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The Wizard, the Whale, and the Wobbly Blowhole
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High Intermediate (B1 High) CEFR B1

The Wizard, the Whale, and the Wobbly Blowhole

In a secret laboratory hidden under a coral reef, a silly wizard named Zibble was mixing a potion that smelled like old socks. He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza, bu...

Duration

5 min read

Length

365 words

Story

5 paragraphs

Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 5

In a secret laboratory hidden under a coral reef, a silly wizard named Zibble was mixing a potion that smelled like old socks. He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza, but instead, his cauldron exploded with a loud POP! A tiny dolphin named Splash flew out of the bubbles and landed on a pile of wizard hats. "Oops," said Zibble. "I was trying to make a pizza, not a dolphin." Splash looked around and squeaked, "Where is my pod? I was following the whales on their migration, and now I'm here!"

Zibble scratched his head and said, "Don't worry, little mammal. I will help you find your family." He waved his wand, but instead of a map, a giant rubber duck appeared. "That's not right," he mumbled. However, Splash was not upset. She explained, "I can use my echolocation to find my pod. I make clicking sounds, and the echoes tell me where things are." Zibble clapped his hands. "Brilliant! I will build a machine that makes clicking sounds too."

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Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

B1 · Present Perfect, First Conditional, Past Continuous

Learning Outcomes

  • read a story about marine mammals and understand the main events
  • recognise and use the present perfect, first conditional, and past continuous tenses
  • explain how whales and dolphins breathe and communicate using a blowhole and echolocation
  • describe how marine mammals travel across oceans through migration and pods
  • identify threats to marine mammals and suggest ways to help them

Grammar Focus

Present Perfect: have/has + past participle

We use the present perfect to talk about actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or to describe experiences.

“ He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza
Tip: Remember that 'have' is used with I/you/we/they, and 'has' with he/she/it.
First Conditional: if + present simple, will + base verb

We use the first conditional to talk about real or possible situations in the future and their results.

“ If we work together, we can fix it.
Tip: Use 'can' or 'will' in the result clause to show ability or certainty.
Past Continuous: was/were + verb-ing

We use the past continuous to describe an action that was happening at a specific time in the past, often interrupted by another action.

“ I was following the whales on their migration
Tip: Use the past continuous with 'when' or 'while' to show an interrupted action.

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