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SFL/ METU October 2015

Dept. of B.E.

REVIEW HANDOUT I

(Tenses, the Passive & Forms of used to)

UPPER-INTERMEDIATE GROUP

Student’s Copy

Study the given explanations and examples on the tenses and write your own example(s) in the blanks provided.

PRESENT TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE

The present simple tense is used :

1. to refer to long-term or permanent situations.

e.g. They live in Brighton.

It rains a lot in this part of the world.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to refer to general truths such as scientific facts. This use is particularly characteristic of scientific

and technical English used to describe activities, characteristics or appearance.

e.g. Nine planets orbit the sun.

Broken bones in adults don’t heal as fast as they do in children.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. to refer to regular, repeated or habitual actions, often with adverbs of frequency (always, usually,

often, sometimes, never, etc.) and expressions of frequency (every…, once a…, etc.).

e.g. I always spend Christmas with my family.

Share prices usually change on a daily basis – but often by very little.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

4. (with certain verbs) to express thoughts, feelings, impressions and immediate reactions.

Note: With certain verbs, e.g. think, feel, there is a difference in meaning between the present simple and

present continuous. There is a list of these verbs on page 8.

e.g. I think you are wrong. (opinion)

I’m thinking about what you said earlier. (mental process).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

5. in time clauses introduced by when, as soon as, once, before, after, until, by the time (that), the moment (that).

e.g. We will let you know about the goods in stock as soon as we hear from the suppliers.

He won’t be satisfied until he gets an apology.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

6. to talk about future plans with reference to timetables / schedules.

e.g. The plane arrives at Heathrow Airport at 12.30 a.m. tomorrow.

The concert starts at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday evening.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

7. in reviews, sports commentaries, dramatic narrative and when reporting what has been heard or told

(with say/ tell/ hear). e.g. Ronaldinho passes the ball to Deco but he misses...

I hear you have decided to move.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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PRESENT CONTINUOUS The present continuous tense is used :

1. to talk about actions which are happening at the moment of speaking, to talk about changing

/developing situations or to talk about present trends, even if these are long-lasting. Common adverbial

expressions with this form are now, currently, still, at the moment and these days.

e.g. Stop that! I am reading something.

The country is slowly coming out of the economic recession.

Nowadays, more and more students are making use of on-line activities and exercises.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to refer to actions or situations which are temporary.

e.g. They are living in a rented house (temporarily – for a short period).

I’m feeding the neighbor’s cat this week while she’s in hospital.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. to express pre-arranged future actions.

e.g. We’re seeing a musical at the theatre next week. (We’ve got the tickets.)

I’m meeting John at 6.30 tomorrow. (We’ve made an appointment.)

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Some verbs do not usually occur in continuous tenses. See the list on page 8.

PRESENT PERFECT

The present perfect simple tense is used :

1. to refer to actions or states which began in the past and have continued up till now. Since is used to

express the starting point, and for is used to express its duration.

e.g. They’ve been friends for over 35 years.

He has lived here since he finished university.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. in addition to since and for, the following expressions are often used:

lately, recently, so far, until now,

throughout

in

over

the last

the past

five

ten

…

weeks

months

years...

e.g. Have you seen him recently?

Has the sports centre increased its membership over the last year?

No agreement on passing the new law has been reached so far.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. common adverbs with this form are just, already, before, ever, never, yet, still, often, seldom.

e.g. They’ve already finished writing the report.

I’ve never eaten raw fish.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

4. to refer to an action or state which was completed in the past but where the time is unknown or unimportant.

The present result is generally more important than when or how the action or event occurred.

e.g. The taxi has arrived (it’s now here).

The avalanche has devastated the skiing industry in the area (The industry is still having problems).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

5. often used in news broadcasts and reports to introduce a story, before moving into past tenses to

give the details.

e.g. Former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere has died at the age of 77 in a London hospital. He came to London in…

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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6. in time clauses introduced by when, as soon as, after, before, until, once, by the time(that), the moment

(that) to describe an action which will be completed before the action in the main clause.

e.g. We’ll make the announcement once everyone has arrived.

