UNIT 13 

 

Grammar:     Texts:

1. The Future Continuous Tense 2. The Future Perfect Tense 3. Modal Verbs can, could 1. «When the Tornado Hits» 2. «Hannah Jones Gazes into the Future of Futurology» 3. «To the OldCastle»  Dialogue

 

Text One

 

«When the Tornado Hits»

 

A tornado is about to strike this family’s farm. It’s moving quickly towards them, but luckily they’ve already seen it coming. The mother has wrapped the baby in a blanket; the father has called all the children. The family is rushing into the storm cellar, where they’ll be safe under the ground.

When the tornado hits, they’ll be sitting in the storm cellar. They’ll be hiding in the safest part of the cellar. The mother will still be holding the baby, but the animals will probably be running around, making noise.

Each person will be listening to the sounds of the storm. They’ll all be thinking about the farm and asking themselves questions about it:

«What will the farm look like when we come out of the storm cellar?»

«Will the house still be standing?»

«Will the barn still be standing?»

«Will all the animals be alive?»

Will it be raining very hard?»

 

Text Two

 

«Hannah Jones Gazes into the Future of Futurology»

 

I confess I am obsessed with the future – and I am not the only one. Over the centuries, people have used the stars, cards, crystal balls and even tea-leaves to look into the future. I still read my horoscope every day.

This weekend, hundreds of futurologists are meeting at NewcastleUniversity. The conference starts on Thursday and the experts will be discussing the impact of technology on the future. The future is now big business. I logged on to the websites of some professional futurologists and found these predictions:

• The technology already exists, so very soon all of us are going to use our voices to give instructions to computers.
• In the next few years, we will be communicating with our friends around the world using life-sized video images on large screens in our living rooms.
• By the year 2020, computers will already have become more efficient and powerful than the human brain both in terms of intelligence and the amount of information they can store.
• By the year 2030, genetic engineering and nanotechnology will enable us to live for at least 150 years. Using nanotechnology, tiny, insect-like robots may be sent around our bodies to carry out repairs and keep us healthy.
• By the middle of the century, computers, millions of times smarter than us, will have been developed. By this time, we will be linking our brains with ‘ultra-smart’ computers. A new species might have developed – ‘Homo Cyberneticus’.
• By the end of the century, we will have colonised our solar system and will be looking for ways to colonise deep space.

Much more interesting than horoscopes, I am sure you will agree! I’ve decided I’m going to give up astrology and take up futurology – I’ll be there in Newcastle this weekend. At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, I’ll be sitting in the front row and listening to the great Duke Willard talking about the future of my brain. If you can’t beat the future, join it!

 

Text Three

 

«To the OldCastle» 

 

Mr Miller: I’ll take you as far as Dc Donald’s farm. From there you can climb up to the castle.

Nancy: How do we come home again?

Peter: Oh, there’s a bus-stop near the farm.

Mr Miller: All right then, you’ll come home by bus. But not too late!

Harold: Is that McDonald’s farm?

Peter: Yes, that’s it.

Mr Miller: Be careful, eh? It’s a lonely place.

Harold: Aye, aye, sir.

Nancy: Good-bye, Father. Thanks for the lift.

Harold, Peter: Bye! Bye!

Nancy: There’s the farm.

Harold: Well, this is the real country.

Peter: Yes, cows, horses, sheep and pigs.

Nancy: And a lot of fowls. What a smell!

Harold: Yes.

Peter: There’s the farmer’s wife. Good afternoon, Mrs McDonald.

Mrs McDonald: Good afternoon, youngsters.

Nancy: How are you today?

Mrs McDonald: Well, I mustn’t grumble. The weather is all right. Where are you going?

Harold: To the old castle. We hope to catch a ghost.

Mrs McDonald: Good gracious! That’s no joking matter.

Nancy: Oh, he always makes jokes, Mrs McDonald.

Harold: Good-bye.

Mrs McDonald: And mind how you go. It’s very dangerous in the castle.

