1. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable past verb form.


This time last year I (1) ....was cycling...........(cycle) in the rain along a country road in
France with a friend of mine. We (2)............................. (decide) to go on a cycling
holiday in Normandy. Neither of us (3).................................. (be) to France before, but
we (4) ................................ (know) some French from our time at school and we (5)
................................ (manage) to brush up on the basics. Now we (6)
.................................... (wonder) if we (7) ....................................(make)
the right decision. We (8) ...........................(plan) our route carefully in advance, but we
(9) ............................... (forget) one important thing, the weather. It (10)
............................... (rain) solidly since our arrival and that night we (11)
................................. (end up) sleeping in the waiting room at a railway station. Then
the next morning as we (12) ............................... (ride) down a steep hill my bike (13)
................................ (skid) on the wet road and I (14) ............................
(fall off). I (15)....................................... (realise) immediately that I (16)
....................................(break) my arm, and after a visit to the local hospital I (17)
........................................(catch) the next train to Calais for the ferry home.
Unfortunately my parents (18) ................................... (not/expect) me home for a
fortnight, and (19) .......................................  (go) away on holiday. So I (20)
............................................ (spend) a miserable couple of weeks alone, reading
'Teach Yourself French'.



2. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb form.

Reporter Philip Taggart visits a farm where the sheep are super fit!


Farmers, as you may (1) ...know.... (know), (2) .......................................... (have) a
hard time of it in Britain lately, and (3) .................................... (turn) to new ways
of earning income from their land. This (4) ............................... (involve) not only
planting new kinds of crops, but also some strange ways of making money, the most unusual of which
has got to be sheep racing. Yes, you (5) .................................... (hear) me correctly!
A farmer in the west of England now (6) ................................... (hold) sheep races on a
regular basis, and during the past year over 100,000 people (7)
...................................... (turn up) to watch the proceedings. 'I (8)
......................................... (pass) the farm on my way to the sea for a holiday,' one
punter told me, 'and I (9) .................................... (think) I'd have a look. I (10)
................................. (not/believe) it was serious, to tell you the truth.' According
to a regular visitor, betting on sheep is more interesting than betting on horses. 'At proper horse
races everyone (11) .............................................. (already/study) the form of the
horses in advance, and there are clear favourites. But nobody (12)
.......................................... (hear) anything about these sheep! Most people (13)
....................................... (find) it difficult to tell one from another in any case.'
I (14) ....................................... (stay) to watch the races, and I must admit that I
(15) ....................................... (find) it quite exciting. In a typical race, half a
dozen sheep (16) ......................................... (race) downhill over a course of about
half a mile. Food (17) ........................................(wait) for them at the other end of
the track, I ought to add! The sheep (18) ..................................... (run) surprisingly
fast, although presumably they (19) ........................................ (not/eat) for a while
just to

give them some motivation. At any rate, the crowd around me (20) .....................

........................................ (obviously/enjoy) their day out at the races, judging by
their happy faces and the sense of excitement.