The builders will start work as soon as the plans have been approved.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

7. used after superlatives, e.g. the best/worst, the greatest, and ordinal numbers, e.g. the first, the second,

often followed by ever.

e.g. It’s the worst sports program I have ever seen and the first I have ever written to complain about.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE vs CONTINUOUS

In some cases there is little difference between the two forms.

The choice between the simple and continuous form may be determined by the nature of the action.

e.g. I’ve lived here all my life. OR: I’ve been living here all my life.

Contrast this with:

e.g. Ouch! I’ve cut my finger (The accident is the work of a moment).

I’m not crying. I’ve been cutting up onions.

1. The simple form suggests that an action is complete while the continuous form suggests that it is still

going on.

e.g. I’ve painted the kitchen (The job is finished).

I’ve been painting the kitchen (The job is probably unfinished).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. The simple form must be used when the actual quantity of actions or finished products is

mentioned.

e.g. I’ve called you several times this morning. Where have you been?

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. The continuous form tends to emphasize how long an action has continued.

e.g. It’s been raining all day.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

4. The continuous form may suggest that an action is temporary rather than long-term or permanent.

e.g. He’s been staying with his sister till he finds somewhere to live.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

5. The continuous form can be used to explain a present result. The focus is on the activity rather than

the result.

e.g. This test result is much better. It’s clear that you’ve been revising.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Some verbs do not usually occur in continuous tenses. See the list on page 8.

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PAST TENSES

PAST SIMPLE

The past simple tense is used:

1. to refer to completed actions or events which took place at a particular time or over a period of

time in the past. A past time reference is either given or understood from the context.

e.g. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 BC.

We lived just outside Oxford in the nineties.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to refer to repeated or habitual actions in the past. e.g. He went for a walk every day before lunch.

When I was a child, we always went to Dover for our summer holidays.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: It is also possible to use used to or would+ infinitive form with this meaning. (see p.5)

PAST CONTINUOUS The past continuous tense is used:

1. to refer to an action which was going on when a second shorter action interrupted it.

e.g. He was sleeping soundly when he was woken by a noise coming from downstairs.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to describe the background or setting to events in a story.

e.g. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. to refer to a continuous event or action in the past.

e.g. Jude was working for his uncle when I knew him.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

4. to refer to two past actions in progress at the same time.

e.g. While the home team were warming up for the match, the away team were discussing their tactics.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

5. to indicate a past action that was temporary, or was changing / developing.

e.g. During my training, I was earning a lot less than my wife (a temporary situation).

His symptoms were becoming more and more apparent each day (a changing situation).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

6. with always or forever to refer to repeated past actions which were annoying.

e.g. They were always having loud parties which went on until the early hours.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Some verbs do not usually occur in continuous tenses. See the list on page 8.

PAST PERFECT The past perfect tense is used:

to refer to actions which happened, or situations which existed before another action at a particular time

in the past – i.e. to look back from a time in the past to another time before that.

e.g. The moment he stepped into the office, he remembered that he had left his report at home

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note : A time conjunction sometimes replaces the past perfect to show which of the past events occurred

first. In this case, both events can be in the simple past.

e.g. After he (had) left the office, he went to collect his car from the garage.

Alex (had) phoned me before he left.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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Just or already can be used with the past perfect to show that the earlier action was recent or earlier than

expected.

e.g. We wanted to talk to the babysitter but she’d just left.

When we got back, we found that the babysitter had already gone home.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS The past perfect continuous tense is used:

1. to describe an ongoing action or situation which continued up to, or stopped just before a time in the past.

e.g. The fire had been burning for some time before the fire brigade arrived.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to emphasize the duration of a past action or event.

e.g. Brian had been trying to get a job offer for over a year before he was offered his present one.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. to indicate a past result by giving background information about the activity which led up to it.

e.g. The few survivors looked very thin. They had been living on very little food.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Some verbs do not usually occur in continuous tenses. See the list on page 8.

