INSTITUTO TECNICO UNIVERSAL

COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING WITH ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

WORKSHOP
STUDENT:
TOPICS: Reading comprehension, simple present NOTA
and simple past: (positive, negative and
interrogative), complete subject and complete
APROBADO POR: DEISY PAOLA GARCIA GOMEZ
predicate, simple subject and simple predicate.

ROAD TO EXCELLENCE
“LET’S EXPLORE COLOMBIA”
I. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT “Modern Colombia”

Modern Colombia
In the early 20th century Colombia was, generally peaceful and the
economy developed. Exports of coffee increased. However in 1948,
another civil war broke out. It was called “La Violencia”. Colombia had
always been dangerously divided into liberals and conservatives but the
assassination of liberal politician Jorge Eliecer Gaitan on 9 April 1948 was
the spark that lit the fire. The army was on the side of the conservatives
and in 1953 General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla became dictator.
In 1957 Rojas stepped down and the two parties, Liberal and Conservative agreed to share power.
Between 1957 and 1974 they presidency alternated between them.
In the 1960s left wing guerrillas began operating in Colombia. Then in the 1970s cocaine production in
Colombia increased and it continued to increase in the 1980s. The drug trade led to a great deal of
violence. Meanwhile in the early 1980s Colombia was hit by a severe recession.

Yet at the beginning of the 21st century the situation in Colombia improved. Violence in Colombia
declined after 2002. Furthermore the Colombian economy grew rapidly in the early 21st century and
poverty and unemployment declined. Colombia, like the rest of the world, suffered in the recession of
2009 but the economy is now growing again. Colombia also suffered severe floods in 2010. However
tourism in Colombia is growing rapidly. Today Colombia is booming and it has a bright future. Today
the population of Colombia is 45 million.
Taken from: https://en.islcollective.com/download/english-esl-worksheets/grammar/past-simple-tense/history-
colombia/88111

a) How was Colombia in the early 20th century? _________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
b) What did the drug trade lead to in Colombia? _________________________________________

c) What happened to our nation at the beginning of the 21st century? ________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

d) What were the names of the main 2 political Colombian parties? ___________________________

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II. HIGHLIGHT OR UNDERLINE THE VERBS IN SIMPLE PAST.

Last summer holiday

Last Summer I went to Nice. It's a great place to have a holiday.
People are very friendly and hospitable. Especially, the port of
Nice is a fantastic place to visit. On the first day, we went to a
restaurant with a terrace. It had a wonderful view of the sea. Also
the dishes were absolutely delicious. On the second day, we
went to two museums. First we went to an art museum. There
weren't many pictures, but there were many contemporary art
productions. I didn't like them a lot. Second we went to a very
unusual museum of bric-à-brac. There was a lot of old bric-à-
brac from different places of the World. It was really interesting
to see. After visiting the museums, we returned to our hotel room as we were really tired. At last, we
spent a whole day at the great beaches of Nice. We swam, sunbathed and had great time on the
beach of Nice. It was a short but very entertaining and relaxing holiday. I definitely want to go to Nice
again.
Taken from: https://www.photocopiables.com/sites/default/files/Esl_Reading-Past%20Simple_freebie.pdf

III. ANALYZE “Last summer holiday” AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER.

a. Where did I go last summer? b. How many museums did I visit?

 Nice.  One.
 Ibiza.  Three.
 Pisa.  Two.

c. After visiting the museums, we returned… d. Where did we have a great time?

 To the hospital.  On the beach of Nice.

 To the hotel.  On the museums.
 To the beach.  On the restaurant.

IV. READ AND MARK WITH AN X TRUE OR FALSE FOR THE NEXT STATEMENTS ABOUT THE
TEXT “Last summer holiday”

a. The author liked the food in the restaurant. True False

b. He went to an art museum after the bric-à-brac’s museum. True False

c. He had a long holiday there. True False

d. He spent the last day at the beach. True False

e. He only went to two museums on the second day. True False

V. MATCH THE SENTENCES HALVES OF THE TEXT “Last summer holiday”

a. On the first day, a. were absolutely delicious.

b. Also the dishes b. to a very unusual museum of bric-à-brac.

c. Second we went c. we went to a restaurant with a terrace

d. It was a short but. d. very entertaining and relaxing holiday

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VI. ANALYZE AND WRITE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN: SIMPLE PAST OR
SIMPLE PRESENT

Example: Susana talked to her friend last Sunday. / They go to the school every day.

a) Amelia ________ (see) a beautiful portrait yesterday.

b) My friends and I usually ________ (play) basketball at school.

c) My family ________ (visit) Europe two years ago.

d) Martin always ________ (help) his brother.

e) She_________ (win) the medal last week.

VII. COMPLETE THE CHART WITH SENTENCES IN AFFIRMATIVE, NEGATIVE AND

INTERROGATIVE WITH SIMPLE PAST

Example:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE

She watched a movie She didn’t watch a movie Did she watch a movie
yesterday. yesterday. yesterday?

POSITIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE

Carl went to the cinema last

night.

He didn’t play tennis

yesterday.

Did they play tennis last

Sunday?

My friend flew to Canada last

week.

Andrew didn’t dance last

night.

VIII. READ THE TEXT AND WRITE 3 SENTENCES YOU FIND IN IT AND CIRCLE THE SIMPLE
SUBJECT AND UNDERLINE THE SIMPLE PREDICATE.

HOBBIES
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H
 Charlie studied for the quiz
yesterday.

Patty is not feeling well. She has stomach ache and a terrible headache. Her mother called the
doctor and ask him what she should do. He told her that Patty shouldn´t eat a big dinner; she should
drink a lot of water and get some rest. He said that if she is not feeling any better in the morning, she
Taken from: https://englishunite.com/product/short-story-good-advice/
should bring her into the hospital for an examination. Patty’s mother felt better after speaking to the
doctor. She knows that she can always depend on him for good advice.

a) ________________________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________________________

c) ________________________________________________________________________

IX. CIRCLE THE COMPLETE SUBJECT IN EACH SENTENCE AND UNDERLINE THE
COMPLETE PREDICATE.

a) The school bus went quickly over the road.

b) The gentle giant in the yellow hat climbed down the large tree.

c) We often watch cartoons on television.

d) The blue and white hat belonged to my aunt.

e) Garrett, Amy and Liza walked their dogs yesterday.

f) The historic building is now a museum.