11 The pictures below are from a story entitled “Rescued!” Try to put them in the correct order, then listen to the cassette and check your answers. Finally, retell the story in your own words. fo A nasrative can be writen inthe frst oF the third person and descrives a series of events, either imaginary or based on your own experience. A good narrative should consist of an introduction in which you set the scene (people involved, time, place) in an Interesting way to catch the reader's attention and make him{her want to ‘continue reading your story; b) main body consisting of two or more paragraphs in which you develop your story; and ©) aconclusion in which you can refer to people's feelings, comments and reactions or consequences. The more unpredictable your conclusion is, the longer lasting the improscion it will mako on the reador. This type of wrting can be found in novels, articles, witness statements, et. | Points to consider | | | | | © You should never start writing your story beore you have decided on plo. | © Sequence of events is very imprint Use time words suchas: at it belore, ie pi | unt, while, during, then, ater, finaly, et. | © Use of various adjectives (disgusted, exhilarating, etc) and adverbs (learessly, | " Me main event and (he ulprisinyly, et) tu deoutbe felinys and ations, as well as use of iveut spocch | Ye Asef in deal) and a varity of verbs, will make your story more exciting to read. ‘© Be careful withthe tenses you choose. You can use Past Continuous to set the scene (2.9 It was raining hard and the wind was blowing as Jonathan drove | Cenelusion i ‘towards the smal cottage), Past Simple to describe the main events ofthe stor is 08), r ry falta (ey. Jonattian opened the garden gate and went through the garden towards the front door. He knocked on the door but there was no answer.) or Past Perfect to give the background of the stary (e.9. Jonathan had been planning to visit the old Coltage for months before he was able o do so). Present and past participles can also be used. e.g. Startled, he went round the house towards the back door. I ore eg rene eeneatantcee ‘© Descriptions of people, places, objecte or events and descriptive techniquos can be ‘eople’s reactions, feelings. Used in a narrative when you want to emiphasise specific parts of your narration. coments) End the story 21Unit 6 Narratives - Stories 2 Read the model below, which begins with the words “Sleep tight, Scotte,”.. and write down the topic of each paragraph. In which person is the story written? Underline the parts of the story where descriptive techniques are employed. Underline the time words, adjectives, adverbs and direct speech, Has the writer used a variety of adjectives and adverbs, or are the same words used several times? “Sleep tight, Scotti.” his mother said as she kissed him goodnight and tumed of the light. As soon as she had closed the door behind fer, Scott se ft aelegp. Ho war complatlyashaosted afta spending the hole iternoon assembling his new tran set and then watching it 0 round the tracks and trough the tunnels. Sudden ball of iant yellow ight shot past the window. Scott woke with a start wen the bal ‘eee his tan. Tn at was so bight that he had to shut his eyes. ‘When he opened them, he sawa strange, litle man, about afoot tal, with orange skin and huge blue eyes. Siu not dhe tease bic inightened, said ina friendly voice, “Hello, 'm Scott, Who are you?” The miniaiure man sac nothing, but picked up a battery trom the Luntidy heap of toys onthe loo. He started running around te room, pointing ugenty tthe rest of Scott's toys. "What do you want” asked Sot, who was puzzled. The man began shaking the battery frantically, and Scot realised that that woe what he wanted. Scott opened all hic taye took aut the batteries and piled them on the floor. mmeclately gathering up all the batterce the litle man leapt onto the window il emild warmly at Scott and disappeared. When Scott woke up the next moming, he thought ebout his unusual dream. He stared at his tran set before jumping out of bed ‘and tying to switch icon. Nothing happened. Then Scot weived that it had no bateries..and there were no batteries in any of his other toys either. 3) Which of the following beginnings and endings are more interesting? Why? Techniques to begin or end a story Oe ee OE OLNNINGS. should make your reader want fo go on with your ator. A good onding wil make your reader feel satisfied ‘A woke up edt ot ofa i. uted. |had a shower, _ ate break aster Roepe ¥ You can start your story by: ‘a, deserbing weather, suroundings, people, et. using the cones using direct speech Bight ming sunt shone twowh my . asking a metorcal question (a question which expects no answer) hu wn nel he at d._creating mystery or suspense can an oral it lit r moods stepped un (eee erage rel cafes ete rh tom ran You can end your story by a. using drect speech b._roforing to your foalnge or moode aantteen ‘c. describing people's reactions to the events developed in the main body ES Isiammed ei cree efor tm eI @. asking a rhetorical question - a nd though E e WY MOP ‘Note that mare than one technique can be used in the beginning or ending your story. {BAL teat was home again, and soan wert 19 bed, had been ating day. 2BUnit G Narratives - Stories /. sSmplistic acjacives or adverbs (2g. good bad nice, wel etc) as these will make your compostion sound