1. Fill in the gaps with the verb, subject and/or time expression in brackets.

Use the suitable tense

form.

Sir Guy Loonaby-Smith, the famous explorer, is being interviewed on TV about his exciting life.
Complete the dialogue and fill in the correct tenses!

Interviewer Sir Guy, you (1) _____________________ (spend) the last sixty years exploring the world.
When (2) __________________________ (you first become) interested in travelling?

Sir Guy Well, I can tell you the exact day. I (3) ________________(be) eleven years old and I
(4)___________________ (sit) in the school library and I (5) _____________________ (read)a book
about South Africa. Suddenly I (6) _____________________ (see) a picture of Lake Victoria and at that
moment I (7)_____________________ (decide) to become an explorer.

Interviewer When (8)___________________________ (you, first, go) to Lake Victoria?

Sir Guy Well, after I (9)_____________________ (leave) school at the age of 15, I
(10)____________________ (live) with my uncle for two years. He (11)_____________________ (be) an
old man then, but he (12)_______________(be) a sailor all his life. He (13) _____________________
(find) me a job on a ship and at the age of 17 I (14)_____________________ (arrive) in Africa!

Interviewer You (15) _____________________ (travel) to the most interesting countries in the world.
(16)____________________________ (you, ever, have) any frightening experiences?

Sir Guy Oh yes, lot’s of them.

Interviewer Which (17)_____________________ (be) your most frightening?

Sir Guy Perhaps it (18)__________________(be) one night in India in 1942. Something really frightening
(19)_____________________ (happen). It (20)______________(be) about ten o’clock and I
(21)______________(be) in bed. I (22)_____________________ (hunt) all day and so I
(23)_____________________ (feel) very tired. I (24) _____________________ (just blow) out my candle
when I (25)_____________________ (feel) something heavy sitting on my feet. When I
(26)_____________________ (light) my candle, I (27)_____________________ (can) hardly believe my
eyes: a tiger (28)_____________________ (sit) on my bed!

Interviewer My goodness! (29)_________________ (be) that story really true, Sir Guy?

Sir Guy How dare you ask me that! I (30)_____________________ (never tell) a lie in my life.
2. Transform the sentences using the words given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between two and five words.

1. I’m sure they found another solution. HAVE

They ____________________________________________ solution.
2. I can’t decide what to buy for my uncle for Christmas. MIND
I can’t ___________________________________________ what to buy for my uncle for Christmas.
3. I think they were playing tennis all afternoon. HAVE
They ___________________________________________ all afternoon.
4. She wants to play volleyball but she’s too short. PLAY
She’s ___________________________________________ volleyball.
5. Although he’s an athlete, he doesn’t train much. BEING
Despite ________________________________________, he doesn’t train much.
6. It’s time to start looking for a job. You’re 20! YOU
It’s __________________________________________ looking for a job. You’re 20!
7. The company is closing down. POINT
The company is __________________________________ down.
8. If I have enough money, I’ll buy this lovely pair of new shoes. PROVIDED
I will buy this lovely pair of new shoes _________________________________ enough money.
9. You shouldn’t go out with a girl like her. BETTER
You _______________________________ with a girl like her.
10. You only made me cry. WAS
I _______________________________cry (by you).

3. Put the verbs in brackets into a suitable verb form in the active or passive.

The Great Wall of China 

The Great Wall of China was started more than 2,000 years ago. Emperor Qin Shi Huang
(1)____________________________ (start) a project to join together many small walls in northern
China. He (2)__________________________ (want) to develop the land in the north and create a barrier
against invaders. The construction (3) _______________________ (take) around ten years and resulted
in a wall that was nearly 5,000 km long. This means that around 40 km
(4)______________________ (build) every month.

Three million people (nearly 70% of China’s population at the time) helped to build the wall, although for
many it was a punishment. Instead of going to prison, people (5)______________________ (send) to
help build the wall for anything from four to ten years. More than 1 million people
(6)______________________ (die) during the construction. The wall (7)
______________________ (become) known as Wang-Li Chang Cheng  in Chinese, which means ‘The
10,000-Li Long Wall’ (10,000-Li = 5,000 km).

The next period of great development of the Great Wall was during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The
wall that we see today comes mainly from that time. The
wall (8)_________________________ (strengthen) and lengthened (to 7,300 km). On average the wall
(9)__________________________(make) 7.5 m high and between 4.5 and 9 m thick. Guard stations and
watchtowers (10)______________________________ (place) at regular intervals.

Today only 30% of the Great Wall is still standing.

Much of it (11)_______________________________ (destroy) by nature and by man. However, it is still

the longest man-made structure in the world. In 2003 astronaut Yang Liwei discovered that it is not
possible to see the wall from space, as it (12)______________ _______________ (believe), after orbiting
the earth for 21 hours in his spacecraft Shenzou V.

Some rebuilding (13) ______________________________ (take place) in the 20th century and in 1987
the Great Wall of China (14)____________________________________ (make) a World Heritage Site.
Thousands of tourists (15)_________________________________ (visit) the Great Wall every day.

4. Most of the sentences contain one mistake. Find it and correct it. You needn’t write the full
sentence, only the parts where correction is necessary. If there is no mistake, put a tick in the space
provided.

1. I’d rather watched a thriller than an action film.

_________________________________________
2. Will I go with you to check what the problem is?
________________________________________
3. She told me that that wasn’t her fault.
________________________________________________
4. I will have been working in three different positions at the company by the end of the year.

__________________________________________________________________________________

5. I was warned to not to go closer. ____________________________________________________

6. I would like my neighbour’s daughter winning the race.
__________________________________
7. The President was due to arrive at 10 but his flight had been cancelled.

__________________________________________________________________________________

8. She’ll help them making the cake. __________________________________________________

9. There’s absolutely nothing to tell. ___________________________________________________
10. Jill said that if she hadn’t doublechecked the bedroom windows, the burglers would had been
able to get in.
_______________________________________________________________________
11. He waited until everyone hadn’t sat down before he began talking.

__________________________________________________________________________________
12. You ought to use a tissue! You’re disgusting.
___________________________________________
13. Plans have been changed. We’re not going to Poland this year.
_______________________________________________________________________________
14. I wish I would travel to Mars! _______________________________________________________
15. Your parcel will has been delivered by then. ___________________________________________