1

UNIT IV. SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS.

GRAMMAR: PASSIVE VOICE (continued).

Pre-reading questions:

1. What great scientists do you know? What do you know about them?
2. What discoveries were meant to benefit humanity but were used against it?

TEXT: ALBERT EINSTEIN.

Albert Einstein 1 (1879-1955) was born in Ulm, in Germany but took out
Swiss citizenship in 1901. Surprisingly as a child he wasn’t a remarkable
student. In fact he failed his first attempt at the entry exam for Zurich
Polytechnic. However two years later he passed and, after his graduation in
1900, he worked as a schoolteacher before getting a job in the Patents office
in Bern. He worked there from 1902 to 1909. In 1905 he published three
papers on theoretical physics and, in the same year, he obtained his PhD.2
In 1908 he became a lecturer at the University of Bern. His genius brought
him respect and he went on to hold various professorships. In 1915 he
published the final version of his theory of relativity. When his theories were
verified four years later, he became world famous and was awarded the Nobel
Prize in 1921.
However, in 1933, while Einstein was visiting California, Hitler came to
power. Being Jewish, Einstein decided to remain in the USA, took out
American citizenship and continued his research at the Institute of Advanced
Study, Princeton where he remained until death.
During the First World War Einstein had been a pacifist, but prior to the
Second World War, he abandoned this idea because German scientists had
managed to split the atom, and an atomic bomb was now possible. He
believed Hitler was a threat to world peace. He therefore persuaded President
Roosevelt, in 1939, to develop a US atomic research program.
Here there is a version of how Albert Einstein discovered the Law of
Relativity taken from Ch. Chaplin’s Autobiography.3 They first met in 1926,
when the great scientist had been invited to California to lecture.
Chaplin received a telephone call from Universal studios4, saying that
Professor Einstein would like to meet him. He was thrilled and gladly
1
Albert Einstein
2
PhD – the university degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
3
Charles Spencer Chaplin - an American actor and film director, was born in 1889 in a poor family in
the London East End and at an early age became famous all over the world as a comedian. His most famous
films are “A Dog’s Life”, “The Kid”, “The Gold Rush”, “City Lights”, “Modern Times” and “Limelight”.
He died in 1977.
4
Universal studios, the Universal Film studios in Hollywood.
 2

accepted the invitation. So they met at the Universal studios for lunch, Ch.
Chaplin, the Professor, his wife, his secretary and his Assistant Professor. 5
Mrs. Einstein spoke English very well, in fact better than the Professor. She
was extremely proud of him and frankly enjoyed being the wife of the great
physicist. She did not even try to hide the fact.
After lunch, while Einstein was being shown around the studio, Mrs.
Einstein took Chaplin aside and whispered: “Why don’t you invite the
Professor to your house? I know he will be delighted to have a nice quiet chat
with just ourselves.” It was to be a small affair, and only two other friends
were invited. At dinner Mrs. Einstein told Chaplin the story of the morning
when the theory of relativity first came to Einstein’s mind.
“The Doctor came down in his dressing gown as usual for breakfast but he
hardly touched a thing. I thought something was wrong, so I asked what was
troubling him. “Darling! he said, “I have a wonderful idea.” And after
drinking his coffee, he went to the piano and started playing.
Now and again he stopped, reached for his pencil, made a few notes, then
repeated: “I’ve got a wonderful idea, a marvelous idea!”
“I said: “What’s the matter with you? Why don’t you tell me what it is?”
“He said: “I can’t tell you yet. I still have to work it out.”
She told me he continued playing the piano and making notes for half an
hour, then he went upstairs to his study, telling her that he did not want
anyone to disturb him, and remained there for two weeks.
“Each day I sent him up his meals,” she said, “and in the evening he
walked a little for exercise6, then returned to his work again.”
“At last,” she said, “he appeared looking very pale and tired. In his hand
he held two sheets of paper. “That’s it!” he told me, putting the sheets of
paper on the table. And that was the theory of relativity”.
(Adapted)

VOCABULARY

discover vt 1.открывать, находить discover an island (a new continent; a

new deposit of oil, coal, gold, etc); 2. обнаруживать; раскрывать discover a
mistake (the truth, facts, etc) We discovered that it was too late to catch the
train; discovery n открытие Phr , make a discovery сделать открытие

law n 1. закон; правило Laws tell people what they must do and what they
must not do. Phr observe (break) the law соблюдать (нарушать) закон

5
Assistant Professor, (AmE) (BrE) senior lecturer - доцент
6
exercise,(зд.) моцион In this meaning the noun is uncountable
 3

2. право, юриспруденция international law, law of nations международное

право; law merchant торговое право 3. право (как предмет науки) study
law; a law department; a law student

first adv 1. впервые, первый раз When did you first meet him (= When did
you meet him for the first time)? Phr at first первое время, сначала I didn’t
like the place at first; 2. первым делом, сначала First we shall have lunch
and then talk. Phr first of all прежде всего, в первую очередь

scientist n ученый; science n наука; scientific a научный

invite vt приглашать invite sb to dinner (one’s house, a conference, the

cinema, etc); He invited me to take part in the experiment.

receive vt 1. получать receive a letter (an invitation, an answer; money,

news, etc.); 2. принимать (кого-л.) receive a visitor (delegation, guest, etc);
reception n 1. получение 2. прием, принятие Phr hold a reception
устроить прием

accept vt принимать, одобрять (соглашаться) accept help (money, a plan,

an offer, a suggestion, an invitation; prices, etc); acceptance n принятие,
одобрение; (un)acceptable a (не)приемлемый The price for the goods was
acceptable to us.

proud a гордый a proud man (look, etc) Phr be proud of sb (sth) He is proud
of his son; pride n Phr take pride in sb, (sth) гордиться кем-л., (чем-л.)

frank a искренний, откровенный, открытый a frank face (look, smile, ect.)

Phr be frank with sb быть искренним (откровенным) с кем-л.; frankly adv
откровенно Phr frankly speaking откровенно говоря

hide vt/vi (hid, hidden) прятать(ся), скрывать(ся) hide a letter (a book; one’s
feelings; the truth; a person, etc); What is he hiding from us? Where’s she
hiding?

whisper vt/vi шептать, говорить шепотом You don’t have to whisper, say it
out loud; whisper sth in sb’s ear; whisper n шепот Phr in a whisper
шепотом

affair n дело; занятие Don’t discuss your personal affairs with strangers. Phr
international affairs международные дела; home (domestic) affairs
 4

внутренние дела; public affairs общественные дела; Ministry of Foreigh

Affairs Министерство иностранных дел

hardly adv 1. едва, с трудом He was so tired that he could hardly move; 2.
едва ли, вряд ли; мало, редко This is hardly the truth. She hardly ever goes
visiting now.

touch vt 1. трогать, дотрагиваться, прикасаться He didn’t let anybody

touch his books. He touched me on the shoulder (arm). She hasn’t even
touched the food; 2. (рас)трогать, (раз)волновать Her sad story touched us
deeply; touchy a обидчивый She is very touchy; touching a трогательный
a touching story (incident, episode, etc)

trouble vt/vi беспокоить(ся), тревожить(ся) What is troubling you? Don’t

trouble about it; trouble n беспокойство; неприятности He is having a lot
of trouble with his car. Phr be in trouble быть в беде; get into trouble
попасть в беду; get sb out of trouble вызволить кого-л. из беды; give
trouble причинять беспокойство

reach vt/vi 1. достигать, добираться (до) reach home (school, a town, the
station, etc.) The news reached them on the next day. He has reached good
results. Phr reach an agreement достичь соглашения. His words reached my
ears; 2. доставать, дотягиваться (до) Can you reach the ceiling? Phr reach
for sth протягивать руку за чем-л.

disturb vt мешать, беспокоить Don’t disturb him when he is at work.

remain vi оставаться After the fire very little remained of the house. He
remained unchanged (unhurt, etc). Phr It remains to be seen. Мы еще
посмотрим.

appear vi 1. появляться He appeared quite unexpectedly; 2. появляться,

возникать Many new towns have appeared in the North of our country; 3.
выходить, издаваться; появляться (в печати) When did this newspaper
first appear? disappear vi исчезать; appearance n 1. появление;
возникновение 2. внешность, внешний вид His appearance was very
unusual.

hold vt (held) 1. держать (в руках) hold a bag (a book, newspaper, cigarette,

etc); 2. занимать, держать, удерживать (место, позицию) Phr hold first
(second, etc) place (in sth) занимать, держать первое (второе и т.д.) место
 5

(в чем-л.); 3. проводить (собрание, конференцию и т.д.) hold a meeting

(conference competition, exhibition, etc),

WORD COMBINATIONS

show sb around/about (a factory, a place, a town, etc.) показать кому-л.

завод (город и т.д.)
take sb aside отвести, отозвать кого-л. в сторону
be delighted (with sb/sth) восторгаться, восхищаться (кем-л./чем-л.)
now and again = now and then то и дело, время от времени
make/take notes делать заметки
work sth out 1. решить, разрешить что-л.; 2. разработать что-л.
that’s it (вот и) все; вот именно

EXERCISES

COMPREHENSION

Ex. 1. Answer the following questions.

1. How many citizenships did Albert Einstein have during his life? What
were they? 2. Was he good at school? 3. How many years did he work in the
Patents office in Bern? 4. When did he become famous? 5. Why did he
persuade President Roosevelt to develop a US atomic research program?
6. When did Chaplin first meet Professor Einstein? 7. What was Professor
Einstein doing in California? 8. How did Chaplin learn that Professor Einstein
would like to meet him? 9. Why was he so thrilled by the invitation? 10. What
made Chaplin believe that Mrs. Einstein enjoyed being the wife of the great
man? 11. What happened while the Professor was being shown around the
studio? 12. Why were so few people invited to dinner at Chaplin’s house?
13. What story did Mrs. Einstein tell Chaplin at dinner? 14. How did Mrs.
Einstein immediately know that something was troubling her husband when
he came down to breakfast on the morning the theory of relativity first came
to his mind? 15. Why did the Doctor only mention the fact that he had a
marvelous idea? 16. Why couldn’t he tell his wife more about it? 17. Why
didn’t Einstein want anyone to disturb him while he was working out the
problem? 18. How long did it take the scientist to work it out? 19. How much
truth was there about the discovery in the story told by Mrs. Einstein to
Chaplin?

