UNIT 16 

 

Grammar:   Texts:

1. Passive Voice 2. – Ing and –ed adjectives 1. «The King is Dead: Long Live the King» 2. «An Amazing Crime» 3. «An Appointment in Samarra» 4. «All Aboard»  Dialogue

 

Text One

 

«The King is Dead: Long Live the King»

(Elvis Presley – Story of a Superstar)

 

When Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, radio and television programmes all over the world were interrupted to give the news of his death. President Carter was asked to declare a day of national mourning. Carter said: “Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular culture…He was unique and irreplaceable.” His funeral was attended by eighty thousand people. The streets were jammed with cars, and Elvis Presley movies were shown on television, and his records were played on the radio all day. In the year after his death, 100 million of Presley albums were sold.

Elvis Presley had never dreamt of becoming a singer. He came from a very poor family which moved from the small village of Tupelo in Mississippi   to Memphis in search for employment.

Elvis never had music lessons, but he was surrounded by music from an early age. His parents were very religious, and Elvis regularly sang at church services. He left school in 1953 and got a job of a lorry driver.

In 1953 Elvis paid $4 and recorded two songs as a present for his mother’s birthday. This event, however, did not make him famous. In 1954 he performed a song of a black blues singer That’s All Right, Mama at the Sun Records Studio. That was a real turning point in his life. The record made him popular almost overnight. During the first day the song was broadcast several times on the radio. 20,000 copies were sold. People went crazy about its new and dynamic rhythm.

What was it that made an unknown nineteen-year old boy into a famous star? The answer lay not in his expressive songs but also in his voice. Critics wrote that it was throaty, vibrating, feverish and as thick as syrup. That voice was a real revelation.

After Presley had recorded his second song Good Rockin’ Tonight, he became well-known. Soon he began to give concerts which were attended by crowds of screaming fans. On stage he was like a volcano and had a peculiar power to drive the audience mad. Young people went into ecstasies over his voice, his unique songs and his manners. Many older people found Presley disgusting, perverse and vulgar. The young, however, adored him. Presley involuntarily became a “rebel” who started a cultural and sexual revolution. He gave American youths a sense of identity and encouraged them to be more active and liberated.

In March 1958, Elvis had to join the army. When his hair was cut, thousands of women cried. He spent the next two years in Germany, where he met Priscilla Beaulieu, who became his wife eight years later on May 1, 1967.

When he left the army, he recorded many beautiful and moving ballads. His Blue Christmas won the hearts of all Americans. Since that time they began to call him the “King”. For twenty years Presley was number one on the world list of singers. He sold the highest number of records ever – over 500 million!

In 1972 his wife left him, and they were divorced in October 1973. He died of a heart attack at the age of 42. He had been working too hard and eating and drinking too much for several years. He left all his money to his only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. She became one of the richest people in the world when she was only nine years old.

The cult of Elvis Presley has lasted till today. As someone put it, old rockers never die; they live through their music. Presley’s mansion in Memphis is visited by half a million people every year. They pay tribute to the memory of one of the greatest world-class stars.

Everyone knew Elvis was the king of rock’n’roll. And everyone knows he will always be the king of rock’n’roll. Long live Elvis!

 

Text Three

 

«An Amazing Crime»

 

The Millennium Dome robbers wanted to go down in history as the gang who committed the biggest and most ambitious robbery of the Millennium – and they nearly did.

They never thought the police would  catch  them because they planned the crime and the speedboat getaway very carefully. At their trial, one of the robbers said, ‘It seemed possible at the time. Now it seems like an absolutely crazy James Bond kind of thing to do.’

The attempted diamond robbery at the Millennium Dome in London was an amazing crime. The British government built the Millennium Dome to celebrate the year 2000. One of the most popular exhibitions in the Dome was a fabulous diamond collection worth £350 million which included the magnificent Millennium Star diamond. The gang of five men tried to steal the diamonds. But unfortunately for the robbers, hundreds of police officers dressed as tourists and cleaners were waiting for them in the Dome when they attacked.

