English Lessons with Derren Brown A course for Upper-Intermediate Students by David Nicholls

A new approach to learning English, this is a series of lessons based on the episodes of the hit

UK TV show ‘Derren Brown’. Lessons include grammar explanations, exercises, vocabulary

tasks and discussion questions. They are ideal for self-study and classroom use.

Derren Brown – The Heist Video link

Comprehension:

1) What are Derren’s aims in this episode?

2) According to Derren, is it possible to use hypnosis to make someone commit murder or carry

out a robbery?

3) What method will Derren use to persuade these managers to commit the robbery?

4) What annoying situations must the managers face on their first night at the hotel?

5) Why does Derren want to watch their reactions to these situations?

6) How does Paul react to the maitre de’s request?

7) What useful skills based on body language does Derren teach them?

8) How does Derren use language at the seminar to suggest the idea of robbery and a

romanticized idea of crime?

9) What does Derren ask them to do later, when they are in the pub?

10) Why do two of the managers refuse to steal from the shop?

11) What famous experiment does Derren Brown carry out? What are the aims of the

experiment?

12) What is the ‘persuasion process’?

13) What are the results of Derren’s persuasion process? Do they surprise you?

Grammar - CONDITIONALS

FIRST CONDITIONAL

If + Present / will or won’t + 1st form

If you believe that you will be hypnotised, then it will happen.

SECOND CONDITIONAL

If + past / would or wouldn’t +1st form

No-one would carry out a robbery if they were told to under hypnosis

What would / will you do if

1) If you were asked to steal from a shop (as a joke)?

2) If you see someone stealing at a small shop?

3) If you had the opportunity to be on one of Derrren’s shows?

4) If you got an unexpected bill at a training seminar?

5) If you are invited to a seminar about reading body language?

6) If you were asked on stage by a hypnotist?

THIRD CONDITIONAL

If + past perfect/ would or wouldn’t + have + 3rd

If Derren hadn’t encouraged me, I wouldn’t have stolen the money

What would you have done if

7)….you had been on Derren’s show?

8)….and you had been given the unexpected bill?

9)….and you had been asked to steal sweets?

10)….and you had taken part in the Milgram experiment?

11)….and you had had the opportunity to carry out a robbery?

Vocabulary

Match the words in the 2 columns

To carry out (a robbery) To start

To make s.t up To bump (run) into

To kick off (a process) To lie/sit down

To come across (a security guard) To lie

To get down (on the floor) To take s.o to some place (give s.o a lift)

To drop s.o off (at Gresham st) To give something for free

To give s.t away To dictate

To read out To commit (do)

To go on To lose one’s balance

To fall over To continue

Discussion questions:

Have you ever been hypnotised? Would you like to be? What do you think hypnosis is?

Many of Derren’s techniques rely on language techniques. Would you like to learn them and use

them in your work? Do you think there are some memory techniques that are useful in language

acquisition?

Do you think that there is anything immoral in what Derren does? Do you like him?

How can you tell if someone is making something up?

Were you surprised at the results Derren achieved?

What kinds of people was Derren looking for? Do you think that some of them were play

acting?

Answers:

1) He is going to teach a group of managers some of his mind tricks and also, he wants to see if

he can persuade some of them (using some more tricks which they are unaware of) to steal

hundreds of thousands of pounds from a security van.

2) No. Derren says that hypnosis is just a form of play acting. No-one would ever commit

murder under hypnosis, if they didn’t want to kill that person.

3) He won’t mention a robbery, but he will massage words and ideas into their minds so that,

hopefully, they will spontaneously decide to commit the robbery when the opportunity comes up.

4) Firstly there is an irritating security guard dressed in green who hassles them when they go for

dinner. Then the maître de gives them a bill for their food and drink which they weren’t

expecting.

5) Derren wants to see who is alpha-male or female of the group.

6) He throws his card on the snooker table and tells the maître de to ‘put it all on that’. He offers

to pay for everyone. He is the alpha male!

7) How to see if someone is lying. He says ‘you can tell from the movement of the eyes whether

someone is remembering an image or making one up.’ He tells them how to confuse an

aggressor. And he tells them how to remember long lists.