Ex. 2. Find equivalents for the following phrases in the text.

 6

принять какое-либо гражданство; вступительные экзамены; получить

Нобелевскую премию; впервые познакомиться с кем-л.; великий
ученый; читать лекции; с радостью принять приглашение; встретиться
на обеде; великий физик; даже не пытаться скрывать что-л.; показать
кому-л. студию; отвести кого-л. в сторону; быть в восторге; теория
относительности; прийти в голову; как обычно; почти не притронуться
к еде; почувствовать что-л. неладное; чудесная (великолепная) мысль;
подняться наверх в кабинет; совершить моцион; наконец, выглядеть
бледным и усталым; держать в руке два листа бумаги; положить что-л.
на стол.

Ex. 3. Is the statement true or false? If it is false, give a correct answer.

1. Albert Einstein was born in Switzerland.

2. When he was a child, he was brilliant at school.
3. He lived and worked in Bern for a long time.
4. When Hitler came to power, Einstein left for the USA.
5. Albert Einstein persuaded President Roosevelt to develop a US atomic
research program.
6. Professor Einstein spoke English much better than his wife.
7. Chaplin invited to dinner with Albert Einstein only two other friends.
8. Albert Einstein had discovered his theory of relativity before he married.
9. Professor Einstein explained his theory of relativity to his wife in every
detail.

Ex. 4. Finish the statements choosing a phrase from those in brackets.

1. Einstein as a child (was a remarkable student; was not doing well at

school).
2. His first attempt at the entry exam (was a failure; was a success).
3. After his graduation in 1900 he worked (in the Patents office in Bern; at
the University of Bern; as a schoolteacher).
4. Hitler came to power when (Einstein was still a school teacher; he was
awarded the Nobel Prize; he was visiting California).
5. Einstein persuaded President Roosevelt (to stop the war; to start peace
talks with Hitler; to develop a US atomic research program).
6. Charles Chaplin first met Einstein (in Europe; while the Professor was
visiting the Universal studios in Hollywood; when Einstein was invited to
his house to dinner).
7. At dinner Mrs. Einstein told Chaplin (how she and Einstein had got
married; how Einstein had discovered the theory of relativity).
 7

8. When at last Professor Einstein came downstairs with his theory of

relativity he looked (very pale and tired; triumphant; very pleased with
himself).

Ex. 5. Put questions to the words in bold type.

1. Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany.

2. He took out Swiss citizenship in his mid-twenties.
3. In 1908, he became a lecturer at the University of Bern.
4. During the First World War Einstein had been a pacifist, but prior to the
Second World War, he abandoned this idea.
5. He believed Hitler was a threat to world peace.
6. He persuaded President Roosevelt to develop a US atomic research
program.
7. Albert Einstein was invited to California to lecture.
8. Mrs. Einstein spoke English very well.
9. There were very few people at dinner at Chaplin’s house.
10.Mrs. Einstein told Charles Chaplin at dinner how the theory of relativity
had been discovered.

KEY STRUCTURES AND WORD STUDY

Ex. 6. Give the four forms of the following verbs.

discover, hide, touch, hold, receive, invite, show, put, leave, speak, say, enter,
bring, verify, split, continue

Ex. 7. Insert prepositions wherever necessary.

1. “I don’t see what’s wrong … my whispering a few words … your ear?”

“You mustn’t do a thing like that … other people present” 2. I don’t know yet
what to do, but we shall work something … , I am sure. 3. I wonder if you
could meet me … the self-service cafeteria … lunch … half an hour? I’d like
to have a chat … you. 4. There hardly passes a day without the boy getting
… some kind … trouble. 5. She invited us … her place promising that there
would be only her family … dinner. 6. I am not surprised … all that he has so
much trouble … his car; he hardly knows a thing … cars and motors.
7. If you are afraid that you may forget something, make a note … it. 8. He
told us how everything had happened. But still we felt that he was hiding
something … us. 9. The telephone started ringing and she reached … it
without getting … … the sofa. 10. She was very proud … her son and could
hardly wait to see him returning home after an absence … three years. 11. The
 8

party is to be held … the biggest hall … the town; it is to be the kind … affair
one remembers … the rest … his life. 12. I wonder why he hasn’t mentioned
… you that … first there was a lot of trouble … the new machine. 13. I really
don’t see how I can get you … … trouble. 14. Your love of excitement is
going to get you … trouble some day. 15. His picture was accepted … the
exhibition.

Ex. 8. Change the meaning of the sentences to the opposite adding the
prefix dis- to the words in bold type and making other necessary changes.

1. She was pleased with the arrangement. 2. He appeared in our town two
years ago and at that time his appearance made a great noise. 3. I don’t see
how you could believe her story. 4. We agree on some questions. 5. I can’t
say I like the idea. 6. This is what I call an honest answer.

Ex. 9. Recast the sentences, using verbs instead of nouns and phrases in
bold type. Make other necessary changes.

(A) 1. At the gate the car came to a stop. 2. Nobody will hear you if you
speak in a whisper. 3. What’s the trouble? 4. I felt a light touch on my
shoulder and turned round. 5. I hear he has published two stories in big
magazines this month. That’s a nice start for a young writer. 6. For what day
do they plan their return to town? 7. His pictures have been on show at the
National gallery.

(B) 1. Who made the discovery that lightning is electricity? 2. Who will
help you with the preparations for the conference? 3. Nobody wanted you to
make a quick decision. 4. Have you heard of his refusal to take part in the
match yet? 5. The new bridge is the pride of the young engineer. 6. These
books are on sale in the book shop at the corner. 7. We had little choice in
the matter. 8. She always makes her appearance when she is least of all
expected.

Ex. 10. Translate the following sentences into English, using a different
phrasal verb in each.

work out (2), sell out, think out, hand out, help out, hear out

1. План был хорошо продуман. 2. Тетради были розданы, просмотрены

и снова возвращены преподавателю. 3. Она попросила меня выслушать
ее. 4. Как всегда, он надеялся, что кто-нибудь выручит его. 5. Прошло
несколько дней, прежде чем было выработано решение. 6. Пока еще
 9

трудно сказать, сколько времени у него уйдет на то, чтобы разработать

тему. 7. Словарь был распродан менее чем за неделю.

Ex. 11. Fill in the blanks with “hard” or “hardly”.

1. It ……… ever snows in this part of the country. 2. It’s a ……… question.
She’ll ……… know the answer. 3. The man spoke a very strange kind of
Russian. I could ……… understand him. 4. The work was too ……… for
Carrie. When she left the shop in the evening she was so tired that she could
……… move. 5. What do you mean by saying that you have ……… any
money left? 6. The girl was so excited that she ……… knew what she was
saying. 7. The boy had had a ……… life. His parents had been killed in the
war when he was ……… eight.

Ex. 12. Translate the following sentences, using “keep” or “hold”

according to the meaning.

1. Где он держит марки? 2. Ребенок упадет, если вы не будете держать

его за руку. 3. Он всегда держит комнату в чистоте. 4. Держитесь
правой стороны. 5. Он все еще держит первое место по стрельбе? 6. Вы
всегда держите свое слово? 7. Как вы можете держать все эти факты в
голове? 8. Он держал сигарету в руке, но не курил. 9. Не выпускайте
детей на улицу, держите их дома. Сегодня сильный мороз. 10. Не
держите продукты долго в холодильнике.

Ex. 13. Translate the following sentences, using “receive”, “accept” or

“take” according to the meaning.

1. Его приняли очень тепло. 2. Новый проект молодого архитектора был

принят на конкурс. 3. Они еще не приняли никакого решения по
первому вопросу. 4. Не думаю, что он принял ваши слова серьезно.
5. Недавно наш университет принимал делегацию студентов из
Латинской Америки. 6. – Почему вы не хотите принять участие в
экскурсии? – Я себя что-то плохо чувствую. 7. Их не приняли, так как
было уже поздно, и рабочий день уже закончился. 8. – Почему не
приняли вашу статью? – В ней есть ряд ошибок. Мне надо их
исправить. 9. Его приняли как старого друга. 10. Они с готовностью
приняли наш совет. 11. Благодарим за ваше приглашение, но мы не
можем принять его. Мы уезжаем.

Ex. 14. Paraphrase the following sentences according to the model.

 10

Model: After he drank coffee, he went to the piano and started to play.
After drinking coffee, he went to the piano and started to play.

1. After he spent a month in the mountains, he was in good form again.

2. After they thought the matter over, they took a decision. 3. After he had
traveled all over the country, he sat down to writing a book. 4. They came to
an agreement after they had argued for some time. 5. After he had arranged
his affairs, he went on a holiday. 6. After the family moved in, they started to
make preparations for a house-warming party.

Ex. 15. Fill in the blanks with a suitable word. Use the correct form.

disturb (2), accept, trouble n (2), hide, hold v, touch v (2), reach v (3), appear,
discover (2), law, proud (2), hardly

1. The ….. of gravitation which was ….. by the English physicist Isaac
Newton made a revolution in science. 2. When the news that Tutankhamen’s
body had been found ….. the world, newspaper reporters ….. in large
numbers in Luxor. 3. Not a sound was heard. Nothing ….. the quiet of the
place . 4. When the mistake was ….. it was already too late for anything.
5. The children were not to ….. the dog, not before it was washed at least.
6. When she finished her story she repeated once again she had nothing to …..
from us and if we chose to disbelieve her, it was our own business. 7. The
Professor said he would be busy in his laboratory and didn’t want anyone to
….. him there. 8. I could see the boy was having a bad time but he was too
….. to ask for help. 9. The question was rather unexpected and she ….. knew
what to say. 10. The girl sitting opposite me in the compartment was ….. an
open book but I clearly saw that her thoughts were somewhere else.
11. “Home at last!” we sang out happily when we felt the plane ….. the
ground at the airport. 12. He readily agreed to buy a few things for me. It
would be no ….. at all, he said. He would be shopping anyway. 13. The hour
was getting late but no decision had been ….. yet. 14. You cannot do anything
about facts, you can only ….. them. 15. As far as I can see, the only ….. with
you is that it always takes you years to make up your mind. 16. He was
extremely ….. that he had been chosen to open the conference.

