English Teacher Melanie Study Guide 19 My Car Died

8/20/2019 English Teacher Melanie Study Guide 19 My Car Died

1/40


2/40

THIS GUIDE IS BASED ON 4 PRINCIPLES OF

HOW BEST TO LEARN A LANGUAGE

Focus on core vocabulary.The story in this listening lesson is wrien using core vocabulary.

There are over 1 million words in the English language, but not all of

these words are equal. Some words you use all the me. Some younever use. Ninety percent of everything that nave speakers say and

write comes from just 7000 words. These are the most importantwords in English. These are the words you should focus on learning.

Any words in this lesson that are not core vocabulary

are dened in the reference vocabulary secon.

Learn English in chunks.Memorizing individual words will not improve your English. You

need to know how to use those words in a sentence. In this studyguide you will learn collocaons and sentence structure.

Collocaons are words that go together in a waythat sounds natural and correct to a nave speaker, like

“a straight line” or “pay cash”.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.The more mes you hear & see a word, the easier it is to remember it.

This study guide is meant to be challenging, but not dicult.The core vocabulary and collocaons are used again and again in

dierent acvies so that you remember the words andyou remember how to use them in a sentence.

Hear the word, then say the word.The pronunciaon of a word in English does not always match the

spelling of the word. In English, you cannot always look at a word andknow how it is pronounced. Listening to natural spoken English while

looking at the words will help you match the sounds to the wordsand phrases. This will help you improve your listening skills and your

English pronunciaon.

http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/


3/40

STUDY GUIDE | LISTENING LESSON 19 | MY CAR DIED19

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE ………………………………………………………………………………Page 4

PRE-LISTENING

Core Vocabulary & Acvies ………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 5

Collocaon Acvies & List of Collocaons .................................................................................Page 8

Paragraph Acvies …………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 11

Phrasal Verbs ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 13

Idiom: on its last legs ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 15

Reference Vocabulary ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 16

Vocabulary Notes ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 18

LISTENING

Gap-ll Acvies ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 19 A. Core Vocabulary B. Core Vocabulary & Collocaons C. Core Vocabulary, Collocaons & Phrases

Evaluaon ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 25

POST-LISTENING

Listening Comprehension Acvies …………………………………………………………………………… Page 26

Core Vocabulary Review …………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 27

Crossword Puzzle

Grammar …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 30

Have/get something done

Pronunciaon ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 33 How to pronounce the AU vowel combinaon

ANSWERS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 34

TRANSCRIPT …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 40


4/40

LISTEN. LEARN. REPEAT

LISTENING

acvies to do WHILE listening to the story to pracce

your listening skills

POST-LISTENING

acvies to do AFTER listening to the story to check your

understanding of the story, and lessons that go deeper

into the story to focus on grammar and pronunciaon

English learners need to know 90%-98% of a text (listening or reading) in order to understand it properly

This study guide will help you learn the core vocabulary, collocaons, phrasal verbs & idioms used in the

story. Once you understand the story, you can focus on learning natural, spoken American English!

You will noce a theme in all the acvies: repeon. The more mes you see & hear a word, phrase,or sentence structure, the easier it is to remember it! This is the most eecve way to learn English.

When you have nished the lesson, celebrate your success

by telling your friends on Twier, Facebook or Google+!

PRE-LISTENING

acvies to do BEFORE listening to the story to help youimprove your core vocabulary & knowledge of collocaons

You don’t have to (and should not) do the whole guide all at once, because you’ll forget everything

the next day! Do a lile bit at a me. Follow the six-day study plan or work at your own pace.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-plan/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-plan/http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/19https://plusone.google.com/_/+1/confirm?hl=en&url=http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/19http:///twitter.com/?status=I+just+finished+%23ETMStudyGuide+19+%22My+Car+Died%22%21+http://bit.ly/1edETFr+/@TeacherMelaniehttp://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/


5/40

WHAT IS CORE VOCABULARY?

Pay close aenon to the categories. Many of these words can be used as more

than one part of speech. Look carefully at how the word is used in the story

For example, le is also an adjecve, but it is used as a noun in this story

Repair is both a noun and a verb, but it is used in the story as a noun

wheel

line

system

partpointworth

cash

rest

condioncustomer

le

rod

mechanism

repair

interior

necessity

scrap

happennocemove

turn

explainconnect

mean

control

xcost

sell

paybuy

own

steertow

recycle

last

sad

surprisedhard

importantfront

auto

another

used

straight

brand new

around

slowly

also

completelysll

especiallyeverywhere

yet

safely

nowadays

wrong

something

own

(pronouns)

underneath

(preposion)

http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-the-english-words-you-need-to-know/


6/40

SUBTITLE OR DESCRIPTION

Study Guide 19 - My Car Died!© 2015 English Teacher Melanie 6

1. Words related to moneyMake a list of all the words in the core vocabulary chart that are related to money.

2. Words used to talk about carsList any words in the core vocabulary chart that could be used to talk about a car


7/40Study Guide 19 - My Car Died!© 2015 English Teacher Melanie 7

3. Synonym matchRead through the core vocabulary chart. Find the word that is a synonym (has the same meaning)as the other words in the group.

