Lessen 2

I.Reading

Read the text and choose the correct answers.

An unusual job

Our interview today is with Steve, who is a ‘minder’ to a number of British rock stars. A ‘minder’ is someone who looks after pop stars, actors and other famous people, and sees that they aren’t bothered when walking in the street or in hotels and restaurants. We asked him how he became a minder.

“It just happened,” Steve replied. “It was like this. Singers and bands don’t always take their own sound equipment with them – they often hire it wherever they are playing. Anyway, I was working for a sound equipment hire firm, delivering sound equipment and taking it away again. One evening at a show some skinheads started fighting one another. Suddenly I noticed glasses flying, but the singer kept on singing. I ran shouting onto the stage and manage to get the singer off before he was hit by flying glass. (Neither he nor the rest of the band had noticed anything happening. Because of the lights, they couldn’t see further than the first two or three rows of the audience). Then I went back on the stage a few times, getting the firm’s equipment off. The singer was really quite frightened when he realized what had been happening. He obviously thought I was a brave kind of person, so he offered me a job as his personal minder. He had just had his first Top Ten hit – the only top ten hit he ever had, actually – and he was beginning to need someone to keep the fans away. But I’m not going to be a minder forever. I’ve got my own band, and one day I’ll be bigger than them all.”

1. What is a ‘minder’?

a. a person who sings for rock stars

b. a person who looks after famous people

c. a person who helps famous people to dress up

2. What did he do before he became a minder?

a. he worked for a sound equipment hire firm

b. he worked in a music shop

c. he was unemployed

3. How did he become a minder?

a. he read an advertisement in a newspaper

d. he saved the performing singer from being hurt

c. he called the police on time

4. Why did the singer not notice anything?

a. they were too enthusiastic about singing

b. they did not pay attention to the audience

c. they could not see anything because of the lights

5. What did the singer feel when he learnt what was happening?

a. he was frightened

b. he was happy

c. he was excited

6. What is Steve’s ambition?

a. he wants to be the best minder

b. he wants to be a policeman

c. he wants to be a rock star

II. Past Forms

Past simple / Past Continuous / Past Perfect / Past Perfect Continuous
Past actions which happened one after the other
She sealed the letter, put a stamp on it and posted it. / Action in the middle of happening at a stated past time
He was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday. / Past action which occurred before another action or before a stated past time
He had left by the time I got there. (or by 8.15) / Action continuing over a period up to a specific time in the past
She had been working as a clerk for 10years before she resigned.
Past habit or state
He used to go/went to school on foot.
Complete action or event which happened at a stated past time
She called an hour ago.
(When? An hour ago.) / Past action in progress interrupted by another past action. The longer action is in the Past Continuous, the shorter action is in the Past Simple.While I was gettingdressed the bell rang. / Complete past action which had visible results in the past
She was sad because she had failed the test. / Past action of certain duration which had visible results in the past
They were wet because they had been walking in the rain.
Action which happened at a definite past time although the time is not mentioned. This action is not connected with the present.
Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays. (Shakespeare is now dead; he won’t write again.
- period of time now finished) / Twoor more simultaneous past actions
While I wassunbathing, Tim wasswimming.
or background description to events in a story
She was flying to Paris.
The sun was shining… / The past Perfect is the past equivalent of the Present Perfect
(He can’t find his watch
He has lost it.)
He couldn’t find his watch. He had lost it. / The Past Perfect Continuous is the equivalent of the Present Perfect Continuous
(She is going to the doctor. Her leg has been aching for two days.)
She went to the doctor. Her leg had been aching for two days.

Time expressions used with:

Past Simple / Yesterday, last week etc, (how long) ago, then, just now, when, in 1967 etc
Past Continuous / While, when, as etc
Past Perfect / For, since, already, after, just, never, before, by, by the time etc
Past Perfect Continuous / For, since

III. Fill in with Past Simple or Past Continuous.

Last night I 1)……(be) alone at home. I 2)……(lie) on my bed and I 3)……(watch) TV when I 4)……(hear) a strange noise. The noise 5)……(come) from the kitchen. I 6)……(go) downstairs, 7)……(pick up) a heavy vase from the table and 8)……(head for) the kitchen. I 9)……(open) the door very slowly. Then I 10)……(see) someone. He 11)……(search) in the fridge. I 12)……(be) so frightened that I 13)……(drop) the vase I 14)……(carry) and it 15)……(crash) onto the floor. The man 16)……(turn) towards the door and I 17)…… (see) his face. It was my husband!

IV. Put the verbs in brackets into Past Simple or Past Perfect.

Last Monday Angie 1)……(get up) for work as usual and 2)……(go) to the kitchen to have some breakfast. But when she 3)……(open) the fridge, she 4)……(find) that her flatmate Lucy 5)……(drink) allthe milk – not a good start to the day! So she 6)……(have) a quick cup of black coffee, 7)……(get) dressed and 8) ……(go) out to the car. There she 9)……(find) that she 10)……(forget) to put the cover on the car the night before and there 11)……(be) thick frost all over thewindscreen. She 12)……(scrape) it all off and 13)……(get) into the car. However, when she 14)……(turn) the key, nothing 15)……(happen)! Someone 16)……(leave) the headlights on and the battery 17)……(go) flat. She 18)……(be) furious as Lucy 19)……(use) the car last and it 20)……(be) her who 21)……(forget) to switch off the lights. Angie 22)……(head) for the bus stop to wait in the freezing cold.

V. Fill in an appropriate past form.

In 1894 a steamship 1) ……(sail) across the Atlantic Ocean from England to America. The sun 2)……(shine) and a gentle breeze 3)……(blow). The ship 4)……(sail) for three weeks and was halfway to its destination – New York. The passengers 5)……(relax) on deck when suddenly they 6)……(hear) a loud bang. They all 7)……(jump) up, 8)……(run) to the edge of the boat and 9)……(look) over the side. To their horror they saw they 10)……(hit) some hard object which 11)……(tear) a hole in the side of the ship. Water 12)……(pour) into the steamship at an alarming speed. Fortunately another ship 13)……( arrive) half an hour later, just in time to save everyone on board.

P.S. Please make all the changes in this electronic variant and send it back to me