This document outlines the objectives and content of Unit 9 which focuses on speculating about unexplained historical events and evaluating the trustworthiness of news sources. The unit discusses common misconceptions in history, ways to express certainty or uncertainty about stories, how to report speech using modals, and how to speculate about the past using modals and passive voice. It also provides exercises on avoiding sentence fragments and evaluating the truthfulness of historical hoaxes.

1. Unit 9
History’s Mysteries
Objectives:
• Speculate about the out-of-the-ordinary
• Present a theory about a past event
• Discuss how believable a story is
• Evaluate the trustworthiness of news sources

2. Introduction
Throughout History, there have been
unexplained events and misconceptions
which can be interesting source of
discussion. For example:
 The hundred years’ war actually lasted 116 years.
 Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador.
 The October Revolution was celebrated in November.
 The Canary Islands are named after the dogs.
Summit 1: Page 98

3. Sound Bites
 Statements about Strange Stories:
 Don’t tell me you buy that story!
(I cant believe you think that story is true!)
 You're such a skeptic!
(You always doubt everything!)
 There’s no question, that’s story is real!
(The story is definitely real!)
 Get out of here!
(You’ve got to be kidding!)
 You have such a wild imagination!
(You think up some crazy things)
 Seeing is believing
(I have to see something with my own eyes to believe it)
Summit 1: Page 100

4. Vocabulary
Ways to say “I don’t know”
Beats me!
I don’t have a clue
Your guess is as good as mine
You got me!
I can’t imagine!
I have no idea!
Who knows?

5. Ways to express certainty
Very certain:
“Clearly /It’s
obvious / There’s
no question…
he’s not coming”
Almost certain:
Most likely,
probably, I’ll
bet… he’s not
coming”
Somewhat
certain: “I guess
/I imagine / I
suppose… he’s
not coming”
Not certain:
Maybe /It’s
possible /It could
be… he’s not
coming”
“I wonder why he hasn’t arrived yet”

6. Grammar Snapshot:
Reported Speech with Modals
 When a reporting verb is in past form, the
verb is the reported statement must also
shift to a previous past tense:
◦ I went to the store → “She said that she had gone
to the store”
 You most also change pronouns and
possessives to preserve the speaker’s point
of view:
◦ My brother got me a gift → “She said that her
brother had gotten her a gift”
SUMMIT 1: Pages 100-101

7. Grammar Snapshot:
Reported Speech with Modals
• With → would
• Can → could
• May → might
• Must → had to
• Have to → had to
• Would → would
• Could → could
• Might → might
• Should → should
• Ought to → Ought to
When
reporting
with modal
verbs some
modals
change to
previous
past and
others
don’t:
SUMMIT 1: Pages 102-103

8. Speculating About the Past Using
Modals and Passive Voice
 You can use:
[May-could-must-had to] + [have been] + [past participle]
to speculate with different degrees of
certainty:
Very Certain Almost Certain Not Certain
+ Had tp have been Must have been Might have been
May have been
Could have been
-
Couldn’t have been Must not have been Might not have been
Cant have been May not have been
SUMMIT 1: Pages 102-103

9. Word Skill:
Using adjectives with suffix -able
Provable:
I don’t think
your theory is
provable (that
can be shown
to be true).
Believable:
The story he
told seems
believable (can
be accepted as
true, seems
possible).
Debatable:
The cause of
the explosion is
debatable (not
easy to prove).
Questionable:
Her version of
the story is
questionable
(uncertain, but
most likely to
be untrue).
Unsolvable:
The mystery
may be
unsolvable
(impossible to
prove).
SUMMIT 1: Page 104-105
Note: Provable /pruvebel/ is different from Probable /prabebel/

10. Reading:
Evaluate trustworthiness of a hoax
 Read the articles on your book and select
the best answers for the questions below:
Questions Story 1 Story 2
The hoax is about
The news was published
The truth was revealed
The responsible was
Possible answers
1A filmmaker and a surgeon
260 years later
3diaries written by Hitler
4As soon as experts examined the diaries
5London's Daily Mail in 1933
6a photo of Lock Ness Monster
7German Magazine Der Stern IN 1983
8A reporter and an art forger
summit 1: Pages 106-107

11. Writing:
Avoiding sentence fragments
 A sentence fragment is a group of words
that does not express a complete thought.
 A dependent clause: “Because the banker
admitted to fraud” (this is a group of words that
contains a subject and a verb but begins with a
subordinating conjunction that makes it an
incomplete thought).
 A phrase: “With his help” “At the end of the year”
(this is a group of words that does NOT contain a
subject and a verb).

12. Writing:
Avoiding sentence fragments
 To connect a sentence fragment, we need to
attach the fragment to an independent clause to
complete the thought:
“Because the banker admitted to fraud, the bank was
close down.”
 We can also add a subject or a verb to make the
fragment into a sentence:
“She graduated at the end of the year.”
 Be sure to identify the subordinating
conjunctions:
after – as soon as - because – since – unless – until –
when – whenever - while.