a. drive, guide, direct, control

b. bar, pole, sck

c. join, link, aach

d. adjustment, improvement, replacement, change

e. buyer, purchaser, user

f. the remainder

g. pull, drag, move, take away

h. requirement, need

4. Choose the correct wordCircle the correct word that completes the sentence.

a. I was driving in a hard / straight / another line.

b. I nished my errands and got home yet / completely / safely .

c. It’s hard to explain what went wrong / slowly / around with my car.

d. Buying a used car is more aordable than buying a another / last / brand new car.

e. There are small rods around / underneath / control the car

f. The steering wheel was slowly moving to the le / front / point on its own.

ANSWERS

RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS


8/40

WHAT ARE COLLOCATIONS?

COLLOCATION ACTIVITIES


5. Missing preposionsChoose the correct preposion from the set below to complete the sentence.

about of for in to on apart

a. It happened _______ a Wednesday.

b. The steering wheel was slowly moving _______ the le.

c. I was driving _______ a straight line.

d. There are small rods underneath the car that are part _______ the steering system.

e. An auto recycling company pays cash _______ scrap cars

f. The rest _______ the car was sll _______ great condion

g. The auto recycling company will take the car apart and sell the parts _______ other customers.

h. I’m thinking _______ buying a used car.

6. Matching + denionsFirst, complete the collocaon by matching the rst part in column A to the second part in column B.Next, match the collocaon with its denion.

Column A Column B Column C

a. work from no point in = without any help

b. on one’s meant that = have someone else repair the car

c. there was it xed = it caused or resulted in

d. no own = have learned a lot of informaonabout (something)

e. which about cars = true in the past, not true now

f. know a lot longer = no reason to do something

g. get home = do your job in your house insteadof an oce

ANSWERS


http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-what-are-collocations/


9/40

LIST OF COLLOCATIONS


on a Wednesday (day of the week; any Wednesday, not a specic one)

drive around

steering wheel [compound noun]

to the le

on one’s own

even though

(drive / walk / move etc.) in a straight line

a straight line

the last me

drive a car

hard (to do something)

go wrong

part of

(there’s) no point in (doing something)

more thanpay cash

no longer

the rest of

in good/great condion

a sad day

tow (something) away

brand new

work from home / work at home

think about

buy (something)

a used car

a new car


10/40

COLLOCATIONS CONTINUED ...

Sentence Structure

know (that-clause)

noce (that-clause)

know a lot/something/nothing about (something)

not know much/a lot/anything about (something)

explain (something) to (someone)

which means that-clause

get/have (something) + past parciple

sell (something) to (someone)

pay (someone) for (something) OR pay cash for (something)

the only _____________ (that-clause) It was the only car I’ve ever owned.

love (something) – you MUST say what you love, even if you just use it .“I love” is not a complete sentence.



http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/vocabulary-how-to-use-the-verb-explain/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/vocabulary-how-to-use-the-verb-explain/



PARAGRAPH ACTIVITIES

There are 4 paragraphs in this story. There is a dierent acvity for each paragraph.

If these paragraph acvies are too challenging for you, do them while you listen to the story. Check thecollocaons list for clues if you are stuck.

Paragraph 1Complete the clause or sentence by matching the parts together.

a. My car died ____

b. I was sad, but ____

c. I knew my car was on ____

d. It happened on a Wednesday while ____

e. As I was driving, I noced that ____

f. even though I was driving in a straight ____

g. I could also hear ____

h. I nished my errands ____

i. but I knew it was the ____

i. its last legs.

ii. line and the wheels weren’t turning.

iii. and got home safely.

iv. last me I would ever drive my car.

v. last October.

vi. I was driving around doing some errands

vii. I wasn’t surprised.

viii. the steering wheel was slowly moving to thele on its own.

ix. something raling underneath the car.

Paragraph 2Put the sentences in order from 1-6.

_____ These rods are important, because they connect the front wheels to the steering mechanism.

_____ There was no point in geng it xed because the repairs would have cost more than the carwas worth.

_____ There are small rods underneath the car that are part of the steering system.

_____ Here’s what my dad explained to me.

_____ The rods underneath my car had rusted and part of one had broken o, which meant that Icouldn’t completely control the front wheels with the steering wheel.

_____ It’s hard to explain what went wrong with my car, because I don’t know a lot about cars.



Use your knowledge of grammar to ll in the missing funcon words.

Funcon words are preposions, arcles, conjuncons, pronouns, auxiliary/modal verbs, determiners& qualiers. They are the words that make a sentence grammacally correct.

In spoken English, these words are not stressed in a sentence. They are usually reduced, linked and con-tracted, so you will not actually hear them fully pronounced.

Knowledge of grammar will help you understand a sentence spoken naturally, even if you can’t hearsome of the funcon words.

