2. Complete the newspaper articles with the Past Simple or Past Continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

Young boy, 5, discovered 300 kilometres from home

Police who were looking for a lost five-year-old boy eventually founded him the next day. After getting separated from his family in a market, the boy, from Pekanbaru in Malaysia, went to a station, got onto a train, and was discovered in Padang, 300 kilometres away. “He was very calm”, said the boy’s mother. “It was us, his family, who were worrying all night”.

Traffic jams make Angelenos feel at home

A recent study said that Los Angeles has the worst traffic in the United States. Last year Angelenos spent an average of 136 hours a year stuck in traffic. Only last week a man was arrested while he was brushing his teeth in the car, and drivers are regularly seen applying make-up and shaving. Police said that yesterday they stopped a man who was driving while playing on his laptop computer.

3. Look at the pictures and complete the sentences with the Past Simple or Past Continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Someone stolen my wallet while I wasn’t looking.

2. I didn’t know you were being in town.

3. We didn’t hear the burglar because we were listening to loud music.

4. I was driving home when I saw a black cat at the side of the road.

5. Eve didn’t take the bus because it was a beautiful day.

6. Josie met Clyde while they were skiing.

Vocabulary / in the news

4. a Match the sentence beginnings (1-5) with the endings (a-e).

1. Someone told me that the President has broken

2. Congratulations – I hear you’re having

3. Spain won the

4. A lot of accidents

5. I hear most banks have made

A match 2-1.

B a baby – when is it due?

C up with his wife - is it true?

D huge profits again this year.

E are caused by drivers in mobile phones.

1. Someone told me that the President has broken up with his wife - is it true?

2. Congratulations – I hear you’re having a baby – when is it due?

3. Spain won the match 2-1.

4. A lot of accidents are caused by drivers in mobile phones.

5. I hear most banks have made huge profits again this year.

B Match the replies (a-e) with the sentences (1-5) in exersice 4a.

A I know – why can’t people be more responsible?

B Yes, they played brilliantly.

C Yes, I know, I’ve just been reading about it in the business section.

D Thank you, it’s next month, and we think it’s a girl.

E Oh come on, you can’t believe all the gossip you hear!

1 - e, 2 - d, 3 - b, 4 - a, 5 - c.