Ex. 16. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Открытия, которые были сделаны столетия назад, продолжают играть

большую роль в современной науке. 2. Когда мы обнаружили, что
сбились с пути, было уже поздно. Нам пришлось развести костер и
заночевать в лесу. 3. Он давно интересуется книгами о научных
 11

открытиях. Не удивительно, что он знает не только имена многих

ученых, но и открытия, которые они сделали. 4. Я так спешил, что
оставил все деньги дома. 5. Почему бы не пригласить их поехать вместе
с нами в отпуск? Я уверен, они с удовольствием согласятся. 6. Теперь
уже трудно вспомнить, кому эта идея пришла в голову. 7. Боюсь, что
директор не сможет вас завтра принять. Он весь день будет занят на
конференции. 8. Никто не удивился, когда картину молодого художника
приняли на выставку. 9. Я получил приглашение на вечер, но не смогу
пойти. Я завтра уезжаю. 10. Они разговаривали шепотом, так как было
уже поздно, и в доме все спали. 11. Он не проронил ни слова за весь
вечер (hardly). Он был чем-то расстроен. 12. Все были глубоко тронуты
его рассказом. Он говорил с чувством, и его слушали с большим
интересом. 13. Я очень расстроился, когда услышал, что у него
неприятности. Ты случайно не знаешь, в чем там дело? 14. Этот ребенок
ужасно избалован и всегда доставляет много хлопот. 15. Когда они
наконец добрались до лагеря, они чувствовали себя очень усталыми. 16.
Мне бы хотелось поговорить с ним по этому вопросу сегодня. 17. Когда
вы переходите улицу, посмотрите сначала налево, а дойдя до середины
дороги, посмотрите направо. 18. Надеюсь, что я вам не помешаю, если я
останусь здесь на несколько минут. 19. Мне не хотелось беспокоить его
в такой поздний час, но у меня не было другого выхода. Мне очень
нужен был его совет. 20. Его появление было для нас неожиданным.
21. План научной работы уже разработан и будет обсуждаться на
следующем заседании.

LANGUAGE WORK.

Ex. 17. Study the use of the words.

SAY TELL

1. to say sth сказать что-л., 1. to tell sb sth (about sth)

2. to say that … сказать, что…
(дополнит. придаточное
предложение)
3. to say sth to sb сказать что-л.
кому-л.
4. to say, “…” (вводит прямую
речь) сказать: “…”
говорить, сообщать кому-л.
что-л.
2. to tell sb to do sth приказать,
(сказать, велеть) кому-л.
сделать что-л.
3. to tell a lie (the truth) .
 12

SPEAK TALK

1. to speak говорить; to speak 1. to talk to sb (about sth)

English (French, etc.) разговаривать, беседовать,
говорить по-английски говорить с кем-л. (о чем-л.)
(по-французски, и т.д.)
2. to speak to sb about sth
разговаривать, поговорить
с кем-л. о чем-л.
3. to speak at a meeting выступать
на собрании (заседании и т.д.)

Ex. 18. Finish the sentences using the verbs say, tell, speak and talk.

1. What did he …? 2. He … (that) it is time to start work. 3. “Every day …

‘hello’ to your friends,” the young mother … to her little son. 4. He … me
about his son. 5. I have a lot to … you. 6. He … me his name. 7. … me where
you live. 8. Did he … you to translate that article? 9. Will you … slowly,
please. 10. Can your sister … German? 11. Do you know Mr. Brown well?
Can you … to him about John? 12. He … at the meeting for forty minutes.
13. Bill is …ing to a friend now. 14. What are they …ing about? 15. They …
for two hours.

Ex. 19. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Кто сказал вам об этом? 2. Он говорит, что пора идти на работу.

3. Они проговорили два часа о планах на предстоящий отдых. 4. Сказал
ли он вам свое имя? 6. Что он сказал вам? 7. Можете ли вы сказать мне,
где сейчас Петр? 8. Говорите, пожалуйста, медленнее. 9. Не могли бы вы
поговорить с г-ном Брауном о моей книге? 10. Г-н Грин выступал на
вчерашнем собрании? 11.“О чем беседуют эти две женщины?” “Я не
знаю. Они говорят на непонятном мне языке”. 12. Сколько времени вы
проговорили вчера?

PHRASAL VERB “LOOK”

Ex. 20. Match the phrasal verb in (A) with the meaning in (B).

A
1. He is very well looked after in the hospital.
2. He is looked upon as an absolute authority.
3. My Grandma looked for her glasses everywhere.
 13

4. Scientists have been looking into the problem of curing cancer for
many years.
5. I’ve warned you, so look out!
6. His elder brother usually looked down on his paintings.
7. When he was poor he looked forward to more prosperous times.
8. If you don’t know the word, look it up in the dictionary.

B
a) consider
b) take care of
c) wait for something impatiently
d) find the meaning / information
e) try to find something
f) investigate
g) look with contempt
h) be careful

Ex. 21. Fill in the gaps with the proper particle of the phrasal verb look.

1. I look ______ him as a close friend.

2. We are looking ______ ______ your visit in September.
3. Look ______ ! There’s a car coming!
4. I’d like to look ______ the possibility of buying a new house.
5. She’s looking ______ the children this weekend.
6. Susan is looking ______ a place to live.
7. The police looked _______ the crime.
8. She’s looked _______ as a possible future PM.
9. He’s a bit of a snob and looks _______ _______ people who do not
belong to his circle.
10. An Investigation Committee was set up to look ______ the cause of the
plane crash.
11. I’m looking ______ the flashlight. Have you seen it anywhere?
12. He looks ______ ______ his colleagues because he thinks he’s better
than they are.
13. When my brother is away, I look ______ the cats.
14. Many Americans used to look ______ Japanese made cars. They don’t
now.

Ex. 22. Replace the words in italics with the phrasal verb look in its
correct form.
 14

after down on into out

look

forward to for on/upon (as)

Model: Have you tried to find your keys?

Have you looked for your keys?

1. I want to spend this summer together with you so much!

2. Who will take care of your dog while you are away?
3. This politician doesn’t respect the poor.
4. The detective promised to investigate the case of murder very carefully.
5. We were warned to behave very cautiously.
6. He said he had lost his passport, but he didn’t even try to find it.
7. This scientist is considered to be a very good specialist in the field of
space exploration.

Ex. 23. Translate into English using the phrasal verb look.

1. Ребенка лучше положить в больницу, там за ним будет хороший

уход. 2. Машина быстро приближалась, и он закричал нам:
“Осторожно!” 3. Его считают непререкаемым авторитетом в этом
вопросе. 4. Когда он разбогател, он стал свысока относиться к своим
бедным родственникам. 5. Мы все с нетерпением ждем летних каникул.
6. Он считает, что в этот вопрос нужно вникнуть самым серьезным
образом. 7. Мы не знали, где искать потерявшегося котенка.

Ex. 24. Fill in the gaps with the proper prepositions or adverbs. Consult
your dictionary for the other meanings of the phrasal verb “look”.

1. Look ….. the baby while I am out.

2. You must look ….. and make plans for the future.
3. If you look ….. it carefully you will see the mark.
4. Looking ….. I see now all the mistakes I made when I was younger.
5. He had an unhappy childhood and he never looks ….. on it with any
pleasure.
6. She looked ….. to see who was following her.
7. I’ve been looking ….. a cup to match the one I broke
8. Look …..! You nearly knocked my cup out of my hand.
9. Tom is looking ….. ….. his first trip abroad. (expecting with pleasure)
10. Look ….. on your way home and tell me what happened.
 15

11. Before putting any money into the business, we must look very carefully
….. the accounts.
12. My windows look ….. ….. the garden.
13. He asked me to look ….. the document and then sign it.
14. He looked ….. the book to see if he had read it before.
15. You can always look ….. her address in the directory if you have
forgotten it.
16. He looked me ….. and ….. before he condescended to answer my
question.
17. I’m looking ….. ….. seeing your new house.
18. You will see I am right if you look ….. the matter from my point of view.
19. He looks ….. ….. me because I spend my holidays in Bournemouth
instead of going abroad.
20. If he doesn’t know the word he can look it ….. in a dictionary.

POLLUTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Important definitions

People are more worried about the environment (= the air, water, and land
around us) as a result of the harmful (= dangerous/damaging) effects of
human activity. Some of these activities cause pollution (= dirty air, land and
water) and some are destroying the environment (= damaging it so badly that
soon parts will not exist). Here are some of the problems:

the ozone layer: a layer of gases which stop harmful radiation from the sun
reaching the earth; recent research shows that there is now a hole in parts of
the ozone layer.
global warming: an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in
carbon dioxide.
acid rain: rain that contains dangerous chemicals; this is caused by smoke
from factories.

The ‘greens’.

Because of these problems, there are many groups of people whose aim is
conservation (= the protection of natural things, e.g. plants and animals).
They are often referred to as greens, e.g. ‘Greenpeace’ and ‘Friends of the
Earth’.
 16

Common causes of damage.

smoke from factories

car exhaust fumes
dumping (=throwing away) industrial waste (unwanted material) in seas and
rivers
aerosol cans (usually called sprays). Some of these contain CFCs (= a
chemical) which can damage the ozone layer.
cutting down tropical rainforest (e.g. The Amazon). This increases carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere.

How can we help?

Don’t throw away bottles, newspapers, etc. Take them to a bottle bank or
newspaper bank, and then they can be recycled (= used again).
Plant more trees.
Don’t waste (= used badly) resources, e.g. water, gas. Try to save them.

Note: a resource is a valuable possession. There are natural resources, e.g.

water or gold: and human resources, e.g. knowledge and skills. The word is
usually plural.

Ex. 25. Fill in the gaps to form a compound noun or phrase.

1. the ……… layer 5. ………….. warming

2. …………. rain 6. …………... fumes
3. ………… waste 7. …………. rainforests
4. a bottle ………… 8. natural or human ………….

Ex. 26. Complete these word-building tables. If necessary, use a

dictionary to help you.

