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Lesson 16
by Paolo Rossetti

Level  : Beginner
Topic  : Interview
Grammar: Past Continuous
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Vocabulary

Interview with Florence Lartey - a young African businesswoman talking
about why she started a successful business..

"My parents were not taking care of my school fees 
because when I got to secondary school form 3 - all of a sudden,
my father just decided that - oh I am a female and he won't benefit
from me in the future - I would just go and marry somebody
and I would be stuck in that person's kitchen. So the interest
of paying my school fees was not there.."

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EXERCISE 16.1 - Vocabulary

Please match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.

 1. parents               a. woman or girl
 2. to take care of       b. money you have to pay for a service
 3. a fee                 c. mother and father
 4. all of a sudden       d. want to know or do something
 5. to decide             e. get something good
 6. a female              f. look after, make sure they are OK
 7. to benefit            g. without knowing something before; suddenly
 8. to marry              h. cannot go away
 9. to be stuck           i. think about something and you are sure
10. an interest           j. to become husband or wife

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EXERCISE 16.2 - Grammar

Past Continuous:

        He was walking across the road...
        The snow was falling and the wind was blowing..

        WAS/WERE + VERB + ING

Florence said: "My parents were not taking care of my school fees" to
introduce her story.

She could her story like this: "My parents didn't take care of my school
fees." but it would not work as background information.

Usually, the first sentence gives the background information, and then
the story starts:

        I was swimming about 100 metres from the beach on a hot, sunny
        day. Suddenly a shark swam past me with its mouth open. I saw rows of sharp teeth and...

So, the story is about the shark, not the swimming - and the swimming is
only the background.

Please fill in the blanks.

1. He ...(walk).. down the street when a car almost ...(hit).. him.

2. They ...(decide).. not to send the postcards after all.

3. The tree ...(fall down).. when the earthquake rocked it.

4. The tree tops ...(sway).. in the wind. Jerry ...(think).. it would rain soon.

5. I ...(see).. Antonella yesterday. She ...(take) her dog for a walk in the park.

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EXERCISE 16.3 - Reading Comprehension

Please read the text and choose the correct answers.

1.  What is the purpose of this text?
        (to say that women should be the same as men;
         to explain about life in Africa; 
         to explain about her life)

2.  Who is she?
        (a factory worker; a business person; a cook)

3.  Why did her father decide not to pay for her school?
        (because he thought she would get married and stay home in the          
        future; because she didn't need an education;
         because she didn't like it)

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Answers                Go to  ----->  Online English Content 
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