The huge police operation organised by Scotland Yard was as amazing as the robbery itself. It was called Operation Magician and over 200 police officers took part in it. The police knew the gang were planning a big crime but they didn’t know exactly what. So they followed the men for many months before the robbery.

One day, they saw one of the gang visiting the Dome with his friends. He filmed the diamond exhibition with a camcorder. The police now knew what the robbers planned to do. Another time, they saw the men sailing a speedboat up and down the Thames. They guessed how the robbers planned to escape and continued to watch them very carefully.

At their trial, the jury found the arrested men guilty of robbery with violence. The two gang leaders, Ray Betson and Bill Cockram, received 18-year prison sentences, and the other members of the gang received 15-year prison sentences.

British people like daring crime stories and the Dome robbers are already famous. A television channel even made a film of the robbery. It seems likely these men will go down in history as the robbers who attempted one of the most daring crimes ever.

 

Text Three

«An Appointment in Samarra»

(Death Speaks)

 

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions. In a little while the servant came back, white and trembling. He said «Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.  She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.

The merchant lent him his horse. And the servant mounted it and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said ‘Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?’ ‘That was not a threatening gesture’, I said, ‘it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.’

 

Text Four

 

«All Aboard»

 

David: This is Sergeant Robinson.

The voice: Central Post here.

David: Can you contact the hovercraft for me? The smugglers were in the castle, but they escaped by speed-boat.

The voice: Right, Sergeant. Leave it to us.

David: Thanks. I’m going straight to the harbour.

The voice: All right. Good luck.

Peter: Look, there’s another police-car.

Nancy: And three policemen in it.

David: The Chief Inspector himself, too.

Harold: Well, that will help to catch the smugglers.

The Chief Inspector: Are these the young people who found the drugs, sergeant?

David: Yes, sir, they are.

The Chief Inspector: Nice work, you three. Er, sergeant?

David: Yes, sir.

The Chief Inspector: I have Constable Smith and Constable Harper here to asssit you.

David: Thank you, sir.

Peter: The hovercraft.

Nancy: Yes, here’s father.

Harold: That hovercraft makes plenty of noise, doesn’t it?

Mr Miller: Hello, everybody! Come abroad, all of you.

Nancy: Hello, Father.

Father: Hello, dear. You sit over there. All aboard? Hold tight! Which way?

Harold: The smugglers were talking about a ship called «The Dolphin».

Father: «The Dolphin»? Ben?

Ben: Yes, sir.

Father: Do you know a ship called «The Dolphin»?

Ben: Yes, she is lying about three miles from here.

Father: Make straight for that ship, Ben.

Ben: Aye, aye, Sir.

Nancy: I don’t think we’ll catch the speed boat. We’re too late.

Peter: Why? This hovercraft does sixty miles an hour. That’s much faster than a speedboat.

Harold: I can’t see any speedboat, can you?

Ben: Speedboat straight ahead, sir.

Father: Harold, is that the boat?

Harold: Yes, that’s her.

Father: All right, Ben. Dead slow.

Ben: Dead slow it is, sir.

David: We must stop them.

Father: Use the megaphone.

David: Ahoy! Stop engines! Police here.

Peter: Hurray, she’s stopping.

Harold: Marvellous! What an exciting story!

Nancy: And with a happy ending.

Harold: Yes, but not a happy ending for the smugglers.

Peter: And all this on my birthday!

All: Ha ha ha!

 

1. The Passive Voice

 

 

e.g.

Present Simple Passive: Past Simple Passive: Future Simple Passive: Present Perfect Passive: Past Perfect Passive Present Continuous Passive:

Lunch is served from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. He was stopped by a policeman. The door will be opened. We have been woken by the birds. The car hadn’t been washed by 3 o’clock. Our meal is being cooked by Mrs Harris.

 

(b) Meaning. In passive sentences we are more interested in the object of the active sentence. In these sentences, we are not interested in “who did the thing” or we don’t know “who did it”.

e.g. President Kennedy was killed in 1963.

The Houses of Parliament were built between 1840 and 1857.

