Unit 4: What They Said

A. Read the conversations. Then report what you read. Use the words in the box.
Use the correct form of the verbs.

1. My neighbour has a new car. I asked him why he chose that particular car.
He said that he was looking for a car that didn’t use a lot of gas. This car isn’t very expensive to drive because it uses gas and electricity.
He said that the car got its power from gas and electricity.
2. Last night, Ahmed and Jasem were doing their homework at Ahmed’s house.
But Ahmed’s little brother kept talking to them while they were working.
He was also taking photos with Ahmed’s camera. As a result, Ahmed and Jasem didn’t get a lot of homework done.
Jasem said that Ahmed’s little brother had bothered them all evening, so they didn’t finish their homework.
3. The people in our city voted to make more parks for people to enjoy.
Today the city is going to demolish several buildings to make space for a big park
near my house. My brother went to watch the demolition. He just came home to tell me about it.
My brother reported that they had knocked down five buildings.
4. Our science teacher Mr. Adams is upset because the city increased the taxes again.
He sent an email to the city government about the high taxes. He believes that it is important to tell the government that the taxes aren’t fair.
Mr. Adams said that the city had raised the taxes again and that they were unfair.

B. Complete the conversation. Use the notes. Be sure to change the time expressions. Various changes may be possible.

Boss: What a great vacation! Were there any messages for me?
Assistant: Yes, there were. On Monday, someone from a radio station called and said that you’d won the grand prize, but you (1) had to pick it up Monday.
A gentleman named Mr. Harrison called on Tuesday, and he said that he (2) wanted to talk to you about publishing an article.
But he said that (3) he was only in town until the day after. Mohammed called on Wednesday.
He said that he was sorry that (4) he had not been free last week.
He was calling because he (5) wanted to meet you for diner soon.
Boss: Wow! Thanks.

C. Change the sentences to reported speech. Use the reporting verbs in the box.
Be sure to change all necessary words. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

1. Jason’s mom: You will do all of the homework for Mr. Wilson’s class.

Jason’s mom told him that he would do all of the homework for Mr. Wilson's class.

2. Jason: Mr. Wilson can give less homework to the class.

Jason said that Mr. Wilson could give less homework to the class.

3. Jason’s mom: You won’t play football.

Jason’s mom explained that he wouldn't play football.

4. Jason: I’ll find the time to finish all the homework.

Jason assured his mom that he would finish all the homework.

5. Jason’s mom: Mr. Wilson just may be right from time to time!

Jason’s mom agreed that Mr. Wilson just might be right from time to time!

D. Complete the news article about a town meeting. Use the notes taken at the meeting to write reported questions.

• April 3—The town meeting to discuss the new park was a lively one. The parks commissioner opened the meeting by asking if anyone had any questions.
• It turned out that lots of people did.
• First, Mr. Kilmer, president of the neighbourhood association, asked (1) who had made the plans for the park.
• He also wondered (2) why they hadn't asked for his ideas.
• Mr. Lopez asked (3) if the parks department had planned an area for bicycles.
• Mr. Lee wondered (4) if there was a path where people can jog.
• Mr. Green asked (5) if there would be lots of benches.
• Children also contributed to the discussion. A boy wanted to know (6) where the football field would be.
• Another boy wanted to know (7) how many tennis courts there would be.
• Mr. Waters had a question.
• He asked (8) when the park would open.
• Another man asked (9) if the plans included a place for family picnics.
• Finally, another man wanted to know (10) why they didn't include a place for family picnics.
• The commissioner held up the plan and asked the people at the meeting (11) how they could do all these things.
• Suddenly, the room became very quiet.

E. Read part of Omar’s interview at WWT and report it. Use reported speech.

• Ken Clark of WWT introduced his guest the young swimming champion Omar and welcomed him to their show.
• He started by asking Omar how old he was when he started swimming.
• Omar answered that he had been swimming ever since he could remember.
• Ken Clark said he remembered him mentioning
• that at the “Sports News” interview and asked him what his main advantage was in freestyle.
• When Omar told him that thought it was speed and pace,
• Clark agreed with him and asked him if
  he would like to watch a video with some comments
• from people who knew him.
• Omar asked whether the comments were good.
• Clark answered that he thought they were, and added that
• some of his friends thought that he was sometimes too quick to jump to conclusions, but never held grudges against people.
• Alan said Omar was really cool, a good friend, and always helped people,
• but he sometimes tried too hard
• He thought that he didn't need to prove anything.

F. READING

Write T for True or F for False.

1. T Paris is also known as the City of Lights.
2. F High travel costs had no effect on the number of visitors to Paris.
3. T Paris had the reputation of the most over-rated city in Europe.
4. F Tourism isn’t very important to the Paris economy.
5. F No one truly liked the idea of the smile campaign.

J. WRITING

Write a paragraph to report a conversation you had with your friend. Use the chart to help you take notes and organize your thoughts. Start with a sentence that tells who had the conversation.

An Interesting Conversation

• Two friends were planning to spend the day in a good way and have fun. The first one suggested to the second to go to the coffee.
• He said let's go to the coffee. The second one said that it is ok what about Saeed? The second one said that the first one can call him and invite him.
• The first one said that he is going to call Saeed.
• The second one said that they will have a nice day.

K. Read the words. Write the word which does not belong.

1.

• global
• warming
• tornado
• countryside
• earthquake

2.

• damage
• city
• threaten
• destroy

3.

• save
• rescue
• protect
• harm

4.

• witness
• reporter
• news
• victim

5.

• hit
• study
• research
• science

L. Write negative questions for the following situations.

1. You and your friend planned to do research on the Internet with your friend’s computer. Your friend just arrived at your house, but you don’t see a computer.

Haven't you brought your computer?

2. Your friend told you to meet at 5:00 p.m. in the museum. You’re in the museum. It’s now 5:30, and your friend isn’t there. You get a call on your cell phone from your friend who is still at home.

Haven't you left yet?

3. You and your friends are at a new Japanese restaurant. You order food for everyone. You notice that your friends aren’t eating their food. You are not sure they like what you ordered.

Don't you like what I have ordered?

4. You and your family are watching the news. The National Weather Service has issued a weather warning. There will be terrible storms. Your brother is on his way out of the door with his car keys.

Haven't you watched the news?

M. Read the news story about pandas. Then use the prompts to ask the reporter’s questions. Write the answers to the questions.

1. Where / live?
Q: Where do pandas live?
A: They live in forests in southwestern China.

2. How/many?
Q: How many wild pandas are there?
A: About 1600.

3. How / work to protect pandas?
Q: Who is working to protect the pandas in their natural habitat?
A: The Chinese government and conversation organisations.

4. How much / eat?
Q: How much does a panda eat?
A: An adult panda eats up to 95 pounds (45 kg) of bamboo a day.

5. How long / eat / a day?
Q: How long does a panda eat for each day?
A: For about 16 hours.