1. Read the opening paragraph of a story. Why does the narrator notice the tall man? (Đọc đoạn mở đầu của một câu chuyện. Tại sao người kể lại chú ý đến người đàn ông cao lớn?)

Trả lời:

The narrator notice the tall manBecause the tall man wears clothes that are not suitable for the weather and he looks straight at the narrator.

2. Read the Learn this! box. Then find all the examples of the past continuous in the text in exercise 1. (Đọc mục Learn this! Sau đó tìm tất cả các ví dụ về thì quá khứ tiếp diễn trong văn bản ở bài tập 1.)

Trả lời:

The examples of the past continuous in the text in exercise 1:

- "People were hurrying home."

- "...were sitting on a bench."

- "...was talking to the boy..."

- "...he wasn't looking at her."

- "...was singing quietly and playing with a toy."

- "...travellers were shouting greetings, waving goodbye, carrying heavy bags or running to catch trains."

- "A very tall man was standing..."

- "Why was he wearing summer clothes...?"

- "...why was he looking straight at me?"

3. Complete the paragraph below with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets. (Hoàn thành đoạn văn dưới đây với dạng quá khứ tiếp diễn của các động từ trong ngoặc.)

| left the hotel early the next morning. Already, the sun (1) ________ (shine) brightly and the temperature (2) _______ (rise). In the square, café owners (3)_______ (carry) tables outside. A dog (4) ______ (lie) on the pavement nearby, but it (5)_________ (not sleep). Two teenage girls (5)_________ (sit) on a bench (7)______ (share) headphones. What (8)__________ (they / listen) to?

Trả lời:

1 was shining                       5 wasn't sleeping 

2 was rising                          6 were sitting

3 were carrying                    7 (and) sharing

4 was lying                           8 were they listening                  

4. Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions about the characters in the texts in exercises 1and 3. (Làm việc theo cặp. Hỏi và trả lời các câu hỏi về các nhân vật trong văn bản ở bài tập 1 và 3.)

What were they doing?

1 the mother                                5 the tall man

2 the boy                                      6 the cafe owners

3 the girl                                       7 the dog

4 the other travellers                    8 the teenage girls

Trả lời:

1 - What was the mother doing?

   - She was sitting on a bench and talking to the boy.

2 - What was the boy doing?

   - He was sitting on a bench and was not looking at his mother.

3 - What was the girl doing?

   - She was singing quietly and playing with a toy.

4 - What were the other travellers doing?

   - They were shouting greetings, waving goodbye, carrying heavy bags or running to catch trains.

5 - What was the tall man doing?

   - He was standing near the exit and looking straight at the narrator.

6 - What were the cafe owners doing?

   - They were carrying tables outside.

7 - What was the dog doing?

   - He was lying on the pavement nearby.

8 - What were teenage girls doing?

   - They were sitting on a bench and sharing headphones.

5. Imagine that yesterday you arrived in the centre of a new city. Write sentences in the past continuous to describe the scene. Use the words below or your own ideas. (Hãy tưởng tượng rằng ngày hôm qua bạn đã đến trung tâm của một thành phố mới. Viết các câu trong quá khứ tiếp diễn để tả cảnh. Sử dụng các từ dưới đây hoặc ý tưởng của riêng bạn.)

Gợi ý:

- Some birds were singing.

- Some schoolchildren were arguing.

- A police officer was walking on the street.

...

6. Work in pairs. Swap the sentences you wrote in exercise 5. (Làm việc theo cặp. Trao đổi các câu bạn đã viết trong bài tập 5.)

Choose three of your partner's sentences and write a question about each one using the past continuous. (Chọn ba trong số các câu của đối tác của bạn và viết một câu hỏi cho mỗi câu bằng cách sử dụng thì quá khứ tiếp diễn.)

Gợi ý:

- Some birds were singing. => Which kind of birds were singing?

- Some schoolchildren were arguing. => Which topics were the schoolchildren arguing about?

- A police officer was walking on the street. =>  Can you guess where was the police officer going to?

7. Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions you wrote in exercise 6. (Làm việc theo cặp. Hỏi và trả lời các câu hỏi bạn đã viết trong bài tập 6.)

Gợi ý:

- A: Which kind of birds were singing?

- B: They are sparrow.

- B: Which topics were the schoolchildren arguing about?

- A: They were arguing about how airplane can fly.

- A: Can you guess where was the police officer going to?

- B: He completed his shift and was going back to the office.

8. Write the opening paragraph of a story. Use your ideas from exercise 5 and include the extra information from exercise 7. (Viết đoạn mở đầu của một câu chuyện. Sử dụng ý tưởng của bạn từ bài tập 5 và thêm thông tin bổ sung từ bài tập 7.)

Đoạn văn tham khảo:

Yesterday, I visited my friend in the centre of the neighboring city. It was very animated and there were a lot of people on the street. I heard some sparrows were singing. I saw some schoolschildren were coming back home together and they were arguing about how airplane can fly. There was a police walking on the street and I guessed he completed his shift and was going back to the office.