Peter: All right.

Nancy: We must go that way. To the left.

Peter: There’s a story about this castle.

Harold: Really? What’s the story?

Peter: Well, many years ago some people tried to burn down the castle. But the old servant saved the castle by ringing the bells.

Harold: Jolly good!

Peter: But he died shortly after.

Harold: Oh, bad luck. How?

Peter: The shock was too much.

Harold: And what’s the end of the story?

Peter: Well, the ghost of the old servant still rings the bells of the old castle at midnight.

Nancy: Oh, stop it, Peter. Let’s talk about something else, please.

Peter: There’s the castle. Do you see it?

Harold: I say...it’s old enough. There are only the walls and some big stones.

Peter: Yes, but under these walls are large cellars.

Nancy: How do you know?

Peter: I was looking at them last week. Come on. This way.

Nancy: Oh, I’m getting tired.

Harold: Let me help you. I’ll give you a hand to the top. Ready? ‘oops.

Nancy: Phew. We’ve made it!

Peter: Look, there’s the sea. There’s a little boat in the distance.

Harold: Yes, it’s a fishing boat, I think.

Peter: Let’s go into the castle now.

Harold: How can we get into the castle? There’s no door.

Peter: There’s a hole in the wall here. It’s easy to get through.

Harold: Have you got your electric torch, Peter?

Peter: Yes, here it is.

Harold: Shall I go first? And you come next, Nancy.

Nancy: No, I’ll stay here and wait for you.

Harold: Don’t be silly, come on. We stay together.

 

Notes. Forms and Patterns.

 

1. The Future Continuous Tense

 

We can use shall instead of will with I and we. But in everyday speech we normally use the contractions I’ll and we’ll. 

(b) Meaning. We use the Future Continuous Tense:

(i) to say that something will be going on at a certain time in the future.

e.g.	I’ll be having dinner at 7.00. This time tomorrow I’ll be skiing.

(ii) for planned or expected future events.

e.g.	Professor Asher will be giving another lecture at the same time next week.

(с) Time expressions used with the Future Continuous:

this time next year

at 7 tomorrow

from 5 till 7 tomorrow  etc.

 

(d) Types of questions.

He’ll be having his dinner this time tomorrow.

1. Will he be having his dinner this time tomorrow? 2. Will he be having his dinner or his brunch this time tomorrow? 3. What will he be doing this time tomorrow? 4. He’ll be having his dinner this time tomorrow, won’t he? 5. Who will be having dinner this time tomorrow?

 

1. The Future Perfect Tense

(b) Meaning. We use the Future Perfect Tense to say that something will have been completed by a certain time in the future.

e.g.	I’ll have finished breakfast by 9.00.

 

(с) Time expressions used with the Future Perfect: 

before

by

by then

by the time    etc.

(d) Types of questions.

The builder will have finished the roof by Saturday.

1. Will the builder have finished the roof by Saturday? 2. Will the builder have finished the roof by Saturday or by Sunday? 3. By when will the builder have finished the roof? 4. The builder will have finished the roof by Saturday, won’t he? 5. Who will have finished the roof by Saturday?

 

3. Modal verbs can, could.

(a) Forms

(b) Meaning.  We use can/could to express

(i) ability: (ii) possibility: (iii) permission: (iv) polite request: (v) negative deduction:

e.g. Tim can speak English well. e.g. John can be very amazing e.g. You can go now. e.g. Can (could) you change a pound note for me, please? e.g. You can’t be hungry now! You have just had breakfast!

 

(с) Types of questions.

He can swim like a fish.

1. Can he swim like a fish? 2. How well can he swim? 3. He can swim like a fish, can’t he? 4. Who can swim like a fish?

 

Drills

 

Drill 1. Don’t call for me at six. (have a bath).

• Don’t call for me at six. I’ll be having a bath.

