Письменное задание (упражнения)

1. Fill in with Present Simple or Continuous.

1. A: I am seeing (see) an old friend tonight.

B: I (see) – so you won’t be able to meet me after work, will you?

2. A: Why (you/smell) the milk?

B: It (smell) a bit strange. I think it might have gone off.

3. A: (you/enjoy) reading Jane Austin’s novels?

B: Not usually, but I (enjoy) this particular one.

4. A: Why (John/be) so bad-tempered today?

B: I don’t know. He (be) usually so easy to get on with.

5. A: Carol and I (think) of getting married.

B: (you/think) that’s a good idea? You haven’t known each other for very long.

6. A: (you/have) the phone number of a good business consultant?

B: Why? (you/have) problems at work?

7. A: (the singer/appear) tonight?

B: Unfortunately not. She (appear) to have lost her voice.

8. A: Why (you/taste) the baby’s drink?

B: It (taste) a little bitter. I think I’ll add some more sugar.

9. A: I hear the Fords (look) for a bigger house.

B: Yes, it (look) as if they are going to move.

10. A: How much (the parcel/weigh)?

B: I’m not sure. The assistant (weigh) it at the moment.

2. Underline the right item.

Dear Karen,

(1) I’m having/I have a great time here in England. My university term (2) isn’t starting/doesn’t start until the autumn, so (3) I’m taking/I take the opportunity to improve my English. (4) I’m staying/I stay with some English friends who (5) are owing/own a farm.

On weekdays (6) I’m catching/I catch a bus into Torquay to go to language classes. (7) I’m making/I make good progress, I think. My friends (8) say/are saying my pronunciation is much better than when I arrived, and (9) I’m understanding/I understand almost everything now. At weekends (10) I’m helping/I help on the farm.

At the moment (11) they’re harvesting/they harvest the corn and (12) they’re needing/they need all the help they can get. It’s quite hard work, but (13) I’m liking/I like it. And (14) I’m developing/I develop some strong muscles!

(15) Do you come/Are you coming to visit me at Christmas?

(16) I’m spending/I spend the winter holiday here at the farm. My friends (17) are wanting/want to meet you and there’s plenty of space. But you must bring your warmest clothes. (18) It’s getting/It gets very cold here in the winter.

Let me know as soon as (19) you’re deciding/you decide. And tell me what (20) you’re doing/you do these days.

Do you miss me?

Love, Paul.

3. Rewrite each sentence, putting the verb in the passive. Remember that the preposition stays with the verb.

ex.: They argued about the incident for a long time.

The incident was argued about for a long time.

1. The old car is in excellent condition. Jerry looks well after it. ____________________________________________________

2. Our customer services department deals with all complaints. ____________________________________________________

3. Someone broke into the flat last week. ____________________________________________________

4. We looked through all the advertisements very attentively. ____________________________________________________

5. We want to send the sick man to hospital. They will look after him much better there. ____________________________________________________

6. People will talk much about the successful debut of the young actress, no doubt. ____________________________________________________

7. They spoke to the managing director on the subject.

4. Complete the paragraph. Put the verbs in the brackets in the correct tense-form in the passive voice.

The building at the top of the High Street is Barford Hall. It (1) ____________ (build) in 1827 and today it (2) ______________(regard) as the finest Georgian building in the county. A number of alterations (3) ________________ (make) since it (4)______________ (build), but the front of the building (5) _________________ (change). Today the Hall (6) _________________ (own) by Bardale Council, and for the last ten years it (7) _____________ ______________(use) as a home for Barford Arts Centre. At the moment a small art gallery (8) _______________ (build) behind the Hall.

5. A press conference is being held. Put in the correct form of the underlined verbs.

Reporter: Can this new drug prolong human life?

Professor: Yes, we believe that human life ______________ by this drug.

Reporter: Are you going to do any more tests on the drug?

Professor: Yes, further tests ________________.

Reporter: What __________ the drug ________________?

Professor: It will be called Bio-Meg. Reporter: Can people use the drug now?

Professor: No, the drug ________________ yet.

Reporter: Who will produce the drug?

Professor: It _______________ by the Bentrix drug company.

Reporter: Do you think they should sell it to anyone freely?

Professor: No, I think it ________ only _____________ by prescription.

Reporter: And what quantity could Bentrix produce?

Professor: We believe the drug ________________ in large quantities.

6. Give the correct passive form of the verbs in the brackets.

The world’s first electronic computer (1) ________________ (build) at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, although computer-like machines (2) _____________ (invent) much earlier.

Computers (3) ______________ (sell) commercially for the first time in the 1950s, and a lot of progress (4) _______________ (make) since then. Computers are now much smaller and more powerful and they can (5) _____________ (buy) much more cheaply.

Computers (6) _______________ (apply) in many fields – in business, science, medicine and education, for example. They can (7) ______________ (use) to forecast the weather or control robots which make cars. The computer’s memory is the place where information (8) ______________ (keep) and calculations (9) ______________ (do).

A computer cannot think for itself – it must (10) ________________ (tell) what to do. A lot of difficult calculations can (11) _______________ (do) very quickly on a computer.

And computers (12) ______ never ___________ (mistake). Stories (13) ________ sometimes ___________ (hear) about computers paying people too much money or sending them bills for things they didn’t buy. These mistakes (14) ______________ (make) by the programmers – the people who give the computer its

instructions. Some years ago a computer-controlled rocket belonging to the USA went out of control and had to (15) _________________ (destroy). The accident (16) _______________ (cause) by a small mistake in one line of the programme. This mistake cost the USA $18 million.

Criminals have found out that computer crimes are often a lot easier than robbing banks. Hundreds of millions of dollars (17) _____________ (steal) from American businesses every year by people changing the information in computers.

Large numbers of home computers (18) ________________ (sell) recently, especially in the USA and Britain. People know more about computers than they used to, and computers are playing a bigger part in our lives. Progress (19) _________________(make) all the time nowadays.

It (20) _______________ (believe) we can look forward to the day when even our household jobs like cleaning (21) ________________ (do) by computer-controlled robots.

7. Translate the text in the written form.

8. Transfer: tell a story (8 – 10 sentences) about any invention using the passive voice.

9. Make up sentences according to the model.

ex.: Following him is hard. – It’s hard to follow him.

It’s a relief that I see you safe and sound. – It’s a relief to see you safe and sound.

1. Doing this job is very important. 2. Learning English is necessary. 3. Killing people is unforgivable. 4. Riding a bicycle is dangerous. 5. Interrupting people is impolite. 6. Dressing a wound is very painful. 7. Attending your classes is your duty. 8. It’s a pleasure that I can see you again. 9. Watching a comedy is very amusing. 10. Rushing through a book is useless. 11. Going with him to picture galleries was a rare treat. 12. Doing it seemed a proper and natural thing. 13. Taking him seriously would be an absurd thing.