USED TO / WOULD 1. Used to + infinitive expresses past states and repeated/ habitual actions which are no longer true. e.g. I used to wake up around 10:00 but now I can’t; I have to go to work. e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Would + infinitive expresses things that happened regularly in the past. e.g. My grandmother would take me to the park every day when I was a child.. e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Note: It is NOT possible to use would+infinitive to talk about states in the past. e.g. I used to be much thinner before I had my baby. √ I would be much thinner before I had my baby. X e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

OTHER FORMS OF ‘USED TO’: ‘To be used to + -ing’ means ‘to be accustomed to’. e.g. I must go to bed early. I’m not used to having six hours of sleep a night.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

‘To get used to + -ing’ means ‘to become accustomed to’, often to something unusual or strange. e.g. After I came to England, I got used to driving on the left-hand side of the road.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

COMPARING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT This structure is usually a combination of “not nearly/quite as ... as” and “used to”. e.g. He smokes much/a lot less than he used to. = He didn’t use to smoke nearly as little as he does now. present past Phil used to be slightly/a bit thinner than he is now. = Phil isn’t quite as thin as he used to be. past present e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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FUTURE TENSES PRESENT SIMPLE The present simple tense is used: to talk about future plans with reference to timetables / schedules. (p.1) e.g. The plane arrives at Heathrow Airport at 12.30 a.m. tomorrow. The concert starts at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday evening. e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

PRESENT CONTINUOUS The present continuous tense is used: to express pre-arranged future actions. e.g. We’re seeing a musical at the theatre next week. (We’ve got the tickets.) I’m meeting John at 6.30 tomorrow. (We’ve made an appointment.) e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

GOING TO The ‘going to’ future is used: to express intentions or plans. e.g. He is going to study environmental law next year. The government is going to introduce VAT in the budget. e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

to talk about predictions based on evidence or knowledge. e.g. Look at the waiter. He’s carrying too much. He’s going to drop all those dishes. The Roses are already a popular band and they are going to be massive! e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

FUTURE SIMPLE The future simple tense is used: 1. to talk about a future fact.

e.g. He’ll be forty in June.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

2. to talk about predictions or expectations based on guesswork, analysis and judgment.

e.g. Tomorrow will be cold and wet.

Helen and John won’t be here on time. They’re always late.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

3. to express an opinion about the future after verbs like think, expect and also with probably.

e.g. I expect you’ll probably be pretty busy before moving. Do you think he’ll come?

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

4. to express strong intentions.

e.g. I will come with you at the weekend, whatever my parents say!

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

5. to express a threat or promise.

e.g. I’ll punish you if you do that again.

Don’t worry. I won’t be late.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

6. to express an offer or a request.

e.g. I’ll carry your bags if you like.

Will you help me with this bag?

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

7. to express a sudden decision about the immediate future.

e.g. The phone’s ringing. I’ll answer it.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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FUTURE CONTINUOUS The future continuous tense is used:

1. with adverbs such as in two/five… weeks/months/years and this time next week/month/ year…

e.g. In two years, I’ll be enjoying my retirement life on the beach in Tahiti.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

2. (without a progressive meaning) to refer to future events that are fixed or decided or expected to

happen in the normal course of events, and does not suggest a personal intention.

e.g. I’ll be seeing Mr. Kennedy at the court tomorrow – he’s always there on Thursdays – so we can discuss

your case briefly then.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

3. to express strong probability.

e.g. ‘Where’s Nigel tonight?’

‘He’ll be performing somewhere with his band, I expect.’

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

4. to express a request for information or to refuse an invitation in a tactful way.

e.g. Will you be checking out tonight?

I’m sorry, I can’t come to your wedding as I’ll be working on that day.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

5. to talk about events or actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future (with adverbs

such as in two/five… weeks/months/years and this time next week/month/ year…)

e.g. Don’t call him at 7.00 – he’ll be having dinner.

In two weeks, I’ll be traveling through France.

It’s awful to think I’ll be working this time next week!

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

FUTURE PERFECT

The future perfect tense is used:

to refer to actions or events that will already be completed by a certain time in the future. The tense is

usually used with a time phrase / clause with by.

e.g. By the year 2015, I’ll have left school and started work.

You can come over around 9:00. We will have finished dinner by then.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The future perfect continuous tense is used:

to talk about the duration of an action as seen from a point in the future.

e.g. I’ll have been working in this company for ten years next April.

