CLASS 08

ACTIVITY 1: READING: Read the text and do activity A.

THE OPEN ROAD

Early humans dreamed of going faster and further than

they could on foot. They probably first achieved this in northern countries before 3000
BC (before Christ) using skis. The wheel was invented around 3500 BC but carts were
very slow without roads. So for many centuries the fastest and most popular means of
transport was the horse, which can run at about fifty-five kilometres an hour. This record
for speed was unbroken until the end of the eighteenth century when the hot-air balloon
and the railway both began to develop.
The hot-air balloon made its first free flight in 1783. Two Frenchmen, the
Montgolfier brothers, were working as papermakers when they had the idea for the
balloon. A fire heated the air, making the balloon rise. During the first flight, the two
passengers were admiring the view when they suddenly saw smoke! The balloon was
burning out, luckily, they managed to put the fire out and land safely.
The railway developed gradually from carts on tracks. The first vehicle with an engine
to run on tracks was developed in 1803 by an Englishman, Richard Trevithick. In 1804,
he took the first passengers, although they didn’t have to buy a ticket. Unfortunately,
they were travelling in
the train when it began to fall off the tracks and Trevithick realised that the tracks
were not strong enough to take the weight of the train. The passengers escaped
unharmed, but it was another example of how dangerous the development of transport
can be.
Perhaps unexpectedly, the bicycle didn’t appear until around 1840 when a
Scotsman, Kirkpatrick McMillan, created the first one to have pedals. People rode
bicycles without pedals before then, but they were very slow and not very popular. It
took around 140 years for McMillan’s design to develop into modern mountain bikes.
The twentieth century saw the development of many other means of transport,
including the hydrofoil and the hovercraft. The petrol-driven car (invented in 1885 in
1
Germany) completely changed the way people thought about transport, and so did the
aeroplane. People have always dreamed of flying. One day, in 1903, that dream became
a reality. Two American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, managed to make a short
flight in their aircraft, the Flyer. From there, a huge industry grew that allowed, and still
allows, people to visit the whole world, easily and cheaply.
The challenge for the twenty-first century is transport in space. Since the first Moon
landing in 1969, technology has developed to give us the space shuttle (1981) and even
the space tourist (2002). The future of transport will probably be as exciting as its past.

A) For questions 1 – 5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that fits best according
to the text.

1- The wheel didn’t lead to fast means
of transport because
a) people could already travel fast
b) they invented it after skis
c) good roads didn’t exist
d) people preferred to use horses
2- The passengers discovered the fire
a) while they were checking the balloon
b) while they were in the air
c) before they left the ground
d) after they landed on the ground
3- The invention of the train
a) came as a complete surprise
b) grew out of things that came before
c) took longer than anyone expected
d) didn’t make Trevithick much money
4) The writer is surprised by the fact that
a) the inventor of the bicycle was
Scottish
b) Nobody had invented the bicycle
earlier
c) McMillan’s bicycle had pedals
d) We waited over a century for the
mountain bike
5) What can we say about the aeroplane?
a) It had a great effect on people’s
attitudes
b) It wasn’t as popular as the car
was.
c) It came to the Wright brothers
in a dream.
d) People didn’t want to allow it at
first.

2
ACTIVITY 2: GRAMMAR
SIMPLE PAST
 for an action which happened at a
definite time in the past. The time
is stated, already known or
implied:
In 1983 / Last year / When I was a
student, I met my husband.
 for actions which happened
immediately one after the other in
the past.
First she paid the driver, then she got
out of the taxi.
 for past habits or states which are
now finished.
Kitchens were very different a hundred
years ago.
 for complete actions: the action
started and ended in the past.
I finished the book last night.
 for main events in narrative:
We walked into the office and closed the was walking down a quiet country path.
door.
PAST CONTINUOUS
 for an action which was in progress
when another action interrupted it.
We use the past continuous for the
action in progress (longer action)
and the past simple for the action
which interrupted it (shorter
action):
He was walking down the street when he
ran into an old friend.
 for two or more simultaneous past
actions:
She was talking on her mobile phone
while she was driving to work.
 to describe the atmosphere,
setting, background in the
introduction to a story before we
describe the main events.
One beautiful autumn afternoon, Ben
The birds were singing and the leaves
were rustling in the breeze.
3
 PRACTICE
Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.
A) CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION
1.-Anthony called/was calling while I parked/was parking the car.
2.-Miranda drove/was driving to work when she saw/was seeing the accident.
3.-Thomas didn’t watch/wasn’t watching the film when Sonia arrived home.
4.-Did he lie/was he lying on the sofa at 5,30 yesterday?
5.-When I left/was leaving the office, the phone rang/was ringing.
6.-It snowed/was snowing in the mountains when we got up yesterday.
7.-Barbara was living/lived in Paris when she was 15 years old.
8.-I was writing/wrote my blog on the Internet while you slept/were sleeping.
9.-While David was recovering/recovered in hospital, I decorated the flat.
10.-When I was waking /woke up, I realized that it was getting /got dark.

