59
IMPACT
6.2
9
b
Match the tenses in Exercise 9a with functions a–d.
a
describing events which took place one after the
other in the story and are seen as complete actions
b
describing events which set the scene and provide
the background against which a story happens
c
describing an event that was already in progress, and
which was interrupted by another event
d
describing an event which took place in the past,
before another event in the past or before a past time
period
10
Choose the correct verb forms.
1
All children, except one, grow up. They soon know
that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew
was this. One day when she was two years old she
played / was playing
in a garden, and she plucked
another flower and
had run / ran
with it to her
mother. (J. M. Barrie,
Peter Pan
)
2
When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former,
who
had been / was being
cautious in her praise
of Mr. Bingley before,
expressed / was expressing
to her sister just how very much she admired him.
(
Pride and Prejudice
, Jane Austen)
3
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
We
had been wandering / were wandering
, indeed,
in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning;
but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no
company, dined early) the cold winter wind
had
brought / was bringing
with it clouds so sombre, and
a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise
was now out of the question. (
Jane Eyre
, Charlotte
Bronte)
11
a
Look at the example of the past perfect
continuous from
Around the World in 80 Days
and
choose the correct option in the rule.
“We will trust your word, as a gentleman of honour.”
“You do not forget when you are due in London again?”
asked Stuart.
“In eighty days; on Saturday, the 21st of December, 1872, at a
quarter before nine p.m. Good-bye, gentlemen.”
Phileas Fogg and his servant seated themselves in a first-
class carriage at twenty minutes before nine; five minutes
later the whistle screamed, and the train slowly glided out of
the station.
The night was dark, and a fine, steady rain was falling.
Phileas Fogg, snugly ensconced in his corner, did not
open his lips. Passepartout, not yet recovered from his
stupefaction, clung mechanically to the carpet-bag, with its
enormous treasure.
Just as the train was whirling through Sydenham,
Passepartout suddenly uttered a cry of despair.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mr. Fogg.
“Alas! In my hurry ... I ... I forgot ...”
“What?”
“To turn off the gas in my room!”
“Very well, young man,” returned Mr. Fogg, coolly; “it will
burn—at your expense.”
The past perfect continuous is used to emphasise that an
activity which happened
before/after
another activity or
time in the past went on for some time.
11
b
Complete the rule to show the three parts of the
past perfect continuous.
+
+
form of the verb
11
c
Look again at the sentences in Exercise 9a and the
extract in 11a. Are these statements true or false?
1
The past perfect is the most common tense for
telling stories.
2
Writers use other tenses to add variety and add interest
by being able to refer to different times in the past.
3
We use the past continuous and the past perfect
continuous to talk about an activity in progress and
to set the scene.
4
We use the past simple to introduce events further
back in time that help explain the story.
¬
Language reference and extra practice, pages 126–149
12
Complete this story with the correct form of the
verbs in brackets.
The clock struck ten. Lucien
1
(sit) alone in the
kitchen and he
2
(shake) uncontrollably. After he
3
(wait) for over an hour, he
4
(hear) a key
in the front door.
His parents
5
(come) in. He
6
(tell) them
what
7
(happen) earlier that evening. He
8
(borrow) their car without asking, and
9
(crash) into
a lamp post because he
10
(drive) too fast. Then the
door bell
11
(ring). It
12
(be) the police.
SPEAKING
13
Work in small groups to discuss the following.
Which books or films do you know have had an impact
in these ways?
•
socially
•
culturally
•
politically
•
personally
•
visually
I think ‘Things Fall Apart’ had a huge cultural impact. The
novel was written by Chinua Achebe in 1958 and is still
widely read and studied as an example of the damage of
colonialism. We are invited into the lives of the Ibo tribe in
Nigeria and learn their customs and beliefs.
At this moment a man who had been observing
him attentively approached. It was Fix, who,
bowing, addressed Mr. Fogg: "Were you not,
like me, sir, a passenger by the Rangoon, which
arrived yesterday?"