By Christmas, I’ll have been studying English for a year.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

BE + TO

The “be+to” is used:

The 'be + to' construction is a formal way of stating plans and arrangements or fixed events (especially

when they are official) in the future.

e.g. Europe is to decide on its policies towards GM foods soon.

The Queen is to visit Africa next month.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

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FUTURE IN THE PAST

The Future in the Past is the tense we use to talk about something which was in the future at a time in the

past, (the speaker or writer projects forward in time from a point in the past).

To express this idea, the past forms of 'will' and 'is/are going to' are used to refer to intention and premeditated

intention respectively.

Compare the following sentences:

The future from now…. The future from the past …

I haven’t got much money, I think I will stay at home

this summer.

I am going to say nothing about the exams today

because I don’t have time.

Maureen decided that she would stay at home for the

summer.

I wasn’t going to say anything about the exams but

the students asked me to.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________

Verbs not usually used in continuous tenses

There are a number of verbs that cannot be / are not usually used in continuous tenses. Some of these verbs are:

admire concern exist hear know need regret suppose weigh*

appear* consist expect* hold* like own remember taste* wish

appreciate contain feel* hope look * possess respect think*

be* cost forget imagine love prefer see* trust

believe dislike hate include mean realize seem understand

belong doubt have* involve measure* recognize smell* want

* these verbs change their meanings depending on their use in the simple or the continuous form.

Group the verbs from the box under the appropriate headings in the table.

a) express emotions

b) describe perceptions and senses

c) express wants and preferences

d) describe mental states and opinions

e) describe appearance and value

f) show possession

Verbs used in continuous tenses with different meanings

Some verbs may have more than one meaning or use, and one of these meanings may be incompatible with the

use of a continuous form. In other words, some verbs change their meanings depending on their uses. They are

used in the simple form with their “state” meanings, whereas they may be used in the simple or the continuous

form, depending on the context, with their “action” meanings.

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Study the given examples and write the differences in meaning of the underlined verbs in the blanks provided.

Possible answers:

Appear

The new treatment for influenza doesn’t appear to work. (look, seem)

Madonna is currently appearing in a musical on Broadway. (_________________________)

Be

He is French. (state - condition)

He is being rude. (_________________________)

Expect

I expect the operation will not be painful. (feel confident that, think)

We are expecting a lot of applicants for the job. (_________________________)

Feel

The chairs in the hall feel uncomfortable. (have a comfortable feeling)

I feel that it is important to respect other people’s opinions. (have an opinion)

I am not feeling well today. (_________________________)

Sue is feeling the cat’s fur. (_________________________)

Have

Sorry, I can’t lend you any money because I don’t have much now. (possess)

I have just started working here. I am having a hard time. (_________________________)

I’m having a party / a picnic / a bath / a good time / a break (_________________________)

Hold

This container can hold 5 litres of liquid. (have a certain capacity)

I have been holding this box for ten minutes and my arms are killing me! (_________________________)

Look

You look ill. You’d better go home and take a rest. (have an appearance)

Why are you looking out the window? Is there something interesting? (_________________________)

Measure

This table measures 150cm. (have a certain measurement)

Tom is measuring the window so that we can order the curtains online. (_________________________)

See

Right now, I am looking out of the window. I see a lot of cars in the street. (action of seeing using the eyes)

I am seeing the doctor this afteroon. (_________________________)

Smell

These flowers smell awful. It is not a good idea to keep them in the kitchen. (have a certain smell)

Look! Mother is smelling the flowers we brought. (_________________________)

Think

I think all the students in this class will pass the exam. (have an opinion)

Jane is not listening to you. I am sure she is thinking about her holiday. (_________________________)

Taste

The food looks great and tastes delicious. (have a certain taste)

She is tasting the soup to see if it needs more salt. (_________________________)

Weigh

He weighs too much. (have a certain weight)

He is weighing the vegetables. (determining the weight)

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THE PASSIVE

Study the given explanations and examples on the passive and write your own example(s) in the blanks provided.

The passive is used:

1. when the doer is not known or not important or when the doer is obvious from the context.

e.g. When the dinosaurs were killed off 65 million years ago, flowering plants survived. (The doer is not known)

Trespassers will be prosecuted. (The doer, the landowner, isn’t important)

The thief was sentenced to five years imprisonment. (The doer is obvious, the judge)

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

2. when the agent is people in general (to avoid using you or one).

e.g. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Box Office.

