Narrative Tenses - Circle the correct alternatives in the texts below:

It was 9 o’clock at night. Becky Sharp 1. was driving/drove home from a hard day at work. The
weather was awful. It 2. was snowing/had been snowing heavily all day. The wind 3. was
howling/howled as she 4. had driven/drove along the empty roads. She could hardly see
anything so she 5. lost/was losing her sense of direction and 6. took/had taken a wrong turning.
She kept going and going but she finally 7. realized/was realizing that she was lost.
Suddenly her car 8. had stopped/stopped. She turned the key again and again feeling more and
more frightened because her car 9. wouldn’t start/wasn’t starting. She picked up her mobile
phone and called her husband to let him know that she was stuck.
Her husband called the police who sent out a search party, but seven hours later, they 10. had
found/were founding nothing. They were very worried about her. Eventually, a helicopter was
sent out.
Meanwhile, Becky was stiff with cold. The police chief phoned and explained that a helicopter
11. had been sent/was sent to look for her. He told her to call as soon as she 12. heard/would
hear it to let them know about her location. It was two hours before Becky heard the roar of the
engine above her. She frantically 13. was dialling/dialled the number, terrified that her battery
might have run out. Fortunately, an hour later they 14. found/had found her.
Another hour later Becky was at home, safe. She 15. felt/fell incredibly lucky. She knew that, if
it 16. wasn’t/hadn’t been for the mobile phone she might still be trapped in the snow.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
It was late at night. Sophie 17. slept/was sleeping. Yellow light shone into her bedroom from the
street lamp outside the window, but there 18. was/were no sound of traffic. Everything was
quiet.
Suddenly, there was a low rumbling noise and Sophie’s bed 19. was rocketing/rocked gently.
Sophie woke up, looked at the ceiling and saw that her bedroom light 20. was swinging/swung.
She sat up and looked around. She didn’t know what 21. was happening/happened. Then there
was another rumbling noise. The bed shook so violently that she 22. fell/was falling onto the
floor. She felt the floor moving under her. It was as if the whole house 23. jumped/was jumping
up and down.
Sophie was very frightened, but she knew what to do. She quickly rolled under her bed. The
room 24. was still shaking/still shook. One of Sophie’s pictures fell off the wall and smashed
loudly. Sophie screamed. Then she heard her father shouting her name. He 25. had been
trying/was trying to open her bedroom door, but the door was stuck. Sophie screamed again and
26. started/was starting to cry. It was just then that the shaking stopped and her father burst
through the door. “It’s OK, Sophie,” he said. ”You are safe now.”
Sophie and her parents 27. were going/went outside. All their neighbours 28. stood/were
standing in the street. There 29. was/were both cheers and tears in the crowd. Everyone was
still scared, but they all 30. feeling/felt happy to be alive. Sophie’s dad hugged her and said,
“You’re a brave girl, Sophie. I’m very proud of you.”