Pumpkin mystery at Cornell University

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Pumpkin mystery at Cornell University

Warm-up

Do you decorate your house of Halloween?

Vocabulary Match

preserved •• practical joke
remained •• stayed
scaffold •• succeeded
intact •• platform
prank •• undamaged
managed •• protected

Vocabulary Answers

preservedprotected
remainedstayed
scaffoldplatform
intactundamaged
prankpractical joke
managedsucceeded

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 1997, something strange and funny happened at Cornell University. One morning in October, students and staff found a pumpkin sitting high up on McGraw Clock Tower, which is 173 feet tall (53 metres). Nobody knew how it got there, and the ________ soon became famous. For months, the pumpkin ________ there, and people kept wondering how someone had ________ to place it so high without being seen.

The mystery became so popular that students even set up a webcam to show the "Pumpkin Watch" live. In March 1998, when the university finally tried to take the pumpkin down, a strong wind knocked it onto a nearby ________. Surprisingly, the pumpkin remained ________, ________ by the freezing winter temperatures. Even today, nobody knows who put the pumpkin there or how they did it.

In 1997, something strange and funny happened at Cornell University. One morning in October, students and staff found a pumpkin sitting high up on McGraw Clock Tower, which is 173 feet tall (53 metres). Nobody knew how it got there, and the prank soon became famous. For months, the pumpkin remained there, and people kept wondering how someone had managed to place it so high without being seen.

The mystery became so popular that students even set up a webcam to show the "Pumpkin Watch" live. In March 1998, when the university finally tried to take the pumpkin down, a strong wind knocked it onto a nearby scaffold. Surprisingly, the pumpkin remained intact, preserved by the freezing winter temperatures. Even today, nobody knows who put the pumpkin there or how they did it.

Quiz

  1. Where was the pumpkin found?
  2. How tall is McGraw Clock Tower?
  3. What did some students do when the mystery became popular?
  4. Who put the pumpkin on the tower?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. It was found sitting high up on McGraw Clock Tower.
  2. 173 feet tall (53 metres).
  3. They set up a webcam to show the "Pumpkin Watch" live.
  4. Nobody knows!

True or False

  1. Staff found students sitting high up on McGraw Clock Tower. T F
  2. People still don't know how the pumpkin got on the tower. T F
  3. A strong witch knocked the pumpkin onto a nearby scaffold. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. False

Conversation

A:Did you see the pumpkin on the tower today?
B:Yeah, how did it get up there?
A:I have no idea! It's impossible to climb up there.
B:There's a live webcam for it now.
A:Really? I need to check that out!
B:Seriously, it's so weird!

Discussion

  1. How do you think the pumpkin got on the tower?
  2. Have you ever watched a live webcam event?
  3. Do you have a favorite pumpkin-flavoured food?
  4. If you could hide an unusual object as a prank, what would it be and where?

Further Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University_pumpkin_prank

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