1. Don’t ring them up at seven in the morning.  (sleep)

2. Don’t send us any letters in June.  (travel)

3. Don’t call on us tonight.  (pack)

4. Don’t come to see her after lunch.  (type)

5. Don’t leave the child alone.  (cry)

6. Don’t tell Granny about it  (grumble)

7. Don’t expect him to come next Saturday.  (work)

8. Don’t wait for Maggie tomorrow.  (keep to her room)

 

Drill 2. What will you be doing tomorrow afternoon?  (drive to the seaside)

• I’ll be driving to the seaside.

1. What will she be doing on Sunday?   (make a dress)

2. What will you be doing at this time next week?  (bathe in the Black Sea)

3. What will grandfather be doing when we arrive?  (work in the garden)

4. What will he be doing at the University for five years?  (study chemistry)

5. What will they be doing at this time tomorrow?  (fly to New York)

6. What will she be doing at the concert tomorrow?  (sing folk songs)

7. What will he be doing at this time the day after tomorrow?  (meet a foreign delegation)

8. What will she be doing next term?  (lecture at the University)

 

Drill 3. Are you going to visit him tomorrow?

• Will you be visiting him tomorrow?

1. When are you going to have lunch?

2. Are you going to visit the Hermitage this week?

3. How long are they going to stay here?

4. When is he going to arrive?

5. Are you going to use this book for your report?

6. Where is he going to spend his holidays?

7. When are your parents going to return?

8. Is she going to stay to tea?

9. Are you going to watch the show tonight?

10. Is he going to do the shopping tomorrow?

 

Drill 4. Can she play the guitar?

• Yes, she can.
• No, she can’t.

1. Can they lift a car?
2. Can he clean the house?
3. Can you walk on your knees?
4. Can he speak Japanese?
5. Can he wash the floor?
6. Can she paint a door?
7. Can I clean the house?
8. Can I drive a car?
9. Can you climb a tree?
10. Can she swim across the sea?
11. Can you catch a mouse?
12. Can they drive a bus?
13. Can he sing a song?
14. Can she play the drums? 

 

Drill 5. see

• Can you see it? - Yes, it is easy to see.

1. hear 2. read

3. eat 4. understand

5. believe 6. find

7. do

 

Drill 6. borrow the camera

• You can borrow my camera if you want to. 

1. use my phone 2. take photographs 3. ride a horse 4. use a sewing machine

5. drive my car 6. use a pocket calculator 7. borrow a bike

 

Drill 7. I can’t go.

• If you can’t go, I won’t go either. 

1. I can’t remember. 2. I can’t tell. 3. I can’t believe. 4. I can’t understand. 5. I can’t study.

6. I can’t write. 7. I can’t eat. 8. I can’t speak. 9. I can’t play. 10. I can’t run.

 

Drill 8. you - do

• Can you do it today? - No, but I could do it tomorrow. 

1. he - hide 2. they - keep 3. she - make 4. I - reach

5. she - sing 6. she - wear 7. you - promise 8. he - decide

 

Drill 9. How well can you do these things?

Very well?  Quite well?  A bit?  Not at all?

• I can swim quite well.
• I can’t speak French at all.

1. play football 2. drive a car 3. take photographs 4. play table tennis 5. use a sewing machine 6. use a pocket calculator 7. ride a bicycle 8. play the guitar 9. speak Japanese

10. ride a horse 11. sail a boat 12. understand sign language 13. type 14. cook 15. dive 16. dance 17. paint 18. act

 

Drill 10. We can see the sea from our bedroom window.

• We could see the sea from our bedroom window.

1. Tom can drive. 2. She can understand English. 3. I can express my thoughts in English. 4. We can spell these words.

5. He can speak Spanish. 6. They can swim very fast. 7. Tom can play tennis. 8. He can speak English fluently.

 

Drill 11. Speak Russian - speak English

• I could speak Russian when I was 4, but I couldn’t speak English until I was 16. 

