“Lateral Thinking” - listening and speculating
Shared by Adam
Tasks
- Read the four stories to your students and ask them to invent plausible explanations.
As simple as that :) If you know any other “lateral thinking” situations drop them here at www.eslhandouts.com.
The Plane Crash
Susan watched her husband get on the 8.15 p.m. flight from Toronto to Chicago. She then drove home from the airport and sat down to watch a movie. Halfway through the movie there was a news flash; the 8.15 p.m. flight from Toronto to Chicago had crashed and sadly there were no survivors. However, Susan was quite unconcerned and continued to watch the movie. Why? Answer: The movie she was watching had been recorded on a video casette.
The Lost Passenger
Little Billy was four years old and both his parents were dead. He was put on a train to send him to a new home in the country. Billy couldn’t read or write and couldn’t remember his address, so a message was hung round his neck showing Billy’s name and destination. However, Billy never arrived at his new home. Why? Answer: Billy was a goat and ate the message.
The Expedition
A renown scientist and his team went to the Antarctic on an expedition. They were doing research day after day and collected a large number of specimen. On the last day of the expedition one of the team fell down into a big ice-crack and found a big block of ice with naked Adam, the first human being, frozen inside. How did he know the person was Adam? Answer: Adam can’t have had a belly button.
Up the stairs
John was a man in his forties. He lived on a 10th floor of a very tall apartment building somewhere in Europe. Every day he would wake up at 7 o’clock, take shower, eat breakfast, take an elevator down to the ground floor and go to work by car. However, when getting back, he would only take take the elevator up to the 7th floor and walk up the stairs the ramaining 3 floors. Why? Answer: John was short and couldn’t reach the 10th floor button.
One Response to ““Lateral Thinking” - listening and speculating”
Pretty cool ;)