A LOVELY ACT OF KINDNESS

Decide if the verbs go into the past simple or the past continuous tense.

Hi there. My name is Renata and I want to share something with you. I was in town last week,
doing a bit of shopping. It is a small town, with only one main street. Opposite this street,
there is a church with a cemetery and
a bit of parkland. A homeless man
……………………… (sit) on the floor, beside
the church and he had a dog with him.
Nobody ……………………. (look) at him; it
was as if he wasn’t there. I …………….
(join) the queue at the Greggs bakery
as I …………….. (decide) to have a sausage roll for my lunch. In
front of me in the queue, there was a young woman. I ……………….
(notice) her because she ………………….. (wear) gorgeous leather knee boots and she ……………. (have)
a beautiful designer handbag. She ……………… (buy) a hot baguette and a coffee and
……………….. (leave) the shop. I ………………… (walk) along the street and …………………
(start) to eat my sausage roll. I …………….. (throw) a few crumbs to the pigeons.
Then I …………….. (look) over to the church and I ……………. (see) the same young
woman. She ………………. (walk) over to the homeless man and ………………… (give) him
the sandwich and coffee. Then, she ……………. (take) some dog biscuits out of her
posh bag and …………… (feed) them to the dog. ‘Thank you. God bless you, luv’, the
man …………….. (say). He was very grateful. The young woman ………………. (smile).
‘You take care!’ she ……………….. (say) to the man and she ………………. (walk) off into the distance.
I was genuinely touched by her kind act.
By Renata Barrett.

Answer True or false. Write T or F on the line.
1. __ Renata was in town to go to church.
2. __ She lives in a small town.
3. __ Opposite the street, there is a church
and a graveyard.
4. __ The homeless man had a dog.
5. __ Everybody was watching the man.
e 6. __ He was sitting on a park bench.
7. __ Greggs is a butcher’s shop.
8. __ Renata wanted to buy a sausage roll for
her husband’s tea.
9. __ She saw a young woman in the queue.
10.__ The young woman bought a sandwich and
ate it.
11.__ The young woman was wearing a designer
hat.
12.__The homeless man thanked the young
woman.
Answer the questions in full sentences
a. Where did Renata go?
b. When did she go there?
c. Who did she notice, beside the
church?
d. What did he have with him?
e. What did Renata have for lunch?
f. Why did she throw some crumbs down?
g. Where did she buy her lunch?
h. What made her notice the young
woman?
i. Where was the young woman?
j. What did the young woman buy?
k. What did the young woman do?
l. How did the homeless man answer her?
m. How did this affect Renata?

iSLCollective.com
KEYS:

I was in town last week, doing a bit of shopping. It is a small town, with only one main street.
Opposite this street, there is a church with a cemetery and a bit of parkland. A homeless man
was sitting on the floor, beside the church and he had a dog with him. Nobody was looking at
him; (nobody looked is OK) it was as if he wasn’t there. I joined the queue at the Greggs
bakery as I decided to have a sausage roll for my lunch. In front of me in the queue, there
was a young woman. I noticed her because she had a beautiful designer handbag. She bought a
hot baguette and a coffee and left the shop. I walked along the street and started to eat my
sausage roll. I threw a few crumbs to the pigeons. Then I looked over to the church and I saw
the same young woman. She walked over to the homeless man and gave him the sandwich and
coffee. Then, she took some dog biscuits out of her posh bag and fed them to the dog. ‘God
bless you, luv’, the man said. He was very grateful. The young woman smiled. ‘You take care!’
she said to the man and she walked off into the distance. I was genuinely touched by her kind
act.

T/F 1f, 2t, 3t, 4t, 5f, 6f, 7f, 8f, 9t, 10f, 11f, 12t

Qs

a. She went to town.

b. She went last week (the week before)
c. She noticed a homeless man
d. He had a dog with him.
e. She ate a sausage roll.
f. She threw crumbs down for the pigeons/because she wanted to feed the pigeons.
g. She bought it at Greggs.
h. She noticed the young woman/the young woman stood out because of her clothes and
handbag.
i. She was in front of Renata in the queue.
j. She bought a hot sandwich and a coffee.
k. She took them and gave them to the homeless man.
l. He said ‘God bless you’.
m. It really touched her. She felt emotional….

iSLCollective.com