------------------------------------ --------------------------------------
Noun Verb Noun Adjective
------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
waste ................ damage ..................
.................... to protect environment ..................
.................... to destoy harm ..................
pollution ................. danger ..................
damage ................. ..................... safe
-------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
 17

Ex. 27. Complete the definitions.

1. Conservation is the protection of natural things, e.g. …………….. and

…………….. .
2. Acid rain is rain that contains dangerous chemicals. It is caused by
…………….. .
3. The ozone layer is a layer of gases that stop dangerous radiation from the
sun from reaching ……………… .
4. Global warming is an increase in world temperate caused by an increase in
…………….. .
5. CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) is a chemical which …………….. .

Ex. 28. If we want to look after the environment, there are certain things
we should and shouldn’t do. Complete these two lists in suitable ways.

We should:
…………. paper, bottles and clothes.
…………. tropical forests.
…………. more trees.
…………. water and energy.

We shouldn’t:
…………. paper, bottles and clothes.
…………. the ozone layer.
…………. water and energy.
…………. tropical rainforests.

Ex. 29. Are these statements true or false.

1. CFCs protect the ozone layer.

2. ‘Greens’ believe in conservation.
3. A hole in the ozone layer could increase skin cancer.
4. Cutting down tropical rainforests increases the amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere.
5. Plastic cannot be recycled.

COMPUTERS

What do people use computers for?

Many people use their computers for word processing, e.g. writing letters and
reports. Some business people use spreadsheets (programs used to enter and
 18

arrange numbers and financial information) and databases (programs that

allow you to store, look at, or change a large amount of information quickly).
Some people also use graphics (the pictures and symbols a computer program
can produce).

Important vocabulary.

More and more people are becoming computer literate (have experience
working with computers and know how to use them), since many programs
are so user-friendly (easy to use). If a computer works slowly, it may need
more memory (space to store information). It might crash (stop working) if
there is not enough memory or if it has a bug (a software problem; also a
virus). Always make a back-up copy (a copy on a separate disk).

Ex. 30. Complete this description of using a computer for word

processing.

I wrote a report on the (1) …computer… this morning. When I finished, I (2)
………….. out two copies – one for me and one for my boss. Then, without
warning, my computer (3) ………….. , and unfortunately I lost the whole
document. This is very unusual, because I almost always (4) …………. the
data while I’m writing and then make a (5) ………… copy when I’m
finished; this morning I forgot.
Anyway, I gave the report to my boss, hoping she would not ask me to make
any changes. She did. She thought it was too long and said it would be better
if I used more (6) ………… to illustrate some of the written information. She
also thought it would make the report look more attractive.
I went back and rewrote most of the report when the computer was OK, only I
(7) …………. part of the middle section, which was fairly repetitive, and I
added extra (8) …………. as my boss advised. It did look better by the time
I’d finished, and this time I remembered to (9) …………… it and make a (10)
……….. copy.

Ex. 31. Work with a partner. Find out if he (she)

- has a computer at home and what kind it is;
- finds his (her) computer user-friendly and why;
- uses it more for studying or for entertaining.

THE INTERNET

The Internet / the Net is a system connecting millions of computers

worldwide. In order to go/get on line (become connected), you must connect
 19

your computer to a modem (equipment that sends information along

telephone lines to other computers).A popular use of the Internet is sending
and receiving e-mail/electronic mail (letters or documents sent
electronically) to or from people who are also connected to the Internet. Here
is an e-mail address: billc@abcindustries.com

Note: The @ is pronounced “at”, and the period is pronounced as “dot”.

You can download documents and software programs on the Internet (move
information from another computer to your computer). You may be able to
download software (software programs to try for free and pay for later if you
keep them).

The World Wide Web.

The World Wide Web (the WWW) is a large part of the Internet; it is a
system of electronic documents linked (connected) to one another. If you are
not sure where to find something on the Web, you can use a browser/search
engine, a program that finds information on the WWW or helps you serf the
Net/surf the Web (look at a lot of information quickly). Many businesses, and
some people, have Web pages/Web sites (documents you can view on the
WWW). The home page (the main page, which gives general information) is
usually the first Web page you connect to at a Web site. You can click on
(select) hypertext (special, highlighted words on a Web page) to link your
computer to other pages or documents.

Ex. 32. Write each word or phrase a different way.

1. WWW the World Wide Web

2. the Net
3. search engine
4. electronic mail
5. the Web

Ex. 33. Match the words on the left with the explanations on the right.

1. Web pages a). to transfer information from one

computer to another
2. mary@cal.edu b). documents you can view on the
World Wide Web
3. http:/www.cup.org c). equipment that sends information
along telephone lines
4. hypertext d). the main page within a Web site
 20

5. home page e). a URL, the address for a Web site

6. to download f). an e-mail address
7. to surf the Net g). special words linked to
documents on the Web
8. modem h). to browse or look around the Internet

Ex. 34. Complete the e-mail message.

Message text folder inbox message 1 of 5 new

Date: May 1
From: Nancy Kim nkim@netsource.com
To: Bob Sanchez bobs@stateu.edu
Subject: Getting online

Hi, I finally got (1) …online… this morning, and this is my first (2)
……………….. message. I’m really excited! As you know, I’ve had a
computer for ages, but I didn’t have a (3) ………………….. to connect to the
telephone line. Now that I’ve got one, I’ll be able to surf the (4)
……………… send and receive (5) …………….. , (6) ………………….
software, and do all kinds of fun things. A friend of mine has her own Web
(7) ………………… , so now I have to figure out how to get on the (8)
……………………… and find it!
Best,
Nancy

READING I

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

The poisoning of the world’s land, air, and water is the fastest-spreading
disease of civilization. It probably produces fewer headlines than wars,
earthquakes and floods, but it is potentially one of history’s greatest dangers
to human life on earth. If present trends continue for the next several decades
our planet will become uninhabitable.
Overpopulation, pollution and energy consumption have created such
planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains
and the global warming that is believed to be caused by the greenhouse effect.
The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear
waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly
dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral sea is on the brink of extinction. If
nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the sea.
 21

Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If
nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have
become extinct in twenty years’ time.
Air pollution is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is
life threatening – equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The
same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former Soviet Union.
Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substances. These emissions
have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the
greenhouse effect and acid rains.
An even greater environmental threat are nuclear power stations. We all
know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.
People are beginning to realize that environmental problems are not
somebody else’s. They join and support various international organizations
and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening – perhaps
we’ll be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world and all of us
with it.

Ex. 35. Answer the questions.

1. What is the fastest spreading disease of civilization?

2. Why does it produce fewer headlines?
3. What will happen if the present trends continue?
4. What has been the cause of global problems?
5. Why are the seas in danger? What seas in particular are in danger?
6. What happens in the world every ten minutes?
7. What will happen if nothing is done?
8. Where is air pollution a very serious problem?
9. What causes the greenhouse effect?
10. What were the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster?
11. What makes people join green parties?
12. How can people try to prevent a catastrophe?

READING II

ALFRED NOBEL – A MAN OF CONTRAST

Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man of
many contrasts. He was the son of a bankrupt, but became a millionaire, a
scientist with a love of literature, an industrialist who managed to remain an
idealist. He made a fortune but lived a simple life, and although cheerful in
company he was often sad in private. A lover of mankind, he never had a wife
or family to love him, a patriotic son of his native land, he died alone on
 22

foreign soil. He invented a new explosive, dynamite, to improve the

peacetime industries of mining and road building, but saw it used as a weapon
of war to kill and injure his fellow men. During his life he often felt he was
useless: “Alfred Nobel,” he once wrote of himself, “ought to have been put to
death by a kind doctor as soon as, with a cry, he entered life “. World-famous
for his works he was never personally well known, for throughout his life he
avoided publicity. “I do not see,” he once said, “that I have deserved any fame
and I have no taste for it,” but since his death his name has brought fame and
glory to others.
He was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833 but moved to Russia with
his parents in 1842, where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for
himself in the engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented the landmine
and made a lot of money from government orders for it during the Crimean
War, but went bankrupt soon after. Most of the family returned to Sweden in
1859, where Alfred rejoined them in 1863, beginning his own study of
explosives in his father’s laboratory. He had never been to school or
university but had studied privately and by the time he was twenty was a
skillful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German,
French and English. Like his father, Alfred Nobel was imaginative and
inventive, but he had better luck in business and showed more financial sense.
He was quick to see industrial openings for his scientific inventions and build
up over 80 companies in 20 different countries. Indeed his greatness lay in his
outstanding ability to combine the qualities of an original scientist with those
of a forward-looking industrialist.
But Nobel’s main concern was never with making money or even making
scientific discoveries. Seldom happy, he was always searching for a meaning
to life, and from his youth had taken a serious interest in literature and
philosophy. Perhaps because he could not find ordinary human love – he
never married – he came to care deeply about the whole of mankind. He was
always generous to the poor. “I’d rather take care of the stomachs of the
living than the glory of the dead in the form of stone memorials,” he once
said. His greatest wish, however, was to see an end to wars, and thus peace
between nations, and he spent much time and money working for this cause
until his death in Italy in 1896. His famous will, in which he left money to
provide prizes for outstanding work in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology,
Medicine, Literature and Peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideals. And
so, the man who felt he should have died at birth is remembered and respected
long after his death.

Ex. 36. Are the following sentences true or false? If they are false, correct
them.
 23

1. When Alfred Nobel was born, his father went bankrupt.

2. He was satisfied with his life and was always happy.
3. He could speak five languages and he died abroad.
4. His greatest wish was to make as many discoveries as possible.
5. He was very well educated though he had never been to school.

Ex. 37. Choose the correct ending of the sentence.

