Grammar Third conditionals B Match 1-6 with a-f.

1 Our country would have been in a worse situation

A Complete the explanation with one word in each 2 If it hadn’t been for the war,
space. 3 They wouldn’t have crashed
4 If I hadn’t had that teacher,
At the end of the article in Reading, Martin O’Neill, 5 If we’d left a bit earlier,
the author, says: 6 The team might have won
If she hadn’t ……………………… so determined, she would
……………………… have made it to Australia. a I probably would never have gone to university.
b if they had been driving more slowly.
I would probably ……………………… ended up in trouble if c if all the players had been fit.
I ……………………… stayed there. d if we hadn’t had immigration.
e we would’ve stayed in our country.
These are examples of a third conditional. The if part f we might not have missed the beginning of the film.
of the sentences uses the ……………………… perfect
to talk about imagined situations in the past. The C Write an alternative ending to the second half of
second part of the sentence uses ……………………… / each sentence in exercise B.
might + have + the past ……………………… to talk about
the results of the imagined situation. Need help? Read the grammar reference on p. 152

Born in Saigon, Mai Ho grew up during

the Vietnam War. When the war ended
in 1975, her life and business were
made impossible because her father
had been an anti-communist journalist
and she’d married into a rich family. In
1978, the two families invested nearly
all their savings to buy a boat to escape,
but a few months later it was confiscated
by the government. Over the next three
years, Mai Ho had to befriend and
bribe government officials in order to
get the boat back and then get a trading
permit so that the boat could travel out
of Vietnam.
In 1981, Mai Ho finally set
off with 160 friends, family and waters, but then got caught in a storm. Mai Ho studied business, she felt hurt
neighbours. They had to hide in the Mai Ho still remembers her fear when her fellow students ignored her or
tiny space below deck. They avoided the and how everyone was seasick. They refused to work in pairs with her. But she is
government ships to reach international survived and, despite being threatened obviously very strong – if she hadn’t been
by pirates, continued for another three so determined, she would never have made
days before finally coming across a it to Australia. She completed her courses
friendly ship. The ship’s captain agreed and then set up two successful businesses.
to take the refugees to the safety of In 1993, she was even elected the mayor
Malaysia, but Mai Ho had to agree to of her town! Mai Ho loves Australia
sink her boat. It was her last possession: and it seems many Australians appreciate
she didn’t even have clothes. her too.
After three months in a refugee Indeed, what would the world be like
camp, where they again suffered without immigration? Personally speaking,
cramped conditions and lack of food, I had no hope of work in Northern
she was finally given a visa to go to Ireland when I left. I didn’t really get on
Australia. with my parents, and I would probably
Arriving in a new country brings have ended up in trouble if I’d stayed
great hope and another journey: the there. My life changed for the better when
one to rebuild your life. Unfortunately, I became a New Zealander. But it’s not just
for some refugees that journey includes individuals that mature and grow thanks to
suffering racial discrimination: When immigration – nations do too.

13 TRAVEL 95

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