 

(с) Verbs with two objects.

e.g. We sent Andy a birthday card. or We sent a birthday card to Andy.

• Andy was sent a birthday card.
• A birthday card was sent to Andy.

 

(d) Ways of translation.

e.g.

They were invited to the party.     The streets are being swept.

Они были приглашены на вечер. Или: Их пригласили на вечер.   Улицы подметаются.

 

(e) Note the place of the preposition:

e.g. The teacher was laughed at.

She was being gazed at.

 

3. –Ing and –ed adjectives.

Adjectives ending in –ed describe someone’s feeling.

e.g. She feels tired.

We were all surprised.

Adjectives ending in –ing describe the thing or person that produces those feelings.

e.g. She’s had a tiring day.

The news was surprising.

 

Drills

 

Drill 1. They make combs of plastic.

• Combs are made of plastic.

1. They make glass of sand.
2. They make these shoes of leather.
3. They make these shirt of cotton.
4. They make these rings of gold.
5. They make this sweater of wool.
6. They make this necklace of silver.
7. They make doors of wood.
8. They make books of paper.

 

Drill 2. They sell bread at the baker’s.

• Bread is sold at the baker’s. 

1. They sell apples at the greengrocer’s.
2. They sell potatoes at the greengrocer’s.
3. They sell cabbage at the greengrocer’s.
4. They sell milk at the dairy.
5. They sell cheese at the dairy.
6. They sell meat at the butcher’s.
7. They sell poultry at the butcher’s.
8. They sell sugar at the grocery.
9. They sell salt at the grocery.
10. They sell cereals at the grocery.
11. They sell sweets at the confectionery.
12. They sell cakes at the confectionery.

 

Drill 3. Paper is made of plastic.  (wood)

• Paper isn’t made of plastic. It’s made of wood. 

1. President Kennedy was killed in New York.  (Dallas)
2. Coffee is grown in Scotland.  (Brazil)
3. War and Peace was written by Shakespeare.  (Tolstoy)
4. Romeo and Juliet was written by Tolstoy.  (Shakespeare)
5. Sunflowers was painted by Renoir.  (Van Gogh)
6. The Berlin Wall was knocked down in 1982.  (1989)
7. Rolls-Royce cars are made in Japan.  (England)

 

Drill 4. Did they open the doors?

• Yes, the doors were opened.

1. Did they build the house?
2. Did they catch the thieves?
3. Did they kill the lion?
4. Did they sell the stamps?
5. Did they buy the ring?
6. Did they punish the boys?
7. Did they answer the question?
8. Did they burn the house?
9. Did they see the lights?
10. Did they do the work?

 

Drill 5. Did they catch the thief?

• No, the thief wasn’t caught. 

1. Did they paint the door?
2. Did she do the work?
3. Did you clean the car?
4. Did I punish the boy?
5. Did they sell the house?
6. Did she understand the question? 

 

Drill 6. When do you think the hotel was built?

• I think it was built in ____ .

1. When do you think your school was built?
2. When do you think the church was built?
3. When do you think the cinema was built?
4. When do you think the town hall was built?
5. And what about the puppet theatre?
6. What about the shopping centre?
7. What about the shoe factory? 

 

Drill 7. Will they kill the lion?

• Yes, the lion will be killed.

1. Will they answer the letters?
2. Will they open the doors?
3. Will they give the money?
4. Will they buy the house?
5. Will they see the pictures?
6. Will they sell the moped?
7. Will they make a test?
8. Will they sell the records? 

 

Drill 8. Have they built the church this year?

• Yes, the church has been built this year.

1. Have they built the house this year?
2. Have they sold the horse this year?
3. Have they sold the moped this year?
4. Has he discovered the island this year?
5. Has she accepted the plan this year?
6. Has she accepted the money this year?

 

Drill 9. Are they mowing the lawn?

• Yes, the lawn is being mown.

1. Are they building the house?
2. Are they catching the thief?
3. Are they killing the wolf?
4. Are they selling the car?
5. Are they beating the child?
6. Are they buying the cottage?
7. Are they writing the letter?
8. Are they recording the song?