I sold the car ______(a) the scrapyard. Nowadays scrapyards ______(b) called auto recycling compa-

nies, ______(c) auto recyclers. They pay cash ________(d) scrap cars, which _______(e) broken-down cars

_________(f) can no longer be driven. The rest ________(g) the car was sll ________(h) great condion,

especially ________(i) interior, so ________(j) scrapyard _______(k) take the car apart _________(l) sell the

parts _________(m) other customers.

PARAGRAPH 4Complete the sentence with a word from the core vocabulary list. Use the correct verb tense ifnecessary.

a. It was a sad day when my car was ___________ away to the scrapyard.

b. I loved my car. I bought it brand new in 2001 and I drove it _____________.

c. It was the only car I’ve ever ______________.

d. I haven’t bought ______________ car yet.

e. I work from home, so a car isn’t a ________________.

f. I’m thinking about buying a one- or two-year-old _____________ car.

g. That’s more aordable than buying a _________________ car.

ANSWERS


PARAGRAPH 3



PHRASAL VERBS

1. BREAK DOWN = to stop working properly

If a machine or vehicle breaks down, it stops doing what it is supposed to do.

In the story, break down was used as a compound adjecve:

• They pay cash for scrap cars, which are broken-down cars that can no longer be driven.

If a machine or vehicle is broken-down (adjecve) or has broken down (verb), it means that it is not ingood condion and it may not even work anymore.

Example sentences: break down

• My car broke down on the highway yesterday. I had to wait for a tow truck

• He doesn’t want to drive his car too far. It’s old and it might break down .

• I was late for school because the bus broke down . We had to wait for another bus.

Example sentences: broken-down

• There was a broken-down bus on the main road blocking trac.

• The trains aren’t running this morning because there’s a broken-down train stuck on the tracks.

• We had to push our broken-down car two miles to the nearest gas staon!

This phrasal verb also has a noun form: a breakdown



2. BREAK OFF

= to separate or remove by force a piece of something from the main part

Someone may cause something to break o, or some other force may cause a piece to break o.

• The rods underneath my car had rusted and part of one had broken of , which meant that I couldn’t

completely control the front wheels with the steering wheel.

There was rust on the small rods underneath my car. The rust caused part of a rod to separate from

the wheel.

Example sentences

• When I tried to open the car door, the handle broke of .

• It was so windy outside, an enre limb broke of the tree and fell on my car.

3. TAKE SOMETHING APART

= to separate something into smaller parts, to remove pieces of something

• The rest of the car was sll in great condion, especially the interior, so the scrapyard will take the car

apart and sell the parts to other customers.

I couldn’t drive my car because the steering system didn’t work. It was too expensive to x the steering

system. However, there were many other parts of the car that could sll be used. The scrapyard will

separate the good parts from the rest of the car and sell those parts.

Example sentences

• It’s not easy to repair smartphones. They’re dicult to take apart and the pieces are so small.

• Help me take this computer apart .

Opposite phrasal verb: put something back together

• He loves to take things apart and nd out how they work, then put them back together.



IDIOM

(BE) ON ITS LAST LEGS = something is in such bad condion that it is about to fall apart and stop working, and you will

most likely not be able to x it or get it to work again.

• My car died last October. I was sad, but I wasn’t surprised. I knew my car was on its last legs .

My car was very old. It had been repaired many mes. I knew there was a problem with the rods thatcouldn’t be repaired. I knew that when the rods broke o, I wouldn’t be able to drive my car anymore.

I have read some online diconaries & websites that say you can use this idiom to talk about people, butI don’t think this is true. I can’t ever imagine describing a person as being on his/her last legs. That seemsvery rude & disrespecul! Don’t use this idiom to describe a person. Use it to describe things.

Example sentences:

• The company was on its last legs unl it was bought by a larger company.

• Tiger Woods has been playing beer lately, but it looks like his golf career is on its last legs .

• My computer is on its last legs . I need to start looking for a new one.



REFERENCE VOCABULARY

These are not core vocabulary words, but they are words and phrases that you

need to know to understand the story.

errands [noun]

It happened on a Wednesday while I was driving around doing some errands.

= a short trip in your town or neighborhood to go to a store, (e.g., grocery shopping, going to the post

oce to send a leer, buying things at a store, geng a coee, delivering something to a friend or family

member)

steering wheel

…I noced that the steering wheel was slowly moving to the le on its own,…

= a wheel inside a car (or other vehicle) that the driver uses to control the wheels and turn the car

rale [verb]

I could also hear something raling underneath the car.

= the word for the sound that occurs when things hit each other

I could hear metal parts knocking against each other under the car. It was a series of short, quick sounds

steering system/steering mechanism

There are small rods underneath the car that are part of the steering system. These rods are important, because

they connect the front wheels to the steering mechanism.

= In the story, I used steering system to talk about everything from the steering wheel to the front

wheels & all the pieces in between. I used steering mechanism to mean just the steering wheel and the

steering column (separate from the front wheels and the rods).



rust

The rods underneath my car had rusted …

= rust had formed on the rods underneath my car

Rust is a noun and a verb. The noun rust is the reddish-brown substance that forms on iron or steel.

