A A A A ENGLISH IN VIDEO

Life on horseback
Lesson code: 1ZHJ-83CD-DFUP INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
American English

1 Warm up
What country do these photos all relate to? What do you know about this country?

2 Before you watch

You are going to watch a short clip from a TV documentary. Before you watch, read the introduction
and find the word or phrase in the text which means:

1. people who live by traveling from place to place:

2. people who keep animals for milk and meat:
3. connect people or groups who have different experiences:
4. traveling with the goal of achieving something:
5. money given by an organization to pay for study or travel:
6. very old:

What's it like to live among Mongolian nomads and herdsmen? Chris Bashinelli, the host of the National
Geographic Channel show Bridge the Gap: Mongolia, is on a quest to find out. Chris received a grant from
National Geographic to travel across the country and learn more about what happens when an ancient
nomadic culture meets the modern world.
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Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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 Life on horseback
A A A A ENGLISH IN VIDEO

3 Watching for the main idea

Now watch a clip from the documentary and choose the best summary:

1. Chris took a lot of photographs of the nomads but they didn't want to speak to him.
2. Chris tried some traditional Mongolian activities but he couldn't understand much.
3. Chris lived with the nomads and made a strong connection with them.

4 Watching for detail

Watch the clip again and write the missing words in the transcript:

1
I'm in Mongolia to discover what it means to be a modern-day nomad. Wrestling is in
Mongolia you know. Was it physically difficult? Yes. Was I scared? Yes. Did I lose? I was slaughtered.
What made it special was at the end of that whole day, I had this man speaking to me in Mongolian and
2 3
sharing his philosophies of . You need to be able to ride on to be a
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nomad. Children learn to do this, literally in many cases, before they even . I've never
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been on a horse in my life. There was no it was get on your horses and go. In
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that moment it felt like there was no between myself the horse, the earth, the land, the
culture. It all blended into one and I will remember that for the rest of my life. Mongolian life is extremely
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difficult but you don't hear a lot of . I don't even think they would define it in those terms
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as or difficult. It was just life. Could I survive as a nomad for more than a month? Well,
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definitely not. But just a glimpse into their will help to dissolve the wall between our self
and others. We can walk away feeling that this Mongolian wrestler, this Mongolian herdsmen or nomad is
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just us.

5 Vocabulary in context
Choose the best meaning for each word in bold as it is used in the clip/transcript, using the context to
help you.

1. Wrestling is traditional in Mongolia you know. ... Did I lose? I was slaughtered. /'slO:t@d/
a. killed b. completely defeated c. angry

2. ... it felt like there was no separation between myself, the horse, the earth, the land, the culture. It all
blended into one ...
a. not able to see b. became very confusing c. mixed together

3. But just a glimpse into their experience ...

a. a short look b. a conversation c. thinking deeply

4. ... will help to dissolve the wall between ourself and others.
a. identify b. break down c. repair
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You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex

Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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Linguahouse.com OC
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 Life on horseback
A A A A ENGLISH IN VIDEO

6 Grammar: habits and changes

Match these forms with their uses:

1. used to + infinitive
2. be used to + verb with -ing/noun/pronoun
3. get used to + verb with -ing/noun/pronoun

a. to describe past habits, repeated actions, and states

b. to talk about new things that are strange and difficult at first, but are becoming familiar, normal,
and easy for us
c. to talk about things that are already familiar, normal, and easy for us
Now decide if these sentences are true, false or not given, based on the information in the video. Be
ready to explain your answers using information from the clip/transcript.

1. Herding used to be the main way of life in Mongolia.

2. Chris was used to wrestling so he wasn't worried about trying the sport.
3. Children get used to riding horses from an early age.
4. Chris used to ride horses when he was younger.
5. Mongolians are used to hard work but Chris isn't.
6. He was interested in the way the nomads were getting used to modern technology.

7 Practice
Complete the six sentences about yourself. Of the sentences, make four true and two false. Be careful
with grammar!

1. I used to ... 2. I never used to ...

3. I'm used to ... 4. I'm not used to ...
5. I'm getting used to ... 6. I will never get used to ...

Then work in pairs. Student A, read all your sentences to Student B. Student B, decide which two are
false and explain why. Change roles and repeat.

8 Extension presentation skills

Read these sentences from the transcript. How many speakers were there? Why are these sentences
unusual? Why did the speaker choose to present information in this way?

Was it physically difficult? Yes. Was I scared? Yes. Did I lose? I was slaughtered.
Could I survive as a nomad for more than a month? Well, definitely not.
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3/3
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You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex

Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
PI

O
c
Linguahouse.com OC
P H OT