 

Drill 10. People say that he is in prison.

• Yes, it is said that he is in prison.

1. People say that she lost all her money.
2. People say that they are very rich.
3. People say that he is guilty.
4. People say that I have done it.
5. People say that you are crazy.
6. People say that she is very lonely.
7. People say that he will die soon.

 

Drill 11. Do you paint the doors yourself? 

• No, I have the doors painted.  

1. Do you repair the car yourself?
2. Do you cut your hair yourself?
3. Do you build the house yourself?
4. Do you clean the windows yourself?
5. Do you pick the strawberries yourself?
6. Do you type the letters yourself?
7. Do you paper the walls yourself?
8. Do you build the garage yourself?
9. Do you cut down the trees yourself?

 

Vocabulary and Comprehension Exercises

 

Exercise 1. (Text 1)  Answer the questions. 

1. Why were radio and television programmes all over the world interrupted on Audust 16, 1977?
2. Whay was President Carter asked to do?
3. How many albums of Elvis Presley were sold in 1978?
4. What family did Elvis Presley come from?
5. What job did he get when he left school in 1953?
6. What record made him popular? When did it happen?
7. How many copies of the song were sold?
8. What did critics write about his voice?
9. Were his concerts attended by many people?
10. What was he like on stage?
11. What did older people think of Elvis Presley?
12. When did Elvis have to join the army?
13. Who became his wife in 1967?
14. When did he die?
15. What house is visited by half a million people every year?

 

Exercise 2. (Text 2)  Answer the questions. 

1. What did the Millenium Dome robbers want?
2. Why didn’t they think that the police would catch them?
3. Why did the British government build the Millennium Dome?
4. What was one of the most popular exhibitions in the Dome?
5. What did the gang of five men try to do?
6. Where were police officers when the robbers attacked?
7. Was the police operation organized by Scotland Yard amazing? Why?
8. How did the police know what the robbers planned to do?
9. Did the police guess how the robbers planned to escape?
10. What sentences did the robbers receive at the trial?
11. Why will the robbers go down in history?

 

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

1. Where did the merchant live?
2. Why did he send his servant to market?
3. Who was the servant jostled by in the market-place.
4. What did he see when he turned?
5. What did Death do?
6. What did the servant ask his master for?
7. What was the servant going to do?
8. What town was the servant going to?
9. Did the merchant lend him his horse?
10. Why did Death make a threatening gesture?
11. Why was Death astonished to see the servant in Bagdad?

 

Exercise 4. (Text 4  Dialogue) Answer the questions. 

1. How do the smugglers escape?
2. What ship are the smugglers talking about?
3. How far is the ship?
4. Which is faster: the speedboat or the hovercraft?
5. Are the smugglers caught?

 

Exercise 5. Dictation-translation.

A.

1. Когда умер Элвис Пресли 16 августа 1977 года, радио- и телепрограммы во всем мире были прерваны, чтобы сообщить о его смерти. 2. На его похороны пришло 80 тысяч человек. 3. Элвис не посещал уроков музыки, но с раннего детства его окружала музыка. 4. В 1953 году Элвис записал на студии две песни в качестве подарка своей маме на день рождения. 5. Людей сводил с ума новый и динамичный ритм этой песни. 6. Голос Элвиса Пресли был настоящим открытием. Критики писали, что он был горловым, вибрирующим, лихорадочным и густым, как сироп. 7. Пресли невольно стал бунтовщиком, с него началась культурная и сексуальная революции. 8. Элвис был королем рок-н-ролла и все знают, что он навсегда останется королем рок-н-ролла. Да здравствует Элвис!

B.

1. Грабители выставочного зала «Миллениум Доум» хотели войти в историю. 2. Они никогда не думали, что полиция их поймает, так как они тщательно спланировали преступление. 3. Британское правительство построило выставочный зал «Миллениум Доум», чтобы отметить 2000 год. 4. Попытка кражи алмазов из выставочного зала «Миллениум Доум» в Лондоне была необычным преступлением.