The verb rust means the acon of this substance forming on a surface.

scrapyard

I sold the car to the scrapyard.

= a place, usually outside a town or city in an open space, where you can sell or leave old cars or other

machines and buy parts for vehicles or other machines

aordableThat’s more aordable than buying a brand new car.

= not expensive, used to describe something that you are able to pay for, that you have enough money

for




VOCABULARY NOTES

1. scrapyard vs. junkyard

These two words are interchangeable. I used scrapyard because that is the more common & naturalword for me. While checking my vocabulary & grammar aer I wrote the story, I learned that scrapyardmay be a Brish word, but one that is becoming more common in American English.

I consulted two American diconaries. The Macmillan online diconary (for English learners) gives a

standard denion for scrapyard, as for any other American word, while the Merriam-Webster’s Learn-ers Diconary says that scrapyard is the Brish word for junkyard.

2. work from home / work at home

These two expressions are interchangeable, however work from home is the most common way of sayingthat you do your job, whatever your job is (self-employed or working for a company) in your home.

Recently I have seen some mothers on social media call themselves a work-at-home mom, meaning thatthey run their own business from their house while looking aer their children as well. (When a womanstays home to raise her children & doesn’t work outside the home, she is called a stay-at-home mom.)

This can be confusing, because work at home can also be used to talk about doing unpaid chores or tasksaround your house, like painng the garage doors or doing some work in the garden.


http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/scrapyardhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/scrapyardhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/scrapyardhttp://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/scrapyard



LISTENING ACTIVITIES

A. CORE VOCABULARY

My car died ____________________ (1) October. I was _____________ (2), but I wasn’t _______________ (3)

I knew my car was on its last legs. It _______________ (4) on a Wednesday while I was driving around

doing some errands. As I was driving, I _______________ (5) that the steering wheel was _______________

(6) moving to the le on its _________________ (7), even though I was driving in a _______________ (8) line

and the _______________ (9) weren’t turning. I could also hear something raling _______________ (10) the

car. I nished my errands and got home _______________ (11), but I knew it was the last me I would eve

drive my car.

It’s hard to _________________ (12) what went _______________ (13) with my car, because I don’t know a

lot about cars. Here’s what my dad explained to me. There are small _______________ (14) underneath

the car that are part of the _______________ (15) system. These rods are _______________ (16), because

they _______________ (17) the front _______________ (18) to the steering mechanism. The rods

_______________ (19) my car had rusted and _______________ (20) of one had broken o, which meant that

I couldn’t _______________ (21) control the _______________ (22) wheels with the steering wheel. There

was no _______________ (23) in geng it xed because the _______________ (24) would have cost more

than the car was _______________ (25).

GAP-FILL ACTIVITIES



I __________ (26) the car to the scrapyard. _______________ (27) scrapyards are called _______________ (28

recycling companies, or _______________ (29) recyclers. They pay _______________ (30) for scrap cars,

which are broken-down cars that can no _______________ (31) be driven. The _______________ (32) of the

car was sll in great _______________ (33), especially the _________________ (34), so the scrapyard will take

the car apart and sell the parts to other _______________ (35).

It was a sad day when my car was towed away to the scrapyard. I loved my car. I bought it brand

______________ (36) in 2001 and I drove it ___________________ (37). It was the only car I’ve ever

______________ (38). I haven’t ______________ (39) another car yet. I work from home, so a car isn’t a

______________ (40). I’m thinking about buying a one- or two-year-old ______________ (41) car. That’s

more aordable than buying a brand new car.

ANSWERS




B. CORE VOCABULARY & COLLOCATIONS

My car died ____________________ (1). I was sad, but _________________________ (2). I knew my car was on

its last legs. It happened ________________________ (3) while I was ____________________ (4) doing some

errands. As I was driving, I noced that the ____________________ (5) was slowly ____________________ (6

on its own, even though I was ________________________ (7) and the wheels weren’t turning. I could also

____________________ (8) raling underneath the car. I nished my errands and ____________________ (9)

but I knew it was ____________________ (10) I would ever ____________________ (11).

It’s _______________________ (12) what ____________________ (13) with my car, because

_________________________ (14). Here’s what my dad _____________________ (15). There are smal

rods underneath the car ____________________ (16) the steering system. These rods are important

____________________________ (17) the front res to the steering mechanism. The rods underneath my

car had rusted and part of one had broken o, _____________________ (18) I couldn’t completely contro

the res with the steering wheel. ____________________ (19) geng it xed because the repairs would

have ____________________ (20) the car was worth.



I ______________________ (21) the scrapyard. Nowadays scrapyards are called auto recycling compa-

nies, or auto recyclers. They ____________________ (22) scrap cars, which are broken-down cars that can

____________________ (23) be driven. The ____________________ (24) was sll ____________________ (25),

especially the interior, so the scrapyard will _________________________ (26) and sell the parts to other

customers.