8) He constantly repeats certain words and phrases, and flashes them into their minds (Paintings

of a security van on the wall, KASH and KILLS written on the slide, Derren says ‘it takes

nothing to move those guards out of the way’ ‘stealing’ He ‘accidentally’ shows them a slide of

the security van. He gives them guns. ‘Just do it!’.)

9) He wants them to steal sweets from a local shop.

10) Paul refuses because he has a teenage daughter and he won’t set a bad example. Veronica

was terrified when she was a child of stealing. And so she refused to do it after Derren spoke

about childhood.

11) The Milgram experiment. They are asked to give electric shocks to another volunteer. The

volunteer is an actor. The point of the experiment is to see how much punishment the manager

will be prepared to use, simply because the scientist asks him to. The original experiment

demonstrated that a majority of people are ready to do awful things, simply because an authority

figure asks them to.

12) He uses certain words, colours, signs and symbols which he connects to a feeling of power

and aggression, as well as a childish and romantic idea of crime.

3 out of his 4 candidates go through with the robbery

Grammar (suggested answers)

1) I would refuse

2) I will tell the staff

3) I would go on the show

4) I wouldn’t pay it

5) I will accept the invitation

6) I would say yes

7) I wouldn’t have trusted him

8) I wouldn’t have paid it

9) I wouldn’t have stolen them

10) I would have refused to punish the student

11) I wouldn’t have carried it out

Vocabulary

To carry out (a robbery) To commit (do)

To make s.t up To lie

To kick off (a process) To start

To come across (a security guard) To bump into/run into s.o

To get down (on the floor) To lie down / sit down

To drop s.o off (at Gresham st) To take s.o to some place (give s.o a lift)

To give s.t away To give something for free

To read out To dictate

To go on To continue

To fall over To lose one’s balance

Derren Brown – The Messiah Video Link

Comprehension:

1) What are Derren’s aims in this episode?

2) Why does Derren encourage us to question our beliefs?

3) Who will Derren first try and convince that he is a genuine guru in their field?

4) Under what circumstances will Derren own up and tell the leading figures that he is actually a

fake?

5) What is ‘remote viewing’?

6) Do the psychics endorse Derren as the real thing?

7) Is Derren a Christian?

8) How does Derren convince the evangelist?

9) Why does Derren compare casinos to New Age groups?

10) What are the supposed side effects of the ‘dream catcher’?

11) What special powers does Derren claim to have after being abducted by aliens?

12) How does he convince the old couple of these special powers?

13) What is ‘cold reading’.

Vocabulary

Match the words in the 2 columns

To buy into s.t To mention

To own up To believe in s.t

To wrap your arms around To reject

To plug in To tell the truth (‘to come clean’)

To turn on/off To go to

To bring up To die (like pass away or pass over)

To turn down (an offer) To hold tightly

To come along To connect an electrical machine

To pass on To switch on/off

To look out for s.o To become an adult

To grow up To take care of s.o from a distance

Grammar – revision of TENSES/CONDITIONALS/PASSIVE and GERUND/to + INF

1) If at any point they (ask) me if it’s a trick, I (own up). But they (ask)?

2) I’d like to talk about the dream machine that you have. You (have) it for 5 days now. We

(deliver) this machine to you, and you (give) instructions on how to use it.

3) Lorraine (convince). The next day I (get) a call from the radio station (ask) me to talk about

the dream machine. I (decline)

4) I know who you are. I (read) your books.

5) You (have) difficulty sleeping, at the moment.

6) At the next UFO meeting I (bring up) the idea that Richard would make a remarkable speaker.

7) If spiritualists really (talk) to the dead for all these years, then that is a wonderful thing. If, on

the other hand, it’s not true, then it could (see) as a very ugly and manipulative lie.

8) The people who are here at this event (respond) to an advert to come along and have a

reading.

9) I’m going to give a reading to a group of people I (not meet) before.

10) No other spiritualist or medium (ever give) me what he (give) me today.