 

Grammar Exercises

 

Exercise 1. Make the sentences passive.

e.g. He buys cars.

• Cars are bought. 

A.	1. He bought cars. 2. He has bought cars. 3. He will buy cars. 4. He is buying cars. 5. She writes poems. 6. She wrote poems. 7. She has written poems.	8. She will write poems. 9. She is writing poems. 10. I eat cheese. 11. I ate cheese. 12. I have eaten cheese. 13. I’ll eat cheese. 14. I’m eating cheese.
B.	1. They play tennis. 2. They have put the book there. 3. He will close the office. 4. They are beating the child. 5. He has forgotten the names. 6. They will not open the door.	7. He broke the glass. 8. She writes down the address. 9. He had sold the meat. 10. She teaches languages. 11. He was building the house. 12. She read the story.

 

Exercise 2. Give two variants of the sentences in the Passive Voice.

e.g. They offered me a cup of tea.

• I was offered a cup of tea.
• A cup of tea was offered to me.

1. They gave me a form to fill in.
2. They granted me a visa.
3. We’ll offer him help by all means.
4. He has just told us a very amusing story.

 

Exercise 3. Give correct answers to the following questions using the suggested words and word combinations.

Who can be sent for? What may be listened to with interest? What can be disagreed with? Who or what can be relied upon? What can be talked about? What may be laughed at? What can you be impressed by?

 

Exercise 4. Answer the question using the verbs in the Passive Voice.

 

1. Where do the people speak French and Dutch? – French and Dutch are spoken in ….. .
2. Which country grows coffee? – Coffee is  ….. .
3. Where do people eat pasta?
4. Which country produces lots of oil?
5. Which country makes famous perfumes?
6. Where do people wear kimonos?
7. Which country manufactures paper?
8. Which country sells pints of milk?
9. Which country grows tobacco?
10. Which country manufactures watches?
11. Which country makes champagne?
12. In what country do they eat curry?
13. In what country do they find gold?
14. In what country do they drink tea?
15. In what country do they grow cotton?

 

Exercise 5. Choose the correct verb form, active or passive, in the following sentences.

1. Nylon invented/was invented in the 1930s.
2. Walt Disney created/was created the character of Mickey Mouse sixty years ago.
3. Mickey calls/is called “Topolino” in Italian and “Mi Lo Shu” in Chinese.
4. At first he called/was called Mortimer Mouse.
5. He gave/was given the name Mickey by Walt Disney’s wife, Lilian.
6. Disney made/was made the first full-length cartoon, Snow White, in 1937.
7. Mickey Mouse cartoons have translated/have been translated into sixty languages.
8. Since 1928, 120 cartoons have made/have been made.

 

Exercise 6. Complete the newspaper article with the Past Passive or Active form of the verb in brackets.

 

STARTLING DISCOVERY OFF FLORIDACOAST

Last week treasure worth over £1 million ___ (discover) off the Florida coast. The discovery ___ (make) by a young British teenager, 17-year-old John Innes, who was on holiday with his family. The treasure, which ___ (consist) of gold coins and jewels ___ (find) in the wreck of a ship which experts believe ___ (sink) by the famous pirate, Captain Kidd, in 1696.

John Innes was scuba diving near a small island off the Florida coast when he suddenly ___ (find) the wreck of an old ship at the bottom of the sea. The coast guards ___ (tell) immediately about the discovery and the treasure ___ (bring) to the surface by a team of divers.

The  coins and jewels, which officially belong to the US government ___ (examine) by archaeologists and ___ (say) to be ‘the real thing’. Yesterday at a press conference in Key West John ___ (give) a $1,000 reward for his discovery. When he ___ (ask), if he was pleased with his reward, he ___ (reply): ‘I’d rather have a bit of treasure!’

 

Exercise 7. Put the verbs in brackets in the right passive form: the Present Simple, Past Simple or Present Perfect. 