It was _________________ (27) when my car was _____________________ (28) the scrapyard.

______________________(29). I bought it brand new in 2001 and I drove it everywhere. It was

______________________ (30) owned. I haven’t bought another car yet. I _____________________(31)

so a car isn’t a necessity. I’m ____________________________ (32) buying a one- or two-year-old

_________________________ (33). That’s more aordable than buying ____________________ (34).

ANSWERS




C. CORE VOCABULARY, COLLOCATIONS & PHRASES

___________________________ (1). I was sad, but I wasn’t surprised. I knew_____________________________

___________________(2). It happened on a Wednesday ____________________________ (3) some errands. As

I was driving, __________________________ (4) was slowly ____________________________ (5), even though

I was ________________________________ (6) and the wheels weren’t turning. ______________________ (7)

raling underneath the car. I nished my errands and got home safely, but I knew it was ______________

_____________________ (8).

___________________ (9) what went wrong with my car, because _________________________ (10) cars.

Here’s what my dad explained to me. There are small rods _________________________________ (11)

the steering system. These rods are important, because they connect the front wheels to the steering

mechanism. The rods underneath my car had rusted _____________________________ (12), which meant

that ______________________________ (13) the front wheels with the steering wheel. There was no point

in geng it xed because the repairs _________________________________ (14) the car was worth.



________________________ (15) the scrapyard. Nowadays scrapyards are called auto recycling

companies, or auto recyclers. __________________________ (16), which are broken-down cars

______________________________(17). The rest of the car was ____________________________________ (18)

so the scrapyard ___________________________ (19) and sell the parts to other customers.

__________________________ (20) my car was towed away to the scrapyard. ______________________ (21).

I bought it brand new in 2001 and I drove it everywhere. It was ____________________________________

____________ (22). I haven’t bought another car yet. I work from home, ______________________________

__________________ (23). I’m thinking about buying ______________________________________ (24). That’s

more aordable than _________________________________ (25).

ANSWERS




EVALUATION

How did you do on the gap ll acvity? Did you miss some words? Did you spell some words wrong? Take

some me now to think about those words.

Did you miss a word because you thought it was pronounced dierently? Listening and pronunciaon areclosely related. You need to know the correct pronunciaon of a word in order to hear that word.

Did you miss some of the smaller words, like arcles and preposions? You won’t always hear these words

clearly in natural spoken English. That is why grammar is important. The smaller funcon words need to

be included in a sentence for the sentence to be grammacally correct, and you need to know them in

order to understand what someone is saying, but you won’t always hear them fully pronounced.

Take some me to study the pronunciaon or the sentence structure of the things you didn’t hear.

If you are looking for another challenge, try the acvity I describe on my website in the post How to

Pracce Listening.


http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-practice-listening-english/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-practice-listening-english/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-practice-listening-english/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/study-tip-how-to-practice-listening-english/



LISTENING COMPREHENSION

1. Listening comprehension quesonsa. What was I doing when my car died?

b. Was it a surprise that my car died?

c. What were the signs that something was wrong with my car? How did I know that my car wasn’tworking properly?

d. What did my dad say was wrong with my car?

e. Why didn’t I have the car repaired?

f. What did I do with the car?

g. What’s a scrapyard?h. When did I buy my car?

i. Was this my rst car?

j. Why haven’t I bought another car yet?

2. Put the sentences in order

Put these sentences in the order they occur in the story. Number the sentences from 1 – 9.

_______ The rods that connected the wheels to the steering mechanism had rusted and broken o.

_______ I want to buy a used car.

_______ I didn’t get the car repaired because the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth.

_______ The steering wheel started moving on its own and there was a raling sound underneaththe car.

_______ My car died.

_______ The scrapyard will take the car apart & sell the parts to other customers.

_______ I don’t have another car yet.

_______ The car was towed to the scrapyard.

_______ I was driving around doing some errands.

ANSWERS




CORE VOCABULARY REVIEW

Fill in the blank spaces with a word from the story. Pay aenon to the collocaons. The collocaonswill give you clues about the missing words.

Vocabulary:

mechanic = someone who can x/repair cars and other vehiclesgarage = a place where a mechanic repairs cars

Conversaon #1

A: Did you _____________ a new car? I just saw you last week and you hada dierent car.

B: I just got it yesterday! Isn’t it awesome?

A: It looks expensive! How much did you _________________ for it?

B: Let’s just say I got it for a good price.

A: What happened to your old car?

B: I _________________ it to my neighbor for $2000.

A: Was the car _________________ $2000?

B: It was ______________ more than that, but it needed some _____________.He’s a mechanic so he can x it.

Conversaon #2

A: What’s _________________ with your car?

B: I don’t know. I don’t know much ________________ cars. I think there’s aproblem with the _________________ wheel.

A: Did you take it to a mechanic?

B: Not yet. I don’t have enough money to pay for the _________________.

A: How much do you think the ______________ will _________________?

B: Too much! I can’t drive it, so I need to have it ________________ to the garage. That will be expensive.