B) COMPLETE THE SENTENCES USING PAST SIMPLE OR PAST

CONTINUOUS TENSE
1.-Yesterday at 9,30 pm my parents ………… (sit) in the garden ………….. (drink)
some Coke.
2.- The chambermaid ……..… (make) my bed in the hotel and ……. (clean) the
bathroom while I was having breakfast.
3.- Somebody ……… (knock) on the door while I ………. (read) the newspaper.
4.-My brother ………… (buy) a lot of books when he …………….. (live) in
Cambridge.
5.-William ………… (not meet) Sally at the airport last Sunday.
6.-Jerry …………. (have) dinner when the lights ……….. (go) out.
7.-The girl …………. (feel) ill so she ………………… (not go) to work.
8.-When I ……….. (arrive) at the wedding, Miriam …………. (introduce) me to some
friends.
9.-Sarah …………… (run) to catch the bus, when she ………. (fall) down and ………
(break) her ankle.

4
10.-Richard ……………….. (teach) at the university when he ……….. (meet) his
wife.
1. Jane ………………………… (wait) for me when I …………………………… (arrive).
2. “What ……………………………. (you / do) this time yesterday?” “I was asleep.”
3. “…………………………………….. (you / go) out last night?” “No, I was too tired.”
4. “Was Carol at the party last night?” “Yes, she …………………………… (wear) a
really nice dress.”
5. How fast …………………………. (you / drive) when the accident
…………………………….. (happen)?
6. John ……………………………. (take) a photograph of me while I
……………………….. (not / look).
7. We were in a very difficult position. We ……………………….. (not / know) what to
do.
8. I haven’t seen Alan for ages. When I last ………………………. (see) him, he
………………………. (try) to find a job in London.
9. I …………………………….. (walk) along the street when suddenly I
…………………………. (hear) footsteps behind me. Somebody ………………
(follow) me. I was frightened and I …………………. (start) to run.
10. When I was young, I ……………………….. (want) to be a bus driver.

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES USING THE PAST SIMPLE OR THE PAST

CONTINUOUS TENSE
1.- My uncle ……………. (save) a lot of money to buy a new sports car two years ago.
2.- Bernardo …………… (walk) his dogs when he ……………. (see) your girlfriend
with Sergio.
3.- Margaret …………….. (reply) all the letters she ………………. (receive) last week.
4.- While Julian ………………….. (repair) his motorbike, his grandfather ……………
(read) a magazine.
5.- Andrew ………………. (give) some money to his sister and she ………… (tell) him
‘thank you’.
6.-When Caroline ……………….. (get) off the bus it …………………….. (snow) a little.
5
7.-I think some prices ………………… (increase) a lot during the last two months.
8.-They ………. (talk) on the phone when the boss …………..(arrive) at the office.
9.-My cousin Lilia ………………… (tell) me good jokes yesterday evening at the pub.
10.-It was very cold so I ………………….. (shiver) and ……………. (feel) tired.
11.-Leonard ………………… (do) some research at the laboratory when I called him.
12.- The girl ……………. (whisper) something in my ear but I couldn’t understand it.
13.-At 5,00 Mrs Simpson ……………. (have) a cup of coffee with some friends.
14.-Helen and Hector ……….. (spend) a lot of money last Easter holidays.
15.-Alexander ………… (begin) to cry when I ………. (tell) him the bad news.
16.-The Williams family …………….. (move) house when my mother had the baby.
17.-Hannah Hutted………..(become) a well-known writer five years ago in France.
18.-The snow ……………… (cover) the mountains when I …………….. (wake) up.
19.- The little girl ……………. (fall) down and ……..……… (cry) loudly.
20.- We ………..….. (play) bingo when the lights ………… (go) out.
21.- Many people …………..……. (travel) on the ship when it hit some rocks.

HOMEWORK
ACTIVITY 1: Read the sentences below and put the verbs into either the simple
past or the past continuous:
1. When Russ ________________ (enter) the office, the secretary ______________
(tell) him that his father ___________________ (wait) for him.
2. Russ _______________(not want) to see his father.
3. Russ’s father _______________ (invite) him to go to his house.
4. While Russ __________________ (talk) to the psychologist, he
______________(not want) to take a sit.
5. While Russ _________________ (park) his car, he _____________ (see) a
shadow.
6. While Russ __________________ (talk) on the phone, he ________________
(hear) a noise coming from the living room.

6
7. Rusty __________________ (eat) popcorn while he _______________ (watch)
TV.
8. After talking to the boy, Russ ________________ (start) laughing.
9. Russ ________________ (decide) to talk to a friend about his problem.
10. While Russ ___________________ (talk) to his friend, he ______________
(realize) that the boy ________________ (try) to help him.

ACTIVITY 2: Put the verbs into the correct past tense (SIMPLE PAST or PAST
CONTINUOUS).

Russ Duritz _____________________ (be) a well-off L.A. image consultant, but as

he __________ (turn) 40, he________________ (be) cynical, friendless and
_________________ (not get on) well with his father, and he _______________
(have) no memories of his childhood. One night he _______________ (find) an
intruder, who ________________ (be) a kid, almost 8 years old. There
_________________ (be) something familiar about the cheeky boy, whose name was
Rusty. He _____________ (appear) to help Russ to find the key moment that had
defined who Russ was.