Discussion questions:

Do you believe in psychic powers? Do you have any strong reasons for this? Would you pay to

go on a course that teaches psychic abilities

Do you think that Derren is right that we should question our beliefs?

What techniques do you think Derren is using in each ‘miracle’ which he performs? Have you

ever seen anyone using similar techniques? Are these techniques immoral?

Derren says ‘there are no clocks in the casinos’. Why do you think this is?

Did you find his final performance as a person who can speak to dead relatives disturbing? Why

do you think he did this? What was the point of his show?

Answers:

1) To convince five leading figures that he had powers in their particular field of

expertise: Christian evangelism, alien abduction, psychic powers, New Age theories

and contacting the dead. He will use his techniques of magic (?), suggestion, psychology,

misdirection and showmanship.

2) He feels that we make a lot of important decisions based on our belief systems, and so we

should be prepared as intelligent human beings to question those who influence us.

3) He’ll try to convince the psychics.

4) If they ask whether it is real, he will admit that he is actually using some of his techniques of

mind manipulation.

5) Remote viewing is when someone sits in another room and draws a picture, and you ‘read

their minds’ and guess the picture. Derren will do this to convince the psychics that he has

special powers.

6) Yes

7) He used to be (until he was in his 20’s). But now he is an atheist.

8) He converts a roomful of people to Christianity through the power of touch.

9) They both sell false hope with the aid of lights, colours and dreams.

10) People dream less, and in black and white.

11) He claims he can tell people their entire medical history

12) He tells her about her throat problem (thyroid gland) and trouble sleeping and heart problem

and doesn’t like western medicine.

13) A very old technique (trick) of telling someone information about themselves without

(apparently) being able to do so.

Vocabulary

Match the words in the 2 columns

To buy into s.t To believe in s.t

To own up To tell the truth (‘to come clean’)

To wrap your arms around To hold tightly

To plug in To connect an electrical machine

To turn on/off To switch on/off

To bring up To mention (also.. to look after a child until he

has grown up)

To turn down (an offer) To reject

To come along To go to

To pass on To die (like pass away or pass over)

To look out for s.o To take care of s.o from a distance

To grow up To become an adult

Grammar – revision of TENSES/CONDITIONALS/PASSIVE and GERUND/to + INF

1) If at any point they ask me if it’s a trick, I’ll own up. But will they ask?

2) I’d like to talk about the dream machine that you have. You’ve had it for 5 days now. We

delivered this machine to you, and you were given instructions on how to use it.

3) Lorraine was convinced. The next day I got a call from the radio station asking me to talk

about the dream machine. I declined

4) I know who you are. I have read your books.

5) You are having difficulty sleeping, at the moment.

6) At the next UFO meeting I will bring up the idea that Richard would make a remarkable

speaker.

7) If spiritualists really have been talking to the dead for all these years, then that is a wonderful

thing. If, on the other hand, it’s not true, then it could be seen as a very ugly and manipulative

lie.

8) The people who are here at this event (have) responded to an advert to come along and have a

reading.

9) I’m going to give a reading to a group of people I have never met before.

10) No other spiritualist or medium had ever given me what he gave me today.

Derren Brown – The Assassin

Video Link

Comprehension:

1) What are Derren’s aims in this episode?

2) Why is Robert Kennedy’s murder mentioned?

3) What does Derren do to the first girl from the audience?

4) What does Derren do to the man and how?

5) What test does Derren give the four candidates?

6) What experiment does Derren carry out on the final candidate?

7) Do the experts think it is possible to program a man to carry out an assassination?

8) What do Chris’ family think about Chris?

9) What kind of brain washing techniques will Derren be using?

10) Why does Chris think that he is at the rifle range?

11) If the marksman mode is the first part of the programing process, what is the second part?

12) What sets off the trigger of marksman mode?

13) Why is Chris so surprised when Derren tells him his pin number?

14) How does Derren test whether Chris remembers shooting someone with a water pistol in the

restaurant?

15) Which celebrity broadcaster is the target for assassination?