ANSWERS




CROSSWORD PUZZLE

InstruconsComplete the crossword puzzle from the clues given.

A crossword puzzle is a word game. You are given clues, which are pieces of informaon that will helpyou nd the answers. You need to write the answer in the squares across or down according to the num-ber of the clue.

All the answers are words & phrases from the core vocabulary OR the story. You may need to pay aen-on to verb tense or the plural form of a noun.

There are four dierent kinds of clues:

• IPA transcripons of words (What is the IPA?)

• words with leers rearranged (you must rearrange the leers to spell a word)

• synonyms (words that have similar meanings) and antonyms (words that haveopposite meanings)

• sentences with missing words or phrases

Example

Clue #1 across is TYNICSEES. You need to rearrange these leers to spell a word from either the storyor the core vocabulary list. When you know the answer, look for a horizontal row of squares that startswith the number 1. Write one leer in each square.

ANSWERS


http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/an-introduction-to-the-ipa/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/an-introduction-to-the-ipa/



Down

2. There was ______ [3 words] getting angry that my

car died. I knew it was going to happen sometime.

3. /kənˈdɪʃən/

5. MURSOECTS

7. put back together (antonym) [2 words]

9. almost dead (synonym) [4 words]

10. ORNEIITR

15. I prefer to _______ [2 words] for purchases instead

of using my credit card.

16. by itself (synonym) [3 words]

17. separate (antonym)

19. /wɚθ /

Across

1. Can you _______ [1 word] to me what went wrong

with your car?

4. The car was in great _______. [1 word] It didn’t look

14 years old.

6. /fɪkst/

8. partially (antonym)

11. essential, critical (synonym)

12. AHNERETUDN

13. / ɪˈspɛʃəli/

14. carefully, cautiously (synonym)

18. TYNICSEES

20. ignore (antonym)

Complete the crossword below.

1 2

3

4

5

6

7 8 9

10 11

12

13 14

15 16

17

18

19

20

Created on TheTeachersCorner.net Crossword Maker



GRAMMAR

HAVE / GET SOMETHING DONE

“There was no point in getng [my car] fxed because the repairs would have cost more than the car

was worth.”

In the story, I talked about why I didn’t have my car xed, or have my car repaired. I can’t x a car by

myself. I don’t know how! I have to pay someone else to do it, in this case a mechanic. However, in the

story I didn’t say WHO would x my car because that wasn’t important.

This is a form of the passive.

have (something [object]) + past parciple

get (something [object]) + past parciple

It means to have someone else or pay someone to do something for you. The past parciple is the same

form of the word used in perfect tenses.

Compare these sentences:I xed my car.

= I did the repairs myself

I had my car xed.

= someone else did the repairs for me

Be careful! Make sure you put the words in the correct order.

I had my car xed.

= correct structure, have (something) done

I had xed my car.

= the past perfect



Have or get?

In this grammar structure, the two verbs are interchangeable. Have is more formal. Get is oen used in

informal, spoken English.

Example sentences

When are you going to get your hair cut?~ I’m geng my hair cut this weekend.[Using the present connuous to talk about future events.]

Jane & Michael are geng ready to sell their house. They had the walls painted, the roof repaired, andthey had the house professionally decorated.

When we were on vacaon in California, we had our photo taken with George Clooney!

I went shopping at IKEA, but I couldn’t t all the boxes in my car. I had everything delivered to my house

This structure is also used to talk about a crime or something bad that happens to you or your

possessions: If you come here and cause trouble again, I’ll have you arrested!

Nick can’t drive because he had his license taken away.

= the police or the government said that Nick cannot drive anymore because he commied a

crime (for example, he may have been in a car accident, or he may have been driving while he was

drunk)

http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-using-the-present-simple-to-talk-about-the-future/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-using-the-present-simple-to-talk-about-the-future/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-using-the-present-simple-to-talk-about-the-future/



Pracce Acvity

1. Use have/get something done to complete the sentences. Use the correct verb tense.Say the sentence rst, then write it.

a. Alannah is at the eye doctor. She _________________________ (her eyes/check) today.

b. Ken _______________________________ (his wallet / steal) on the bus yesterday.

c. Jenny is _____________________________________ (hair / cut) tomorrow .

d. Why is Melissa ___________________________________ (photo / take) right now ?

e. When did Alice _________________________________ (her car / repair)?

2. Use the structure have/get something done to answer the queson, “What did you do today?”

a. coat / clean

______________________________________________.

b. new television / deliver

______________________________________________.

c. new windows / install

______________________________________________.

d. the invitaons to my party / make

______________________________________________.

e. my car / wash

______________________________________________.

ANSWERS




PRONUNCIATIONTRANSCRIPT

In the story, I used the word auto. This is a great opportunity to look at how to pronounce the vowelcombinaon AU.

Many of my students try to say the sound /aʊ/ when they see this vowel combinaon. They say thingslike August /ˈaʊgəst/ instead of August /ˈɑɡəst/.

