106

CAN IT BE TRUE?

Work in groups of 3-4. Read through the following. Some of the facts are 100% true while
others are complete lies. Try to work out which is which.

1 Both Ghandi and Fidel Castro used to be lawyers.

2 The famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's hobby was
mushroom collecting.
3 The actor Dustin Hoffman's real name is David Charles Peschkowsky.
4 The actor Yul Brunner used to be a trapeze artist in a circus. His
career ended when he was injured in a fall.
5 The novelist Graham Greene suffered from hematophobia (fear or
blood) and ornithophobia (fear of birds).
6 If you adjust for inflation, then the film that has made the most
money ever is Star Wars.
7 The famous novelist Jackie Collins was expelled from Francis Holland
School in England for (among other things) truancy and smoking
behind a tree during lacrosse.
8 Ex-President Richard Nixon used to be a second-hand car dealer.
9 Woody Allen's son is called Satchel and Frank Zappa's daughter is
called Moon Unit.
10 An early name for the Beatles was Johnny and the Moondogs.
11 The actor Tom Cruise, the actor/singer Cher and the politician Nelson
Rockefeller all suffered from claustrophobia (the fear of being shut up
in a small, enclosed space, e.g. a lift).
12 Princess Diana came second in a beauty contest when she was 15.
13 Both N arrey Reagan and Bill Clinton were adopted.
14 The singer Rod Stewart was once a grave digger.
15 Margaret Thatcher was once accidentally arrested for shoplifting.
16 The actor Richard Burton never won an Oscar even though he was
nominated for one seven times.
When you have finished, report back to the rest of the class using the following phrases:

It's definitely true that .. .

It's probably true that .. .
It might be true that .. .
It's probably not true that ...
It's very unlikely that ...
It's definitely not true that ...

174

....Iii'

...
-

'"

...
,.

Penguin Books 1995

Teacher's notes
Method

Grammar points

As Activity 101. The handout is on page 170.

Ranking items on a scale; Use of comparatives when discussing the order of items

Key (suggestion only)

1 Which street did the motorcade tum into at 12.30? 2 Which
theatre is on West Jefferson? 3 Who was Jack Ruby? 4 When
was President Kennedy assassinated? 5 (Many answers
possible) 6 Did the squad cars take long to arrive? 7 When was
Oswald first spotted? 8 Why did Jack Ruby shoot Oswald?
9 When is Oswald seen staring out of a first-floor window which
overlooks Dealy Plaza? 10 (Many answers possible)? 11 Who
was J.D. Tippit? 12 Who is alleged to have killed President
Kennedy? 13 From which floor are the shots fired? 14 Where
did Oswald work? 15 Were the police looking for a black man?

Acknowledgement: This extract is taken from an article in the

Sunday Express, April 10 1994

Method

As Activity 106. The handout is on page 172.

105 Rank order 3

Intermediate/Advanced
This time the students have to decide what makes a success-

ful marriage.
Grammar points
Ranking items on a scale; Use of comparatives when discussing the order of items

103 Rank order 1

Method
Intermediate

.,

As Activity 106. The handout is on page 173.

In this and the following two activities, students have to rank

things in order of importance, working first alone, then in

106 Can it be true?

pairs and finally in groups.

Intermediate
Grammar points
Ranking items on a scale; Use of comparatives when discussing the order of items

This is a group activity where students speculate about

various facts, some of which are true while others are

completely false.

Method

Grammar points

2 Tell each student to choose twelve items from the list

that they are most afraid of. There is no need to rank
them at this stage. They simply put a tick or across in the
boxes marked You. Set a time limit

Speculating (using various phrases, e.g. It's definitely true

that..., It might be true that..., It's very unlikely that ... , etc.)
Method

Divide the class into groups. Give each group a copy

of the handout on page 174. Tell them they have to
decide which facts are true and which are false.

3 Now everyone works in pairs. Working together, they

choose ten items from the items they have both chosen.

(They may need to compromise.) They mark these in the

boxes marked Pairs. Again, set a time limit

4 Finally, they work in groups of 3-4. This time, from

their list of eight, they choose six items, but this time
they try to rank them in order, with I being the item they
are most afraid of. They mark these in the boxes marked
Group. Set a time limit as usual.

5 As a follow-up, ask one person from each group to list

their choices. (You could even write them up on the
board, to see if people share the same fears.)
Acknowledgement: The statements for this activity and activities
104-105 are adapted from The Book of Tests by Dr. Michael
Nathenson, published by Fontana Paperbacks, 1984.

2 Set a time limit and check orally.

Key
TRUE (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16)
FALSE (3, 6 (Gone with the Wind), 8, 11 (dyslexia), 12, 15)

Acknowledgement: The facts are based on those found in The Book

ofLists: The 90s Edition by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace,
published by Aurum Press Ltd, 1994.

107 Fill in the missing prepositions

Intermediate

This is an activity which tests the students' knowledge of

prepositions.

104 Rank order 2

Grammar points

Intermediate

This time the students have to decide what things really

24

"'

I Give each student a copy of the handout on page 171.

annoy them.

-.,

Prepositions (various)