Vocabulary

Collocate the words in the 2 columns

To carry out A gun

To whittle down A story (or a word)

To fire The candidates

To play along Your breathing

To set off A highly dangerous act (a crime)

To quicken An assassination

To commit With the hypnotist

To turn someone into A trigger (or a bomb)

To give A deadly assassin

To make up A talk

A conspiracy theorist A famous person

An assassin Someone who sees a crime

A candidate Someone who steals from your pocket

A well-known figure Someone who believes in alternative

explanations of political events

An eyewitness Someone on radio or TV

A pickpocket Someone who kills for political/financial gain

A broadcaster A person who suffers due to a criminal act

An ordinary member of the public Someone who is going to be selected for a job,

position or role

A member of the audience An average person

A victim Someone who is watching a performance or TV

show

Grammar – TENSES/CONDITIONALS/PASSIVE/GERUNDS

Use the correct verb forms

1) It was obvious that he (program) to kill Kennedy.

2) Nothing like this ever (attempt) before.

3) How long you (work) in this field?

4) If anything (happen), the assassination will occur at a public event with a well-known figure

as the target.

5) The test which I’ve done so far (show) me who in this audience is the most prone to hypnosis.

6) If we were sitting here and a fly came in, my brother (open) the door.

7) In order to convince Chris to become an assassin I (use) brain washing techniques allegedly

used by the CIA’s MKultra program.

8) Chris is slowly getting used to (fire) the weapon.

9) I used (be) a pickpocket when I was younger (be)

10) If Chris lies, there (be) a peak in his heart rate, his breathing (quicken) and his body

(produce) more sweat.

Discussion questions:

What is Derren’s method of hypnotism? Why does he whittle down the candidates?

What kinds of things can hypnotism help us with?

Do you think any famous assassinations were due to mind control or hypnosis of some kind?

Which ones?

Are you a conspiracy theorist? What conspiracies do you believe in? Why doesn’t the official

story convince you?

If you were an assassin, which famous broadcaster would you like to kill?

Have you ever been the victim of a pickpocket? What happened?

Have you ever witnessed a crime?

Answers:

1) He wants to find out if it’s possible program someone to kill.

2) Because conspiracy theorists claim that he was assassinated by a man under mind control.

3) He convinces her that she is unable to move her hands.

4) He puts him to sleep using the power of suggestion – he interrupts an automatic process

(shaking hands) and asks him to sleep.

5) He instructs them to throw what they think is concentrated acid (it is actually water) in the

other persons face.

6) He instructs him to sit in a bath of ice cold water, and the man doesn’t feel the pain.

7) No – they think that in the TV studio people play along with the hypnotist, but in real life they

are unlikely to do so.

8) That he is a peaceful man – wouldn’t hurt a fly.

9) He will be using the same techniques as those used by the CIA in the 1960s.

10) He thinks that he is being trained under hypnosis to improve his aim with a rifle (which is

partly true!).

11) The second part is amnesia – Derren must create gaps in his memory

12) The sound of the mobile phone, (a ring tone)

13) Because Derren has made him lose his memory – he can’t remember that he has just told him

14) He uses a polygraph test – and Chris passes the test.

15) Stephen Fry is the target – he will be murdered while he is giving a talk at a London theatre.

Vocabulary

To carry out An assassination

To whittle down The candidates

To fire A gun

To play along With the hypnotist

To set off A trigger (or a bomb)

To quicken Your breathing

To commit A highly dangerous act (crime)

To turn someone into A deadly assassin

To give A talk

To make up A story (or a word)

A conspiracy theorist Someone who believes in alternative

explanations of political events

An assassin Someone who kills for political/financial gain

A candidate Someone who is going to be selected for a job,

position or role

A well-known figure A famous person

An eyewitness Someone who sees a crime

A pickpocket Someone who steals from your pocket

A broadcaster Someone on radio or TV

An ordinary member of the public An average person

A member of the audience Someone who is watching a performance or TV

show

A victim A person who suffers due to a criminal act

Grammar – TENSES/CONDITIONALS/PASSIVE/GERUNDS

Use the correct verb forms

1) It was obvious that he had been programmed to kill Kennedy.

2) Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.

