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Innovation in Learning

A A GENERAL ENGLISH

A changing world
Lesson code: HE4K-C1IB-AXG8-6 UPPER INTERMEDIATE +

1 Warm-up
What do you know about the changes that occurred in Eastern Europe in 1989-1990?

2 Health expressions
Match the words/phrases in the left and right columns to form collocations:

1. fall a heart attack (= to be the victim of a heart attack)

2. remain in good health (= to continue to be well after an operation or illness)
3. come into a coma (= to enter a state of unconsciousness from which you cannot
be woken)
4. take precautions (= to do things to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous
from happening)
5. suffer round (= to regain consciousness)
6. give someone three years to live (= to say that someone will live for three more years)

3 Find the information

Read the article below and find the following information:

1. How long was Jan Grzebski in a coma?

2. When did he lose consciousness?
3. How many years did doctors give him to live?
4. When did Lech Walesa receive the Nobel Peace Prize?
5. When did Mr. Walesa return to work after his period of house arrest?
6. What percentage of the vote did Mr. Walesa achieve in Poland's first post-communist election?
7. What percentage of the vote did Mr. Walesa achieve in Poland's presidential election in 2000?
8. When did Katrin Sass fall into a coma in the film Goodbye, Lenin!?
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A changing world
A A A A
Coma victim wakes up to
post-communist world
Adapted from The Independent, 04 June 2007
1 A Polish railway worker has woken after 19 years
of a coma to discover that his world has changed
beyond recognition.
2 "When I went into a coma, there was only tea and
vinegar in the shops," Jan Grzebski, now 65, told
a Polish news channel. "Meat was rationed and
there were huge petrol queues everywhere."
3 Mr Grzebski lost consciousness in 1988, after he
was hit by a train. Doctors gave him only two or
three years to live. But because of the tireless care
of his wife Gertruda, who moved him every hour
to prevent bedsores, he remained in good health.
He was, however, completely removed from the
dramatic changes across the world.
4 After regaining consciousness, he told his family
that he had vague memories of family gatherings
and of his relatives talking to him, trying to
provoke a response. There was plenty for them to
tell him about, if they had wished to surprise him
with amazing news.
5 When Mr Grzebski lost consciousness in 1988,
another Polish working man, the electrician Lech
Walesa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in
1983, was back at work after years under house
arrest. But the Communist authorities still had him
under close surveillance. By 1990, Communism
had collapsed and Mr Walesa was elected
President of Poland with 75 per cent of the vote.
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Innovation in Learning
GENERAL ENGLISH
Walesa turned out to be a failure as president. And
when he stood for office again in 2000, Mr
Grzebski's relatives would have pointed out, that
only 1 per cent of the electorate voted for him. By
that time, Poland had a market economy,
communism had become a thing of the past, but
the injured railwayman was still dead to the world.
6 Mr Grzebski's remarkable story is a real life
version of the film Good Bye, Lenin!, in which
Katrin Sass, an East Berliner, suffers a heart
attack and falls into a coma in 1989. She misses
the fall of the Berlin Wall and the sudden and
dramatic transformation of everyday life as the
communist system collapses.
7 When she comes back to life, the doctor warns
her son Alex that a shock might kill her, so he goes
to drastic lengths to hide the revolution from her.
8 Gertruda Grzebska took no such precautions
when her husband came round, and he saw the
miracle of modern Poland. He noticed that people
were complaining just as much as during the
years of empty shops and martial law. "Now I see
people on the streets with cellphones and there
are so many goods in the shops it makes my head
spin," he said.
9 "What amazes me is all these people who walk
around with their mobile phones and yet they
never stop moaning."
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A changing world
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

4 Checking understanding
Choose the best answer according to the text:

1. Mr Grzebski survived his coma because

a. his wife took good care of him
b. he didn't experience the political changes
c. his family talked regularly to him

2. When Mr. Grzebski regained consciousness he told his family that

a. he was surprised by the amazing news
b. he could remember his relatives talking to him
c. they had managed to provoke a response from him

3. Lech Walesa received only 1% of the vote in the second elections because
a. he became unpopular
b. he did not perform well as president
c. Poland was a market economy

4. When Katrin Sass regained consciousness in the film Goodbye Lenin!

a. she saw the collapse of the communist system
b. her son tried to hide her from the revolution
c. she nearly died from shock

5. Mr Grzebski was amazed because

a. people were complaining
b. the shops were full
c. people had mobile phones

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means...