1. walk - talk 2. count to ten - do geometry 3. say the alphabet - read 4. write your name - write a letter

5. swim - dive 6. play football - play chess 7. boil an egg - cook a meal 8. ride a bicycle - drive

 

Vocabulary and Comprehension Exercises

 

Exercise 1.  (Text 1)  Answer each question with a complete sentence. 

1. How soon will the tornado strike the farm?

2. Will the family have time to reach safety?

3. Where will they go?

4. What preparations have they made?

5. What will they be doing when the tornado hits?

6. What will they be thinking about?

 

Exercise 2. (Text 2)  Find the answers in the text. 

1. What for have people used the stars, cards, crystall balls and even tea-leaves over the centuries?
2. Where are hundrends of futurologists meeting this weekend?
3. What will the experts be discussing at the conference?
4. How will we be communicating with our friends around the world in the next few years?
5. Will computers have become more efficient and powerful than the human brain by the year 2020?
6. What computers will have been developed by the middle of the century?
7. What will we have colonised by the end of the century?
8. Where will Hannah Jones be sitting at nine o’clock on Saturday morning?

 

Exercise 3. (Text 3.  Dialogue)  Answer the questions. 

1. Where will Mr Miller take the young men?

2. How will they come home again?

3. What animals are there on the farm?

4. Whom did the young people meet on the farm?

5. Who always makes jokes?

6. What story does Peter tell about the castle?

7. What’s the end of the story?

8. What are there under the walls of the old castle?

 

Exercise 4. Dictation-translation.

A.	1. Торнадо движется быстро по направлению к ферме. 2. Мама завернула малыша в одеяло; отец созвал всех детей. 3. Когда ударит торнадо, вся семья будет находится в штормовом подвале. 4. Все будут вслушиваться в звуки урагана. 5. Они все будут думать о своей ферме.
B.	1. В течение нескольких лет будет наблюдаться значительное увеличение больных раком кожи. 2. Проблема истощения  озонового слоя является очень серьезной. 3. Озон - это бесцветный газ в стратосфере. 4. Он блокирует самое опасное ультрафиолетовое излучение солнца. 5. Некоторые ученые считают, что к 2050 году количество озона уменьшится на 50%. 6. К 2100 году загар станет менее модным. 7. К 2100 году люди поймут, что находится на солнце в течение многих часов - слишком опасно.
C.	1. Я довезу вас до фермы Макдональдов. 2. Оттуда вы подниметесь вверх к замку. 3. Вы вернетесь домой на автобусе. 4. Спасибо, что подвезли. 5. Это настоящая деревня: коровы, лошади, овцы, свиньи, куры. 6. Как вы поживаете, - Я не должна жаловаться, погода хорошая. 7. Мы идем в старый замок. Надеемся поймать приведение. 8. О, господи. Это не шуточное дело. 9. Он всегда шутит. 10. В замке очень опасно. 11. Старый слуга спас замок, звоня в колокола. 12. Не повезло. 13. Давайте поговорим о чем-нибудь другом. 14. Послушай, а он старинный. 15. Как мы можем попасть в замок?

 

Grammar Exercises

 

Exercise 1. Put the following sentences into the Future Continuous tense.

e.g. He’s travelling. (all night)

• He will be travelling all night. 

1. What are you doing?   (in ten years’ time)

2. He is sleeping.   (at four o’clock)

3. She is doing her homework.   (after supper)

4. It’s raining.   (when you come back)

5. I’m still mending the chair.   (at seven o’clock)

6. She is talking.   (for at least another three hours)

7. I’m waiting for you.   (at the usual time)

8. We’re listening to you.   (at the concert)

9. She’s making tea.   (about then)

10. I’m doing the washing.   (tomorrow morning)

11. They’re studying English.   (from 6 till 8)

12. He’s writing to her.   (at tea-time)

13. You’re swimming in the sea.   (this time next week)

14. We’re working very hard.   (in the autumn)

 

Exercise 2. Restate the following, using the Future Continuous tense.

e.g. They’re going to do it again later.

