowing.Andthe"flyingcar"wasaninnovativevehiclethatturns
intoaboatforcrossing
riversandlakes.Finally,wealllaughedandwentontalkingwiththisamazinginventorfor
hours.Thenweallagreed that the treasurewe found inCorn
islandwasmeeting this
wonderfulmanandhavingthechancetoexperiencethefuturebeforeithappens.
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AReadingComprehensionactivity1Orderthesentencesaccordingtowhatyouread.1___Thethreestudentsgottogetherfordinner,buteverbodywasquiet.
2___Agroupofstudentsvisitedtheislandontheirannualschooltrip.
3___Piratesandbucanneerslookedforhiddentreasureintheshipwrecksinthe17thc.
4___Ascientistprovidedalogicalexplanationtothestrangeeventsthestudentssawon
differentpartsoftheisland.
5a
BigCornisabeautifulislandinNicaragua.6___Theschoolkids,dividedintothreegroups,sawstrangeeventswhileexploringtheisland.
7___Thestudentsexploredtheislandinspiteofthehotweather.
8____ThestudentsweregladtoknowaboutDrLemarksinventionsandtheyall
enjoyedtalking
withhim.
B.Morechallengingactivity1Readandfindthewordsthatdescribe:1
theisland: beautiful,mysterious.
2thevegetation:fullof________
3thewaters:____
4thebeaches:____
5Spanishshipwreck:____
6Theweather:_____
7Dinnertime:_____
8DrLemark:______
2Completethethreestrangeeventsthestudentssawwhileexploringtheisland.9
Amanwas______________
10Twopeoplewere____________and_________
11Acar withnowheelswas_______________
12LaterDrLemark____thestudentsareasonableexplanationtothestrangeevents.
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CMostchallengingactivityWritethemysteryandthelogicalexplanationtothethreemysteriousevents.DearMrMansfield,WeareinBigCornislandinNicaragua.ItisoneofthemostbeautifulislandsIveeverseen.AsascienceteacheryoullbeveryinterestedinwhatImgoingtotellyou.Lastweekendwewere(1)______theisland,dividedinthreegroups.Asyoucanimagine,Johnwantedtoseethe(2)______buriedfor400yearsunderwater,soweallwenttherewhenwesawtwopeople(3)_____and(4)______asiftheywereghosts.Youmustthinkwealllostourminds,butGlendawhowasinanothergroup,sawtwopeople(5)______butwithouta(6)_______.Youllcertainlybelieveourteacherwhosawacarwithoutwheels(7)_____thesea.Later,atdinner,apolitescientistapproachedus.Canyoubelievethatthereisa(8)____onthisislandwherescientists,ledbyDrLemark,tryouttheirfuturisticinventions?Johnwasgladtoknowthepeoplewerenotdisappearingbutjustwearinganoptical(9)________whichgivestheimpressionthepersonwearingitvanishesintothinair.GlendawasveryinterestedinDrLermarksdetailsaboutthenewtransparent(10)____designedtosee(11)_____life.Andourteacherwasmorethanhappywhenherealizedhehadseenacarwhichautomaticallytransformeditselfintoa(12)____tocrossriversandlakes.IthinkyoushouldpackyourbagsandtraveltoBigCornisland.Youvegottoseethis!Withbestregards,Antonio
Scrolldowntoseetheanswerkey