1. A Stradivarius violin ….. (sell) yesterday at Christie’s for £902,000, the highest price ever paid for a Strad.
2. The violin, owned by the Mendelssohn family, ….. (make) in 1720, and, because of its colour, it ….. (know) as the “Red Strad”.
3. It ….. (buy) by a professional musician.
4. In its years in the Mendelssohn family, it ….. (play) very little, except by amateurs, but its beautiful tones ….. (demonstrate) by a Japanese violinist before the auction yesterday.
5. “It is in very good condition because it ….. (keep) in a special case”, said Yoshito Ito.
6. “It ….. (look) after very well.”
7. The violin reached such a high price because of its date of 1720 (the height of Stradivari’s Golden Age) when his finest instruments ….. (make).
8. Strads ….. (admire) all over the world for their purity and deep, clear sound.

 

Exercise 8. Ask questions about the information in italics.

e.g. The Strad was made in 1720.

• When was the Strad made? 

1. Strads are admired all over the world for their purity and deep clear sound. (Why?)
2. It has been kept in a special case. (Where?)
3. Stradivari’s best instruments were made in 1720.  (When?)
4. Because of its colour, the violin is known as the “Red Strad”.  (Why?)
5. The Houses of Parliament were built in the nineteenth century.  (When?)
6. Twenty people were hurt in the train crash.  (How many?)
7. Champagne is produced in France.  (Where?)
8. This jumper has been washed twice, and it has shrunk.  (How many times?)
9. She was fined three hundred pounds for speeding.  (How much?)
10. Our post is delivered twice a day.  (How often)

 

Exercise 9. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. They are all in the passive.

1. The Volkswagen Beetle ….. (design) by Ferdinand Porsche.
2. He ….. (ask) to design it by the German Government.
3. VWs ….. (take) to America by American soldiers who were returning home after the war.
4. The first VW ….. (make) in 1938.
5. Since then over twenty million ….. (produce).
6. They ….. (not make) in Europe any more.

 

Exercise 10. Complete the sentences. 

1. The TV programme was (boring, bored) so I turned it off.
2. Children can’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve. They’re too (exciting, excited).
3. “Hi, Mum!” – “Carol! That goodness you rang! Where have you been? We’ve been so (worrying, worried)
4. “Hello, darling. I’ve got a present for you”. – “For me?” – “Don’t look so (surprising, surprised). I often buy you presents”. – “But it isn’t my birthday!”
5. The art exhibition was very (interesting, interested). I loved it, but I had to leave after three hours. My feet were killing me! I find going round art galleries and museums very (tiring, tired).
6. Some people don’t go out at night because they’re (frightening, frightened) that someone will rob them.
7. Our financial situation is very (worrying, worried). We spend more and more, but we’re earning less and less.
8. “I’m going on a three-month holiday to the Far East”. – “How (exciting, excited)! Lucky you!”
9. “Was your father (annoying, annoyed) when you told him your exam results?” – “He was furious.”

 

Exercise 11. Complete the sentences. Use adjectives formed by adding –ing or –ed to the words in brackets.

e.g. I don’t get _____ very easily.  (embarrass)

• I don’t get embarrassed very easily. 

1. I find it quite ____ to talk in front of a group of people.  (embarrass)
2. I think wet weather is ____ . (depress)
3. I’m not very ____ in politics.  (interest)
4. I find walking in the countryside very ____ .  (relax)
5. I think learning a language is very ____ .  (interest)
6. I get ____ when people smoke in restaurants.  (annoy)
7. I don’t normally get ____ when I watch horror films.  (frighten)
8. Are you ____ in art?  (interest)
9. They were ____ when they heard the news.  (shock)
10. I thought they story was quite ____ .  (amuse)
11. We were all very ____ when he didn’t come home.  (worry)
12. It was ____ that she didn’t come to the meeting.  (surprise)

 

Exercise 12. Translate into English. 

1. Яблоки и капуста продаются в овощном магазине. 2. Сыр и молоко продаются в молочном. 3. Сахар продается в бакалее. 4. Ты знаешь, где строятся эти корабли? – Да, в Глазго. 5. Вора не поймали. 6. Дом не был продан. 7. Остров был открыт в этом году. 8. Бумагу делают из древесины.