B1CEFRVocabulary20 min

Mysteries & Legends

Mysteries and legends

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⏱️ 20 mins • B1 Vocabulary

🔍 Mysteries & Legends

Master 10 essential words to talk about puzzling stories, secret histories, and strange events from the past.

👩‍🏫 For Teachers

• Lead a 5-minute concept review with the word table before letting learners work through the 16 practice tasks in pairs.

• Allocate 20 minutes total and finish with the audio shadowing cards for immediate pronunciation check.

🧑‍🎓 For Learners

• First study the 10 core words and their memory tips in the reference chart below.

• Next complete the 4 practice steps (1–4), then record yourself during the pronunciation shadowing tasks.

📖 Core Vocabulary Reference

10 Target Words
Group 1: Unexplained Things
Word Meaning Common Collocations Word Forms Example Memory Tip
mystery (n) Something strange or impossible to explain solve a mystery, remain a mystery mysterious (adj) "The ship's disappearance is still a mystery." Think of a giant question mark (?)
legend (n) An old, well-known story that may not be true ancient legend, according to legend – "King Arthur is a famous British legend." Grandma's fireside folk tale
ghost (n) The spirit of a dead person that people believe they see ghost story, see a ghost – "Guests claim they saw a ghost in the castle." A floating white shape: 👻
treasure (n) A collection of valuable gold, silver, or jewels hidden treasure, buried treasure – "Divers found gold treasure under the sea." Pirates & wooden chest of coins: 🪙
Group 2: Finding Out
Word Meaning Common Collocations Word Forms Example Memory Tip
clue (n) A sign or fact that helps find an answer look for clues, find a clue – "The footprints were an important clue." Detective holding a magnifying glass: 🔎
solve (v) To find the correct answer or explanation solve a puzzle, solve a problem solution (n) "Scientists hope to solve the riddle soon." Fitting the final jigsaw piece: 🧩
theory (n) An idea that tries to explain why something happened have a theory, test a theory – "She has an interesting theory about the stones." Lightbulb thought bubble: 💡
Group 3: Describing
Word Meaning Common Collocations Word Forms Example Memory Tip
ancient (adj) From thousands of years ago; very old ancient ruins, ancient civilization – "They explored the ancient Egyptian pyramid." Ancient stone pyramids: 🏛️
strange (adj) Unusual, surprising, or difficult to understand strange noise, strange feeling strangely (adv) "We heard a strange noise outside our tent." Alien or weird glowing eyes: 👽
hidden (adj) Placed where other people cannot easily see it hidden door, hidden entrance hide (v) "A secret room was hidden behind the shelf." Playing hide-and-seek: 🙈
✍️

Practice: 16 Items (Steps 1 to 4)

Work through these four activity sets to test and reinforce your vocabulary knowledge.

A detective looking at a glowing mysterious footprint with a magnifying glass
Step 1 Collocation Match (Verb + Noun)
4 Items

Choose the natural noun that commonly pairs with each verb phrase:

Verb phrase
a mystery
a clue
a theory
a treasure
1. solve ___
____ a mystery ____ a clue ____ a theory ____ a treasure
2. look for ___ at the crime scene
____ a mystery ____ a clue ____ a theory ____ a treasure
3. test ___
____ a mystery ____ a clue ____ a theory ____ a treasure
4. bury a ___
____ a mystery ____ a clue ____ a theory ____ a treasure
Step 2 Gap-fill with Word Bank
4 Items
Word Bank: strange ancient hidden ghost

5. Deep in the rainforest, the explorers discovered an ____ stone temple from 3,000 years ago.

6. The old woman told us a frightening story about a ____ that wanders the dark corridors at midnight.

7. Behind the wooden bookcase, the children found a ____ door leading to the cellar.

8. Last night we heard a very ____ noise in the attic like whispering voices.

Step 3 Choose the Best Word
4 Items

Select the option that best fits each sentence in natural English:

9. According to local ___, an honest king once lived on this mountain and protected all the villagers.

____ legend – a traditional well-known story from the past ____ theory – a scientific or logical explanation ____ clue – a small piece of evidence

10. The police inspector found a muddy boot print, which proved to be a valuable ___.

____ mystery ____ clue ____ ghost

11. The historian has an interesting ___ about why the ancient civilization suddenly vanished.

____ treasure ____ theory ____ ghost

12. Why the island was completely abandoned remains a total ___ to this day.

____ mystery ____ legend ____ treasure
Step 4 Word Formation
4 Items

Change the word in brackets into its correct grammatical form:

13. There was a ____ (mystery) light shining above the lake last night.

14. The clever detective soon found a simple ____ (solve) to the difficult case.

15. The black dog looked at us ____ (strange) before running away into the woods.

16. Pirates used to ____ (hidden) their gold coins inside caves.

🎙️

Shadowing: Pronunciation & Fluency (12 Items)

Listen to each prompt using the speaker button, then record your voice clearly to practice rhythm and intonation.

Part A Key Collocations (4 Items)

Collocation 1

solve a mystery

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 2

ancient treasure

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 3

look for clues

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 4

have a theory

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part B Short Sentences (4 Items)

Sentence 1

The old legend says a ghost guards the castle.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 2

We noticed a strange shadow behind the trees.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 3

Nobody has found the hidden gold yet.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 4

Detectives found a new clue near the river.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part C Complex Sentences with Natural Intonation (2 Items)

Complex Sentence 1

The ancient stones are still a mystery.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Complex Sentence 2

The team tested several theories but found no clue.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part D Challenging Pronunciation Words (2 Items)

Focus on the initial vowel and middle consonant sounds of these two common B1 mystery words:

Word 1: Stress & Vowel /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/
ancient

Notice the "sh" sound: AYN-shunt

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____
Word 2: Soft "zh" Sound /ˈtreʒ.ər/
treasure

Notice the soft "zh" sound: TREZH-er

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

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