News riporter

 News riporter slides

 News riporter printable

 The way we met

All narrative tenses - gap filling task

This ______________ (happen) about five years ago. I ______________  (come) back home from Turkey where I ______________ (be) on holiday with some friends who ______________ (rent) a bungalow in the mountains not for from Ankara, the capital.

Anyway, we______________ (sit) in the plane and______________ (just / take) off when there______________ (be) a loud bang from the right hand side of the plane and I could see a lot of smoke coming from one of the engines. Of course, everyone______________ (start) looking around but the plane  ______________  (carry on) flying normally. And then a few minutes later the pilot ______________ (come) on to the PA and said there was a problem with one of the engines and we’d have to return to the airport.

I felt pretty nervous, I can tell you, but I______________ (try) to concentrate on my book, and about ten minutes later we______________ (land) without any problems. We  ______________ (have) to wait for about an hour and then we got back on the plane. Actually, it was a different plane and I was

pretty relieved that it was.

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1. By the time we arrived, the movie ______________ (already/start), and we missed the beginning.

2. I ______________ (work) on my project when the power went out last night.

3. She ______________ (never/see) a more beautiful sunset until that day.

4. They ______________ (play) tennis for an hour before it started raining.

5. When I got to the airport, I realized I ______________ (leave) my passport at home.

6. He ______________ (cook) dinner when the phone rang.

7. We ______________ (just/finish) cleaning the house when the guests arrived.

8. By the time the teacher came in, the students ______________ (wait) for 15 minutes.

9. I ______________ (not/know) that she had already told everyone the news.

10. While they ______________ (drive) to the beach, they saw an accident.

11. The kids ______________ (play) in the garden when their mother called them inside.

12. She ______________ (already/go) to bed by the time I finished my work.

13. I ______________ (read) the book for an hour when I finally understood the plot.

 Past tenses

Past tenses questions

click on the picture or here

Past simple vs past progressive

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Past progressive

 

A mystery story - Past perfect simple

 The mystery story:

Last night I was walking home next to the river Thames, when something strange happened to me. It was late at night and I’d had a long and difficult day at work. There was a large full moon in the sky and everything was quiet. I was tired and lonely and I’d just had a few pints of beer in my local pub, so I decided to stop by the riverside and look at the moon for a while. I sat on some steps very close to the water’s edge and looked up at the big yellow moon and wondered if it really was made of cheese. I felt very tired so I closed my eyes and after a few minutes, I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the moon had moved behind a cloud and it was very dark and cold. The wind was blowing and an owl hooted in a tree above me. I rubbed my eyes and started to get up, when suddenly I heard a splash. I looked down at the water and saw something. Something terrible and frightening, and unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Something was coming out of the water and moving towards me. Something green and strange and ugly. It was a long green arm and it was stretching out from the water to grab my leg. I was so scared that I couldn’t move. I’d never been so scared in my whole life. The cold green hand was moving closer and closer when suddenly there was a blue flash and a strange noise from behind me. Someone jumped onto the stairs next to me. He was wearing strange clothes and he had a crazy look in his eyes. He shouted “Get Back!” and pointed something at the monster in the water. There was a bright flash and the monster hissed and disappeared.

I looked up at the man. He looked strange, but kind. “Don’t fall asleep by the river when there’s a full moon”, he said “The Moon Goblins will get you.” I’d never heard of moon goblins before. I didn’t know what to do. “Who… who are you?” I asked him. “You can call me… The Doctor.” He said. I was trying to think of something else to say when he turned around and said, “Watch the stars at night, and be careful of the full moon”. I was trying to understand what he meant, when there was another blue flash and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, he had gone.

I couldn’t believe what had happened. What on earth were Moon Goblins, and who was the mysterious Doctor? And why had he saved me? I was determined to find the answers to these strange questions. I stood up, looked at the moon and quickly walked home.

 

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