Startling discovery off florida coast

Last week treasure worth over £1 million ___ (discover) off the Florida coast. The discovery ___ (make) by a young British teenager, 17-year-old John Innes, who was on holiday with his family. The treasure, which ___ (consist) of gold coins and jewels ___ (find) in the wreck of a ship which experts believe ___ (sink) by the famous pirate, Captain Kidd, in 1696.

John Innes was scuba diving near a small island off the Florida coast when he suddenly ___ (find) the wreck of an old ship at the bottom of the sea. The coast guards ___ (tell) immediately about the discovery and the treasure ___ (bring) to the surface by a team of divers.

The coins and jewels, which officially belong to the US government ___ (examine) by archaeologists and ___ (say) to be ‘the real thing’. Yesterday at a press conference in Key West John ___ (give) a $1,000 reward for his discovery. When he ___ (ask), if he was pleased with his reward, he ___ (reply): ‘I’d rather have a bit of treasure!’

Exercise 7.

Put the verbs in brackets in the right passive form: the Present Simple, Past Simple or Present Perfect.

1. A Stradivarius violin ….. (sell) yesterday at Christie’s for £902,000, the highest price ever paid for a Strad.

2. The violin, owned by the Mendelssohn family, ….. (make) in 1720, and, because of its colour, it ….. (know) as the “Red Strad”.

3. It ….. (buy) by a professional musician.

4. In its years in the Mendelssohn family, it ….. (play) very little, except by amateurs, but its beautiful tones ….. (demonstrate) by a Japanese violinist before the auction yesterday.

5. “It is in very good condition because it ….. (keep) in a special case”, said Yoshito Ito.

6. “It ….. (look) after very well.”

7. The violin reached such a high price because of its date of 1720 (the height of Stradivari’s Golden Age) when his finest instruments ….. (make).

8. Strads ….. (admire) all over the world for their purity and deep, clear sound.

Exercise 8.		Ask questions about the information in italics.
	e.g.	The Strad was made in 1720. When was the Strad made?

1. Strads are admired all over the world for their purity and deep clear sound. (Why?)

2. It has been kept in a special case. (Where?)

3. Stradivari’s best instruments were made in 1720. (When?)

4. Because of its colour, the violin is known as the “Red Strad”. (Why?)

5. The Houses of Parliament were built in the nineteenth century. (When?)

6. Twenty people were hurt in the train crash. (How many?)

7. Champagne is produced in France. (Where?)

8. This jumper has been washed twice, and it has shrunk. (How many times?)

9. She was fined three hundred pounds for speeding. (How much?)

10. Our post is delivered twice a day. (How often)

Exercise 9.

Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. They are all in the passive.

1. The Volkswagen Beetle ….. (design) by Ferdinand Porsche.

2. He ….. (ask) to design it by the German Government.

3. VWs ….. (take) to America by American soldiers who were returning home after the war.

4. The first VW ….. (make) in 1938.

5. Since then over twenty million ….. (produce).

6. They ….. (not make) in Europe any more.

Exercise 10.

Complete the sentences.

1. The TV programme was (boring, bored) so I turned it off.

2. Children can’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve. They’re too (exciting, excited).

3. “Hi, Mum!” – “Carol! That goodness you rang! Where have you been? We’ve been so (worrying, worried)

4. “Hello, darling. I’ve got a present for you”. – “For me?” – “Don’t look so (surprising, surprised). I often buy you presents”. – “But it isn’t my birthday!”

5. The art exhibition was very (interesting, interested). I loved it, but I had to leave after three hours. My feet were killing me! I find going round art galleries and museums very (tiring, tired).

6. Some people don’t go out at night because they’re (frightening, frightened) that someone will rob them.

7. Our financial situation is very (worrying, worried). We spend more and more, but we’re earning less and less.

8. “I’m going on a three-month holiday to the Far East”. – “How (exciting, excited)! Lucky you!”

9. “Was your father (annoying, annoyed) when you told him your exam results?” – “He was furious.”

Exercise 11.		Complete the sentences. Use adjectives formed by adding –ing or –ed to the words in brackets.
	e.g.	I don’t get _____ very easily. (embarrass) I don’t get embarrassed very easily.

1. I find it quite ____ to talk in front of a group of people. (embarrass)

2. I think wet weather is ____ . (depress)

3. I’m not very ____ in politics. (interest)

4. I find walking in the countryside very ____ . (relax)

5. I think learning a language is very ____ . (interest)

6. I get ____ when people smoke in restaurants. (annoy)

7. I don’t normally get ____ when I watch horror films. (frighten)

8. Are you ____ in art? (interest)

9. They were ____ when they heard the news. (shock)

10. I thought they story was quite ____ . (amuse)

11. We were all very ____ when he didn’t come home. (worry)

12. It was ____ that she didn’t come to the meeting. (surprise)

Exercise 12.

Translate into English.

1. Яблоки и капуста продаются в овощном магазине. 2. Сыр и молоко продаются в молочном. 3. Сахар продается в бакалее. 4. Ты знаешь, где строятся эти корабли? – Да, в Глазго. 5. Вора не поймали. 6. Дом не был продан. 7. Остров был открыт в этом году. 8. Бумагу делают из древесины.