Conversation Gambits - Eric Keller, Sylvia T Warner 1988
10. A Surprising Fact
1. Opening Gambits
Speaking
Sometimes the best way to support an argument is to come up with an unexpected fact
The following paragraph contains some surprising facts (given in italics)
Read the paragraph aloud and introduce each of these facts with one of the phrases from the top list, and add a qualifier from the bottom list.
Example
TV plays a very large part in British life (There were 2 3 TV s per household in Britain in 1987)
— Do you realize that there were, on average, 2.3 TV's per household in Britain in 1987? Normally TV is an important part of British life.
TV has a tremendous effect on children. (Children spend more time watching TV than doing anything else in their waking hours) Early in life, children learn from TV to influence their parents about what to buy — not just in the area of toys, but also at the supermarket. (Women buy more snack foods when accompanied by children.) Also, when parents don’t limit their children’s TV watching, they become so dependent on television for their entertainment that they begin to lose their potential for creativity. (A study has shown that children without TV who are left to themselves develop their own creative powers.) Many people are also worried about the high percentage of programmes that highlight violence. (Children have been shown to learn violence from TV.) In short, the negative effects of TV probably outweigh its possible positive influence in presenting the world to the growing child.
Writing
Write out the sentences i n italics — each with its opening phrase and its qualifier.
Discussion
Do you agree with the text you read?
If not, give your arguments and try to include some surprising facts which you know
Start:
Do you realise that ...
Believe it or not,
You may not believe it, but ...
It may sound strange, but ...
1The surprising thing is ...
1Surprisingly,
2Oddly enough,
2Funnily enough,
End with:
Generally
By and large
As a rule
Normally
Usually
On the whole,
1. These relate to a point you have already made — they come in the middle of what you are saying
2. These connect what you say to what has just been said — usually they introduce a coincidence All of these expressions are rather informal, and will sound natural used to somebody you know rather well