• They will be doing it again later. 

1. The leaves are going to fall soon.

2. She says she is going to do the washing tomorrow.

3. I’m going to have tea in town.

4. He’s going to meet us at the station.

5. Are you going to town again this week?

6. We’re going to have coffee after dinner as usual.

7. He is going to lecture on the seventeenth-century poets next.

 

Exercise 3. Put questions to the following statements. 

A.	1. They’ll be sitting in the storm cellar, when the tornado hits. 2. He’ll be working nights next week. 3. She’ll be spending the summer in Europe. 4. They’ll be staying with us for a couple of weeks.
B.	1. By the year 2100 people will have changed their sunbathing habits. 2. By this time next week you will have met my friend Harold. 3. I shall have read seven of Shaw’s plays by the end of the year. 4. In another two years, she will have left school. 5. If they start school at four, most children will have learned to read and write by the age of six. 6. By the time we get to Birmingham we will have driven over two hundred miles.

 

Exercise 4. Read the paragraph and write sentences about what Christopher Austin will be doing at these times tomorrow.

Christopher Austin gets up at six o’clock every day. He has a quick shower and then goes out training at six thirty. He usually runs for about an hour and then goes back home, has another shower and then has his breakfast. By nine he’s at the office ready to begin work. Lunch is from one till two and he often has a sandwich and a beer in the pub. He finishes work at five thirty and stops at the supermaket to do some shopping on his way home. If it’s a pleasant evening he may go for a walk after supper but he doesn’t like getting to bed late, as he has an early start the next day.

e.g.:	6.15 a.m.	Christopher Austin will be running at 6.15 a.m.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.	7.00 a.m. 8.00 a.m. 10.30 a.m. 1.30 p.m. 6.00 p.m. 8.30 p.m. 11.00 p.m.

 

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into the Future Perfect tense..

e.g. By the time you receive this letter, I (be) in Japan for two weeks.

• By the time you receive this letter, I will have been in Japan for two weeks.

1. I think I’ll still be here at this time next year but my brother (go) to the States.

2. It’s already late: the train (leave) by the time we get to the station.

3. By the time you get back I (finish) painting the room.

4. They have another month to spend in Greece. By the time they leave they (visit) all the important monuments.

5. By the end of the year she (sit) for all her exams.

6. If she continues to lose weight at the same rate she (lose) twenty kilos by the end of the month.

7. I (finish) this book by tomorrow.

8. The police (start) their inquiries by Friday.

9. When she comes back a lot of things (change) in the town.

10. They (be) married for thirty years by May.

11. Before his next visit here he (return) from a world tour.

12. By next month he (sell) all his furniture.

13. The horse race (start) before we even leave home.

14. I hope it (stop) raining by five o’clock.

 

Exercise 6. Look at the table and write how much these people will have saved. 

 

Terry Janet Ted Maria Barry Jeff Helen Celia Betty John

£ 50 a month £ 8 a week £ 65 a month £ 100 a month    spends everything £ 6 a week £ 70 a month     doesn’t save £ 10 a week     spends everything

 

e.g. How much will Terry have saved in 2 months’ time?

• Terry will have saved £ 100 in 2 months’ time. 

1. Terry,  in 3 months’ time? 2. Janet,  in 6 weeks’ time? 3. Ted,  in 4 months’ time? 4. Maria,  in 6 months’ time? 5. Barry,  in a month’s time?

6. Jeff,  in 10 weeks’ time? 7. Helen, in 3 months’ time? 8. Celia,  in a month’s time? 9. Betty,  in 10 weeks’ time? 10. John,  in 10 weeks’ time?

11. How much will you have saved six months from now?

 

Exercise 7. Finish the sentences about your future. Make predictions about your education, work, family, life, etc.

e.g. By four o’clock this afternoon I’ll have finished my homework. 

1. By four o’clock this afternoon ... 2. By twelve o’clock tonight ... 3. In a week’s time ... 4. In six months’ time ...

