B1 Lesson: The Tourist Who Got Mistaken for a Movie Star

Level: B1 (Intermediate)

Content Objective: Students read and understand a funny story about a tourist who is mistaken for a famous actor, and they can retell what happened.

Language Objective: Students learn to contrast the past continuous (for actions in progress) with the past simple (for interrupting or completed actions), using “when” and “while.”

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1. Reading Section

Ben Carter, a high-school teacher from Ohio, was planning a quiet vacation in Lisbon. He wanted to explore the old neighborhoods, ride the famous yellow trams, and eat as many custard tarts as possible. What he didn’t expect was to become a movie star for an afternoon.

It all started on his second day. Ben was waiting for a tram in the Alfama district when a group of teenagers stopped and stared at him. “It’s really him!” one of them whispered. They mistook him for the star of a hit spy series called Night Runner. Ben was a near-perfect lookalike: he had the same dark hair, the same square jaw, and even the same crooked smile.

At first, Ben laughed and tried to explain. “I’m just a teacher from Ohio,” he said. But the teenagers were convinced that he was joking. “That’s exactly what he would say!” one girl replied. While Ben was still shaking his head, someone handed him a pen and a notebook. Before he realized what he was doing, he signed his first autograph.

When the tram arrived, the teenagers climbed on behind him. While the tram was climbing the narrow streets, the teenagers were taking photos of him. Ben felt embarrassed, but he also felt strangely happy. When a man in the next seat asked, “Are you here for the filming?”, Ben decided to play along. “I can’t say anything,” he whispered. “It’s top secret.”

For the rest of the afternoon, strangers kept stopping him. At a café, a waiter was carrying a tray of coffees when he saw Ben. He was so surprised that he dropped the tray with a crash. Then, to say sorry, he gave Ben a free custard tart. A woman even insisted on taking a photo with her grandmother.

Then came Ben’s biggest surprise. Ben was drinking coffee in a small square when he spotted a man at the next table. The man was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, but the crooked smile was unmistakable. It was the real actor! He was filming a scene nearby and was enjoying a break between takes.

The actor looked at Ben for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “So you’re the man everyone is talking about,” he said. “My assistant told me there was a second me walking around the city.” They talked for an hour, and before he left, the actor signed a napkin: “To my twin. You’re the better actor.”

Today, Ben keeps that napkin on his desk at school. His students still don’t believe the story, but the napkin is proof enough.

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2. Vocabulary Section

Word / Phrase	Meaning	Example
mistake someone for	to think that one person is another person	The teenagers mistook Ben for a famous actor.
lookalike	a person who looks very similar to someone else, often a famous person	Ben was a near-perfect lookalike of the actor.
convinced	completely sure that something is true	The teenagers were convinced that he was joking.
autograph	a famous person’s signature, written for a fan	Ben signed his first autograph without thinking.
embarrassed	feeling uncomfortable or ashamed in front of other people	Ben felt embarrassed, but also strangely happy.
play along	to pretend to agree with something, often as a joke	Ben decided to play along with the man’s question.
insist on	to demand something very firmly	A woman insisted on taking a photo with her grandmother.
spot	to see someone or something suddenly or from a distance	Ben spotted a man at the next table.

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3. Example Sentences (Target Grammar in Use)

• Ben was waiting for a tram in the Alfama district when a group of teenagers stopped and stared at him.
• While Ben was still shaking his head, someone handed him a pen and a notebook.
• While the tram was climbing the narrow streets, the teenagers were taking photos of him.
• A waiter was carrying a tray of coffees when he saw Ben.
• Ben was drinking coffee in a small square when he spotted a man at the next table.
• The actor looked at Ben for a long moment and then burst out laughing.

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4. Grammar Section

Past Continuous vs. Past Simple (Interrupted Actions)

The past continuous describes an action that was in progress at a moment in the past. The past simple describes a shorter, finished action, often one that interrupted the longer action. Using both together helps you tell a story with background and events.

Form	Use	Example
past continuous (was / were + verb-ing)	an action in progress at a moment in the past (the background action)	Ben was waiting for a tram in the Alfama district.
past simple	a shorter, finished action that interrupts, or actions that happen one after another	A group of teenagers stopped and stared at him.
while + past continuous	a longer action in progress, often together with a second action at the same time	While the tram was climbing the narrow streets, the teenagers were taking photos of him.
when + past simple	the shorter action that interrupts the longer one	A waiter was carrying a tray of coffees when he saw Ben.

Quick Tip: Use “while” with the longer action (past continuous) and “when” with the shorter, interrupting action (past simple). For actions that happen one after another, use the past simple for each: “The actor looked at Ben and then burst out laughing.” Also, verbs like “know” and “want” are not usually used in the continuous form.

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5. Comprehension Questions

A. True or False

1. Ben was visiting Lisbon on vacation.
2. The teenagers believed Ben when he said he was only a teacher.
3. Ben played along when a man asked if he was there for the filming.
4. The real actor was angry when he saw Ben.

B. Short Answer

5. What was Ben doing when the teenagers first stopped and stared at him?
6. Why did the waiter drop his tray?
7. What was Ben doing when he spotted the real actor?
8. What did the actor write on the napkin?

C. Fill in the Blank / Transform

Write the correct form of each verb (past simple or past continuous). For item 12, combine the sentences with “while.”

9. Ben ___ (wait) for the tram when a group of teenagers ___ (stop) next to him.
10. A waiter ___ (carry) a tray of coffees when he ___ (see) Ben.
11. Ben ___ (drink) coffee when he ___ (spot) the real actor.
12. The tram climbed the narrow streets. The teenagers took photos of Ben.

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Next lesson: B1 — “My First Job Interview (And Everything That Went Wrong)”