SPEAKING FLUENCY Here are the questions with answers. Pause the recording and speak out loud. You don t have to be perfect. Just speak quickly and have fun. Remember, if you want to improve your speaking, you have to speak a lot. w w w. d e e p e n g l i s h. c o m
Against all odds, the remarkable Roy Sullivan was hit by lightning seven times in his life. Was Roy Sullivan remarkable? Yes, Roy Sullivan was remarkable. Was he hit by lightning? Yes, he was hit by lightning. How many times was he hit by lightning? He was hit by lightning seven times. Was this against all odds? Yes, this was against all odds. Roy was a park ranger working in the Shenandoah National Park when he was first hit by lightning. What was Roy s job? Roy was a park ranger. Where was he working? He was working in the Shenandoah National Park. He was standing in a tower in the middle of a storm when he realized he wasn t in the safest of places. Where was he standing? He was standing in the middle of a storm. Who was standing in the middle of the storm? Roy was standing in the middle of the storm. He decided to make a run for it. I got just a few feet away from the tower, and then, blam! he said. What did he decide to do? He decided to make a run for it. How far did he get away from the tower before he got hit? He got just a few feet away from the tower before he got hit. Roy was lightning free for the next 27 years of his life until one day in 1969. How long was Roy lightning free? Roy was lightning free for 27 years. When was Roy hit by lightning again? Roy was hit by lightning again in 1969. He was driving down a mountain road when a bolt of lightning struck him through the window of his car. Was he driving down a mountain road or a city road? He was driving down a mountain road. Did he get struck through the window of his car or a bus? He got struck through the window of his car. Roy passed out, and the truck crashed. Who passed out? Roy passed out. What happened next? Next, he crashed. Deep English, 2011-2015 www.deepenglish.com 02
The third time was just a year later when Roy was shot into the air after being hit while working in his garden. Who was shot into the air? Roy was shot into the air. What was he doing when he was shot into the air? He was working in his garden when he was shot into the air. Amazingly, just a month later, his wife was also struck by lighting. What happened to his wife? His wife was also struck by lightning. When did this happen? It happened just a month later. Then in 1972, Roy was struck for the fourth time while working in a campground. This time, his hair was set on fire. What was Roy doing when he was struck a fourth time? Roy was working in a campground when he was struck a fourth time. What happened to his hair? His hair was set on fire. After four strikes, Roy was starting to get national attention and appeared on several TV shows. What was Roy starting to get? Roy was starting to get national attention. Did he appear on TV? Yes, he appeared on several TV shows. He was given the nickname the Human Lightning Rod. What was his nickname? His nickname was the Human Lightning Rod. Just a year later, Roy was hit, once again lighting his hair on fire and once again sending him flying through the air. Deep English, 2011-2015 www.deepenglish.com 03
Was he hit again a year later? Yes, he was hit again a year later. Did his hair catch on fire again? Yes, his hair caught on fire again. Did he go flying through the air again? Yes, he went flying through the air again. Roy claimed he had dreamt strike number four and number five before they happened, and when there was no follow-up dream, he decided that God was going to give him a break. Did he dream about the fourth and fifth lightning strike before or after they happened? He dreamt about the fourth and fifth lightning strike before they happened. What did he think God was going to give him? He thought God was going to give him a break. God spared me for some good purpose.it s between God and me, and nobody but us will ever know, he mysteriously said. Who mysteriously said this? Roy mysteriously said this. Apparently, he was wrong. Roy was struck two more times in his life. Was Roy right? No, Roy wasn t right. Roy was wrong. How many more times was he struck by lightning? He was struck by lightning two more times in his life. The last time was while fishing in 1977. When was the last time? The last time was in 1977. What was he doing? He was fishing. Roy claims that to add insult to injury, he had to fend off a bear trying to steal his fish after the lightning strike. What was the bear trying to do? The bear was trying to steal his fish. Did this add insult to injury? Yes, this added insult to injury. Did he fend the bear off? Yes, he fended the bear off. Lightning striking a person is pretty common and kills 24,000 people a year. Is lightning striking a person pretty common? Yes, lightning striking a person is pretty common. How many people are killed by lightning a year? 24,000 people are killed by lightning a year. But your chance of being struck twice are pretty slim. Deep English, 2011-2015 www.deepenglish.com 04
What are your chances of being struck twice? Your chances of being struck twice are pretty slim. In English, we say lightning never strikes twice to describe the unlikely chance of a bad thing happening more than once. How do we use the expression lightning never strikes twice? We say lightning never strikes twice to describe the unlikely chance of a bad thing happening more than once. Your chance of being struck by lightning twice are one in 9 million. What are your chances of being struck twice? Your chances of being struck twice are one in 9 million. What do you think your chances of being struck by lightning seven times are? If you guessed a number too high to count, you re in the right ballpark. Is the number too high to count? Yes, the number is too high to count. Your chances are 1 in one hundred decillion. That s a one with 35 zeroes after it. What are your chances? Your chances are 1 in one hundred decillion. That s a one with how many zeroes after it? That s a one with 35 zeroes after it. 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 So what do you think? Was Roy the luckiest or the unluckiest man in the world? Photos / Credits: Photo #1 (cover) by Fe Ilya: https://www.flickr.com/photos/renneville/2908748583 Deep English, 2011-2015 www.deepenglish.com 05