1. `so much that it cannot be recognized anymore' (phrase, P1)

2. distributed in limited individual portions because there is not enough to meet demand (verb -ed, P2)
3. painful areas of the skin from lying in bed too long (noun pl., P3)
4. 'were watching him very carefully in order to catch him committing a crime' (phrase, P5)
5. competed in an election for an official position of responsibility (phrase, P5)
6. all the citizens of a country who are allowed to vote in an election (noun, P5)
7. something which does not happen or exist anymore (phrase, P5)
8. does extreme things in order to achieve something (idiom, P7)
9. complaining, usually about something that does not seem important to other people (verb -ing, P9)
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A changing world
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

6 Phrases in the text

Match the words in the left and right columns to create phrases from the text:

1. dramatic arrest (= forced by the authorities to stay in your house as if it was a jail)
2. vague changes (= very sudden or noticeable changes)
3. amazing economy (= an economy which is not planned or controlled by a central authority)
4. house law (= when a city or country is controlled by the army)
5. a market memories (= unclear memories of something that happened in the past)
6. martial news (= very surprising news)
7. a remarkable story (= a story that is very surprising and unusual)

7 Grammar - Tense review

Study the underlined structures in the following sentences from the text and match them to the rules
below:

1. Mr Grzebski lost consciousness in 1988.

2. A Polish railway worker has woken after 19 years of a coma..
3. ...his world has changed beyond all recognition.
4. By 1990, Communism had collapsed.
5. He noticed that people were complaining just as much as during the years of empty shops and
martial law.
6. ...all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and yet they never stop moaning.
7. When she comes back to life, the doctor warns her son Alex that a shock might kill her.

a completed event in the past

a completed past event that happened when another activity was in progress
a recent event that has a connection with the present
a repeated or habitual action in the present
an action that started in the past and is now complete
narrating the events of a film, play or novel
something that happened before a specific time or event in the past

Now put present simple, past simple, past simple + past continuous, present perfect simple, past
perfect simple next to each sentence.
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A changing world
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

Complete the following mini-biographies of two important scientific inventors by putting the verbs in
brackets into their correct form:

Nicola Tesla (1856-1943) (be described) as the most important scientist and inventor of
the modern age. Among other things, he (develop) alternating current electric power (AC
systems), which we (use) today to power many modern appliances such as televisions,
computers, lights and heaters. Tesla (be born) in Croatia and (move) to the
United States in 1884. By the time he (become) a US citizen at the age of 35, he
(make) several important scientific achievements. However, late in his life people
(regard) him as a mad scientist due to his eccentric personality and bizarre scientific
claims. Tesla (die) poor in the New Yorker Hotel, where he (live) for the
last ten years of his life. Since his death, people (use/also) his achievements and theories
to support `unscientific' claims such as UFO theories.

Tim Berners-Lee (born in 1955) (be) the English computer scientist credited with
inventing the World Wide Web. He (start) experimenting with computer systems while he
(study) at Oxford University, when he (build) a computer using an old
television. Berners-Lee (graduate) in physics in 1976 and (go on) to work
as computer programmer. In 1980, when he (work) as an independent contractor for
CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, he (propose) a project to facilitate sharing and updating
information among researchers. 10 years later, he (design) and (build) the
first Web browser and server. By 1991 the World Wide Web (be born), and the first website
(go) online that year. It (provide) an explanation on what the World Wide
Web (be). He made his idea available freely, with no patent or royalties due. Since then,
the Internet (transform) the way people (live) and (work).

