Developing Your Writing Skills

Exercise № 48. Join the following sentences using conjunctions as, since, because, so that

1. We didn’t expect these refugees to come to the Ellis Island. You didn’t let us know they were coming. 2. The Chase Manhattan Bank was closed. We had to go back home. 3. You didn’t conceive the question. I ought to repeat it once again. 4. It is raining cats and dogs. I shan’t go out. 5. I didn’t tell him anything about Native Americans. I was afraid of hurting his feelings. 6. You had better to stay out of it. I have a lot of work to do. 7. Lewis and Clark expedition stopped for the rest. The sun already set down. 8. She has bought a pretty Ford Espero car. It will be easier for her to get to her office. 9. I didn’t go to the Madison Square Garden. I couldn’t get tickets beforehand. 10. The semi-final game against American football team was lost. The South Korean team could not recover from tiredness and nervous stress.

Exercise № 49. This time join the sentences using so …that, such …that where necessary. Then make up three sentences of your own using so…that, such …that.

1. Napoleon was much glad of retreating back to Paris. He left his favourites behind his back. 2. The French Army was exhausted. It could not resist Russian partisan raids any more. 3. Napoleon had many enemies. He failed to oppose them efficiently. 4. Napoleon Bonaparte was an interesting and genius personality. It was an honor to oppose him. 5. Mikhail Kutuzov was an experienced general. It would be a catastrophe not to use him during the Patriotic War of 1812.

Exercise № 50. Join the sentences using a provided linking word or phrase.

1. The Russian Army was repeatedly avoiding capital battles. The French Emperor was losing confidence. (Since) 2. Finally the French Grand Armee prepared to combat for Smolensk. The Russian brigades were counter-attacking French front lines in a hope to escape and unite with the major Russian troops. (as) 3. The food and ammunition supply of the French was running off. The Russians started pursuing the policy of a scorched earth. (so that) 4. At the beginning the Russian Chief-Commander Barclay de Tolly was retreating and pursuing a scorched earth strategy. He wanted to save lives of Russian soldiers and concentrate the major Russian forces for the final strike. (because)

Text B: Reading for meaning.

Retreat of Napoleon

Sitting in the ashes of the ruined city without having received the Russian capitulation, and facing a Russian maneuver forcing him out of Moscow, Napoleon started his long retreat. At the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, Mikhail Kutuzov was able to force the French army into using the very same scorched Smolensk road on which they had earlier moved East; continuing to block the southern flank to prevent the French from returning by a different route, Mikhail Kutuzov again deployed partisan tactics to constantly strike at the French trail where it was the weakest. Light Russian cavalry, including mounted Cossacks¹¹ was striking the French units elsewhere. .

The French suffered greatly in the course of a ruinous retreat; the Army had begun the campaign as over 650,000 frontline troops, but in the end fewer than 40,000 crossed the Berezina River to escape. In total French losses in the campaign were 570,000 against about 400,000 Russian casualties and several hundred thousand civilian deaths.

This was declared as the Patriotic war by Russians as this war was rich, however, in its legacy to Russian patriotism. Everywhere throughout all the temporary occupied areas common people, peasants and ordinary residents were paying the tribute to make harm to the enemy. Larger numbers of peasants abandoned from their casual work were united into small and mobile groups of guerrillas, locally known as partisans. These hardly-armed units became a real burden to the regular French regiments.

Exercise № 51. Make a list of French-Russian battles at the War of 1812 – 1815.

Exercise № 52. Think over your actions and commands to make instructions to pursue partisan tactics. as if you

Grammar

Used to (I used to do)

This is France. This country waged the war with Russia in 1812. It doesn’t do it any more. But it used to wage the war with Russia. It used to fight with Russia.

Study these sentences:

1. Napoleon Army used to win nearly all battles, but lost the most important ones.

2. Do you often speak English? Not now, but I used to.

3. We used to live in a huge superpower, but now we live in the Russian Federation.

4. This building is a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema.

The normal question form is did … use to…?

• Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you were a child?

• Did he use to jogging every Saturday morning?

The negative form is didn’t use to …

• Napoleon didn’t use to attack Russia until he burned Moscow.

• The boy didn’t use to play football with his neighbors.

Exercise № 53. In this exercise you have to complete the sentence with used to …

1. The baby doesn’t cry so much now but she … every night.

2. She … my best friend but we aren’t friends any longer.

3. We live in Nottingham now but we … in Leeds.

4. When I was a child I … ice-cream, but I don’t like it now.

5. Now Tom has got a car. He … a motor-bike.

Exercise № 54. This time you have to write some sentences about a man who changed his life-style.

studying hard smoking.

He stopped going to bed early. He started going out every night.

running three miles everyday spending a lot of money.

Make sentences like these:

Examples: He used to study hard. He never used to smoke (He didn’t use to smoke)

1. ………

2. ………

3. ………

4. ………

Exercise № 55. Write 5 sentences about something Russia never did and what Russia used to do.

Exercise № 56. Now you have to ask questions. Ex-President Boris Yeltsin is an old man now. You are asking someone what he used to do when he was younger

Example: I know he doesn’t smoke now but did he use to smoke before?

1. I know he doesn’t play tennis now but ….. ?

2. I know he isn’t very rich now but ….. ?

3. I know he doesn’t go out very often now but ….. ?

4. I know he doesn’t dance these days but ….. ?

5. I know he hasn’t got many friends now but ….. ?