3) How long have you been working in this field?

4) If anything happens, the assassination will occur at a public event with a well-known figure as

the target.

5) The test which I’ve done so far have shown me who in this audience is the most prone to

hypnosis.

6) If we were sitting here and a fly came in, my brother would open the door.

7) In order to convince Chris to become an assassin I will be using brain washing techniques

allegedly used by the CIA’s MKultra program.

8) Chris is slowly getting used to firing the weapon.

9) I used to be a pickpocket when I was younger

10) If Chris lies, there will be a peak in his heart rate, his breathing will quicken and his body

will produce more sweat

Derren Brown – The Guilt Trip Video link

Comprehension:

1) What are Derren’s aims in this episode?

2) Who has he chosen as a victim?

3) How will they achieve their aims?

4) How do they initially make him feel guilty?

5) How does Derren feel about guilt?

6) How does Derren make Jody doubt his own memory?

7) What goes missing? Who finds it? Where?

8) How is Jody given a motive for killing Dr Black?

9) What song do they sing when they are drinking?

10) How does our hero confess to the murder?

Grammar

PAST MODALS

must/might/could/can’t + have + 3rd form

When Jody notices that his fish has gone, he says

My fish. I MUST HAVE EATEN it all.

(It’s certain that I ate it)

We use these modal forms in the past to speculate about past events.

E.g

The murderer MUST HAVE BEEN left handed – look at the injuries on the victim.

You CAN’T HAVE LEFT your keys at home – you were holding them in the restaurant.

Complete these sentences with past modals

1) When they changed his food Jody ____ ____ felt very confused.

2) Dr Black ____ ____ been killed by Jody if he has no alibi or explanation for where he was at

the time of the murder.

3) It ____ ____ been easy to make all the necessary preparations to perform this trick.

4) Jody ____ ____ felt upset when he thought that he had offended his hero.

5) Jody ____ ____ been angry when he found out that his girlfriend and family were all in on it,

and so they knew all about Derren’s show.

Vocabulary

Match the verbs in the 2 columns

To turn s.o in To know a secret plan

To make s.t up To inform the authorities about s.o’s guilt

To be in on s.t To have a good relationship with s.o

To get on with s.o To lie

To reassure To believe in s.t

To fabricate To admit

To buy s.t To fake

To confess To make s.o feel more certain

Match the adjectives in the two columns

innocent compliant

guilty Free from blame

suspicious unpleasant

nasty distrustful

Easily led blameworthy

unwitting wonderful

magnificent unknowing

Discussion questions:

Derren emphasizes that this trick would only work on a really nice guy – why is this the case?

Do you agree that guilt is a very damaging emotion? In what ways can it be positive, if any?

Do you think that what Derren did in this episode was immoral?

What physical symptoms do you have when you feel guilty?

Who is an authority figure in your life?

How do you think you would have felt if you had been in Jody’s shoes? What do you think you

would have done?

Would you be willing to participate in Derren’s show as an actor if one of your friends was

going to be in Jody’s position?

Answers:

1) He wants to make someone feel guilty and confess to a murder which they didn’t commit.

2) Jody – a very nice but ordinary guy who applied to be on Derren’s show. They decided he

was perfect but they told him that his application had been rejected.

3) Derren will fabricate a conference full of actors. These actors will set Jody up in a number of

different situations which are designed to make him doubt his own memory and stimulate

feelings of guilt

4) Jody bumps into his hero at the conference (An Australian musician and comedian) and the

actors make him believe that he has offended his hero with insulting language.

5) Derren’s attitude towards guilt is very negative. He feels that it can be a very damaging

impulse and he thinks it is used as a tool for manipulating people by organizations like the

church.

6) The actors change the clothes – a dress and a tie. The actors change his food when he is

distracted with a question from behind. They also change the furniture in his room.

7) A priceless pearl necklace has gone missing. Jody found it in his room, and he is the main

suspect. In the end he goes to the management and tells them that it is in his room. This is the

‘dry run’ for the climax of the show

8) Dr Black is rude to Jody (he criticizes his clothes), and then cheats when playing croquet.