Here are a couple of things to remember: • The vowel combinaon AU is almost never pronounced /aʊ/, so if you’ve been pronouncing it

that way, you’ll need to relearn a few words!

• When you see two vowels next to each other within a syllable, they make one sound (most ofthe me). Together, the vowels make the sound of the rst leer, while the second vowel issilent.

The vowel combinaon AU is pronounced /ɑ/.

This is a very easy sound to make. Your mouth opens from your jaw, as if you are yawning. Your lips arerelaxed & not rounded. Your tongue is at on the boom of your mouth. /ɑ/

Here are some words with the AU vowel combinaon at the beginning of a word: • August, audience, author, autumn, automac, audion and, of course, auto (which is short for

automobile)

Here are some words with the AU vowel combinaon in the middle of a word:

• laundry, daughter, caught (past tense of catch), taught (past tense of teach), haunt,

Of course, there are excepons to every rule in English. There are some words where the AU vowelcombinaon is not pronounced /ɑ /, for example, the words laugh & laughter, and dinosaur. However,these are excepons and most of the me, the vowel combinaon AU is pronounced /ɑ/.




ANSWERS

Pre-listening acvies1. Words related to money

a. worthb. cashc. costd. selle. payf. buy

2. Words used to talk about carsa. wheel

b. system

c. partd. rod

e. mechanism

f. repairg. steer

h. tow

i. auto

j. used

k. brand new

l. condionm. interior

3. Synonym Match

a. steer

b. rod

c. connect

d. repair

e. customer

f. the rest

g. tow

h. necessity

4. Choose the correct word

a. straight

b. safely

c. wrong

d. brand new

e. underneathf. le

RETURN TO PRE-LISTENING ACTIVITIES

Collocaon acvies

5. Missing Preposions

a. ON a Wednesday

b. TO the le

c. IN a straight line

d. part OF

e. pay cash FOR (something)f. the rest OF / IN great condion

g. sell the parts TO (someone)

h. thinking ABOUT/OF

RETURN TO COLLOCATION ACTIVITIES



6. Collocaon Matching & Denions

a. work from home = do your job in your house instead of an oce

b. on one’s own = without any help

c. there was no point in = no reason to do something

d. no longer = true in the past, not true now

e. which meant that = it caused or resulted in

f. know a lot about cars = have learned a lot of informaon about (something)

g. get it xed = have someone else repair the car

RETURN TO COLLOCATION ACTIVITIES

Paragraph 1

a. v last October.

b. vii I wasn’t surprised.

c. i its last legs.

d. vi I was driving around doing some errands.

e. viii the steering wheel was slowly moving to the le on its own,

f. ii line and the wheels weren’t turning.

g. ix something raling underneath the car.h. iii and got home safely,

i. iv last me I would ever drive my car.

Paragraph 2

Don’t worry if you didn’t get all the sentences in the right order. This is not a test! It’s just an acvity to

help you understand the story before you hear it.

1. It’s hard to explain what went wrong with my car, because I don’t know a lot about cars.

2. Here’s what my dad explained to me.

3. There are small rods underneath the car that are part of the steering system.4. These rods are important, because they connect the front wheels to the steering mechanism.

5. The rods underneath my car had rusted and part of one had broken o , which meant that I

couldn’t completely control the front wheels with the steering wheel.

6. There was no point in geng it xed because the repairs would have cost more than the car

was worth.



Paragraph 3

I sold the car TO (a) the scrapyard. Nowadays scrapyards ARE (b) called auto recycling companies, OR (c

auto recyclers. They pay cash FOR (d) scrap cars, which ARE (e) broken-down cars THAT (f) can no longer

be driven. The rest OF (g) the car was sll IN (h) great condion, especially THE (i) interior, so THE (j

scrapyard WILL (k) take the car apart AND (l) sell the parts TO (m) other customers.