Kites were invented in China in the fifth century.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

3. to avoid an awkward change of subject in the middle of a sentence.

e.g. The Prime Minister arrived back in London last night, and was immediately besieged by reporters. (The

Prime Minister arrived back in London last night, and reporters immediately besieged him.)

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

4. in order to make a sentence more formal and impersonal (perhaps out of modesty, or when we have

some unpleasant statement to make), often with an it structure.

e.g. We’ll choose a new president soon. (Active. Informal comment).

A new president will be chosen soon. (Passive. Formal statement).

It was agreed that membership fees should be raised.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

NOTES:

The passive is formed with the appropriate tense of the verb to be + past participle.

In the case of modals, e.g. could, must, it is formed with the modal + be + past participle.

Verbs that can be used in the passive Most transitive verbs (verbs which have an object) can be used in the passive.

e.g. The police caught the thief.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

Intransitive verbs (verbs which do not have an object) cannot be used in the passive.

e.g. Rodney fell and hurt his leg.

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

Verbs with two objects

When verbs have two objects – a direct object (DO) and an indirect object (IO), both objects can be the

subject of the passive sentence.

e.g. The collector had given the painting (DO) to the gallery (IO).

The painting had been given to the gallery (by the collector).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ . The collector had given the gallery (IO) the painting (DO).

The gallery had been given the painting (by the collector).

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

e.g.____________________________________________________________________________________ .

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PRACTICE

Task 1: Read the texts and fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets.

A.

First, let me welcome you to this institution of higher learning—Middle East Technical University—

Turkey’s leading educational establishment, also known by its acronym METU (in Turkish, ODTÜ). You all

deserve to be congratulated for having succeeded in getting into METU, which is the most (or one of the most)

demanding schools in this country. But please bear in mind that it is not only hard to get into METU; it is also

hard to stay in METU.

Soon you (1) ______________________ (find) yourselves in our Department of Basic English, known

as Preparatory School. Here, in the academic year that (2) ______________________ (just/begin), you

(3) ______________________ (spend) 20 hours a week bringing yourselves up to a level of English where you

can understand the readings and lectures in your undergraduate departments. By the end of this 1st semester, you

(4) ______________________ (have) over 1200 hours of English.

An important point for you to know is that we (5) ______________________ (recently/redesign) our

program, so if you have an older brother or sister who (6) ______________________ (pass) through these

buildings years ago and who (7) ______________________ (tell) you that the year at Prep school offered him

or her a chance to relax, forget it! Beware, the tough study schedules of your high-school days

(8) ______________________ (end) yet.

Now, many of you (9) ______________________ (probably/sit) here thinking, “It can’t be that bad. My

high-school days (10) ______________________ (be) the most stressful period of my life. Because my future

(11) ______________________ (depend) on the University Entrance Exam, I (12) ______________________

(miss out) on a normal childhood as I (13) ______________________ (have to) attend dershane. While I

(14) ___________________ (study) non-stop, the neighbors’ children, on the other hand,

(15) ______________________ (play) basketball right outside my window, which

(16) ______________________ (make) me feel like a prisoner. As a matter of fact, I

(17) ______________________ (feel) so unhappy since the time when I was left overnight in hospital at the

age of five.

You’re right: your first year at METU (18) ______________________ (be) that bad. You

(19) ______________________ (probably/make) a lot of new friends, have more freedom to participate in

social life and clubs, and possibly even enjoy the learning process. However, the workload

(20) ______________________ (certainly/keep) you busy. Also, you will have to stay on the alert, as surprise

“pop” quizzes (21) ______________________ (appear) in your classrooms (when you least expect them)

throughout the semester. Therefore, a word of advice: try not to go wild with all the new freedom you

(22) ______________________ (get): use it responsibly. In this way, when the semester is over, you will not

only have learnt while having a good time but also your chances of passing the proficiency exam will be high.

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B.

