1B. It's a mystery
English File. 4th edition. Upper-Intermediate. Christina Latham-Koenig,
Clive Oxenden, Kate Chomacki
Vocabulary
to disappear without a trace
1. disappear without any indication of his or anyone's location (Then it disappeared without a trace.)
a distress call
1. an internationally recognized means of requesting assistance (No distress call was made, and no bad weather was reported in the region)
to scour smth for /skaʊər/
1. to search for something very carefully, often over a large area (... boats and planes scoured the area for wreckage or survivors...)
wreckage /ˈrekɪdʒ/
1. the parts that remain of a car, ship, or aircraft that has been destroyed (... boats and planes scoured the area for wreckage or survivors...)
to baffle /ˈbæfl/
1. if something baffles you, you cannot understand it at all (... a case that has baffled real and amateur detectives for more than a century...)
to rise out
1. to show up (... seven uninhabited rocks that rise out of the sea.)
superstitious /ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃəs/
1. believing that particular objects or events are lucky or unlucky (Muirhead was a hard-working, practical investigator, and not at all superstitious.)
clue /kluː/
1. a sign or a piece of information that helps you to solve a problem or answer a question (Among other clues, he found equipment lying all over the island...)
devastating /ˈdevəsteɪtɪŋ/ syn. shocking, destroying
1. making someone very shocked and upset
2. causing a lot of damage or destruction (... and create a huge wave of devastating force)
marine /məˈriːn/
1. found in the sea, or relating to the sea (Most marine scientist now agree that it is a naturally occurring)
faith healer
1. a person who cares sick people by using the power of prayer and belief (Have you ever visited a fortune-teller, psychic, or faith healer?)
clearing /ˈklɪə.rɪŋ/
1. an area in a wood or forest from which trees and bushes have been removed (Now you're waling deeper into the forest, and you come to a clearing, where there are no trees.)
self-sufficed /self səˈfɪʃənt/
1. you can live without any other people
absent-minded /ˌæb.səntˈmaɪn.dɪd/
1. this person usually forget things and doesn't pay attention to the things that are happening around (His wife described him as "a classic absent-minded professor.")
big-headed syn. arrogant
1. thinking that you are more important or more intelligent than you really are (She's so big-headed!)
laid-back /ˌleɪdˈbæk/
1. relaxed in manner and character; not usually worried about other people's behaviour or things that need to be done (I've never seen her worried or anxious in any way — she's so laid-back.)
tight-fisted /ˌtaɪtˈfɪs.tɪd/ syn. mean, stingy
1. unwilling to spend money (Don't wait for Gillian to buy you a drink — she's too tight-fisted.)
Exercises
Ex. c
1. The mystery was that there wasn’t anybody at the lighthouse. The three new lighthouse keepers who arrived discovered it. The men who had been working there just disappeared.
2. the lighthouse door was unlocked
a chair was knocked over
the rain jacket was hanging on its hook and the other two had disappeared
the clock had stopped
the last entry was 9 a.m. on 15th December
3. They had been kidnapped by German agents, they had argued about a woman, , they had been carried away by a sea serpent, a giant bird or ghosts.
4. If we’re talking about one of these theories, then I must be sure that the story about a woman is speculatively true. But in my opinion, they just went crazy because stay there for 3 months without anybody out. They just had each other and, maybe, the atmosphere of the place put pressure on their brains.
5. I’m pretty sure that to be carried away by a sea serpent, a giant bird or ghost is impossible. What is the chance of existence of ghosts? What is the chance of the existence of such huge birds? It seems to me to be fantastic.
Ex. d
1. puzzle
2. baffle
3. remote
4. extraordinary
5. trace
6. solve
Ex. e
It’s supposed that the men had been washed away by a huge wave.
People rejected this idea and thought it was unrealistic.
Most people agree with this explanation now. It’s possible that it was such a huge wave that could sweep the men away.
Ex. f
1. a huge rock – it was lying on the steps leading up to the lighthouse
2. Queen Elizabeth II – this ship was hit by an enormous wave, that was a modern example of Muirhead’s theory.
3. a paper in a scientific journal – it has recently been published saying that there’s real monster waves.
4. 1901 – it was the date when Muirhead was on the island and solve the mystery.
5. one man’s rain jacket and the bodies of the men – these things weren’t found, and we won’t ever know where they are.
Ex. b
1. Did
2. do
3. have
4. have
5. did
Ex. d. Grammar bank
A
1. hasn’t
2. isn’t
3. do
4. would
5. is
6. didn’t
7. does
8. is
9. won’t
10. doesn’t
B
1. isn’t
2. don’t
3. have
4. don’t
5. do
6. do
7. didn’t
8. did
9. am
3. Pronunciation & Speaking
Ex. a
1. Did you?
2. I don’t believe… I do.
3. You don’t like…? I do like them.
Ex. c
1. I’m not very good at modeling.
2. I’m going to see my friends tonight.
3. I love rock.
4. I don’t like courgette
5. I’ve never read “War and Peace”
6. I’d love to live in Japan.
7. I was very shy as a child.
8. I didn’t wash the dishes yesterday evening.
1. The person = an important person in my life.
2. The animal = problems in your life
How interact with it = how you deal with your problems
3. The house = your ambitions
No fence = you are open to new ideas
A fence = you often think you are right
4. The table = how you are feeling at the moment
5. The cup = how strong your relationship is with the person you are walking with.
6. The water = your friends
How wet you get = how important your friends are to you.
1. The more you study, the more you learn.
2. The more coffee I drink, the worse I sleep.
3. The more time you have, the slower you do things.
4. The fitter you are, the better you feel.
1. The more money I have, the better thing I can buy.
2. The earlier I get up, the earlier I go to bed.
3. The faster English people speak, the less I understand them.
4. The less I eat, the thinner I become.
5. The harder I work, the more money I get.
6. The more I exercise, the stronger I become.
Ex. a
1. open-minded
2. self-sufficient
Ex. b They both have a positive meaning.
Ex. c It’s usually the second word. Absent-MINDED, bad-TEMPERED and so on.
Ex. d
Positive characteristic: easy-going, good-tempered, laid-back, open-minded, well-balanced, well-behaved;
Negative: absent-minded, bad-tempered, big-headed, narrow-minded, self-centred, strong-willed, tight-fisted, two-faced
I think that self-centred and strong-willed can have also positive meanings; and laid-back can be a negative adjective.
Quizlet
https://quizlet.com/915714918/1b-its-a-mystery-flash-cards/?i=43ymj1&x=1qqt