1. Famous Record Holders

THE QUIZ OF YOUR EXPERIENCES

Tick ☑ the facts that apply to you:

You are here to READ

a questionnaire / newspaper
extracts / a poster

and TALK about

swimming styles / theatre
shows / world and Olympic
records / past experiences

and LISTEN TO

a radio programme

and WRITE

a report about a Paralympics
Champion / a page of the class
book of records / about your
personal records

and LEARN about

the World Book of Records and
famous record holders / how
to set a class record / how to
play BINGO / how to protect
the environment / about past
experiences and activities
connected to the present

1.Have you ever gone skiing? ____________________________________________

2. Have you ever done something silly? _____________________________________

3. Have you ever eaten frog legs or Chinese food? ____________________________

4. Have you ever fallen down the stairs? ____________________________________

5. Have you ever been on TV? ___________________________________________

6. Have you ever ridden a horse? _________________________________________

7. Have you ever swum in a river? _________________________________________

8. Have you ever seen a car accident? _____________________________________

9. Have you ever had an electricity blackout while taking a shower? ________________

10. Have you ever shaken hands with a monkey? ______________________________

The teacher has asked you to work on a project to make a "CLASS BOOK OF RECORDS".

a. Do you know any athletes who have won world records? Name some.

b. Have you been to the theatre? Have you seen a theatrical play on TV?
What have you seen / watched?

Here are two extracts from a newspaper article that your teacher has brought to class. Read them and answer the TRUE / FALSE questions that follow:

Ian the 'Thorpedo'

Ian James Thorpe, nicknamed 'Thorpedo', has been an Olympic Gold Medal swimmer and one of the world's best-ever middle-distance swimmers.

Born October 13, 1982, in Sydney, Australia, Thorpe has completely dominated the 400 meter freestyle event since 1998, winning the event at the 2000

Summer Olympic Games, the 2001 Fukuoka World Championships and again in Athens. He has also won both the 200m and 800m freestyle (for which he holds the world record), and he is one of the fastest 100m freestylers in the world. Thorpe has pushed Australian relay teams to exceptional success, winning 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relay golds in Sydney. In total, Thorpe has broken 22 world records so far.

Thorpe won the 200 and 400 meter freestyle races at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He has won five Olympic gold medals, more than any other Australian.

'Phantom of the Opera' success

After eighteen years the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, 'Phantom of the Opera', has become the longest running show in Broadway history.

Besides being the longest-running show in Broadway history, the 'Phantom of the Opera' is also among the most successful entertainment productions of any kind ever. Across the world, 'Phantom' has made

three point two billion dollars. You can compare that to the Hollywood movie, Titanic, which has made less than half of that figure.

'Phantom' originally opened to mixed reviews here, but eighteen years later it is still playing to packed audiences every night.

For Andrew Lloyd Webber, last night's record-breaking performance was a sweet moment.

At a post-show party at the Waldorf Astoria, where the British composer met his guests has said he was really excited by the production's success and noted that 'Phantom' had taken the longest-running Broadway record from 'Cats' - another of his own musicals.

This text will be replaced

A. TRUE or FALSE? Write T or F in the blanks.

a. Ian has been a long distance swimmer. ___

b. At the age of eighteen he won the 400m race in 2000 Summer Olympic Games. ___

c. Ian holds the world records for 200m freestyle. ___

d. Ian has helped the team of his country win gold medals in relay races. ___

e. The 'Phantom of the Opera' has been on stage more than any other show. ___

f. The 'Titanic' has brought more money than the 'Phantom'. ___

g. The show has received excellent reviews since it started. ___

h. 'Phantom' has been on stage longer than 'Cats'. ___

B. Here are some definitions / synonyms of words in the texts. Find the words as in the example:

1. had the most important position

2. never happened before

3. swimming race between two or more teams where each
member of a team swims part of the total distance

4. the play with the most performances

5. good and bad articles about it

6. full of people

7. celebration after the performance

8. theatrical plays with songs

C. Talk about the following:
a. SWIMMING STYLES: Which ones do you like? Which ones are you good at?

freestyle

relay race

backstroke

breaststroke

butterfly

b. TYPES OF THEATRE SHOWS:
Which ones do you like?
Give reasons.

musical

comedy

drama

opera

D. HEADLINE NEWS: Why is Ian Thorpe retiring?
Ian Thorpe announced his retirement at the age of 24. You can find out about the reasons for his choice by reading the complete article on p. 140.

Positive

Negative

Question

I / you/ we / they	have	watched	a musical on TV.
He / she	has

I / you/ we / they	haven't	watched	a musical on TV.
He / she	hasn't

have	you/ we / they	watched	a musical on TV?
Has	he / she

B. Complete the sentences about Ian Thorpe and the 'Phantom of the Opera':

Ian Thorpe	has _________________	an Olympic gold medal swimmer.
He	has won	both the 200m and the 800m races.
He	has _________________	Australian relay teams to success.
He	______________ broken	___________________ so far.
He	_________ ___________	five Olympic gold medals.
'Phantom'	_____________ become	the ______________ in Broadway history.
It	__________ __________	$3.2bn (three point two billion dollars).

C. Study these examples:

Present

Perfect Simple

Action			Time
Ian Thorpe	has dominated	the 400m freestyle.	X

Past Simple

Action			Time
Ian Thorpe	won	the 400m freestyle	in 2004 Athens Olympics.

D. Now fill in the rule with the following phrases:
we don't know
we know exactly
we are not interested

We use the Simple Present Perfect Tense to talk about past activities for which we ____________ or ____________ in exactly when they happened.

We use the Simple Past Tense to talk about past activities for which we ____________ when they happened.

Student A

Imagine you're an Oscar winning actor/
actress. Look at the list of activities below
and tick two things that you have done but
don't tell your partner.

play Romeo / Juliet

perform on stage

play in soap operas

take part in adventure films

be on a magazine cover

Student B

Imagine you're an Olympic Champion.
Look at the list of activities below and tick
two things that you have done but don't
tell your partner.

win gold medal(s)

lose a game/ race, etc.

make a world record

be injured during a game/ race, etc.

Take turns to ask and find
out about each other.

B. THE HOT AIR BALLOON
COMPETITION

Your class is going to enter the Hot Air Balloon competition. Work in groups of 4, take turns and tell the others what you have achieved in your life so far (using the Present Perfect). At the end of the discussion, write on a piece of paper which one should go on the trip. (Don't vote for yourself). Discuss your reasons afterwards.

E.g. I believe John should go because he has…

C. LET'S PLAY!

Go round the class. Ask the other pupils: "Have you ever…?" and complete the game Cards here. Put ONE NAME ONLY in each square. The first one to complete all the squares shouts "Bingo!" and is the winner!