UNIT 7.

ACTIVITIES
A Company History: The Growth of a Family Business

Grammar

7.1. Past Simple

Complete the sentences with the past forms of verbs from below; the
verbs can be regular or irregular.
build have launch found research retire make
become
1. We __________ an advertising campaign to sell our new product.
2. My grandfather __________ when he was 67.
3. She studied biology and __________ a famous scientist.
4. The government __________ three new motorways last year.
5. The scientists __________ the cause of the contamination around the
factory.
6. When he was a child, my father _____ a pet dog.
7. My mother _____ a delicious cake.
8. She _____ her own company when she was only 25.

7.2. Past Simple: Positive, Negative and Questions

Write complete sentences from the prompts below. Put the verbs in the
past simple.
1. Allan / drive / Manchester / for / interview.
2. He / not / take / train.
3. he / get / job?
4. Gita / feel / ill / yesterday.
5. She / not go/ office.
6. she / see / doctor?
7. Gustavo / write / Hattie / email/ after / meeting / London.
8. He / not / phone / her.
9. he / get / reply?

7.3. Past Simple / Past Continuous

A. Match sentences (1 – 6) to the correct endings (A – F).
1. My brother (not hear) the A. because she (talk) on her
bell mobile phone.
2. The telephone (ring) B. when he (get) a virus.

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3. She (crash) her car C. when I (meet) my boyfriend.
4. She (run) in the park D. when she (fall) and (break)
her leg.
5. My father (work) on his
computer E. because he (listen) to
music.
6. I (study) a secretarial
course F. when he (have) a shower.

B. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form: Past Simple or Past
Continuous.

Vocabulary

7.4. Irregular Verbs

A. Complete the past tense of these irregular verbs with the correct
vowels.
1. teach t - - ght
2. buy b - - ght
3. write wr – t -
4. think th - - ght
5. break br – k -
6. can c - - ld
7. read r - - d
8. fly fl – w

B. Complete the sentences with verbs from A.

1. Who _______ you to play the piano?
2. We _______ to London for business.
3. He _______ his leg playing rugby.
4. _______ you read when you were 5?
5. I _______ three reports yesterday.
6. They _______ some new equipment for the factory.

7.5. Adjectives of Personality

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A. Put the letters in order and make adjectives.
1. sbierpelnos
2. mediteernd
3. gronst
4. rongusee
5. vestisine
6. gacirn

B. Complete the sentences with adjectives from A.

1. He’s a very ________ employee; he’s never late and he always
finishes his work on time.
2. My best friend is very ________; she always cries when she watches a
sad film.
3. Nurses need to be ________ people.
4. My brother is very ________; when he wants something he works very
hard to get it.
5. My father always carries the shopping bags because he’s really
________.
6. My uncle is really ________; he always buys me wonderful birthday
presents.

7.6. Vocabulary in Context

Write the correct words for the definitions; the first letter of the
word and the number of letters are given.
1. In London, the underground is called the T - - -.
2. When you have arranged to meet someone at a particular time and
place, you have an a - - - - - - - - - - with them.
3. You use this book to write down the things you have to do every day:
d - - - -.
4. This verb is a synonym of produce: m - - - - - - - - - -.
5. How do you call a combination of a pair of trousers and a jacket? s
- - -.
6. A period of economic growth and prosperity is a b - - -.
7. The person who creates a company is the f - - - - - -.
8. A person who likes rules and discipline is s - - - - -.
9. When you are present at a conference, you a - - - - - the
conference.
10. This verb is a synonym of have: p - - - - - -.

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Writing

7.7. Career Histories

A. Complete the career history with the correct form of the verbs in
brackets: present simple /continuous, or past simple / continuous.

I ________ (be born) in Seoul, South Korea, in 1970. My father ________

(work) as a software engineer and my mother was a housewife. When I
________ (be) 14, my father’s company ________ (send) him to the United
States and we all moved to Boston.
I finished high school in Boston and then ________ (go) to university.
I ________ (do) a degree in Computer Science and I graduated in 1990. I
________ (meet) my wife while I ________ (study) at university; she was
doing a degree in Korean and Chinese. We ________ (get) married after
our graduation and ________ (have) a baby one year later.
During the day, I worked for a software company and my wife ________
(look after) the baby. I ________ (earn) enough money, but we weren’t
happy; we wanted to set up our own company. Every night, we ________
(spend) hours brainstorming different business ideas.
In the end, in 2003, we decided to move to China where we ________
(found) CFA – that is the abbreviation of Computers For All – a company
that manufactures cheap computers for everybody. Soon, we ________
(export) computers to developing countries all over the world.
At the moment, we ________ (develop) some new programs for schools in
Africa and South America. I manage the technical side of the business,
while my wife ________ (take care) of Marketing and Public Relations.
We make a very good team!

B.
Now write a similar career history; write about someone you know, or
about a famous business person. Use the text in 7 and the headings
below as your model.

Career History of ….
1. Birth and Childhood

2. Education

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3/4 Career and Family Life

5. Current Projects

Translation

7.8. English into Spanish

A. Translate the words into Spanish.
1. unemployment (n) 5. set up (v)
2. sensible (adj) 6. retire (v)
3. poverty (n) 7. affordable (adj)
4. supply (n) 8. hire (v)

B. Translate the sentences into Spanish.

1. He worked hard and saved all his money
2. The factory manufactured cheap textiles for working people.
3. In the 1930s there was a global economic recession.
4. My father always wore a suit when he was in the office.
5. When was your grandmother born?
6. My boss is very demanding.

7.9. Spanish into English

A. Translate the words into English.
1. invertir (v) 5. lanzar (v)
2. buscar (v) 6. mandón (adj)
3. investigar (v) 7. promover (v)
4. sucursal (n) 8. taller (n)

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B. Translate the sentences into English.
1. Mi abuelo era soldado en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
2. Mi madre es muy trabajadora.
3. Thomas Jones fundó su empresa en 1976.
4. Encontré mi paraguas en el garaje.
5. Construyeron tres fábricas en el extranjero.
6. Mi tío es empresario y gana mucho dinero.

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