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The Overcrowded Lifeboat
In 1842, a ship struck an iceberg and more than 30 survivors were crowded into a lifeboat
intended to hold 7. As a storm threatened, it became obvious that the lifeboat would have
to be lightened if anyone were to survive. The captain reasoned that the right thing to do
in this situation was to force some individuals to go over the side and drown. Such an
action, he reasoned, was not unjust to those thrown overboard, for they would have
drowned anyway. If he did nothing, however, he would be responsible for the deaths of
those whom he could have saved. Some people opposed the captain's decision. They
claimed that if nothing were done and everyone died as a result, no one would be
responsible for these deaths. On the other hand, if the captain attempted to save some, he
could do so only by killing others and their deaths would be his responsibility; this would
be worse than doing nothing and letting all die. The captain rejected this reasoning. Since
the only possibility for rescue required great efforts of rowing, the captain decided that
the weakest would have to be sacrificed. In this situation it would be absurd, he thought,
to decide by drawing lots who should be thrown overboard. As it turned out, after days of
hard rowing, the survivors were rescued and the captain was tried for his action. If you
had been on the jury, how would you have decided?
PART 1:
Talking about the “overcrowded lifeboat” dilemma! What would you have decided?
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PART 2: (Group Discussion)
What would you have done under these circumstances?
CASE 1: The Pregnant Woman
A pregnant woman leading a group of people out of a cave on a coast was stuck in the
mouth of that cave. In a short time high tide was supposed to be upon them, and unless
she had been unstuck, they would all have been drowned except the woman, whose head
was out of the cave. Fortunately, (or unfortunately,) someone had with him a stick of
dynamite. There seemed no way to get the pregnant woman loose without using the
dynamite that killed her; but if they had not used it, everyone would have been drowned.
What would you have done if you had had such a situation last year?
CASE 2: The Mad Bomber
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A madman who threatened to explode several bombs in crowded areas had been
apprehended. Unfortunately, he had already planted the bombs and they were scheduled
to go off in a short time. The authorities could not make him divulge the location of the
bombs by conventional methods. He refused to say anything and requested a lawyer to
protect his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. In exasperation, some high
level official suggested torture. This would have been illegal, of course, but the official
thought that it was nevertheless the right thing to do in this desperate situation. So they
tortured the man.
What would you have done? Would you have tortured the man if you had had the
responsibility to make a decision?
CASE 3: Giving drugs to kill her!
In August 1991, Dr. Nigel White was treating a 70-year-old woman who was extremely
ill with rheumatoid arthritis, and in constant pain. There was no chance that she would
ever leave her bed again. The only way Dr. White could relieve her pain was by giving
her large doses of heroin. After a time, however, heroin was not enough to stop the pain,
and the woman begged Dr. White to give her a drug that would kill her…
What would
you have done if you had had such a patient? Explain why?
CASE 4: Find your own daughter!
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When the nine-year-old daughter of Ernest and Regina Twigg died in 1988, the postmortem examination showed that she was not in fact their daughter. They made
enquiries, and discovered that someone had made a mistake at the hospital where Mrs.
Twigg had had her baby girl: their daughter had been given to another couple, and the
Twiggs had been given the other couple’s baby. Their daughter, they learnt, was living
with her ‘family’ in another part of the USA, 1500kilometers away… What would you
have done if you had had such a situation? Would you have gone to your own daughter’s
place and told the other family that actually she had never been their daughter?
CASE 5: Airplane crash
On 13 October 1972 a plane carrying 45 passengers and crew bound for Santiago, Chile,
crashed in a remote part of the High Andes. After waiting several days, the 27 survivors
of the crash realized that they had no chance of being rescued. They were stranded high
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in the mountains above the snow line, and although they could shelter from the worst of
the cold inside the plane, they had nothing to eat except snacks and chocolates that the
plane had been carrying. These soon ran out, and they were faced with starvation. Then
one of the survivors suggested that there was just one chance of survival: they could eat
the flesh of the passengers that had died in the crash… If you had been one of these
surviving guys, would you have eaten the flesh of the dead people? Why? Do you have
any other ideas?
PART 3: Please watch the video and answer the following questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvSLBTXGJE
1. What would have been if the people did not find the baby?
2. What would happen if they could not save the 10-year-old boy?
3. How would you have felt before the earthquake if you had been to Van in Turkey?
4. How would you have felt if you had been in Van at the time of the earthquake?
5. How would you have felt after the earthquake if you had been to Van? Would you
have left the city just after the earthquake?