Self-repairing Computers

Digital computing performance (1)____________________ (improve) 10.000 fold in the past two decades:

what (2)____________________ (take) a year of number crunching in 1983 (3)____________________ (take)

less than an hour today, and a desktop computer from that era (4)____________________ (match) the

processing power of one of today's handheld organizers, at all.

We often (5) ____________________ (pay) a price for these enhancements in our lives, though. As digital

systems (6)____________________ (grow) in complexity throughout the years so far, their operation

(7)____________________ (become) brittle and unreliable. Therefore, computer-related failures

(8)____________________ (become) all too common. It's a fact that personal computers

(9)____________________ (crash) regularly and Internet sites (10____________________ (go) offline often.

New Software upgrades (10)____________________ (leave) things worse than they

(11)____________________ (be) before. Inconvenience aside, the situation is also an expensive one: annual

outlays for maintenance, repairs and operations far (12)____________________ (exceed) total hardware and

software costs, for both individuals and corporations.

A group of research collaborators (13) ____________________ (take) a new view by accepting that computer

failure and human operator error are facts of life and (14) ____________________ (recently/concentrate) on

designing systems that (15) ____________________ (recover) rapidly when mishaps (16)

____________________ (occur). They call this approach recovery-oriented computing (ROC). According to

the members of the research, such a system must evolve and expand quickly in response to consumer demands

and market pressures.

Consider the example of the Google search engine, which (17) ____________________ (go) from locating

hundreds of millions of web pages of English text to 3 billion pages in more than 20 languages in a dozen

formats, plus images in just a few years. Meanwhile, the number of daily Google searches (18)

____________________ (grow) from 150.000 to 150 million - the site is now 1.000 times busier than it (19)

____________________ (be) at the outset.

With proven strategies and difficulties in mind, the team (20) ____________________ (explore) four principles

to guide the construction of 'Roc-solid' computing systems for the time being: speedy recovery, better tools to

pinpoint the sources of faults, new systems that support an 'undo' function for operators to correct their mistakes

and the development of the ability to inject errors, (i.e. quick comeback, pinpointing problems, wiping away

errors and injecting test errors)

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C.

Arsena Ianeva-Lockney, a native Bulgarian who (1) ____________________ (work) as an English teacher for

quite a long time now, (2) ____________________ (decide) to address the issue of nonverbal communication.

Currently, she (3) ____________________ (prepare) a series of workshops on the dangers of not learning the

body language of another culture. She (4)____________________ (hope) that she (5) ____________________

(draw) attention to this often neglected aspect of communication. It is estimated that about thirty percent of

English teachers from Sofia (6) ____________________ (attend) Arsena’s training by July. Hopefully, this

time next year, most of them (7) ____________________ (implement) her ideas in their own classrooms.

D.

Earth’s Most Mysterious Places: Nazca

In a remote area of Peru, 300 kilometers from Lima, one of the most unusual works of art in the world (1)

____________________ (puzzle) scientists for decades. When it is seen from the ground, it looks like nothing

at all: just lines scratched into the earth. But from high above, it is clear that these marks are something far more

than unusual. Huge images of birds, fish, seashells, and geometric shapes (2)____________________

(skilfully/carve) into the earth.

The geoglyphs of Nazca (the term comes from the Greek words for “earth picture”) (3)____________________

(perfectly/preserve) for centuries by the desert’s dry climate. The Nazca Lines are so difficult to see from the

ground that they (4) ____________________ (discover) until the 1930s, when an aircraft (5)

____________________ (discover) them while flying over the area. In all, there are about 70 different human

and animal figures on the plain, and almost 900 hundred geometric shapes, including triangles, circles, and

lines. They (6) ____________________ (cover) an area more than 60 kilometers long.

But who (7) ____________________ (create) these amazing shapes – and why?

Researchers (8) ____________________ (determine) that the geoglyphs are at least 1500 years old, but their

purpose remains a mystery. Numerous theories (9) ____________________ (offer). A Swiss writer named

Erich von Daniken wrote that the Nazca Lines (10) ____________________ (design) as a landing place for

travellers from other planets.

