WARM-UP VIDEO FOR PAST SIMPLE (REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS).

Instructions. Watch the first 2 minutes of David Blaine's TED talk and revise Past Simple. If you want more practice, click here for the full 145-item quiz based on the whole video.

------------------------------------

Exercise. Complete each gap with suitable words and expressions you hear from the video.

I was buried alive in New York City in a coffin, buried alive in a coffin in April, 1999, for a week. (1) ………….. there with nothing but water. And (2) ………….. being so much fun that (3) ………….. I could pursue doing more of these things. The next one is (4) ………….. myself in a block of ice for three days and three nights in New York City. That one was way more difficult than I had expected. The one after that, (5) ………….. on top of a hundred-foot pillar for 36 hours. (6) ………….. to hallucinate so hard that the buildings that were behind me (7) ………….. to look like big animal heads. So, next (8) ………….. to London. In London (9) ………….. in a glass box for 44 days with nothing but water. (10) ………….., for me, one of the most difficult things I'd ever done, but (11) ………….. also the most beautiful. There was so many skeptics, especially the press in London, that (12) ………….. flying cheeseburgers on helicopters around my box to tempt me. (Laughter) So, (13) ………….. very validated when the New England Journal of Medicine actually (14) ………….. the research for science. My next pursuit was (15) ………….. to see how long I could go without breathing, like how long I could survive with nothing, not even air.

Key: Look at the key and say aloud the script from the video to improve your English.

I was buried alive in New York City in a coffin, buried alive in a coffin in April, 1999, for a week. (1) (I lived) there with nothing but water. And (2) (it ended up) being so much fun that (3) (I decided) I could pursue doing more of these things. The next one is (4) (I froze) myself in a block of ice for three days and three nights in New York City. That one was way more difficult than I had expected. The one after that, (5) (I stood) on top of a hundred-foot pillar for 36 hours. (6) (I began) to hallucinate so hard that the buildings that were behind me (7) (started) to look like big animal heads. So, next (8) (I went) to London. In London (9) (I lived) in a glass box for 44 days with nothing but water. (10) (It was) , for me, one of the most difficult things I'd ever done, but (11) (it was) also the most beautiful. There was so many skeptics, especially the press in London, that (12) (they started) flying cheeseburgers on helicopters around my box to tempt me. (Laughter) So, (13) (I felt) very validated when the New England Journal of Medicine actually (14) (used) the research for science. My next pursuit was (15) (I wanted) to see how long I could go without breathing, like how long I could survive with nothing, not even air.

Sources: 

Channel: TED. How I held my breath for 17 minutes | David Blaine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFnGhrC_3Gs

---------------------------------------------

Compiled by Top Grade Edu