READ & LISTEN II

TRACK 14: US MAN & ENGLISHMAN

H
ave you ever
lost your mobile
phone? The website
mobileinsurance.com has
published some of the most
unusual claims for lost
phones. Here are a few of
them.
A young man broke his
phone after he dropped it
from a tree. At the time,
he was trying to lm a Blur
concert in Hyde Park. Hed
climbed up there for a better
view.
A 33-year-old woman lost
her mobile phone after her
three-year-old son ushed it
down the toilet.
A farmer lost his phone
inside a cow. He was using
the torch on the phone to
help him deliver a calf.
A young woman dropped
her mobile phone
overboard during a cruise.
She was with her boyfriend
at the time, re-enacting the
famous Im the king of the
world scene from the lm
Titanic.
A middle-aged man lost his
iPhone 4S after it fell down
a toilet bowl. Unfortunately,
he only realised that it had
fallen out after he ushed
the toilet.
A young woman lost her
mobile phone to a seagull.
She was walking along the
beach when one of the
birds swooped down and
snatched it out of her hand.
A middle-aged father had
his mobile phone stolen by
a monkey. He was with his
family at a nature reserve
when some monkeys got
into their car and one of
them ran of with the phone.
The man ofered to give a
description of the monkey
that took it.
A pyro-technician managed
to blow up his mobile
phone. At the time, he
was putting on a show at
the National Fireworks
Championships in
Plymouth. It was only as
the smoke cleared that
he realised hed left his
iPhone 3GS in the blast
zone.
A middle-aged woman
accidentally cooked her
mobile phone in the oven.
She was baking a cake for
her daughters birthday
when her Nokia 630i fell
into the sponge mixture.
Unaware, she placed
the cake in the oven.
Unfortunately, the phone
didnt survive the high
temperatures.
A 40-year-old mans mobile
phone was destroyed
by his pet Chihuahua.
Apparently, the dog chewed
it to bits after having his
play ball conscated for
misbehaving.
Whatever next?
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29
Answers on page 44
1
Pre-reading
Look at the list of words below.
What possible connection
do you think they could have
with lost or damaged mobile
phones?
2
Reading I
Read the article once to
compare your ideas from the
Pre-reading task.

3
Reading II
Read the article again. Then,
answer the questions. Who
1. flushed his mums
phone down the toilet?
2. had her phone stolen
by a seagull?
3. dropped his phone
from a tree?
4. had his phone stolen
by a monkey?
5. lost his phone inside
a cow?
6. blew up his phone?
a calf a tree a toilet
an oven a dog a monkey
a cruise ship a beach
UNUSUAL EXCUSES FOR
LOST MOBILE PHONES
Exams This reading and listening activity will help prepare you for English exams such as FCE, IELTS and TOEFL.
Objective To improve your reading and listening skills.
Think about it When was the last time you lost something? What was it? How did you lose it?
When was the last time you broke something? How did it happen?
a claim n
if you put in a claim for something
youve lost, you tell an insurance company
about it so you can get some money for it
to drop vb
if you drop something, it falls out of
your hand
to ush something down the toilet exp
if you ush the toilet, you press a button
and water cleans the toilet. If you ush
something down the toilet, it disappears
after falling into the toilet and the toilet is
ushed
a torch n
an electrical object that provides light
to deliver n
if you deliver a baby, you help the baby
come out of the mother
a calf n
a baby cow
overboard adv
if you lose something overboard, it falls
from the ship youre travelling on
to re-enact vb
to act out a scene from a lm
a toilet bowl n
the part of a toilet where the water is
a seagull n
a large white and grey bird that lives near
the sea
to swoop down phr vb
if a bird swoops down, it ies down in a
smooth movement
to snatch vb
to take something with force
a nature reserve n
a protected area with many trees, plants,
animals, etc.
to blow up phr vb
if you blow something up, you destroy it
with explosives
reworks n
objects that create a lot of noise and light
in the sky
a blast zone n
an area where an explosion happens
an oven n
an electrical device in the kitchen for
cooking food. Its like a box with a door
in the front
to bake vb
to cook food in the oven
sponge n
a mixture for a cake that is made from
our, eggs and sugar
to chew to bits exp
if an animal chews something to bits,
it bites it many times until that thing is in
little pieces
to conscate vb
if you conscate an object from
someone, you take it away from them
to misbehave vb
to act in a bad way; to be bad
GLOSSARY