by Fung Lan Yong, Honorary Advisor
IPB Pine Academy Sabah
July 7, 2014
Part 1
Fill in the blanks with the present continuous tense of the verb.
The number of people that maintain landline phone service at their homes
(1) _________
(drop) significantly. Millennials, the demographic group that consists
of those born between 1983 and 2000 (2) __________ (lead) the way in this changeover;
only about 17% maintain wired telephone service. In 2005, approximately 89.3%
of U.S. households had landline service; that number had dropped to 65.3% by
the end of 2012. The reduction in wired service (3) __________ (begin) to show
up in the business world as well. Very small companies, those with 20 employees
or less, (4) __________ (trend) away
from landlines to reduce costs. Larger companies, while still maintaining wired
service, have started to reduce the number of additional lines running to their
offices. This is because of cell phones.
In a recent article published by the Pew Research Centre, researchers
stated that 91% of adults in the United States now have cell phones. On top of
this, they found that 37% of all teens in the U.S have smartphones. One other
interesting statistic that may point to a trend that (5) __________ (evolve) is
that 1 in 4 teens are “cell-mostly” Internet users, meaning they connect to the
Internet using the data plan that is associated with their mobile phone.
Cell phones (6) ___________
(help) to drive another big change in communication methodology – the
growth of text-based messaging or “texting”. During the second quarter of 2012,
U.S. cell phone users sent 1.1 trillion text messages. Millennials (7)
_________ (lead) the charge as a new tool for conversing has become prominent
in record time. About 69% use their
phones more for texting than for voice calls. In fact, the voice call “app” is
fourth on the list of most used apps, behind texting, Internet browsing, and
gaming.
Email is currently the number one method of communication for people in
the United States. This statistic is driven primarily by the high use of email
messages in business. Because so many individuals receive email – both business
and personal – on mobile devices the medium (8) __________ (currently hold) its
own in the communication hierarchy, but the love affair with email (7)
__________ (wane).
Many professionals (8) __________ (begin) to realise that the security
of the information they send via email is suspect. Additionally, the tools that
both individuals and businesses employ to secure emailed content – encryption
products, for example – are widely viewed as cumbersome and difficult to use.
Because of this, and because of the tremendous array of inexpensive or no
charge Cloud-based portal spaces, many professionals and the businesses they
work for, (9) __________ (reduce) the use of email for sensitive
communications. Currently, email remains a mainstream communication tool, and
it will continue to be for some time. However, it is interesting to see that other
ways of transmitting information, such as Cloud-based portals, (10) __________
(start) to see widespread use.
One other area where communication (11) _________ (grow) explosively
involves social media. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are three of the big
players in the social media market and these players continue to gain new users
as well as an expanded presence in the communication sector. Social media
subscribers (12) ___________ (use) these
tools not only for personal interaction, but also for business communications
and marketing efforts. Although a relatively new technology, social media has
grown to be an extremely important and powerful communication tool.
Bibliographical details
Title: The
ever-changing face of communication
Author: Karl W. Egnatoff (2012) Publisher: K2 Enterprises
Link: http://www.k2e.com/ever-changing-face-of-communication
Form
[was/were + present participle]
Signal Words
·
When
·
While
·
As long as
Examples:
·
Helen was studying when
her mother called.
·
Were you rehearsing when she called?
·
I was not surfing the Internet
when she called.
Use 1:
Interrupted action in the past
Examples:
·
She was watching a Korean drama when I
called.
·
When the phone rang, she
was composing a poem.
·
While we were having the barbeque, it started
to drizzle.
·
What were you doing when the earth hour started?
·
John was listening to his iPod, so he did
not hear the sound.
·
He was not listening when his wife told
him to turn the air-conditioner off.
·
While Rebecca was grading the papers yesterday,
someone stole her smartphone.
·
Samuel was waiting for us when we got off the
taxi.
