Complete the sentences using the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs.

1- Her car ……………………………. (drive) though a tunnel in Paris when it ………………………….(crash)

2- It ……………………..(sail) across the Atlantic Ocean when it ………………………….(hit) an iceberg.
3- People…………………(dance) in the streets after they………………(hear) he was finally free.
4- While people in the neighboring town of Pripyat……………………(sleep), a nuclear
reactor………………(explode)
5- The crowds………………..(wave) at the president when they………………(hear) the gunfire.
Use the past perfect or past simple once in each sentence.
1- When I …………………..(finish) my guitar lesson, I ………………….(walk) home.
2- We ………………….(have) dinner after I ………………….(arrive) home.
3- i……………..(do) the washing up after We………………….(eat) dinner.
4- I …………………….(do) my homework after I……………………...(speak) to Tina.
5- When I ……………………….(finish) my homework, I ………………..(watch) a film.

1. Read about the people (1 - 4) and the descriptions of the different hotels. Decide and match which hotel would
be most suitable for each person. There are TWO EXTRA ones you don’t need to use.
(2 each 8)
1) Karen likes pop music and dancing in discos and she would like to find a hotel where she can swim every
day. She also wants to learn to dive on this holiday.
2) Tom is a businessman and takes his work on holiday with him. He needs to find a quiet hotel in the country
which has a good restaurant.
3) Maggie would like to relax in her hotel, sunbathing, swimming and reading. She wants to stay somewhere
quiet with a good restaurant.
4) Mike wants to spend his holiday sightseeing in the city. He likes taking photographs of the places he visits
and wants a hotel which can organise trips.

A- The Spring Hotel is a family
hotel with a new swimming pool
in the centre of the city. It is near
all the famous buildings and art
galleries. The hotel arranges
coach tours to other towns.
B- Hotel Crystal is on the edge
of the city with its own gardens
and has 200 rooms, a first-class
restaurant and three swimming
pools. It is ideal for a really
relaxing, quiet holiday in the sun.
C- Grand Hotel is a large hotel
in the centre of the city. It has
evening entertainment including
a disco twice a week. There are
coach trips to the mountains
where visitors can walk and
enjoy the flowers and the birds.
D- The Park Hotel has 300 rooms. It
is in a quiet spot in the country but
there are restaurants in the city
which is about 10 kms away. The
hotel arranges coach tours of the
city for those people who do not
like walking.
E- The Riviera Hotel is a family
hotel in the city with its own
swimming pool and the staff offer
lessons in swimming and diving for
guests. There is a disco every night
in the hotel and it also has two
restaurants.
F- The Hotel Royal is a large hotel
in a village surrounded by
mountains and is very quiet and
peaceful. It has a gym and a good
restaurant. Fax and computer
facilities available.

1) ___________ 2) ___________ 3) ___________ 4) ___________

Madagascar – When to go
Madagascar has two seasons, a warm, wet season from November to April, and a cooler dry season between May and
October. However, different parts of the country have very different weather.
The east coast is hotter and wetter, with up to 4,000 mm of rainfall per year. In the rainy season, there are strong winds,
and these can cause a lot of damage. Avoid visiting eastern Madagascar between January and March because the
weather can make road travel very difficult. The dry season is cooler and more pleasant.
The high, central part of the country is much drier and cooler. About 1,400 mm of rain falls in the rainy season, with
some thunderstorms, but the summer is usually sunny and dry, but it can be cold, especially in the mornings, with
freezing showers, and it may snow in mountain areas above 2,400 m, and even stay there for several days.The west
coast is the driest part of the island. Here, the winter months are pleasant with little rain, cooler temperatures and blue
 skies. The summers can be extremely hot, especially in the southwest. This part of the country is semi-desert, and only
gets around 300 mm of rain per year.

1.. Madagascar has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and

T F
winter.

2.. There is more rain in January than in June. T F

3. The wet season is colder than the dry season. T F

4. It hardly ever rains in central Madagascar. T F

5. The wettest part of the island is the east. T F

6. January-March is a good time to visit eastern Madagascar. T F

7. The centre of Madagascar is the coldest part. T F

8. Snow sometimes falls in Madagascar. T F

9. The west coast has the best weather in December. T F

10. The north-east is hotter than the south-east. T F

One of the most famous crimes in British history, it inspired songs, films and books and it
made two of the robbers, Ronnie Biggs and Buster Edwards, into celebrities. So what
exactly happened?
On 8 August 1963, a train travelling from Scotland to London, carrying £2.6 million* was stopped
by a gang of fifteen men. They forced the driver to take the train to a bridge where a van was
waiting to take the money. The gang attacked and seriously injured the train driver. He was unable
to work again for the rest of his life. After the robbery the gang hid in a farmhouse and celebrated
their success by playing Monopoly** with real money!
Committing the crime, however, was the easy part. The gang found it more difficult to avoid being
arrested and only Buster Edwards managed not to get caught. In 1964, thirteen members of the
gang went on trial, including Ronnie Biggs. Just one of the accused, Roger Cordrey, pleaded guilty.
He regretted taking part in the robbery and returned his share of the money – £80,000. The rest
refused to confess.
When the case came to court, the trial lasted fifty-one days, the prosecution questioned 240
witnesses and the jury were shown over 600 pieces of evidence, including the game of Monopoly
that the gang had used! Eventually, the men were found guilty and were sentenced to between ten
and thirty years in prison. But that wasn't the end of the story: Ronnie Biggs had been sentenced
to thirty years in prison but he was determined not to spend the rest of his life in jail. And Buster
Edwards was still free…
*the equivalent of about £40 million today
**a board game involving large amounts of money

1 The train driver… 4 The person who felt most sorry for his part
a- assisted the robbers. in the robbery was…
b- wasn’t injured. a- Ronnie Biggs.
c- could not work after the robbery. b- Roger Cordrey.
2 Immediately after the robbery, the men… c- Buster Edwards.
a- celebrated by spending a lot of money.
5 After the trial, Ronnie Biggs…
b- played a game.
c- rented a farmhouse. a- was found guilty.
3 Following the robbery, ________ b- was set free.
escaped the arrest. c- was sentenced to ten years in prison.
a- all of the robbers
b- most of the robbers
c- only one of the robbers