1. Alfred Nobel studied explosives

a. in a school laboratory
b. in his father’s lab
c. in his company’s lab
2. He wrote that he ought to have been put to death by a doctor as soon
as he was born, because
a. he had no wife and family to love him
b. he had no taste for fame
c. he felt he was useless
3. He was imaginative and inventive like his father, who
a. invented the landmine
b. made himself rich for the rest of his life
c. showed great financial sense

Ex. 38. Match a part of the sentence from column A with its other part in
column B:

A B
1) The greatest wish of the scientist
was
2) A new explosive was used not only
in mining and road building
3) He couldn’t find love and it made
him
4) Nobel was not only an
outstanding scientist
5) He was often sad in private
6) Nobel left his money
7) The scientist took interest in
literature and philosophy
a) care deeply about the whole
mankind
b) to provide prizes for outstanding
work in science
c) though cheerful in company
d) but also as a weapon of war
e) because he was searching for
a meaning in life
f) to see an end to wars
g) but he had also luck in business

Ex. 39. Answer the questions.

 24

1. Why is Alfred Nobel remembered and respected long after his death?
2. How long did Nobel live in Russia?
3. What kind of education did he get?
4. What languages did he speak?
5. Why did he come to care deeply about the whole of mankind?
6. What were his political views?
7. What is the best memorial to his deeds?

READING III

THE WILL

“…the whole of my remaining estate shall be dealt with in the following

way: the capital shall be safely invested to form a fund. The interest on this
fund shall be distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who, during
the previous year shall have done work of the greatest use to mankind. The
said interest shall be divided into 5 parts and distributed as follows: one part
to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention
within the field of Physics; one part to the person who shall have made the
most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person
who shall have made the most important discovery within the field of
Physiology or Medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced
within the field of Literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic
tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best
work for brotherhood between nations, for the abolition or reduction of
permanent armies and for the organization and encouragement of peace
conferences. The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the
Swedish Academy of Sciences, that for medical works by the Caroline
Institute in Stockholm, that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm, and
that for workers for peace by a committee of five people to be elected by the
Norwegian Parliament. It is my firm wish that in awarding the prizes no
consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but
that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or
not.”
Paris, November 27, 1895

How a Nobel prizewinner is chosen.

1. The Nobel Committees send invitations to hundreds of scientists and

scholars around the world, asking them to suggest names for the Nobel
prizes in the coming year.
2. The names are sent in by February 1.
 25

3. Each committee, with the help of specially appointed experts, discuss the
names suggested, and makes out a short list to present to the prize-
awarding institution. A vote is taken for the final choice.
4. The names of the prizewinners are announced in October or November.
5. The prizes are awarded on December 10. The Peace Prize is presented at
Oslo University, the others at a ceremony in Stockholm. The King of
Sweden presents a diploma, a medal and a cheque to each prizewinner and
there is a ceremonial dinner afterwards in the City Hall. Each Nobel
prizewinner is expected to give a “Nobel lecture”.

Ex. 40. Answer the questions.

1. Where are the Nobel prizes drawn from?

2. How many prizes were provided for in the will? (How many are there
today?)
3. Who can be awarded a Nobel prize?
4. Who suggests names for the Nobel prizes?
5. How often are they awarded?
6. By what date should the names be sent in?
7. Who makes the final choice? How is it made?
8. When are the names of the prizewinners announced?
9. When and where are the prizes awarded?
10. What is every prizewinner expected to give?

Ex. 41. Here are some facts about the Nobel prizewinners of different
years. Do you know any other names? Find facts about their outstanding
achievements.

Yea Name Prize in… What for?

r
1911 Marie Curie Chemistry Discovery of radium
1962 Francis Crick, Medicine Discovery of the DNA structure
James Watson,
Maurice Wilkins
1965 Mikhail LiteratureArtistic power and integrity of the
Sholokhov description of a difficult phase in
the life of the Russian people in
the epic of the Don
1990 Harry M. Economics Pioneering work in the theory of
Markowitz, financial economics
Merton H. Miller,
 26

William F. Sharpe
2005 International Peace Efforts to prevent nuclear energy
Atomic Energy from being used for military
Agency (IAEA) purposes and to ensure that
and Mohamed nuclear energy for peaceful
ElBaradei purposes is used in the safest
possible way
2010 Andre Geim, Physics Groundbreaking experiments
Konstantin regarding the two-dimensional
Novoselov material graphene

READING IV

PLUNGING INTO THE UNKNOWN

CERN is a French acronym of the European centre for Nuclear

Research. It began operating in 1954 just outside Geneva on the French
border and began building its first accelerator, though at the time nuclear
science and atomic weapons were linked in the public mind and Switzerland
was alarmed that the presence of the laboratory would compromise Swiss
neutrality.
So in the mid-1960s, Geneva refused CERN’s application to build the
world’s first proton collider, arguing lack of space. As a result the laboratory
turned to France, now the location for most of its major installations.
Since then relationships with Geneva have warmed and for good
material reasons. CERN’s status as the world’s foremost nuclear physics
laboratory and winner of three Nobel prizes for its scientists has been not only
a source of prestige for Switzerland but a big money-spinner for Swiss
industry, from precision engineering to office supplies.
CERN is also the largest international organization in Geneva after the
United Nations with an annual budget of SFr 1.3bn and 2,000 employees.
In addition it plays temporary host to 7,000 scientists from more than
80 countries. The majority are from CERN’s 20 European members, but more
than 700 are from Russia and nearly 600 from the US with others from Japan,
India and Pakistan.
And, while the best known of CERN’s inventions – the worldwide web
and detectors now used in medical imaging – were made universally
available, others have formed the basis for company start-ups, often Geneva-
based, by ex-CERN scientists that have advanced the city’s high-tech
reputation.
 27

For the moment CERN’s pre-eminence in particle physics research

seems assured with the opening of the world’s most powerful atom-smashing
machine; the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The LHC aims to identify the most fundamental building blocks of our
world by reproducing conditions that existed a few million millionths of a
second after the Big Bang.
It does this by whipping zillions of particles around a 27km circle at
about the speed of light, crashing them into each other and observing the
results.
But studying tiny particles requires giant structures. To generate energy
levels equivalent to the heat of hundreds of thousands of suns the LHC uses
superconducting magnets operating at temperatures close to absolute zero,
colder than outer space.
The experiments themselves are housed in structures as big as office
blocks in vast underground caverns. The biggest of them, Atlas, has a detector
20 metres high whose innermost sensors contain about 10bn transistors –
nearly as many as the number of stars in the Milky Way.
And to process and store the data resulting from these experiments,
equivalent to a 20km pile of CD-roms every year and far beyond the
capacities of any supercomputer, CERN is in the forefront of developing Grid
technology that will link tens of thousands of computers in high-energy
physics laboratories all over the globe.
The LHC, which will cost more than $3bn, saved cash by using the
existing circular tunnel that was built for its predecessor, the Large Electron
Positron (LEP) collider. Even then, cost overruns forced cuts in other
experiments and belt-tightening all round.
However, most particle physicists expect the next machine – another
electron positron collider – to be straight rather than circular, to produce even
higher energy levels. Scientists at CERN are working on new linear electron-
positron collider technology that would generate the required energy levels
with shorter tunnels, making it possible to build them there. But a decision on
what should follow the LHC must wait until the early results of the LHC
experiments are known.
Among the first discoveries will, scientists hope, be the elusive Higgs
Boson or “God particle” that under the so-called Standard Model of nuclear
physics gives particles mass. “If the Higgs Boson exists, the LHC will
definitely find it”, says CERN’s director-general. “And if it doesn’t, it will
discover other things. With the LHC, we plunge into the unknown.”
(from the Financial Times)

Ex. 42. Discuss the answers to the following questions.

 28

1. What is CERN? Where is it? When did it begin operating?

2. What worried the Swiss in the mid-60s? What about now?
3. Who works in CERN?
4. What proves CERN’s eminence in the world of physics?
5. What is the LHC? For what purpose was it built? How big is it?
6. What places CERN in the forefront of Grid technology?
7. How much money was spent on the LHC?
8. Are physicists at CERN making any further plans?

GRAMMAR. PASSIVE VOICE (continued)

CONTINUOUS FORMS

is / are
being + done
was / were

1. There are only two Continuous Passive forms: the Present

Continuous Passive and Past Continuous Passive.

Active Passive
Present Continuous
We are discussing the plan. The plan is being discussed

Past Continuous
We were discussing the plan The plan was being discussed
when he came. when he came.

2. The Future Continuous exists only in the ACTIVE VOICE.

There are two variants of translation of sentences that require Future
Continuous:

План будет обсуждаться The plan will be discussed at

в десять часов. ten o’clock. (Future Indefinite
Passive)
They will be discussing the plan
at ten o’clock. (Future
Continuous Active)

3. The Present and Past Continuous passive are used according to the
same rules as Present and Past Continuous active.
 29

4. The formation of the Present Continuous passive and Past

Continuous passive : to be (in the Present / Past Continuous) + Participle II .

The table is being laid. На стол (сейчас) накрывают.

The table was being laid В семь часов накрывали на стол.
at seven.

PERFECT FORMS

has / have
had been + done
will have

1. The Present Perfect passive, Past Perfect passive and Future Perfect
passive are used according to the same rules as Present, Past and Future
Perfect active.

Active Passive
Present Perfect
We have drawn up the plan. The plan has been drawn up.

Past Perfect
We had drawn up the plan The plan had been drawn up
by that time. by that time.

Future Perfect
By the end of the month we shall By the end of the month the plan
have drawn up the plan. will have been drawn up.

2. The Perfect passive forms are used according to the same rules as the
Perfect active forms.*

3. The formation of Perfect passive forms:

to be (in the Present, Past or Future Perfect) + Participle II.
Nothing has been done yet. Еще ничего не сделано.
The book had been published by К январю книга была
January. опубликована.

The house will have been built by К концу года дом построят.
the end of the year.
 30

*NOTE: The Perfect Continuous active forms do not have corresponding

passive forms. There are two variants of translating sentences that require
such forms, e.g.
План обсуждается уже в течение часа. →
a) The plan has been discussed for an hour now. (Present Perfect
passive)
b) They have been discussing the plan for an hour now. (Present
Perfect Continuous active)
Ex. 43. Supply the missing part of the verb in the Continuous passive
forms.

1. He could not do a thing when he knew he …….. being watched. 2. He

didn’t show much interest when earlier theories on the subject ……. being
discussed. 3. Close the door please, little Jane …… being washed. 4. The
boys waited while the car was ….. cleaned. 5. His speech is …… translated
for the foreign guests. 6. What do you feel when your favourite record is
being …… . 7. The award is …… presented by an eminent scientist. 8. At the
time nobody knew that the plane passengers …… being held hostage by the
hijackers.