·
While the grammar
lecturer was typing an essay,
her notebook suddenly shut down.
·
He was jogging when he
sprained his ankle.
Use 2: Specific time as an
interruption
Examples:
·
At seven last night, my
grammar lecturer was making some sardine rolls.
·
At midnight, the students
were still doing revision.
·
Yesterday at this time,
I was sending an email to a friend.
Use 3: Parallel actions
Examples:
·
The lecturer was listening while he was delivering a short speech.
·
While James was sleeping, Tim was watching television.
·
Were the students paying attention while the grammar lecturer was explaining?
·
She wasn't concentrating while she was writing the essay, so she made
many mistakes.
Use 4: Atmosphere
Example:
When the grammar lecturer walked into the classroom, several students were busily typing, some were talking
on the smartphones, the class representative was yelling directions, and some new students were waiting for assistance. One
student was talking to his classmate
and gesturing with his hands.
Others were helping each other
to complete a paragraph.
Use 5: Repetition and irritation
with "always"
Examples:
- Some students were always coming to class late.
- That student was constantly talking so he annoyed everyone in the class.
- The
employees didn't like the manager because he was always complaining.
Part 1
Fill
in the blanks with the past continuous tense of the verb.
1. My grammar lecturer _________ (set) a test paper yesterday.
2. The mountaineers ________ (climb) on a mountain.
3. The children __________ (laugh) at the clown’s antics.
4. The Intensive English students from South Korea ________ (take)
exam last month.
5. He __________ (wait) for
his fiancée yesterday while checking his incoming mail.
6. The employee _________
(work) in a doll factory when she witnessed the accident.
7. It __________ (not rain)
the day before so I went out.
8. _________ the students _________ (rehearse) at that moment?
9. _________ the international student ________ (sit) an exam last
month?
10. Rebecca ___________ (not word process) yesterday when the student
phoned.
11. The tourist _________ (not
jungle trek) last weekend when the landslide occurred.
12. When I phoned Fred, he ___________(play) bingo with some older women.
13. My
teacher __________ (prepare) a lesson
when she detected a strange odour.
14. The students __________ (rest) in the lounge when it began
to rain heavily.
15. She
_________ (practise) the piano while her friend _________ (fry) some noodles.
16. The manager
_________ (check) the accounts when Susan arrived at the bank.
17. Andrea
__________ (not read) all day because it ________ (tire) for her eyes.
18. While Ali
(lie) _________ down on the sofa, she __________ (key) in some data.
19. The alleged
robber tried to tell the truth, but the lawyer _________ (not listen).
20. What
_________ you __________ (do) last night when I texted you?
21. Most of the
time the tourists ___________ (relax) at the gazebo or deli corner.
Part 2: Sentence construction
Yesterday
at four o’clock the following people were/were not in the middle of an
action. Write positive/negative
sentences in the past continuous tense.
1.
James /
play / football at school
2.
Alice /
walk / around the park
3.
Caroline
/ watch / a video online
4.
The
Intensive English students / read / an article about pollution
5.
Adriana
/ search for / her pearl necklace
6.
Fiona
and Samuel / jog / in the park
7.
Ben /
wax / his new car
8.
Karen
and I / take / a stroll downtown
9.
Rebecca
and her sister / jump / on a trampoline
10. Greg and
Phil / exchange / phone numbers
11. Sarah and
Luke / not / garden
12. Dr Miller /
not / lecturing / chemistry
13. Barry / not
/ pilot / a plane
14. Amanda / not
/ have / an ice cream
15. Albert / not
/ tidy / his room
16. Dennis and
Robert / not / catch / a plane
17. The chef /
not / prepare / dinner
18. Ben / not /
compose / an e-mail
19. Kate / not /
write / an essay
20. Dennis / not
/ construct / a table
Part 3 Paragraph writing
Situation:
Last week you went to the beach. Describe some of the activities that you participated
in or witnessed.
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