9) My baby shot me down.

10) He goes to the local police station and tells them that he can’t remember what he was doing

at the time the murder took place. He then admits to committing the murder.

Grammar

1) When they changed his food Jody must have felt very confused.

2) Dr Black might have been killed by Jody if he has no alibi or explanation for where he was at

the time of the murder.

3) It can’t have been easy to make all the necessary preparations to perform this trick.

4) Jody must have felt upset when he thought that he had offended his hero.

5) Jody might have been angry when he found out that his girlfriend and family were all in on it,

and so they knew all about Derren’s show.

Vocabulary

To turn s.o in To inform the authorities about s.o’s guilt

To make s.t up To lie

To be in on s.t To know a secret

To get on with s.o To have a good relationship with s.o

To reassure To make s.o feel more certain

To fabricate To fake

To buy s.t To believe in s.t

To confess To admit

innocent Free from blame

guilty blameworthy

suspicious distrustful

nasty unpleasant

Easily led compliant

unwitting unknowing

magnificent Wonderful

Derren Brown – The Apocalypse, Part 1 Video link

Comprehension:

1) What are Derren’s aims in this episode?

2) Why is Steven such a suitable candidate for this experiment?

3) What did the Roman philosopher Seneca recommend doing every day?

4) What do they do to Steven’s computer and phone?

5) How do they convince Steven that the end of the world is imminent?

6) Where does Steven think he is going for his birthday?

7) Where does Steven actually go?

8) What is the biological danger that is also a threat?

9) Who does the little girl represent?

10) Who does the ambulance driver represent?

Grammar – future continuous and future perfect

FUTURE CONTINUOUS – an action in progress at a definite future moment

Will + be + ____ing

In a few weeks Steven will be living in a post-apocalyptic world.

FUTURE PERFECT – a completed action at a definite future moment

Will + have + 3rd

form

At the end of the process Steven will have learned to value his own life.

Do you think that in 100 years….

1) we will be living in a post-apocalyptic world?

2) we will be using oil and gas to satisfy our energy needs?

3) we will have stopped learning to write with pencils?

4) we will have colonized another planet?

5) we will all be speaking the same language?

6) we will have learned how to live without war?

Vocabulary

Match the words in the 2 columns

To come across (e.g a problem) To give s.o something regularly and slowly

To make s.t up (e.g a story) To find s.t (by chance)

To drip feed s.o (information) To reinforce an idea

To back s.t up (with facts) To lie/create s.t

To drop s.o off (at a café) To clean your room

To go about your daily business To take s.o to some place (give s.o a lift)

To tidy up your room To do what you do every day

To go smoothly To answer for your actions

To be infected To go exactly as planned

To take s.t for granted To participate in

To take part in To expect that you will always have something

and not appreciate its value

To take responsibility To have a disease

Discussion questions:

Do you think that you truly value what you have in life? What kinds of things do you take for

granted?

Do you agree with Seneca? Should we imagine the worst losses that can happen every day to

remind ourselves of the value of our lives?

Do you think an apocalypse is likely? When? How? How can we prepare to survive it?

Would you have liked to take part in this show? In Steven’s place? Or in the place of a family

member who is in on the trick?

If you had been in the show, how do you think you would have reacted to the different situations

that were created for Steven?

Is there anything immoral in what Derren is doing here?

Do you believe that Steven is just an actor, and that the whole show is a fake?

Answers:

Comprehension

1) He wants to convince an ordinary guy that the apocalypse is imminent.

2) Because he leads a self-centred existence and he takes many things for granted. He is lazy and

very suggestible to hypnosis

3) He asked us to imagine the loss of everything we value at the start of each day, so that we

don’t take them for granted. We appreciate their true value.

4) They hack into his computer and phone in order to manipulate the news feed.

5) They place articles and news reports about a possible meteor collision on his phone and

computer. They also create fake TV and radio reports.

6) He thinks he’s going to a concert which is far out of town.

7) He is actually going to a former nuclear weapons site which has a large area of land and many

cameras and actors ready to simulate a post-apocalyptic world

8) A bacterial infection which arrived on the meteor. It is killing survivors of the meteor shower

at an alarming rate

9) The little girl represents bravery (courage).

