Ex. 149. Present Perfect / Past Perfect/Present Perfect Continuous / Past Perfect Continuous. Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses.

1. It is already 9:30 pm and I (wait) _______________ here for over an hour. If John does not get here in the next five minutes, I am going to leave.

2. I was really angry at John yesterday. By the time he finally arrived, I (wait) ____________ for over an hour. I almost left without him.

3. Did you hear that Ben was fired last month? He (work) _______________ for that import company for more than ten years and he (work) _______________ in almost every department. Nobody knew the company like he did.

4. I (see) _______________ many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small.

5. Sarah (climb) _____________ the Matterhorn, (sail) ______________ around the world, and (go) ______________ on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person.

6. Sarah (climb) _____________ the Matterhorn, (sail) ____________ around the world and (go) _____________ on safari in Kenya by the time she turned twenty-five. She (experience) ______________ more by that age than most people do in their entire lives.

7. When Melanie came into the office yesterday, her eyes were red and watery. I think she (cry) _____________.

Ex.150. Complete the text with the correct form of the Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

Jason Peters (1) …………. (be) a wildlife cameraman. He (2) ………. (film) wild animals for documentary programmes on TV. For fifteen years, as a part of his job, he (3) ……….. (explore) the world’s jungles and rain forests. Snakes (4) ………. (bite) him more times than he can remember and alligators (5) ………… (attack) him, too. At the moment he (6) ……….. (prepare) to go back to the Amazon. He (7) ………. (love) filming there but another reason is that his girlfriend, Carmen, (8) ……….. (live) in Manaus, near the Amazon. Peter and Carmen (9) ………… (work) together when they can. They (10) ………… (film in Venezuella several times. While they were there, they lived with the Matis Indians. “The Matis (11) ………… (eat) monkeys”, saya Jason “but they (12) ………. (not eat) some animals which are part of their religion. At the moment I (13) ………….. (study) them and the Amazon people and I (14) ……… (try) to compare the two. I (15) …………. (find) books about the Amazon people to help me but there’s nothing about the Matis. I’ll have to write something by myself!”

Ex. 151. Present Continuous / Simple Past /Present Perfect Continuous / Past Perfect Continuous. Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses.

My English is really getting better. I (try) ………………….. to learn the language since 1985, but only recently have I been able to make some real progress. By the time I started high school in 1988, I (study) ………………………. the language for almost three years; however, I was only able to introduce myself and utter a few memorized sentences. For a couple more years, I (struggle) ……………………. through grammar and vocabulary lessons, which made absolutely no difference. Nothing worked, so I decided to study abroad. I found an exchange program in England that sounded like the perfect answer. I (stay) ……………………. with a host family for one month. It was a huge disappointment! I (sit) …………………. there the whole time staring at the host mother and father hoping that there would be some breakthrough. Nothing.

When I returned, I mentioned to a friend that I (have) …………………… problems with the language for years. He recommended that I spend a year in an English speaking country. I decided to go abroad again. I (research) ………………… exchange programs for a couple of weeks and finally decided on a school in the United States. Well, it worked. I (live) …………………… and (study) ……………….. in the U.S. for more than two years. I (stay) …………………….. here for at least another year before I return home. By then, I should be completely fluent.