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PART 4: Write a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence.
1. I didn’t answer the phone because I didn’t know it was you.
__________________________________________________________________
2. I didn’t know you were back from your holiday, so I didn’t call you.
__________________________________________________________________
3. If she’d had my address with her, she’d have sent me a postcard.
__________________________________________________________________
4. He forgot to put his watch on – that’s why he was late.
__________________________________________________________________
5. I’d have bought you a present, but I forgot when your birthday was.
__________________________________________________________________
6. We got in from work really late – that’s why we didn’t come to your party.
__________________________________________________________________
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Past
Past
Lot Number 2841
Lot Number 6853
You can change one decision
in your life.
You can do something differently in
your junior high school days.
Lot Number 9447
Lot Number 2016
You can meet someone from your
past for a few days.
You can know something that you
didn’t know at the time.
Lot Number 5553
Lot Number 6047
You can say something to someone
that you didn’t say at the time.
You can buy something that
you didn’t buy at the time.
Lot Number 1884
Lot Number 3203
You can change someone’s opinion
about you when you were younger.
You can erase a block of time
from your life.
Lot Number 6561
Lot Number 9707
You can learn how to do something
that you never learned.
You can re-live one moment
in your life.
For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets
Visit: http://www.efl4u.com
Magic Auction Cards (Past) - Lesson Collection Set #1
©EFL4U.com
Past
Lot #
2841
Bid
Pass
6853
Bid
Pass
9447
Bid
Pass
2016
Bid
Pass
5553
Bid
Pass
6047
Bid
Pass
1884
Bid
Pass
3203
Bid
Pass
6561
Bid
Pass
9707
Bid
Pass
Past
Magic Items for Sale
You can change one decision in your life.
Amount
Notes
You can do something differently in your
junior high school days.
Amount
Notes
You can meet someone from your past for
a few days.
Amount
Notes
You can know something that you didn’t
know at the time.
Amount
Notes
You can say something to someone that you
didn’t say at the time.
Amount
Notes
You can buy something that you didn’t buy
at the time.
Amount
Notes
You can change someone’s opinion about
you when you were younger.
Amount
Notes
You can erase a block of time from your life.
Amount
Notes
You can learn how to do something that you
never learned.
Amount
Notes
You can re-live one moment in your life.
Amount
For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets
Visit: http://www.efl4u.com
Notes
Examples
I would have decided to:
study overseas for one year.
major in computer programming.
go to a different school, etc.
I would have:
joined the tennis team.
studied harder.
gone to the school dance, etc.
I would like to meet:
my grandmother.
my rst love.
my 2nd Grade teacher, etc.
I would like to have known:
my grandparents better.
some good stocks to buy.
the result of the football game, etc.
I would have:
told my father “I love you.”
asked my friend for some help.
said “No thanks,” to the salesman, etc.
I would have bought:
a different car.
a better Mother’s Day present.
a red cashmere sweater, etc.
I would have:
made Chris fall in love with me.
made my mother-in-law like me.
made my teacher be nicer to me, etc.
I would erase:
all of my 5th Grade days.
the time I had the u.
the car accident I was in, etc.
I would have learned how to:
speak another language.
y a plane.
play a musical instrument, etc.
I would re-live:
a visit with my grandfather.
my rst kiss.
my 12th birthday party, etc.
Magic Auction Menu (Past) - Lesson Collection Set #1
©EFL4U.com
Teachers’ Instructions (1/2)
Magic Auction (Past)
sets of Magic Auction Cheques and
Receipts, ten of each per group.
1. Student ability: High Beginner ~ Intermediate
2. Approximate length of lesson: 40+
3. Number of students necessary: 4+
4. Preferred age/maturity: JHS, HS, College, Adult
5. Type of lesson: Group Activity
*****
Language Target: Working with present,
past and past perfect tenses, (plus Type 2
and Type 3 Conditionals with if – for
advanced students), numbers - especially
money, and auction phraseology and
vocabulary. Persuading group mates to
buy Magic Auction Items. There’s also a
simple writing *option available.
Setting Up: Explain the concept of a Magic
Auction: items can be purchased which
will allow the buyer to change things in
the past. The inherent value of these
items is, of course, priceless since in
reality we can not return to or change
anything in our past.
Prepare enough copies of Magic
Auction Menu Worksheet for every
student in class. Also prepare one set of
Magic Auction Cards for every group in
class (the ideal group size is five).