uninteresting. Try to use more sophisticated adjectives or adverbs (e.g. inuricus, extravagant, threatoninaly, lc) which will make your composition more exciting to read. A variety of verbs (0. murmur. whisner- mutter instead of say") will make your story more Bvely. eg. “Hide,” he murmured and puta smal box into my hand. (instead of ‘saic!) ‘She was wandering the sirestscimlossiy, tying to make a decision. (instead of walking’) lela eer pu erijectiees ne ferris com Ketmsed instead of ather simplistic ones. Put them into the correct box. Can you think of any more words? absolutely, delightful, enormous, entirely, horrible, massive, miniature, microscopic, super terrific, uuroughly, horrifying, extremely, giguntic, tiny, nasty, disgusting, huge, terrible, wonderful, unpleasant, fabulous Bie ] ee | SHALL | very | i) GOODINICE Now replace the words in bold in the following paragraphs with suitable words from the boxes above. rantain inthe middle > The I bigold castle stood at the top of a) a vs es ca eh i Twas 4) very tisified a Tapp noi E a i nt = a §) bad scream from the ca ip Bs a Se my nih the 6) big front door, has I knocked on st hneart as in my mout! es feet behind the doo ote 667 a I ge wanted 0 rn ey 10; LS rats n y ‘austed, and had to find somewher to sleep for the night. exhausted, ane somewhere t0 si i exhausted, w nt i stars were a and after a(n) 2) nice sunset the Te was a(n) 1) nice evening, i sy very) i i y “¢s(n) 4) nice end 10 2(0) ‘small paints of lit in the sky sas) VO i r Berk tiowsht to himself; and after the i a Sore posed reas) pleased to breathe a(n) 9) big si ; 10) bad memories behind bim _ ote ee 10 The adverbs below describe Adie way a persum aight speak or act, Explain what each adverb means, then choose suitable words from the list to complete the sentences. sarcastically, angrily, ‘threateningly, frantically, hurriedly, miserably, confidently, suddenly, urgently, nervously, patiently, cally ‘The woman on the third floor baloony of the burning building waved her arms .. veut attract the tireman’s attention “Get out of here!” Bill shouted msn his face turning red. “My dog has run away!” the little gil SODDEM sss von Without any Warning, het guide spun round and held a knife to her throat The detective looked at him in disbelief. “Oh, yes, of course a criminal like you wouldn't want £5 illion,? He Sid rnonne She gathered her papers together and rushed off to the meeting, which had already begun, “If you tell anyone, you'll be sorry,” said the kidnapper .. “Don’t worry, Fil kill the dragon,” the knight said...Unit 6 Narratives - Stories 11 Put the following verbs into the correct boxes. Try to think of further words to add to each box. Now use suitable words from the ‘boxes to complete the following sentences. _guce ~ dle «giggle ~ hiss - mur mut = peer~stroll- wander « yell - sigh “chuckle « mutter peep - moan - shriek - grin - whisper - exclaim - rush Walk/Run dash Say Look WALK/RUN 1 We.... lazily along the waterfront, enjoying the warm sunshine as we watched the fishermen mending thei nets 2 At the sound of the doorbell she .. eagerly to the front door, excited to be meeting him again after so many years. SAY 3 “Stupid old fool!” he the elderly man limping down the steps 4 *Oh, well,” Jill “perhaps it doesn’t really matter — but I wwish you'd asked me first before telling everyone about it.” § “Don't look round now, but I'm sure that man sitting behind us is the escaped prisoner I was reading about in the paper,” I nervously to John. angrily to himself, pushing rudely past 6 “Help!” Karen... hysterically. “Somebody help me!” LOOK 7 The couple lovingly into each other's eyes, completely unaware of the people hurrying pas. 8 Kevin through the windscreen, hardly able to see where he ‘vas going inthe pouring rain. ‘SMILE/LAUGH 9 Dwid . . chiverfully us he waved to the crowd, accepting their applause for the magnificent race he had run. Sally and Lynne v» With embarrassment when the two boys crossed the room and asked them to dance. 10 32 42 Rewrite the short paragraphs replacing the words in bold using words from Ex. LI as in the example. “Here he comes!” said Carla, looking anxiously through the sunlit binds. “And hes got a parcel!” The postman was smiling as he walked up the path. eg, “Here he comes!” shrieked Carla, peering anxiously through the sunlit blinds “The plane is going to crash,” said Steve. Everyone in the air traffic contiol 1001 Tuuked at hits, Steve ran hack to his monitor and put on his headset. “Why on earth don’t they answer?” he said. “I'm afraid there’s nothing we can do to help them now.” he said,Unit 6 Narratives - Stories ‘Use of the senses (sight, sme, touch, hearing, taste) to set the soene oF describe people, placcs, events or cbjcte involved in your story helps to increase the reader's interest. 13> Underline the words or phrases which are used to describe senses. What sense does each refer to? 1 Maitland staggered across the road, hardly aware of the hooting cars and foul-smeliing exhaust fumes. The cut on his arm was burning, his head was ‘throbbing with pain, and the salty taste of blood filled his mouth, A police car screeched around the corner, siren wailing and lights flashing, and Maitland dashed into a dark doorway. 