Another explanation is that the lines may have been made for religious reasons. British researcher Tony

Morrison (11) ____________________ (investigate) the customs of people in the Andes mountains, and (12)

____________________ (learn) that they have a long tradition of praying at shrines by the side of the road.

Some of their shrines are just simple piles of stones. It is possible that in the past, the lines of Nazca (13)

____________________ (create) for a similar purpose, on a much larger scale. The largest pictures might have

been the sites for special ceremonies.

14

Recently, two other scientists, David Johnson and Steve Mabee, (14) ____________________ (speculate) that

the geoglyphs could have been related to water. Nazca is one of the driest places in the world, and (15)

____________________ (receive) only two centimeters of rain every year. While Johnson (16)

____________________(search) for ancient water sources in the area, he (17)____________________ (notice)

that some waterways built by ancient people (18)____________________ (connect) with the lines. Johnson

(19) ____________________ (believe) that the Nazca Lines are a giant map of the underground water in the

area. Other scientists (20) ____________________ (now/look) for evidence to confirm this theory.

E.

The call (1) ____________________ (come) in the middle of the night. As a gynaecology resident rotating

through a large, private hospital, I (2) ____________________ (already/start) to detest telephone calls because I

knew I would be up for several hours and wouldn't feel well the next day. However, I (3)

____________________ (answer) the phone: One of the patients (4)____________________ (have) difficulty

getting rest. On my way to her room, I (5)____________________ (grab) the chart from the nurses station and

got the details: a 30-year-old girl named Debbie (6) ____________________ (have) unrelenting vomiting as a

result of the medication given for sedation. I could hear loud breathing. In the room was an emaciated woman

who (7) ____________________ (place) against a huge pillow and looked much older than 30. She (8)

____________________ (receive) nasal oxygen. Another woman (9) ____________________ (hold) her hand.

Both (10) ____________________ (look) up when I entered. She (11)____________________ (eat) or

____________________ (sleep) for the last couple of days….

F.

Four years’ jail for theft of rare books

A few years ago, two copies of Isaac Newton’s Principia and a work by Galileo, worth more than £300,000, (1)

____________________ (discover) to be missing from the shelves of the Rare Books Department of Cambridge

University. Police interviewed staff but no clues (2)____________________ (find).

Three years later, Jolyon Hudson, an antiquarian book dealer, (3) ____________________ (examine) a rare

philosophy book in his office. There was a shadow on the front cover where once a label might have been, and

the title page (4) ____________________ (rip out). Hudson was convinced that the book (5)

____________________ (steal). His investigations (6) ____________________ (reveal) that the book’s last

owner was a man called William Jacques, an accountant working for Shell UK. Hudson telephoned Jacques and

asked him if he could stop by his office to resolve the issue. When they met, Jacques told him he (7)

____________________ (acquire) the book from Portobello Market and assured Hudson that he would co-

operate with any future police enquiries.

15

However, shortly afterwards, Jacques (8) ____________________ (escape) to Cuba. From there he (9)

____________________ (send) a letter to the police via his solicitors, listing numerous safety deposit boxes in

banks in England. Inside the boxes were dozens of hugely valuable titles, including the three by Newton and

Galileo from Cambridge.

Why Jacques then (10) ____________________ (fly) back to Britain, nobody knows. Three weeks later, he (11)

____________________ (find) guilty of theft and (12) ____________________ (now/serve) four years in

prison. The total value of the books he (13) ____________________(steal) is around £1.1 million, and many

(14) ____________________(still/recover). Jacques (15)____________________ (say) how he pulled off,

perhaps, the most systematic plundering of Britain’s great libraries ever carried out by an individual. Police are

worried that he may have had inside help.

Over the past few months, libraries in Britain (16) ____________________ (improve) their security systems. In

many there are now closed-circuit TV cameras and passes must be shown. The genteel world of letters has had a

reality check.

Foley, D. & M. Foley, Advanced Learner’s Grammar, Longman, 2004. Graver, B. D., Advanced English Practice, Oxford, 1997.

Haines, S. & B. Stewart, New First Certificate Masterclass Student’s Book, Oxford, 1996.

Leech, G. & J. Svartvik, A Communicative Grammar of English, Pearson, 2002. O’Connell, S., Focus on Advanced English Student’s Book, Nelson, 1992.

Carney, Josh and Karabağ E, Ayşen, Language Use and Writing, 2006 METU