II. Vocabulary and grammar practice.

1. Complete the sentence with the past simple or past continuous form of the verb in brackets. Alexander the Great

1. While he (grow up) ........., the philosopher Aristotle was his teacher. Alexander (become) ......... interested in science, medicine, philosophy and literature.

2. While his father Philip (attend) .........his daughter’s wedding, a young nobleman (murder) ......... him. Alexander was king of Macedonia at the age of 20.

3. While he (fight) ......... his enemies in the north, the Greeks in the south (start) ......... a rebellion. He (destroy) ......... all their cities.

4. He (lead) ......... his army against the Persian Empire through what is now Turkey. While he (stay) ......... in the ancient city of Gordium, he (undo) ......... the Gordian knot. A legend said that only a future king of Asia could do this.

5. While his army (march) ......... through Persia, it (defeat) ......... Darius, the king of Persia.

6. He (found) ......... the city of Alexandria at the mouth of the Nile while he (visit) ......... Egypt.

7. While he (travel) .........with the army, he (give) ......... his name to many other towns.

8. He (kill) .........his friend Clitus in a quarrel, while they (have) ......... dinner.

9. While he (attack) ......... the city of Mali in India, he (receive) ......... a serious wound from an arrow.

10. While he (attend) ......... a banquet in Babylon in 323 BC, he (fall) ......... ill and (die).

2. Read the following information about famous moments in history. Then choose the correct form. Only one verb in each paragraph is past perfect.

A) Columbus left Spain in August 1492 with three ships, to try and find a way to India by sailing west instead of east. When his ships a) finally reached / had reached land on 12 October, he thought he was there, but the ships b) arrived / had actually arrived in America instead.

B) Captain Robert Scott wanted to reach the South Pole first. He and his companions finally arrived there on 1 January 1912 after a terrible journey across the ice, but c) found / had found a Norwegian flag. Unfortunately for Scott, Roald Amundsen d) got / had got there on 14 December, 18 days earlier.

C) Leonardo painted his famous The Last Supper between 1495 and 1498, but the painting started to deteriorate within 50 years. The most common explanation for this used to be that Leonardo e) used / had used the wrong kind of paint, but experts have always disagreed about this, and many believe that the damp in the wall is the cause of the damage. Between 1978 and 1999, experts f) restored / had restored the painting, and the public can now see it again.

3. Choose the correct form, a, b or c, to complete the sentence.

On 26 December 2004, Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old British schoolgirl, a) ......... on the beach with her family. They b) ......... Christmas in Thailand. Suddenly Tilly c) ......... that something was wrong. She could see that the water d) ......... and waves e) ........ up the beach. The beach f) ......... smaller and smaller. She g) ......... that there had been an earthquake in Sumatra that morning, but she h) ......... a geography lesson she i) ........ at school just two weeks before. So she j) ......... her mother what she k) ......... about earthquakes and giant waves. Luckily for the Smith family, Tilly’s teacher Andrew Kearney l) ......... the class about earthquakes and m) ......... them a video of a tsunami in Hawaii. Tilly n) ......... screaming at her parents to get off the beach. They o) ......... Tilly back to their hotel, which was not too close to the shore, and p) ......... the alarm. One of the staff, who was Japanese, q) ......... the word tsunami, and r) ......... everyone to leave the beach. From their room on the third floor, the Smiths s) ......... the terrible effects of the tsunami on the area. Thanks to Tilly, everybody from that beach t) ......... that terrible day.

1. A walked B had walked C was walking

2. A spent B had spent C were spending

3. A felt B had felt C was feeling

4. A rose B had risen C was rising

5. A came B had come C were coming

6. A got B had got C was getting

7. A did not know B had not known C was not knowing

8. A suddenly remembered B had remembered suddenly C was suddenly remembering

9. A had B had had C was having

10. A told B had told C was telling

11. A learnt B had learnt C was learning

12. A taught B had taught C was teaching

13. A showed B had shown C was showing

14. A started B had started C was starting

15. A took B had taken C were taking

16. A raised B had raised C were raising

17. A understood B had understood C was understanding

18. A ordered B had ordered C was ordering

19. A watched B had watched C were watching

20. A survived B had survived C was surviving