*Option: For higher-ability students, prepare
For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets
Visit: http://www.efl4u.com
Getting Started Part 1: Put students into
groups of 4 or 5 and give each student a
copy of the Magic Auction Menu
Worksheet. pages of the worksheets.
Tell students that they have $1,000
to spend on the auction (or $10,000 or
more?) in cash in which to purchase
Magic Auction Items.
Explain that in auctions, the items
for sale are identified by Lot Numbers,
these are clearly printed on the Menu
Worksheet. Beginning with Lot # 2841,
read the first Magic Item for sale: You
can change one decision in your life.
Then students look at the Examples
on the right. These are merely examples,
and explain that students can “actually”
change any single decision from their past
if they purchase this item. Encourage
students to offer additional examples.
Note: For higher ability students, when
offering an example, encourage them to
use Type 2 and Type 3 conditionals, e.g.,
If I could change one decision in my life,
I would have decided to visit my
grandmother in the hospital one week
before she died.
Read through all of the Magic Items
for Sale on the worksheet assisting
students with vocabulary and meanings
while eliciting additional examples.
While reading through the list of
Magic Items for Sale, students should
make notes on their worksheets as to
whether or not they’re interested in
purchasing any of them. If interested, they
should check the circle next to Bid, then
write an amount that they are willing to
spend (this amount can be changed later)
and finally, they should make notes as to
what they would do with this item if
purchased (this can also be changed).
Magic Auction (Past Tense) [Lesson Collection Set #1 – Lesson 1a]
©EFL4U.com
Teachers’ Instructions (2/2)
Getting Started Part 2: Shuffle the Magic
Auction Cards and deal them out to the
students in the group. Explain that these
items are theirs to keep or to sell.
There are two goals for this lesson:
#1 Students purchase items that they
really want and #2 They try to earn
money from the sale of the Magic Items.
Beginning the Auction: Students look
through their Magic Auction Cards. One
student decides to sell a item, he/she
holds up the Magic Auction Card and
reads it to the group. For example:
Seller: You can meet someone from
your past for a few days. Who
wants to buy this Magic Item?
Bidder 1: I’ll give you $50.
Bidder 2: $75.00.
Seller: This is worth much more
than that. If you could meet
someone from your past for a
few days, you could meet your
grandmother, or your first love.
Bidder 3: I bid $90.00.
Bidder 1: $100.00.
Seller: Just imagine, you could meet
your elementary teacher or your
best friend.
Bidder 2: $125.00. Etc.
In this case (as with all auction sales)
the Seller tries to get as much money as
possible for the item – this can be done by
the power of suggestion, offering
examples to group mates as to what one
could do with this item.
When all bidding has ceased, the
Seller should say: Lot Number 9447
going once. Going twice. Sold to (buyer’s
name) for (amount of money)!
The Magic Auction Card is then
given to the buyer.
Important: Once the buyer has the
Magic Auction Card, he/she should tell
the group how it will be used. Examples:
[For lower ability students]
I would like to meet my grandfather
(when I was 6 years old).
[For higher ability students]
If I could meet someone from my past
for a few days, I would like to meet my
next door neighbor who moved away in
1987.
Finally, the details of this sale should
be recorded by the Buyer and Seller to
keep track of their sales and purchases.
See Variation 1 below.
*Variation 1: On the completion of each
sale, the Seller fills out a Magic Auction
Receipt for the Buyer and the Buyer
does the same with a Magic Auction
Cheque for the Seller.
Variation 2: For lower ability students, do
not give the Magic Auction Cards to the
students. Instead, you become the
Auctioneer and do most of the talking.
Building Fluency: When finished, invite all
Buyers to make a report of their
purchases to the other members of the
group (or the whole class).
Similar Lessons:
Magic Auction (Present Tense)
(Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 1b)
Magic Auction (Future Tense)
(Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 1c)
Contributed by Kurt Scheibner
For more FUN English Lesson Worksheets
Visit: http://www.efl4u.com
Magic Auction (Past Tense) [Lesson Collection Set #1 – Lesson 1a]
©EFL4U.com
DILEMMA
?X?
Dilemma
1. a situation
requiring a choice
between equally
undesirable
alternatives.
2. any difficult or
perplexing situation
or problem.
The Overcrowded Lifeboat
The Pregnant Woman
The Mad Bomber
Giving Drugs to Kill Her
Find Your Own Daughter
Airplane Crash
Let’s watch a video !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvSLBTXGJE
Let’s play a game! !
THANK YOU
!
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