Ex. 44. Change the sentences into the passive voice.

Model: Somebody’s watching us.

We’re being watched.

1. Someone’s following us. 2. Some men are pulling down the house.
3. Another car’s overtaking us. 4. Someone’s looking after the children.
5. Two policemen are questioning the man. 6. A man’s feeding the tigers.
7. Nobody’s using the car today. 8. Nobody’s guarding the prisoner. 9. Is
anybody making the tea? 10. Is anyone using this room? 11. Keep your head
down. Somebody is shooting at us.

Ex. 45. (I). Match a sentence in A with two continuations in B.

A B

1. Their flat is completely a) they’re putting up coloured lights

modernized: in the High Street.
b) people are taking her out to
nightclubs.
2. Miss World is being given V.I.P. c) they’re taking out all the old
 31

treatment: fireplaces.
d) they’re sending most students
home at 5 o’clock.
3. The war’s causing terrible e) they’re fitting a new exhaust pipe.
suffering:
f) they’re holding evening classes
by gas light.
4. My car’s still at the garage: g) troops are destroying the crops.
h) they’re tapping their telephone.
5. The college has been without i) they’re tightening the brakes.
electricity for a week now:
j) they’re selling Christmas trees in
all the shops.
6. Christmas is coming: k) they’re watching the house from
across the street.
l) everyone’s buying her bouquets
of roses.
7. The family next door is being m)the invading army is burning
closely watched. down all the villages.
n) they’re putting in central heating.

1. ………… 2. ………… 3. …………. 4. ………….

5. ………… 6. ………… 7. ………….

(II). Read them out changing the sentences into the passive voice.

Model: Their flat is being completely modernized: all the old fireplaces are
being taken out and central heating is being put in.

Ex. 46. Complete the following sentences using the Past Continuous
passive.

Model: When I came to this town three years ago, this bridge across the Volga
still … (build).
When I came to this town three years ago, this bridge across the
Volga was still being built.

1. I haven’t been to the show but I was present when the best photos …
(choose). 2. When I left the University I didn’t know yet the marks the
students had got because their papers … (look) through. 3. When I was a
 32

worker at this factory this work still … (do) by hand. 4. Just this very question
… (discuss) when I joined in the conversation. 5. He entered the hall in the
dark and didn’t understand at first what film … (show). 6. She had the feeling
that she … (watch). 7. I wasn’t surprised that he … (listen) to with such
interest. He is a very good lecturer. 8. He was disturbed by the noise coming
from the room next to his. He was sure that some experiments … (make)
there. 9. When she entered the class-room, the last student … (examine).

Ex. 47. Use the verbs in bold type in the passive voice. Make all the
necessary changes.

1. They are making a new experiment in their laboratory now. 2. He was sure
that somebody was following him. 3. Everybody is still laughing at his
jokes. 4. We couldn’t give him the program, we were still working it out.
5. Are they still painting the fence? 6. What are they selling in this little
shop? Look at the queue! 7. What happened? Why was a crowd of people
pushing the car? 8. She felt they were looking at her. 9. They are serving
dinner right now. 10. I didn’t know that they were demolishing the entire
block. 11. They are repairing my piano at the moment. 12. The Dean is
examining the students of Group 8 in Room 305 now.

Ex. 48. Rewrite the following passage in the passive.

The Government made an important decision last night. They will ban
all cars from the centre of town as pollution is seriously affecting people’s
health. They will allow only bicycles and buses to enter the town centre. They
are making plans for a new environmental police force. After all, they must
do something before it is too late.

Ex. 49. Translate into English using the Passive Voice (continuous forms).

1. Его слушали с таким интересом, что никто не заметил, как я вошел.

2. Что строится на той стороне реки? 3. Я долго не мог понять, почему
над ним смеялись. 4. У него было такое чувство, что за ним кто-то идет.
5. Дети знали, что за ними наблюдают. 6. Что объясняли группе, когда
вы присоединились к ним? 7. Не входите без приглашения, в зале
обсуждается очень важный вопрос. 8. – Что там так жарко (heatedly)
обсуждают? – По-моему, вчерашний фильм. 9. Поторопитесь, вас ждут.
10. Их новая модель сейчас проходит тестирование. (to test)

Ex. 50. Supply the missing part of the verb in the Perfect passive forms.
 33

1. A lot of houses ….. been built in our town this year. 2. Don’t close the
window. It has just ….. opened. 3. The next morning when I came out, I saw
that the streets ….. been washed out by rain. 4. I didn’t know that he hadn’t
……. invited. 5. The construction of the bridge will …….. been finished
before winter comes. 6. His parents ……. been married five years when he
was born. 7. How long has this stadium …… built? 8. He went away last year
and he …… not …… heard of ever since. 9. I wondered why he hadn’t …….
taught any foreign language. 10. The Queen …… not been seen since last
July.

Ex. 51. Express surprise at the request / question using the passive voice
in your response.

Model 1: - Please, fetch some chairs.

- But they have just (already) been brought.

1. Please, choose the pictures for the show. 2. Please, send him a fax. 3. Will
you buy some bread, please? 4. Please, give them the instructions. 5. Will you
be sending them an invitation? 6. Could you show your method to the young
specialist? 7. Please, return all the books to the library. 8. When will you start
making the sandwiches for the cocktail party? 9. Will you wake him up,
please? 10. Please, open the window in the bedroom.

Model 2: - Are you going to send for the doctor?

- Why, he has just (already) been sent for.

1. Are they going to tell him about the incident? 2. Are you going to invite
them to the party? 3. Is he going to pay for the tickets? 4. Is anybody going to
speak to the Dean about the matter? 5. Is she going to send this dressing gown
to the cleaner’s? 6. Are you going to call for a taxi?

Ex. 52. Open the brackets using the Perfect passive forms.

1. He was sure that his mistake never … (discover). 2. She didn’t follow the
advice she … (give). 3. When she returned, the subject of the conversation
already … (change). 4. … everybody … (send) an invitation? 5. I didn’t know
that the letter … (lose). 6. He said he had never been there but he often …
(tell) about this place. 7. All the books from the library … (return) by the end
of term. 8. … the invitation … (refuse or accept)? 9. It always … (know) as a
most wonderful place for a holiday. 10. There are books that … (not read) for
years. 11. When we came to the cinema, all the seats … (sell). 12. I never …
(speak to) like that before. 13. The house was dark and damp inside like any
 34

other building which … (not live in). 14. When my parents were born,
television … (not invent) yet.

Ex. 53. Use the verbs in bold type in the passive voice. Make all the
necessary changes.

1. My boss has promised me a four-day holiday. 2. She had written the

answers to all the questions long before the end of the lesson. 3. They have
always listened to these lectures with interest. 4. She has thrown away all
this year’s newspapers. 5. They have always laughed at his jokes. 6. They
have known this fact for years. 7. She said that they hadn’t invited him.
8. They will have finished the work by tonight. 9. Someone has made a
complaint. 10. He knew that some historian had described this period but he
didn’t remember his name. 11. I wondered where they had hidden the key.
12. He wondered why they had posted the letter unstamped. 13. No one has
lived in this house for the last hundred years. 14. He left two years ago and
we haven’t heard from him ever since. 15. Have they told him about the
changes in the timetable? 16. We forgot that we had left the lights on. 17. The
snow will have covered the mountains by Christmas.

Ex. 54. Rewrite the text in the passive voice. Use the Perfect forms to
indicate the recent changes.

Belcombe used to be an unspoilt village on the south coast of England,

but you wouldn’t recognize it now. They’ve developed it as a tourist resort –
and they’ve completely destroyed its old atmosphere. They’ve pulled down
the picturesque old cottages by the harbor, and they’ve built a hideous luxury
hotel there instead. They’ve widened and resurfaced all the old cobbled
streets, and they’ve cut down the trees in the village square, and put a car park
there. Even the old village shop isn’t there any more – they’ve turned it into
one of those awful cafes where everything seems to be made of plastic, and
they’ve put a big sign outside saying ‘Ye Olde Tea Shoppe’.

Ex. 55. Translate into English using the Perfect passive forms.

1. Колумб умер, не зная, что им был открыт новый континент.

2. Приглашение не было принято, так как оно было получено слишком
поздно. 3. Было обсуждено только три вопроса, когда мы услышали
звонок. 4. Эта комната всегда была предназначена (использовалась) для
гостей. 5. Они заблудились потому, что им не показали дорогу. 6. Ему
всегда давали молоко перед сном. 7. Ее только что увезли в больницу.
 35

8. Эти фильмы отличаются от тех, которые нам показывали до сих пор.

9. Ему сказали, что музей закрыли неделей раньше и что он будет
открыт к юбилею писателя. 10. Думаю, через неделю его уже повысят в
должности. (to promote)
***
Ex. 56. Make the following sentences passive.

1. Police use trained dogs to find drugs. 2. Nurses give the patients their
medicine every morning. 3. A lifeguard rescued the drowning boy. 4. An
electrician is repairing our water heater. 5. A defense lawyer will represent
you. 6. They clean the rooms daily. 7. Customs officers searched their
suitcases. 8. A gas leak had caused the explosion. 9. An eyewitness gave the
police a full report. 10. The government has increased the tax on cigarettes.
11. They are going to launch the product in May. 12. The glazier will have
replaced the window by tomorrow. 13. The bill includes service. 14. People
don’t use this road very often. 15. They cancelled all flights because of fog.
16. They are building a new ring-road round the city. 17. I didn’t realize that
somebody was recording our conversation. 18. They have changed the date of
the meeting. 19. Brian told me that somebody had attacked and robbed him in
the street.

Ex. 57. Complete the situation making a passive sentence from the words
in brackets.

Model: That church looks very old. (when / it / build?) → When was it built?
- Is Margaret popular?
- Yes. (she / like / by everybody) → She is liked by everybody.

