Content note: Adult crime drama: references to war, injury, death and alcohol misuse may occur. Screen both exact extracts before considering any separate teen use.
Warm-up: A colleague arrives with wet shoes and a dry umbrella. Give two possible explanations; do not decide too quickly.
Learn the words, watch, then answer the quiz. Practise the phrases and speaking prompts. On your own, replay only what you need; with a tutor, develop each response together.
Vocabulary helps you discuss the scene; not every entry is spoken in the clip.
01
A remarkable first impression
Mike introduces John to Sherlock in a laboratory.
First watch: Which observations surprise John, and which questions remain unanswered?
Open the original source to watch, then use the answer key below.
Watch and check · 6 questions
All six questions refer to this clip. Choose one answer per question.
Interactive scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key to check your choices.
Answer key and explanations
C. Mike, who knows them both. Mike introduces the two men.
A. His mobile phone. The phone becomes a source of observations in their encounters.
B. Whether he has been in Afghanistan or Iraq. Sherlock identifies a military connection before John has explained it to him.
C. Sharing a flat. The exchange opens the possibility of becoming flatmates.
A. The umbrella might belong to someone else. Might presents one possible explanation.
B. What evidence would help us rule out the alternatives? This turns a plausible idea into a testable question.
Useful phrases
Original phrases to practise, not programme quotations.
One possible explanation is that the situation has changed. Offer a hypothesis without overstating it.
What makes you rule out the other possibilities? Ask someone to justify an exclusion.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Develop your answer with a reason or example. On your own, answer aloud before opening a model.
Which observation makes Sherlock’s first impression most striking? What information would John still need before trusting him? One possible answer
The military question is striking because John has not explained his background. Even so, being perceptive does not show whether someone will be considerate or reliable as a flatmate.
Invent two explanations for a person wearing a formal jacket with running shoes. What could you observe to distinguish them? One possible answer
They may be commuting to an office, or attending an event with an informal dress code. A change of shoes in a bag would support the commuting explanation, but I would still ask rather than assume.
Role-play: negotiate a flat-sharing arrangement. One person makes a confident assumption; the other asks for evidence and offers an alternative explanation. Agree on one question to check. One possible answer
A: You have several books, so you must want complete silence all evening. B: That is one possibility, but I also enjoy company. A: Then what would be a reasonable quiet time? B: Let us discuss our work schedules before deciding.
02
Reading clues on a phone
Sherlock explains what he thinks John’s phone reveals about its previous owner.
First watch: Which details of the phone does Sherlock observe, and which claims does he infer?
Open the original source to watch, then use the answer key below.
Watch and check · 6 questions
Choose one answer per question. The last two questions practise original language.
Interactive scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key to check your choices.
Answer key and explanations
A. John thinks the police do not consult amateurs. John says the police do not consult amateurs.
B. John's posture and his conversation with Mike. Sherlock cites the way John holds himself and what he said to Mike.
C. Its expensive features do not fit Sherlock's view of John's spending. He treats the expensive phone as something John would not have bought for himself.
A. Many scratches from keys and coins. Sherlock points to many scratches made over time.
B. Harry Watson. He reads Harry Watson and infers a family connection.
C. The previous owner's hands shook while plugging it in. He links the small marks around the charging point to shaking hands.
Useful phrases
Original phrases to practise, not programme quotations.
That is consistent with the evidence, but it is not the only explanation. Distinguish a plausible explanation from a proven one.
I need to revise that conclusion in light of the new information. Update a judgement explicitly.
Speaking · 3 prompts
Develop your answer with a reason or example. On your own, answer aloud before opening a model.
Which part of Sherlock’s method is useful, and which part becomes risky? One possible answer
Looking closely at details is useful. The risk comes when he treats a plausible social assumption, such as Harry being a brother, as if it were directly visible in the phone. That claim still needs checking.
Does admitting an error weaken credibility or strengthen it? Give a situation where your answer would depend on how the person responds. One possible answer
Admitting an error can strengthen credibility when the person explains what changes and checks the rest. Repeated guesses presented as certainty would be less reassuring, even with an apology.
Evidence challenge: a library book has a café receipt inside and a train ticket used as a bookmark. Offer two stories. Your partner adds: the book was bought second-hand yesterday. Revise only the claims affected. One possible answer
The reader may study while commuting, but the second-hand detail weakens that conclusion. The ticket could belong to the previous owner. I would now distinguish the current owner’s habits from the objects already inside the book.