10) The ambulance driver represents leadership and decisiveness.

Vocabulary

To come across (e.g a problem) To find s.t (by chance)

To make s.t up (e.g a story) To lie/create s.t

To drip feed s.o (information) To give s.o something regularly and slowly

To back s.t up (with facts) To reinforce an idea

To drop s.o off (at a café) To take s.o to some place (give s.o a lift)

To go about your daily business To do what you do every day

To tidy up your room To clean your room

To go smoothly To go exactly as planned

To be infected To have a disease

To take s.t for granted To expect that you will always have something

and not appreciate its value

To take part in To participate in

To take responsibility To answer for your actions

Derren Brown – The Apocalypse, Part 2 Video link

Comprehension:

1) Where does Steven want to go and why?

2) Where is Ian (the ambulance driver) going?

3) Why does Steven volunteer to leave the compound?

4) Why does Derren want Steven to decide whether to take Danny or not?

5) What does Danny represent?

6) Why does Ian make a video diary?

7) What good news does Steven hear on the radio?

8) What happens when Ian’s wife arrives?

9) What goes wrong when the helicopter turns up?

10) How does Steven feel at the end, when he wakes up?

Grammar – Gerunds and infinitives

Video explanation

Quiz

GERUNDS – use gerunds (___ing) after prepositions, and after certain verbs, and as the subject

of the sentence

‘There’s no point in trying hard if there’s always going to be someone better than me.’

‘His decision making skills will be severely tested’

INFINITIVE WITH TO – after certain verbs, and after adjectives, and to show purpose

‘We need Steven to remember that you’ve been waiting for your wife.’

‘Sometimes it’s good to put down your feelings.’

‘I’ve created each character to bring out the best in Steven.’

INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO – after modal verbs, and let, make, help

‘Steven can act like a stroppy teenager’

‘We should get this set up’

‘I want to make Steven value what he already has’

Vocabulary

Match the words in the 2 columns

There’s no point in…. To become the leader

To take pity on s.o To arrive

To take charge There is no reason to…

An unwitting participant A late birthday party

To turn up To feel sorry for s.o

To be willing to do s.t To arrange/orchestrate an event

To waste Someone who takes part in s.t unknowingly

To set s.o/s.t up To reminisce

A belated birthday party To not have enough of s.t

To look back on To be prepared to do s.t

To be in charge To spend time or money badly

To lack s.t To be the leader

Discussion questions:

Did you notice any similarities between this story and the Wizard of Oz? Why did Derren

choose to do this?

Why do you think Derren did this on Steven’s birthday?

If you had been in the show, how do you think you would have reacted to the different situations

that were created for Steven?

Do you think that Steven has changed after this experience? How?

Would you be willing to be an unwitting participant in a show like this?

Are you the kind of person who likes to take charge or do you lack leadership qualities?

Answers:

Comprehension

1) He wants to go to Wales. He thinks his relatives are there.

2) He’s waiting for his wife and then going to Scotland.

3) He wants to use a radio which is located outside to call for help.

4) He wants Steven to start taking responsibility, and he wants him to take pity on Danny and

show his sympathetic side.

5) He represents Steven’s selfish side.

6) In case he leaves and his wife turns up.

7) His family are safe, and they will send a helicopter to rescue himself and his friends.

8) She is infected and Ian decides to leave the group and go with her.

9) The helicopter can’t land near the compound – there are too many infected people.

10) He feels relieved and happy – he thinks that the whole event was just a dream, until he sees

Derren.

Vocabulary

There’s no point in…. There is no reason to…

To take pity on s.o To feel sorry for s.o

To take charge To become the leader

An unwitting participant Someone who takes part in s.t unknowingly

To turn up To arrive

To be willing to do s.t To be prepared to do s.t

To waste To spend time or money badly

To set s.o/s.t up To arrange/orchestrate an event

A belated birthday party A late birthday party

To look back on To reminisce

To be in charge To be the leader

To lack s.t To not have enough of s.t