Sometimes after you have been on a school trip or a holiday, you might want to write about it. In this sort of writing, you are retelling what has happened. That means using the past tense. The events you talk about should be in chronological order just as if writing a story. When planning your story, it helps to think about these: who, what, where, when and why. Read this retelling and answer the questions. Trip to the Peak Last week my brother Cedric, my friend Alvin and I decided to go to the Peak. We had never been there before, so we were excited. We got a No 10 bus from North Point to Happy Valley and then we walked up to the terminus of the Peak tram. I paid the fare and we sat in the back seat. The track was very steep and Cedric was frightened. When we arrived at the top, the view was magnificent. It was a sunny day; there was no pollution so visibility was good. We could see lots of Hong Kong Island, the harbour and all the way over to Kowloon. As we were thirsty, we went to a shop to buy a cold drink. Then we decided to watch the fountain for a while. The water sprays up when you least expect it. There were lots of people. The Peak is a popular place. We enjoyed guessing who was a tourist and who lived in Hong Kong. Some tourists were walking around in a group following a guide who was carrying a flag. Alvin asked if we could go and visit the wax museum. I agreed. Inside there were wax models of famous people including Bruce Lee and Kelly Chen Wai-lam. After we came out, a strange thing happened. A small boy was crying and shouting for his mother. He was lost. I stayed with the boy while Cedric and Alvin looked for his mother. They found her near the fountain, and she was so pleased that we had helped find her son, she gave us some money to buy ice cream. It was beginning to get dark so we decided to get the No 15 bus down the hill. It had been a good day. We all agreed we would go to the Peak again, and very soon. Glossary terminus (n) - a place where public transport (buses, boats and trains) begins and ends journeys fare (n) - money you pay to travel on public transport visibility (n) - how far you can see pollution (n) - dirt and waste that spoil the environment fountain (n) - a device that sprays water into the air popular (adj) - liked by a lot of people Comprehension 1. Who went to the Peak with the person who wrote the recount? 2. Why did they all go to the Peak? 3. When did they go? 4. How did they get to the Peak? 5. Where did they go to see Bruce Lee and Kelly Chen Wai-lam? 6. What did they buy when the boy's mother gave them some money? Be a writer! Recounts have a definite structure. Use the template below to write your own recount. It could be a visit to a relative or a museum. Perhaps you could write about a recent holiday. The main thing is to enjoy your writing. Set the scene: Write a few sentences about where you went and why. Write about events: Write about what happened in order. Usually four or five things are enough. Write a closing statement: It could be something like, 'When I got back I told my father what had happened'. Anagrams An anagram is when the letters of a word are in the wrong order. Tourists come to Hong Kong from all over the world. Here are some anagrams of some of the countries. Re-arrange the letters to find out where they are from. 7. CARFEN 8. ACARIME 9. TARASILUA 10. ASIRUS 11. ARIFAC Crossword Work out which famous city each clue below represents. Choose the correct answer from the list and write it in the grid. List: Beijing, Bangkok, London, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo 1. There is a famous opera house in this city 2. The city near the Great Wall 3. Thailand's most famous city 4. The Eiffel Tower is a landmark there 5. The river Thames runs through this city 6. The capital of Japan 7. The Vatican is a famous building in this city Answers 1. Cedric and Alvin; 2. They had never been there before; 3. last week; 4. by bus and the Peak tram; 5. the wax museum; 6. ice cream; 7. France; 8. America; 9. Australia; 10. Russia; 11. Africa Crossword 1. Sydney; 2. Beijing; 3. Bangkok; 4. Paris; 5. London; 6. Tokyo; 7. Rome