2 It was a hot, lazy afternoon and, from where I sat on the shady verandah, I could see the purple mountains in the distance. The fragrant flowers around me blazed with colour as, sipping my sharply sweet lemonade, I listened to the gentle hum of crickets and twittering of birds, A soft, cool breeze brushed my skin while I enjoyed the smell of the rich earth, Suddenly, a familia, annoying buzz sounded in my ear. 14 Look at the following list of verbs, all of which refer to sounds and light, and fill in the correct verbs in the gaps below. Some verbs may be used more than once. Which of these could be used in a story entitled “A Haunted House”? ang, crackle, creak, flash, flicker, hoot, howl, poutd, rattle, rumble, roar, rustle, twinkle, wail 1 Ieavesipaper 8 sirens/eats 2 wind/wolves 9 staircase/floorboards 3. chains. 10 flames. 4 SETS ocrnnsinnsnseninnnensenn TL door/gunsfexplosion 5 lions(erowdlfire 12 owlslears 6 thunderilortes .. 13 caMLES sre 7 waves|rock musi 14 lightning 15 Look at the pictures, and decide on the plot line of the story. Then, using words from Ex. 9- 14 write a story entitled “The Haunted House,”Unit 6 Narratives - Stories 16 Read the story below. The paragraphs are in the wrong order, and the story has no punctuation, Number the paragraphs in their correct order, and punctuate them, then underline the phrases which are used to describe the senses as well asthe time words. The most exciting experlence of my lite A as soon as we had started the long walk back we heard a low growling sound coming from the trees in front of us we stood frozen with fear meanwhile the growls grew af 7 louder and then the leaves parted to reveal two very hungry looking Crime doesn't pay lions the lions prepared to spring the moment they leapt into the air we threw ourselves to the ground the lions sailed over our heads and | plunged into the narrow valley | B hhave you ever wished that your holidays were moreexciting | [7B Surah heard someone open | | | A _ | They got out of the car and walked towards the cabin, Teertainly had until my experience on the first day of a photo safari the front coor of her house. | holiday itook with my friend howard last june Fete eee ie as we shakily made our way back to the camp we couldn't c believe what a lucky escape we had had howard wiped the sweat trom a | his forehead and said maybe its time to go back to good old fashioned beach holiday D |_| we had been walking through the undergrowth for some | time when our guide suddenly stopped in his tracks directly in front of | us was a narrow valley almost hidden by creepers and leaves phew that D |__| Sarah tried to eseape through the window. E The man was caught. j The man drove Sarah to a wooded mountainside. Sarah stole the money and itin her wardrobe, was close said howard i suppose we'll have to tum back now E]__] the morning sun was blazing as we set out on our first trip into the jungle a guide led howard and me into what we hoped would he a day of sucvessful photography FH] Sarah collapsed onto the iey snow. ©2117 Read the sentences, then listen to the story on the cassette and 1 A man entered Sarah’s room pput the events into the correct order. Finally, retell the story in and forced her out of the your own words. house into his car. 4Unit 6 Narratives - Stories ‘When writing @ narrative you can use flashback narration. This means you ‘can start your story at a certain pointin time (often avery exciting moment), the yu bath in ine and UzouiLe eveito whils npyi Befre is ie (usually in Past Perfect), lead the reader up to the specified time, then go ‘on with your slory and ring to a conclusion. 18 Read the story and put the verbs into A flight to remember Tho whools of the jet screeched briefly as they ).. (hit) the mimvray, waking me from a Jong pleas-ant sleep. “Well, we're here,” smiled the woman siting ast tam “Isthisyouristvisitto Ro de Janeio?" I 2) (stare) at her in disbelief. “Rio?” [ 3) .. (gasp). “We're supposed to be in Rome!” But when 4) (ook) out ofthe window and saw the ‘unmistakeable view of Sugar Loaf Mountain and the huge statue of Chinst in the distance 15) .. (realise) that 1 6) .. (make) a terrible ristake, Earlier that day, 7) (arive) late at Heatiow Alport in London after being delaved in heavy trafic. As soon as I had checked in and gabbed my boarding pass | 8). (rust) frantically to Gate 12 were ie Digli alterdeuit was just avout tu cluse die dour ty Ute miasrow (uuiel, Fortunately she 9) ... (see) me coming and waved me through ‘quickly as there was no time to check my ticket. Completely exhausted from all the rushing, | fell asleep within seconds of sitting down, relieved that Ihadn't missed my flight to Rome. “How on earth have I ended up in Rio?" I 10) n). (ball out) my boarding pass end I again, this ime careful, “Heathrow to Rome, Gate 2," it said ~ 21 not 1 Eventually, after I 13) ... (explain) my embarrassing situation to ‘tho airport offioialo, ! wao finally put on a flight to my original destination Rome, Needless to say,114) (notsleep) a wink during that fight! we correct (enses. Now look at the list of events as they appeared in the story above and put them into the correct chronological order, Retell the story without using flashback narration, ] The plane landed Twoke up. A fellow passenger said we were in Kio, T arrived atthe airport checked in Trushed to Gate 12. I took my seat on the plane, [fell asleep Tread my busing pass carefully explained my situation to the airport officials. Iwas put ona flight to Rome.