Paragraph 4

a. towed

b. everywhere

c. owned

d. another

e. necessity

f. used

g. brand new

RETURN TO PARAGRAPH ACTIVITIES

A. Core Vocabulary Gap Fill

1. last

2. sad

3. surprised

4. happened

5. noced

6. slowly

7. own

8. straight9. wheels

10. underneath

11. safely

12. explain

13. wrong

14. rods

15. steering

16. important

17. connect

18. wheels

19. underneath20. part

21. completely

22. front

23. point

24. repairs

25. worth

26. sold

27. Nowadays

28. auto

29. auto

30. cash31. longer

32. rest

33. condion

34. interior

35. customers

36. new

37. everywhere

38. owned

39. bought

40. necessity

41. used

RETURN TO GAP-FILL ACTIVITIES



B. Core Vocabulary & Collocaons Gap Fill

1. last October

2. I wasn’t sur-

prised

3. on a Wednesday

4. driving around

5. steering wheel

6. moving to the

le

7. driving in a

straight line

8. hear something

9. got home safely

10. the last me

11.drive my car

12. hard to explain

13.went wrong

14. I don’t know a

lot about cars

15. explained to me

16. that are part of

17.because they

connect

18.which meant

that

19.There was no

point in

20.cost more than

21.sold the car to

22. pay cash for

23.no longer

24. rest of the car

25. in great condi-

on

26. take the car

apart

27.a sad day

28. towed away to

29. I loved my car

30. the only car I’ve

ever

31. work from home

32. thinking about

33.used car

34.a brand new car


C. Core Vocabulary, Collocaons, & Phrases Gap Fill

1. My car died last

October2. my car was on its

last legs

3. while I was driv-

ing around doing

4. I noced that

the steering

wheel

5. moving to the

le on its own

6. driving in a

straight line

7. I could also hear

something

8. the last me Iwould ever drive

my car

9. It’s hard to ex-

plain

10. I don’t know a

lot about

11.underneath the

car that are part

of

12. and part of one

had broken o

13. I couldn’t com-

pletely control

14.would have costmore than

15. I sold the car to

16. They pay cash

for scrap cars

17. that can no lon-

ger be driven

18. sll in great con-

dion, especially

the interior

19. will take the car

apart

20. It was a sad day

when

21. I loved my car.22. the only car I’ve

ever owned.

23. so a car isn’t a

necessity

24. a one- or two-

year-old used

car.

25.buying a brand

new car.




Listening Comprehension Quesonsa. I was driving around doing some errandsb. No. I knew that my car was on its last legs.c. The steering wheel was moving to the le on its own & I could hear something raling under-

neath the car.d. Small rods underneath my car had rusted and part of one had broken o. The rods are important

because they are part of the steering system.e. The repairs would have cost more than the car was worth.f. I sold it to a scrapyard.g. It’s an auto recycling company. They pay cash for scrap cars and then take those cars apart & sel

the parts to other customers.

h. I bought it in 2001.i. Yes. j. I work from home, so a car isn’t a necessity.

Put the Sentences in Order1. My car died.2. I was driving around doing some errands.3. The steering wheel started moving on its own and there was a raling sound underneath the car4. The rods that connected the wheels to the steering mechanism had rusted and broken o.5. I didn’t get the car repaired because the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth.6. The car was towed to the scrapyard.

7. The scrapyard will take the car apart & sell the parts to other customers.8. I don’t have another car yet.

9. I want to buy a used car.

RETURN TO LISTENING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES

Core Vocabulary Review

Conversaon #1

I. buy

II. payIII. sold

IV. worth

V. worth

VI. repairs

Conversaon #2

I. wrong

II. aboutIII. steering

IV. repairs

V. repairs

VI. cost

VII. towed

RETURN TO CORE VOCABULARY REVIEW



Crossword puzzle

Across

1. necessity

4. worth

7. safely

8. explain

10. especially

11. underneath

13. condion

17. take apart

18. interior

Down

2. completely

3. important

5. xed

6. connect

9. on its last legs

12. on its own

13. customer

14. no point in

15. pay cash

16. noce

RETURN TO CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Grammar

1. Complete the sentence [If you used get in your answers, that’s ne.]

a. is having her eyes checked

b. had his wallet stolen

c. having* her hair cut

d. having her photo taken

e. have her car repaired?

*Remember, you can use the present connuous to talk about a future event.

2. Answer the queson

a. I had my coat cleaned.b. I had my new television delivered

c. I had new windows installed.

d. I had the invitaons to my party made.

e. I had my car washed.

RETURN TO GRAMMAR SECTION

http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-using-the-present-simple-to-talk-about-the-future/http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-using-the-present-simple-to-talk-about-the-future/


40/40

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

My car died last October. I was sad, but I wasn’t surprised. I knew my car was on its last legs. It happened on

a Wednesday while I was driving around doing some errands. As I was driving, I noced that the steering

wheel was slowly moving to the le on its own, even though I was driving in a straight line and the wheels

weren’t turning. I could also hear something raling underneath the car. I nished my errands and got

home safely, but I knew it was the last me I would ever drive my car.

It’s hard to explain what went wrong with my car, because I don’t know a lot about cars. Here’s what my dad

explained to me. There are small rods underneath the car that are part of the steering system. These rods

are important, because they connect the front wheels to the steering mechanism. The rods underneath

my car had rusted and part of one had broken o , which meant that I couldn’t completely control the fron

wheels with the steering wheel. There was no point in geng it xed because the repairs would have cost

more than the car was worth.

I sold the car to the scrapyard. Nowadays scrapyards are called auto recycling companies, or auto recyclers

They pay cash for scrap cars, which are broken-down cars that can no longer be driven. The rest of the cawas sll in great condion, especially the interior, so the scrapyard will take the car apart and sell the parts

to other customers.

It was a sad day when my car was towed away to the scrapyard. I loved my car. I bought it brand new in

2001 and I drove it everywhere. It was the only car I’ve ever owned. I haven’t bought another car yet

I work from home, so a car isn’t a necessity. I’m thinking about buying a one- or two-year-old used car

That’s more aordable than buying a brand new car.

Documents

English Teacher Melanie Study Guide 19 My Car Died