Work in pairs. Write biographical information about yourself or someone you know. Tell your partner
about it using sentences with the past simple/past perfect and past simple/past continuous. Use the
past continuous and past simple to describe what you were doing or what was happening when an
important event took place or when an important decision was made.

8 Talking point
Have there been any major changes or events in your country's recent history? How was life different
before and after these changes or events?
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A changing world - Key
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

1- Warm-up

Encourage a short discussion. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe that occurred in 1989 is the context
of the real-life story in Exercise 3.

2- Health expressions

1. fall - into a coma (= to enter a state of unconsciousness from which you cannot be woken)
2. remain - in good health (= to continue to be well after an operation or illness)
3. come - round (= to regain consciousness)
4. take - precautions (= to do things to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous from happening)
5. suffer - a heart attack (= to be the victim of a heart attack)
6. give someone - three years to live (= to say that someone will live for three more years)

3- Find the information

1. 19 years 2. 1988 3. 2 or 3 4. 1983 5. 1988 6. 75% 7. 1% 8. 1989

4- Checking understanding

1. a 2. b 3. b 4. b 5. a

5- Find the words

1. beyond recognition 2. rationed 3. bedsores

4. had him under close surveil-5. stood for office 6. electorate
lance
7. a thing of the past 8. goes to drastic lengths 9. moaning

6- Phrases in the text

1. dramatic - changes (= very sudden or noticeable changes)

2. vague - memories (= unclear memories of something that happened in the past)
3. amazing - news (= very surprising news)
4. house - arrest (= forced by the authorities to stay in your house as if it was a jail)
5. a market - economy (= an economy which is not planned or controlled by a central authority)
6. martial - law (= when a city or country is controlled by the army)
7. a remarkable - story (= a story that is very surprising and unusual)

7- Grammar - Tense review

1. Mr Grzebski lost consciousness in 1988. - n

2. A Polish railway worker has woken after 19 years of a coma.. - o
3. ...his world has changed beyond all recognition. - p
4. By 1990, Communism had collapsed. - q
5. He noticed that people were complaining just as much as during the years of empty shops and
martial law. - r
6. ...all these people who walk around with their mobile phones and yet they never stop moaning. - s
7. When she comes back to life, the doctor warns her son Alex that a shock might kill her. - t
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A changing world - Key
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

1. past simple
2. present perfect simple
3. present perfect simple
4. past perfect simple
5. past simple + past continuous
6. present simple
7. present simple

Nicola Tesla (1856-1943) has been described as the most important scientist and inventor of the
modern age. Among other important things, he developed alternating current electric power (AC
systems), which we use today to power many modern appliances such as televisions, computers,
lights and heaters. Tesla was born in Croatia and moved to the United States in 1884. By the time
he became a US citizen at the age of 35, he had made several important scientific discoveries.
However, later in his life, people regarded him as a mad scientist due to his eccentric personality
and bizarre scientific claims. Tesla died poor in the New Yorker Hotel, where he had lived for the
last ten years of his life. Since his death, people have also used his achievements and theories to
support `unscientific' claims such as UFO theories.

Tim Berners-Lee (born in 1955) is the English computer scientist credited with inventing the World
Wide Web. He started experimenting with computer systems while he was studying at Oxford
University, when he built a computer using an old television. Berners-Lee graduated in physics
in 1976 and went on to work as computer programmer. In 1980, when he was working as an
independent contractor for CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, he proposed a project to facilitate sharing
and updating information among researchers. 10 years later, he designed and built the first Web
browser and server. By 1991, the World Wide Web had been born, and the first website went
online that year. It provided an explanation on what the World Wide Web was. He made his idea
available freely, with no patent or royalties due. Since then, the Internet has transformed the way
people live and work.

8- Talking point

This activity can be done in pairs, groups or as a class, depending on the cultural make-up of the class. In a
multicultural class, students from different countries could be paired up and take turns to talk about their country.
Encourage the students to use a variety of tenses.
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