1. This is a very popular television show. (every week / it / watch / by

millions of people) 2. What happens to the cars produced in this factory?
(most of them / export?) 3. – Was there any trouble at the demonstration? –
Yes. (about 20 people / arrest) 4. There is no longer military service in
Britain. – Really? (when / it / abolish?) 5. Did anybody call an ambulance to
the scene of the accident? – Yes. (but nobody / injure / so it / not / need)
6. – Last night someone broke into our house. – Oh, dear. (anything / take?)
7. Mr Kelly can’t use his office at the moment. (it / redecorate) 8. George
didn’t have his car yesterday. (it / service / at the garage) 9. Where’s my
bicycle? It’s gone! (it / steal!) 10. The people next door disappeared six
months ago. (they / not / see / since then) 11. This room looks different. (it /
paint / since I was last here?) 12. A tree was lying across the road. (it / blow /
down in the storm)
 36

Ex. 58. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive form.

Last weekend a new leisure centre ……. (open) in the town of Halden.
The centre ……. (believe) to be the largest in Europe and it ……. (hope) that
it ……. (visit) by over 40,000 people a month. The centre ….… (plan) for
over ten years, but it ……. (only / make) possible by a large government
grant. Unfortunately, it ……. (not / finish) yet, but it ….… (think) that it …..
… (complete) by next month. The centre includes an Olympic-size swimming
pool and fifty tennis courts which ….… (can / book) by phone. The gym
……. (claim) to be the most modern in the country. The equipment ….…
(buy) in Germany and training ….… (provide) by five top instructors.
Entrance fees are cheap because half the cost ….… (pay) by the local council,
so many local people will be able to afford them.

Ex. 59. Complete the text by putting the verbs into the correct active or
passive form.

STUDENT HACKERS ARRESTED

Four high school computer hackers ……. (arrest) yesterday and face
charges of theft and fraud. It ….… (believe) that the four boys, aged between
16 and 18, ……. (use) a complex Internet scheme to steal computer
equipment. The boys, whose names ….… (not / release) yet, ….… (break)
into the local Internet server and ……. (steal) credit card numbers, which they
used to go on a giant online shopping trip. Altogether, they ….… (order)
£20,000 worth of computer equipment before they ……. (catch). The
equipment ……. (deliver) to vacant homes in the area, where it could …….
(pick up) after school. When the boys ……. (ask) why they …….. (carry) out
such an elaborate scheme, they said they ……. (surprise) at how easy it was.

Ex. 60. Rewrite the following passages in the passive.

(A) My parents own the best restaurant in our town. Last weekend my
father dismissed the head waiter as he had stolen some stock from the cellar.
My father is going to hire a new waiter as he is doing all the work by himself
at the moment. He asked me to help serve the food. However, I mixed up all
the orders and the customers made several complaints. I’m sure my father will
never ask me to help him again!

(B) James Fitt witnessed a horrific plane crash last night. The fire brigade
fought the wreckage fire while the ambulance men were rescuing surviving
passengers. Ambulances took all the survivors to hospital. No one knows yet
 37

what caused the plane crash. Newspapers and TV reporters have already
interviewed many of the survivors. The Civil Aviation Authority has launched
a full investigation. Probably someone put a bomb on board the aircraft. They
hope that the aircraft’s ‘black box’ will provide the vital information but they
haven’t found it yet. They are continuing the search.

Ex. 61. (I) Rewrite the newspaper headlines in complete sentences in the
passive voice.

Model: DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST POLL TAX HELD LAST

SUNDAY
Demonstrations against the Poll Tax were held last Sunday.

1. MISSING PAINTING NOT YET RECOVERED

2. £1,000,000 BEING RAISED FOR HOMELESS IN L.A.
3. MEXICO CITY TO BE HIT BY HURRICANE TOMORROW
4. CHILD RESCUED FROM QUICKSAND YESTERDAY
5. SCHOOLS TRY OUT LAPTOPS IN CLASSROOMS
6. TV CAMERAS INSTALLED IN CITY PARKS
7. ALL-DAY STRIKE TO BE HELD BY ELECTRICITY WORKERS
8. HOSPITALS TEST ROBOT SURGEONS
9. LEAKING ROOF FIXED BY BUILDERS

(II) Think of a headline for a current event and develop it into a

news story.

ADVERBS of degree (=how much)

positive OK negative

extremely very rather fairly slightly fairly rather very extremely

incredibly pretty quite a bit quite pretty incredibly
absolutely absolutely

I. Fairly and pretty are synonymous with quite and rather. Quite means
(a) fairly, or to some degree, e.g.
He is quite clever.
(b) completely, e.g.
She is quite exhausted.
I don’t quite agree with you.
Rather is more formal than the other words and often describes a negative
situation, e.g.
 38

We had rather bad weather. The food was rather expensive.

For a positive situation, rather often indicates that something is better than
we expected, e.g.
Her cooking is rather good actually. (I didn’t expect that, so it was a
very nice surprise.)
Quite is used before a/an, rather is used before or after a /an. Fairly and
pretty are used after a/an, e.g.
She’s quite a good teacher.
It was rather a hot day. It was a rather hot day.
She is a fairly / pretty good skier.

Incredibly, absolutely, pretty and a bit are informal and mostly used in
spoken English; absolutely modifies limit adjectives describing extreme
qualities (amazing, disgusting, gorgeous, filthy, etc.), a bit is mostly used
before negative adjectives, or adjectives with a negative prefix, e.g.
The food was pretty good. (= nearly ‘very’ good).
That Ferrari is incredibly expensive.
It was an absolutely fascinating experience.
The hotel was a bit disappointing, actually.
I thought she looked a bit unhappy.

Almost (=nearly)

It’s almost/nearly five o’clock. (= it is probably about 4.57)

I almost/nearly lost the match.

Hardly + a positive often has the same meaning as almost + a negative.

I hardly had anything to eat for lunch. (= I had almost nothing)

She could hardly walk after her operation. (= she almost couldn’t walk).

II.
+++ ++ +
with adjectives, just, absolutely, quite, rather a little, a bit
adverbs or verbs totally, awfully, It’s quite / It looks a bit
terribly, really, rather late. We’d strange.
simply better go. Can you wait a
I’m terribly bit / a little?
sorry, Sir.
She simply
adores him.
with adjectives very, extremely pretty, fairly slightly
 39

or adverbs She’s very rude I’m pretty / She’s slightly

and extremely fairly sure he’s overweight.
impolite. lying.
with verbs or very much, rather not … much
comparative much / a lot It’s rather He isn’t much
form I very much warmer today taller than me.
appreciate your than yesterday.
help. He rather enjoys
I feel a lot/much travelling.
better now.

Ex. 62. Fill in quite or rather.

A: I found that book a ………. boring one.

B: Oh, really? I thought it had ……….. a good plot.
A: Oh, come on! The ending was ………… improbable, don’t you think?
B: No, not at all. In fact, I think the whole book was ……….. perfect.
A. Well, if you ask me, you’ve got ……….. strange taste in books.

Ex. 63. Respond to these sentences using ‘rather’ to show surprise. (You
can also add ‘actually’ at the end of the sentence).

1. A: Was it a boring evening?

B: No, it ………………………….
2. A: Were the children very noisy?
B: No, they ………………………..
3. A: I’ve heard it’s a very dirty town. Is that true?
B: No, it …………………………….
4. A: Was the weather awful?
B: No, it …………………………….

Ex. 64. Fill in quite, rather, pretty or fairly.

I took my dog Spot for a walk even though it was ……. cold outside.
He’s …….. a lively dog and he likes going for a run ……… often. The park
was ……… full considering the bad weather, but it’s a ……… big park and
we had ……… enough space. Suddenly the dog ran off and I had to chase
him for ……… a long time. I’m a ………. good runner, but he’d gone
……… a long way and, when I eventually caught him, I was ……….
exhausted!
 40

Ex. 65. Change the underlined adverbs to make the first two sentences
slightly more positive, and the last three sentences slightly more negative.

1. I thought they were very good.

2. He’s been getting quite good marks in the exams.
3. John said the flat was very small.
4. They said it was fairly boring.
5. The clothes were very expensive.

Ex. 66. Fill in the gaps with suitable adverbs of degree.

I’m …………. (+ + +) sorry, Sir, but the manager is ………… (+ + +)

busy at the moment. He has ………….. (+ + +) many customers to attend to. I
would ………. (+++) appreciate it if you could just sit here and wait
………… (+). I’m ………….. (+ +) sure he’ll be available soon. Don’t worry,
you won’t have to wait ………….. (+) longer.

Ex. 67. Replace the underlined adverb with a different adverb that has
the same meaning.

1. She attends conferences quite often now.

2. I can barely remember the first house we lived in.
3. There were almost fifty people there, you know.
4. I thought it was a bit disappointing, didn’t you?
5. I’m afraid I’m extremely busy next week.

ARTICLE with nouns denoting title, rank or occupation

I. No article is used when proper names are modified by words denoting a

title or rank, e.g. Queen Elizabeth II (of the United Kingdom), Prince
Charles, Lady Diana Spencer, Sir Paul McCartney, Ambassador Ivanov,
Professor Higgins, Colonel Pickering, President Bush, Doctor Brown, etc.
Note that all these words are spelt with capital letters.

II. When used predicatively, i.e. after the verb to be / to become, without
a proper name after them, they can be used
(a) with the indefinite article a/an to mean that the person belongs to a group /
class, e.g. She became a princess. He is a doctor at our hospital;
(b) without any article to indicate a unique post / position, that can be taken
by one person at a certain period of time, e.g. He was _chairman at the
meeting. Who is _President now?
 41

III. In all other cases these words are used like common class nouns, e.g.
At the ball he met a (beautiful) lady. The lady became his sweetheart.
He wanted to be an ambassador. The ambassador has just left.

IV. When modified by an of-phrase these words are used with the definite
article the, e.g. the Duke of York, the chairman of the British Rail, the
Ambassador of France (or the French ambassador), the president of the
association.

Ex. 68. Insert articles where necessary.

