John S. Hall: Tapescript 5.1.1

FUNCTIONS: English 11
13
• Expressing wishes and regrets for past events Theme 5
• Talking about unreal past events Back to the Past
L1
1. Listen to Dan’s voice recording about his past

wishes and regrets. Decide if the statements are true
(T) or false (F).
Tapescript 5.1.1
1 If Dan had been young enough to write his wishes and regrets, he wouldn’t
have recorded them.
2 Dan used to record his dairy when he was younger.
3 He is happy that he saved up some money for retirement.
4 Dan’s past regrets are about his savings, investments and health.
5 Dan’s message to his children is not to live a life unfulfilled.
2. Read the quote below. Do you agree with John S. Hall? Why or why not? And tell about the
regrets for the past events in your life.
Today, I will try to remember to regret the past. I will think of how many
mistakes I have made throughout my life. I will say to myself, “If only I
could go back in time and make different choices so that my life could be
the way it should have been.” Then I will remind myself that I cannot.
John S. Hall
3. Read the text and answer the questions.
The idiomatic term go the way of the dodo means to disappear or become a thing of the past.
This expression comes from the bird of the same name. In 1598, a group of Portuguese
sailors landed on the island of Mauritius and stumbled on a previously uncharted species
of a bird known as the dodo bird today. This bird was unlike anything they had ever seen
before. As a result of living alone on the island with no natural predators, it was shockingly
fearless. The sailors, on the other hand, mistook this for foolishness and gave the bird the
name “dodo”. Over the course of the next century, the dodo bird was carried off by humans
and less than 100 years after it was discovered, it was completely wiped out. From then
on, the word players think that if those sailors hadn’t landed on that island and blundered
upon that fearless bird, they wouldn’t have ironically used the term go the way of the dodo
for the situations of the past.
1 According to the text, why did the sailors mistake the dodo bird’s fearless stance?
................................................................................................................................................... .
2 When did the dodo bird disappear?
................................................................................................................................................... .
3 As mentioned in the text, what would have happened if the sailors hadn’t landed on the island?
................................................................................................................................................... .
29
4. Read the people’s thoughts and make sentences as in the example
I didn’t make Example: I wish I had made plans to go out.

plans to go out, so I was
bored.
If I had made plans to go out, I wouldn’t have
been bored.
I didn’t call I wish ........................................................

my boss for the reason ................................................................ .
I was late, so he called me
five times. If ...............................................................
................................................................ .
I fought with I wish ........................................................

my best friend, so ................................................................ .
I was sad.
If ...............................................................
................................................................ .
I squeezed the I wish ........................................................

pimples on my nose, so ................................................................ .
it turned red.
If ...............................................................
................................................................ .
5. Prepare a list of the wishes and regrets of some of the well-known people for the past events
by searching on the Net.
The Name of the Person His/Her Wishes and Regrets
30

John S. Hall: Tapescript 5.1.1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

John S. Hall: Tapescript 5.1.1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

John S. Hall: Tapescript 5.1.1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

FUNCTIONS: English 11

1. Listen to Dan’s voice recording about his past

3. Read the text and answer the questions.

I didn’t make Example: I wish I had made plans to go out.

I didn’t call I wish ........................................................

I fought with I wish ........................................................

I squeezed the I wish ........................................................

The Name of the Person His/Her Wishes and Regrets

You might also like