Learn English #9 •Intermediate | Advanced

Read the newspaper story below, and then answer the questions that follow it.

Teen saves his saviour

A U.S. teenager who saved the life of a "stranger" was shocked to find it was a nurse who did the same for him in 1999.

Kevin Stephan, 17, of Buffalo, New York, rushed to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre when he saw Penny Brown choking on her lunch.

He did not recognise Ms Brown as the off-duty nurse who got his heart beating again after a bat hit him in the chest during a baseball game, reports the Buffalo News.

But Kevin's mother, who was in the restaurant where Kevin performed his good deed, knew exactly who it was.

"Oh, my goodness," Lorraine Stephan told her. "You saved my son's life seven years ago, and now he's saved yours."

Kevin added, "Wow. I couldn't believe it! Everyone I have told is like, 'No way.' They're in total disbelief. It's one of those things you can't explain. It was meant to happen. I'm Catholic, and I believe the Lord kind of set things up. They say things happen for a reason, and nothing is a coincidence."

Brown, an intensive-care nurse at Buffalo General Hospital, said she can't think too long about the two incidents "without being freaked" by it.

"It's almost impossible to believe, but I'm very appreciative of what occurred," she said. "One good turn deserves another."


• Text from Ananova.com

Reading comprehension

True or false?

    true false
1. Kevin had not seen Penny Brown before.
2. Kevin nearly died seven years earlier when he was playing baseball.
3. Kevin's mother recognised Penny Brown.
4. Kevin thinks that what happened is just a coincidence.
5. Penny Brown thinks that what happened was the work of God.
       

Exercises

1. Word building

a) Write the form indicated in brackets of the verbs on the left.

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b) Complete the sentences with words from the exercise above.

Please ensure a Java Virtual Machine is installed and enabled

 

2. Get + object + verb + -ing

This structure means "make someone or something start doing something".

Complete the sentences with the -ing form of the verbs:

dance, go, move, think, eat, laugh, talk and work.

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3. More exercises
You will find more exercises relating to this text in the Advanced section:

 

What do you think?

What was your reaction to the news story? Have you saved anyone's life, or had your life saved by someone else? Have you ever experienced a coincidence like this? What happened? How did you feel?

Do you think what happened in the news story was a coincidence or was it "meant to happen"? Do you believe in destiny or divine intervention?

 

More exercises

 


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