Part 1 – Article

Level: B2 | Age: 13–14 | Topic: Feelings

Two Weeks Away From Home: What Nobody Tells You About a Language Camp

Task: Complete the article with the adjectives in the box. Use the -ed or -ing form where necessary.

When I found out that I was going to a language camp in Ireland, I was (1) ____________. Two weeks of sunshine, new friends and English practice – what could be better? But as the departure day came closer, I started to feel (2) ____________. I had never travelled without my parents, and the idea of going through the airport alone was a bit (3) ____________.

At the airport, the signs were really (4) ____________, and I walked to the wrong gate. I felt so (5) ____________ when a security guard had to show me the way in front of a long queue. Luckily, the flight was smooth, and I was so (6) ____________ that I slept for most of it.

The first night was the hardest. I was lying in a strange bed, thousands of kilometres from home, and I felt very (7) ____________. My room-mate, Lucia, didn’t help at first: her alarm clock made the most (8) ____________ noise at six every morning, and I was (9) ____________ for days. Fortunately, our group leader, Sam, was always (10) ____________. He made jokes at breakfast, and soon everybody was laughing.

By the end of the first week, things had changed. We went to a storytelling evening, and I was (11) ____________ by the old Irish legends. We hiked to a castle on top of a hill, and when we reached the top, we were (12) ____________ by the view. Of course, it wasn’t all perfect. My new shoes gave me blisters, and walking back down was (13) ____________. At one point I was (14) ____________ that I would never finish the hike, but my new friends encouraged me.

The last day was a little sad. We were all (15) ____________ that the camp was over, and some of us even cried at the bus stop. Still, looking back, it was the most (16) ____________ two weeks of my life, and I’m already planning to go again next summer!

After you read

1. Which feelings did the writer have before the trip, and which ones afterwards?

2. Have you ever been away from home alone? How did you feel?

3. Which is the better way to learn a language – a camp abroad or lessons at school? Why?

Part 2 – Story: The Mystery Note

Task: Complete the story with the adjectives in the box. Use the -ed or -ing form where necessary.

Mia had been at her new school for exactly three days, and she already felt (1) ____________. Everyone seemed to know everybody else, and she was too (2) ____________ to start a conversation. She had been so excited about the move, but after two days of eating lunch alone, she was (3) ____________.

On Thursday morning she opened her locker and found a small note: “Come to the old clock tower at five. Tell nobody.”

Mia was (4) ____________. Who would write to her? She hardly knew anyone! Her first thought was that it was a joke, and she felt (5) ____________. Then she remembered Leo, a (6) ____________ boy from her class who always smiled at her. Maybe it was his idea of fun. “I’m not going,” she told herself. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the note all day. By four thirty she was (7) ____________ it was a trap – and equally sure that she would regret staying at home.

At five o’clock she stood in front of the clock tower, her heart beating fast. The square was empty. Somewhere a door creaked in the wind, and the sound was (8) ____________. She was about to leave, feeling (9) ____________ that she had believed the note, when she heard footsteps behind her.

“You came!” It was Leo, with three other classmates and a huge chocolate cake. “We wanted to welcome you,” he said, “but you looked so shy that we thought a little mystery would be more fun.”

Mia was (10) ____________. For a moment she couldn’t speak. Then she burst out laughing, and her whole body suddenly felt (11) ____________. “I thought you were playing a trick on me!”

“Sorry!” said Leo. “Honestly, the silence at school was (12) ____________ for us too. We didn’t know how to talk to you.”

They sat on the steps and ate cake until it got dark. A girl called Sara was (13) ____________ by Mia’s stories about her old city, and asked her a hundred questions. When Mia finally walked home, she was (14) ____________. The note had been (15) ____________, but the evening was simply (16) ____________. For the first time in days, she wasn’t (17) ____________ at all.

Questions

1. How did Mia feel at the beginning of the story, and why?

2. Why did Mia think the note was a trick?

3. Do you think the classmates’ idea was a good one? Why / why not?

4. Write a different ending: what could have been behind the note?

Answer Key (Teacher)

Part 1 – Article

Part 2 – Story

Tip: -ed adjectives describe how a person feels; -ing adjectives describe the thing or person that causes the feeling. Article: gaps 3, 4, 8 and 16 need -ing. Story: gaps 8, 15 and 16 need -ing. Other answers are possible where the adjective fits the meaning (e.g. article 14 could be “frightened”; story 2 could be “frightened”).