5. In a year’s time ... 6. In five years’ time ... 7. By the time I’m 30 years old ... 8. By the year 2030 ...

 

Exercise 8. Put questions to the following statements. 

1. I can smell gas. 2. He could see a few stars in the sky. 3. She can count to twenty in Spanish.

4. They can understand sign language. 5. He can sail a boat. 6. They could play chess.

 

Exercise 9. Write the following in the form of a polite request using can. Make changes if necessary.

e.g. I should like to close the window. It is cold in the room.

• Can I close the window? It is cold in the room. 

1. Let me do what I want to.

2. They wish to spend the day on the sea-shore.

3. You must let us stay here.

4. I shall come tomorrow.

5. Is swimming allowed here?

6. She wants to telephone you tomorrow.

7. Will you allow me to ask a question, please?

 

Exercise 10. Say the following using the given time-expressions, first for the future and then for the past.

e.g. You can drive when you are 17/ after you got your licence.

• You can drive when you are 17.
• You could drive after you got your licence. 

1. He can leave it here.    for an hour/  wherever he wanted to.

2. He can play chess.     this afternoon/  when he was young.

3. We can do this exercise.    next week/  last week.

4. She can cook very well.    with more practice/  when I knew her.

5. She can make her own dresses.    in a few years’ time/ before she got married.

6. She can read easily.   with her new glasses/ before her eye trouble.

7. I can go swimming.   when it is warmer/ whenever I liked.

8. She can play the piano.   when her arm is better/ a few years ago.

9. John can stay up late.    tonight/ even when he was a small boy.

10. We can speak English.  soon/ when we were in London.    

 

Exercise 11. Change the following sentences into the opposite by using a) can and b) may.

e.g. You mustn’t sleep here.

• You can sleep here.
• You may sleep here. 

1. Visitors are not admitted here on Sundays.

2. You mustn’t give him any advice.

3. Anne ought not to help him.

4. You shouldn’t lose your temper.

5. You can’t telephone from here.

6. Don’t get rid of that car.

7. You can’t drink coffee late at night.

8. You mustn’t throw stones on the lawn.

 

Exercise 12. Rewrite the underlined sentences using can’t.

e.g. She looks so young. I’m sure she’s not thirty yet.

• She can’t be thirty yet. 

1. It’s still quite early. I’m sure it’s not ten o’clock. .....

2. She doesn’t look at all like Mary. I’m sure she isn’t her sister. .....

3. He’s been very ill lately. He’s probably not very well even now. .....

4. There’s no answer. They’re probably not in. .....

5. If you live near Coventry, you aren’t very far from Birmingham. .....

6. He looks very ill. I’m sure he’s not feeling very well. .....

 

Exercise 13. Complete the sentences using can or could and the verbs in the box. Use each verb only once.

Grow       be        make         reach        live        survive         cross

1. Tigers ______ dangerous.

2. Elephants ______ for up to 70 years.

3. Temperatures near the South Pole ______ minus 43 degrees centigrade.

4. A hundred years ago ships ______ the Atlantic in 10 days.

5. Camels ______ for up to 17 weeks in the desert without water.

6. Dinosaurs ______ up to 5 metres long.

7. Anyone ______ mistakes.

 

Exercise 14. Translate from Russian into English. 

1. Не оставляй ребенка одного. Он будет плакать. 2. Не говори бабушке об этом. Она будет ворчать. 3. Не звони им в 7 утра. Они будут спать. 4. Что вы будете делать в это время на следующей неделе? - Мы будем купаться в Черном море. 5. Что она будет делать завтра на концерте? - Она будет петь народные песни. 6. Вы можете взять мой фотоаппарат, если хотите. 7. Он мог бегло говорить по-английски. 8. Мы можем видеть море из окна нашей спальни. 9. Когда мне было 5 лет, я умел кататься на велосипеде. 10. Когда мне было 4 года, я умел считать до десяти.