Piano found on the UK's tallest mountain

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Elementary A2

PDF: Piano found on the UK's tallest mountain
YouTube: Piano found on the UK's tallest mountain

Warm-up

Could you carry a piano up a mountain? (No way! That's impossible!)

Vocabulary Match

charity •• highest
tallest •• near
cause •• cover
carried •• helping others
wrapper •• awesome
close •• reason
amazing •• held

Vocabulary Answers

charityhelping others
tallesthighest
causereason
carriedheld
wrappercover
closenear
amazingawesome

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In May 2006, on Ben Nevis, the ________ mountain in the UK, some people found a piano ________ to the top.

These people, from the John Muir Trust, were there to clean the mountain. They were surprised to see a piano there. The piano was old, with a biscuit ________ under it from 1986. They didn't know how it got there.

Later, a man named Kenny Campbell said he put the piano there 35 years ago. He ________ it up and played a song at the top to raise money for ________. This was a big surprise for everyone and showed how people can do ________ things for a good ________.

In May 2006, on Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK, some people found a piano close to the top.

These people, from the John Muir Trust, were there to clean the mountain. They were surprised to see a piano there. The piano was old, with a biscuit wrapper under it from 1986. They didn't know how it got there.

Later, a man named Kenny Campbell said he put the piano there 35 years ago. He carried it up and played a song at the top to raise money for charity. This was a big surprise for everyone and showed how people can do amazing things for a good cause.

Quiz

  1. What did the people find on the mountain?
  2. Why were the people on the mountain?
  3. Who claimed to have put the piano on the mountain?
  4. Why did the man put the piano on the mountain?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. They found a piano.
  2. They were there to clean the mountain.
  3. Kenny Campbell claimed to have put the piano on the mountain.
  4. He put it there to raise money for charity.

True or False

  1. The piano was found on Ben Nevis in 2006. T F
  2. The piano had a biscuit wrapper in it from 1986. T F
  3. Kenny Campbell built the piano on the mountain 35 years earlier. T F

True or False Answers

  1. True
  2. False
  3. False

Conversation

A:I can't believe we found a piano here!
B:I know, right? Who would carry a piano all the way up here?
A:Maybe someone really wanted to play music with a view.
B:Or maybe they just wanted to leave something unexpected for us to find.
A:Either way, it's a story we'll remember!
B:Absolutely, it's not every day you find a piano on a mountain!

Discussion

  1. Have you ever raised money for charity? What did you do?
  2. Have you ever found something unexpected in a strange place?
  3. Do you enjoy hiking? If so, what is your most memorable experience?
  4. Can you play any musical instruments?

Further Reading

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/17/arts.artsnews1

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