1. George Washington was … president of the USA, he was … president

from 1789 to 1797. 2. He studied nights to become … doctor and finally rose
to be … president of … Medical Association. 3. She is … major. So you’d
better address her as … Major Brown. 4. … Doctor Smith is in charge of this
laboratory. 5. “Who will be … chairman at Monday’s conference?” –
“… Professor Smith agreed to be … chairman”. 6. He is … President of …
Academy of Sciences. 7. What did … prime minister say in the interview
about it? 8. Who is going to be … next British prime minister? 9. … Prince
Charles was given … title of … Prince of Wales by his mother in 1969.
10. Who is … Ambassador of … Russian Federation to … United Nations?
11. During the last ten years she has been … professor of our university.
12. Meet … Professor Archer, my colleague. 13. Did … professor speak
about … coming examination? 14. It’s difficult to be … ambassador.
15. … Princess Margharet, … younger sister of … Queen Elizabeth II,
married … photographer, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, who later became …
Lord Snowdon.

Ex. 69. Translate into English using the proper articles where necessary.

1. О. Ю. Шмидт был руководителем (head) экспедиции на легендарном

“Челюскине”. 2. Отец Д. И. Менделеева был директором гимназии в
Тобольске. 3. Авраам Линкольн был президентом США с 1861 по 1865
год. 4. Вы когда-нибудь слышали о новом методе профессора
Николаева? 5. Кто был президентом Российской Федерации в 2003?
6. Посол Иванов выступил с речью на заседании Совета Безопасности
ООН. 7. Кто имел встречу с послом Греции? – Министр иностранных
дел. 8. Капитан Форд, капитан корабля, был на мостике, когда корабль
входил в порт. 9. За доктором Смитом уже послали, он будет через
полчаса. 10. Академик Алферов возглавлял Международный комитет по
присуждению премии «Глобальная энергия». 11. Король Испании Хуан
 42

Карлос (Juan Carlos) и королева Дании Маргрета (Margrethe) являются

праправнуками королевы Виктории. 12. Профессор очень занят. Не
беспокойте его. 13. Я помню его еще простым врачом, а сейчас он уже
президент Академии медицинских наук. 14. Посол Смирнов возглавлял
нашу делегацию на переговорах.

TENSE AND VOICE REVISION

Ex. 70. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct passive form.

a) There is an old castle in Norwich which …………. (believe) to

……….. (haunt). It ……………. (call) North Castle and it ………….. (say)
that ghosts can …………... (see) there at night. The castle ………….. (build)
400 years ago and …………… (own) by two old ladies who …………….
(believe) to be witches. One day, long ago, they both disappeared and they
……………….. (never/see) again. In 1985 the castle …………….. (buy) by a
businessman and ……………….. (convert) into a luxurious hotel. The castle
………….. (visit) by quite a few guests every year and special groups
……………. (organise) to watch for ghosts. It has been a long time since any
ghosts ……………… (see), but one night a trick …………. (play) on some
visitors by a local couple, who dressed up as the two “witches”. They
……………… (see) by a guest, who said she …………… (frighten) almost
to death. The couple apologized the next day, and ……………… (tell) never
to visit the castle again, certainly not in the middle of the night dressed up as
witches.

b) Professor Higgins, who …………….. (award) a major science prize

last month, ……………… (invite) to take part in a conference which
………………. (hold) in London last week. He ………………. (meet) at the
airport by a driver who, unfortunately, …………….. (give) the name of the
wrong hotel to take the professor to. A large reception …………….
(organise) for the professor, and at least 200 eminent scientists …………….
(invite) to meet him that evening. The poor professor, however, ……………
(leave) at a small hotel in a rather bad area, and when he asked to speak to the
Head of the Conference he …………. (tell) to try somewhere else because he
………….. (not hear of) there. Luckily, later that evening, the driver
………… (send) to the hotel where the reception ……………… (hold), and
when he …………. (ask) what he had done with the professor, everyone
realized that a mistake ……………. (make). The professor says that if he
…………… (ever/send) another invitation to a conference, he hopes it
……………….. (organise) more efficiently.
 43

WRITING. DEFINING THINGS (RELATIVE CLAUSES)

Ex. 71. Study the rules concerning relative clauses.

The defined word is a The defined word is a

person thing
Case
 This man is our lecturer.  The river is polluted. It
nominative

He is talking to Peter now. flows through town.

(a) The man who / that is (a) The river which / that flows
talking to Peter is our through town is polluted.
(the defined word is the subject

lecturer.
 I met some people. They  Do all the exercises. They
know my brother. are on page 10.
of the clause)

(b) I met some people who / (b) Do all the exercises

that know my brother. which/that are on page 10.

 The lecturer was as boring  That tree is very old. Its

possessive

as usual this morning. I roots look like crooked

always forget his name. claws.
(c) The lecturer whose name I (c) That tree, the roots of
always forget was as boring which / whose roots look
as usual this morning. like crooked claws, (with
roots like crooked claws) is
very old.
 44

(the defined word is the object of the clause)objective

 I met a man. He was
friendly.
(d) The man (whom/that) I
met was friendly.
 I share a room with this
student. He is very noisy.
(e)The student with whom I
share a room (formal) /
(who/that) I share a room
with (informal) is very
noisy.
 I bought some books. They
were expensive.
(d) The books (which/that) I
bought were expensive.
 I am sitting on a chair. It is
hard.
(e) The chair on which I am
sitting (formal) /
(which/that) I am sitting on
(informal) is hard.
 This is the box. I used to
keep my diary in it / here.
(f) This is the box where I used
to keep my diary.

Ex. 72. Choose the correct form of the verb.

1. The students who is / are in my class come from many countries.

2. The student who is / are talking to the teacher is from France.
3. I talked to the men who was / were sitting next to me.
4. Do you know the people that lives / live in that house?
5. Biographies are books which tells / tell the stories of people’s lives.
6. A book that tells / tell the story of a person’s life is called a biography.
7. The woman that was / were sitting in front of me at the movie was
wearing a big hat.
8. The people who was / were queuing to get into the theatre were cold and
wet.
9. There are two students in my class who speaks / speak Portuguese.
10. The heart of education is in a culture’s literature. People who reads / read
gain not only knowledge but also pleasure. A person who does / do not
read is no better than a person who cannot read.

Ex. 73. Make up sentences joining columns A and B.

A B
1. An Englishman is a man (a) who has trouble sleeping.
2. A pilot is a person (b) who seeks to overthrow the
government.
3. A coin is a piece of metal (c) who flies an airplane.
4. A botanist is a scientist (d) that permits a citizen to travel in
other countries.
 45

5. An insomniac is somebody (e) whose parents are English.

6. A revolutionary is someone
7. A square is a geometric figure
8. A passport is a special paper
9. A puzzle is a problem
10. A generator is a machine
11. A jack-of-all-trades is someone
12. An expert can be defined as a
person
(f) that has four equal sides and four
right angles.
(g) that produces electricity.
(h) who has many skills.
(i) who studies plants.
(j) that is difficult to solve.
(k) who has special knowledge in one
area.
(l) that is used as money.

Ex. 74. Complete the definitions in your own words. Consult your
dictionary if necessary.

1. A philatelist is someone … 2. A school is an institution … 3. An economist

is a person … 4. A cucumber is a vegetable … 5. A bartender is a person …
6. A spendthrift is someone … 7. A wallet is a small folding case …
8. Cake is a dessert … 9. An encyclopaedia is a book … 10.A miser is
someone … 11. A still life is a picture … 12. A physician is a …

Ex. 75. Combine the sentences into one sentence with a relative clause
(there can be variants).

Model: The man called the police. His car was stolen.
The man whose car was stolen called the police.

1. I have a friend. Her brother is a police officer. 2. The will was made last
week. Its beneficiary is Mr Simpson’s nephew. 3. The man is famous. His
picture is in the newspapers. 4. I have a neighbour. His dog barks all day long.
5. He was afraid of that tree. Its branches used to tap on the window in the
wind. 6. The professor gives hard tests. I’m taking her course. 7. I like the
people. We stayed at their house. 8. The boy wants to be a violinist. His
mother is a famous musician. 9. The man is very proud. Both of his sons are
sport champions. 10. We have suffered a default. Its possibility was discussed
last December.

Ex. 76. Fill the gaps with the words from the box adding prepositions if
necessary. Discuss the possible variants.

who whom that whose which where

 46

1. I like the people with ……. I work. 2. Have you seen the film ……. is on
at the Fox Theatre? 3. A stenographer is a person ……. can write shorthand.
4. The hotel ……. we stayed had a wonderful view of the sea. 5. Do you
know the woman …….. Michael is engaged to? 6. I have a friend ……..
father is a famous artist. 7. The camera …….. I bought has a zoom lens.
8. Students …….. have part-time jobs have to budget their time very
carefully. 9. The person to ………. you should send your application is the
Director of Admissions. 10. That’s Tom Jenkins. He’s the boy …….. parents
live in Switzerland. 11. She liked the present …….. I gave her for her
birthday. 12. A microscope is an instrument …….. makes very small objects
appear larger. 13. The firm …….. he worked soon went bankrupt. 14. He
bought three jackets all of …….. were exactly the same style.

Ex. 77. Combine the two sentences into one using relative clauses. Mind
the different variants.

Model: The show was interesting. We went to it.

 The show to which we went was interesting. (formal)
 The show which/that we went to was interesting.
 The show we went to was interesting. (informal)

1. The company pays me a fair salary. I work for this company.

2. The man is over there. I told you about him.
3. I want to tell you about the party. I went to it last night.
4. The picture is beautiful. Tom is looking at it.
5. I enjoyed the music. We listened to it after dinner.
6. The department has most employees. He is in charge of it.
7. We liked the family. We were staying with them.

Ex. 78. Use your ideas to complete the sentences logically.

1. My friend knows a man who … 2. I have a friend whose … 3. I returned

the book that … 4. I took the manuscript … were all yellow. 5. The job …
was very challenging. 6. The person to whom … 7. There was a revolt in the
prison where … 8. Some of the things … disappeared. 9. The examination
which … was the most difficult. 10. I was able to find the book …

***
 47

Ex. 79. Write a short profile of a famous scientist / a scientist from your
country / a Nobel-prize winner. Describe in brief one of his inventions /
discoveries. (What is it? When was it invented / discovered? How was it
invented / discovered? How does it help people? Where is it used?)