The past indefinite tense
29. Read the text using the verbs in brackets in the Past Indefinite Tense.
Roald Dahl
Roald
Dahl (be 1)
born on September 13, 1916 in Llandaff, South Wales. His father (die
2)
while Roald (be 3)
still a child. Dahl (attend 4)
Llandaff Cathedral School for just two years. Then from the age of
nine to thirteen he (attend 5)
St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Weston–super–Mare, England.
He (not enjoy 6)
the school because many of the teachers (be 7)
cruel and often (cane 8)
the students. Dahl (be 9)
good at cricket and swimming, but he (perform 10)
poorly in class. He (spend 11)
all his spare time reading and he especially (like 12)
Rudyard Kipling and H. Rider Haggard. When Dahl (turn 13)
thirteen his family (move 14)
to Kent in England, and his mother (send 15)
him to Repton Public School. Sadly, Repton (turn out 16)
to be even harsher than his old school. The headmaster (enjoy 17)
beating children and the older students (use 18)
the younger ones as servants. However, there (be 19)
one good thing about the school. Every few months, the chocolate
company, Cadburys, (send 20)
boxes of chocolates to Repton for the students to test. This happy
memory (give 21)
Dahl the idea for his most famous novel, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory.
After school, Dahl (decide 22) that he (want 23) to travel. He (get 24) a job with the Shell Oil Company and two years later (go 25) to East Africa.
In 1939, World War II (start 26). Dahl (join 27) the Royal Air Force and (learn 28) to fly warplanes. Unfortunately, on his first flight into enemy territory he (run 29) out of fuel and (crash 30) in the Libyan desert. He (fracture 31) his skull but (manage 32) to crawl out of the burning plane.
Dahl (start 33) writing in the 1940s while based in the USA. His first story (be 34) a newspaper account of his air crash. In 1945 he (move 35) back home but in the early fifties (return 36) to America, where he (meet 37) his first wife, the actress Patricia Neal. They (have 38) five children together but (get 39) divorced in 1983. Dahl (remarry 40) soon after. The last years of his life (be 41) very happy and he (write 42) some of his best books during this period: The BFG, The Witches and Matilda. Roald Dahl (die 43) on 23rd November 1990 in Oxford, England.
Work out questions to which the following might be answers.
1. Llandaff. 2. For two years. 3. R.Kipling. 4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 5. Shell Oil Company. 6. The 1940s. 7. America. 8. Patricia Neal. 9. Five. 10. In 1990.
30. Below you will find a short retelling of one of Roald Dahl’s most famous stories. Transform it into the Past Indefinite Tense.
Lamb to the slaughter
M
ary
Maloney is
a devoted wife and expectant mother. She waits
happily each night for the arrival of her husband Patrick, who works
at the police station. On this particular night, though, she feels
that something is
wrong. In disbelief, she listens
as Patrick tells
her that he wants
to leave her for another woman. (Actually Dahl never really says
this; the details are
left up to the reader’s imagination.) Dazed, she goes
into the kitchen to prepare their supper and pulls
a large frozen leg of lamb from the deep freeze. She carries
it into the living room and without warning hits
her husband on the head with it. As she looks
at Patrick lying dead on the floor, she slowly begins
to come back to her senses. Immediately she realizes
the consequences of her act. As she doesn’t
want
her unborn child to suffer as a result of her crime, she begins
planning her alibi. She places
the leg of lamb in a pan in the oven and goes
down to the corner grocery to get some food for “Patrick’s
dinner” (making sure the grocer sees
her normal and cheerful state of mind). She returns
home and screams
when she finds
Patrick lying on the floor. She calls
the police and informs
them that her husband is
dead. Officers search
the house and conduct
an investigation. They believe
Mary’s story of coming home from the grocer and finding him dead.
They search
the house for the murder weapon but they don’t
find
anything. Mary offers
them some lamb that is
ready in the oven. They are
happy to have dinner. While they rest
in the kitchen and discuss
the case, Mary Maloney sits
in the living room and giggles
softly to herself.
31. Read the story in the Past Indefinite Tense.
When a zoo’s gorilla dies, the zookeeper hires an actor to don a costume and act like an ape until the zoo can get another one.
In the cage, the actor makes faces, swings around, and draws a huge crowd. He then crawls across a partition and atop the lion’s cage, infuriating the animal. But the actor stays in character—until he loses his grip and falls into the lion’s cage.
Terrified, the actor shouts, “Help! Help me!” Too late. The lion pounces, opens its massive jaws, and whispers, “Shut up! Do you want to get us both fired?!”
3
2.
Use the verbs in the box to fill in the gaps in the text. Use all the
verbs in the Past Indefinite Tense.
perform choose learn sign proclaim sentence unite outlaw (twice) need takereplace help fall make decide
V
alentine
was a holy priest in Rome, who _______ (1)
young lovers marry against the will of the Emperor Claudius II. When
Claudius _______ (2)
that
single men _______ (3)
better soldiers than those with wives and families, he ________ (4)
marriage for young men. But Valentine _______ (5)
marriages in secret. When the Emperor _______ (6)
about it, he _______ (7)
Valentine to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards – beheaded. The
event _______ (8)
place on February 14, around the year 270. Why did such a sad day
become a holiday for lovers?
Let’s turn to history. Mid February was traditionally the time of the Lupercian festival, an ode to the God of fertility and a celebration of sensual pleasure, a time to meet and court a prospective mate. In AD 496, the Pope of the time _______ (9) the pagan festival, but _______ (10) it with a similar celebration that he _______ (11) morally suitable. Therefore he _______ (12) a “lovers’” saint to replace the pagan deity Lupercus. He _______ (13) Bishop Valentine as the patron saint of the new festival because he _______ (14) young lovers, and also because before his execution, Valentine himself _______ (15) in love with his jailer’s daughter. He _______ (16) his final note to her, “From Your Valentine”, a phrase that has lasted until today.
33. Find and correct ten mistakes in the following text.
W
hy
people shake hands when they meet? Folklore give an interesting
explanation for it. Long ago when a villager meet a man whom he
didn’t recognized, he reached for his dagger. The stranger does the
same. And then they begun to circle each other. When they decided
that the meeting is a peaceful one, they putted the daggers back and
extended their weapon hands as a token of good will. This also
explain why women never developed the custom of shaking hands. That’s
because no tradition aloud them to carry weapons!
34. Fill in each of the gaps with one suitable word.