DISCUSSION

 Do you think people are born dare-devils or is it circumstances which turn them into
dare-devils?

 What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Why did you do it? Do you regret
doing it? Would you do it again?

 Do you know what a ski-bike is? Can you predict what it could be or who might use
one?

 Have any of your friends been in the press? Tell their story.

The slippery slope up

This is the title of a newspaper article. What do you think the text will be about?

Read the article to check your predictions and find out as much information as you can
about the person mentioned in the text.

SPEAKING
What do you think about Brendan’s story?
Some of the expressions below might be useful:

It takes guts to …… He must be mad / bonkers to ……

It must have been really difficult to face up to …. What a traumatic experience!

It’s a huge responsibility to …. If I were him I’d have …./ I wouldn’t have ….

I can’t imagine ….ing I can / can’t understand him wanting to ….

LANGUAGE
 The text is riddled with phrasal verbs. Are you familiar with them all?

 Can you identify any idiomatic expressions which you may hear if you go to
England or see if you read this kind of text but which are difficult to find in
textbooks?
Do you understand them?

 In what ways is this text typical of an article in a local newspaper?

 Do you understand the double meaning in the title?