Read, translate and retell the text

 

Give the meaning of the new words as in the example

Food-something that people and animals eat, or plants absorb, to keep them alive

Muscles, Vegetable, Yogurt, Cracked-wheat, Food-processing company, Food store, Belief, Custom, Odor, Nerve

 

Find the Passive sentences from the text

 

4. Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form, present or past:

Cause damage hold invite make

Overtake show surround translate write

1 Many accidents....................................... by dangerous driving.

2 Cheese........................................................................from milk.

3 The roof of the building...........................................in a storm a few days ago.

4 You........................................................ to the wedding. Why didn't you go?

5 A cinema is a place where films.........................................................................

6 In the United States, elections for president...........................every four years.

7 Originally the book.......in Spanish, and a few years ago it...........into English.

8 Although we were driving quite fast, we.........................by a lot of other cars.

9 You can't see the house from the road. It............................................ by trees.

 

Write questions using the passive. Some are present and some are past.

1 Ask about glass, (how / make?).....................................................................

2 Ask about television, (when / invent?)..........................................................

3 Ask about mountains, (how / form?)............................................................

4 Ask about Pluto {the planet), (when / discover?)............................................

5 Ask about silver, (what/ use for?)...................................................................

 

Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.

1 It's a big factory. Five hundred people....... (employ) there.

2 …………………. (somebody / clean) this room yesterday?

3 Water............................................. (cover) most of the earth's surface.

4 How much of the earth's surface.........................................(cover) by water?

5 The park gates............................................ (lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

6 The letter...................... (post) a week ago and it.......... (arrive) yesterday.

7 The boat hit a rock and.... …(sink) quickly. Fortunately everybody.......(rescue).

8 Richard's parents......... (die) when he was very young. He and his sister..........(bring up) by their grandparents.

9 I was born in London, but I..............................(grow up) in Canada.

10 While I was on holiday, my camera...............(steal) from my hotel room.

11 While I was on holiday, my camera............(disappear) from my hotel room.

12 Why...........................(Sue / resign) from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?

13 Why..................................(Bill / sack) from his job? What did he do wrong?

14 The company is not independent. It.........(own) by a much larger company.

15 I saw an accident last night. Somebody............................(call) an ambulance but nobody.................. (injure), so the ambulance..................... (not / need).

16 Where...............(these photographs / take)? In London?

........... (you / take) them, or somebody else?

17 Sometimes it's quite noisy living here, but it's not a problem for me -I................... (not / bother) by it.

 

Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using somebody, they, people etc., write a passive sentence.

1 Somebody cleans the room every day...................................................

2 They cancelled all flights because of fog. All.............................................

3 People don't use this road much......................................................

4 Somebody accused me of stealing money. I...................................................

5 How do people learn languages? How..............................................

6 Somebody warned us not to go out alone

 

 

Passive Voice

When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does:

My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1935.

It's a big company. It employs two hundred people.

 

When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject: This house is quite old. It was built in 1935. Two hundred people are employed by the company.

 

When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant:

A lot of money was stolen in the robbery, (somebody stole it, but we don't know who)

Is this room cleaned every day? (does somebody clean it? - it's not important who)

If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by... This house was built by my grandfather.

Two hundred people are employed by the company.

 

The passive is be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.): (be) done (be) cleaned (be) damaged (be) built (be) seen etc.

For irregular past participles (done/seen/known etc.), Study the active and passive forms of the present simple and past simple:

Present simple

active: clean(s) / see(s) etc.

passive: am/is/are + cleaned/seen etc.

Somebodv cleans this room every day.

This room is cleaned every day.

Many accidents are caused by careless driving. D I'm not often invited to parties. How is this word pronounced?

Past simple

active: cleaned/saw etc.

passive: was/were + cleaned/seen etc.

Somebody cleaned this room yesterday. This room was cleaned yesterday.

We were woken up by a loud noise during the night.

'Did you go to the party?' 'No, I wasn't invited.'

How much money was stolen in the robber

Passive (be done / been done / being done)

Study the following active and passive forms:

Infinitive

active: (to) do/clean/see etc. Somebody will clean the room later.

passive: (to) be + done/cleaned/seen etc. The room will be cleaned later.

The situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.

A mystery is something that can't be explained.

The music was very loud and could be heard from a long way away.

A new supermarket is going to be built next year. D Please go away. I want to be left alone.

 

Perfect infinitive

active: (to) have + done/cleaned/seen etc. Somebody should have cleaned the room

passive: (to) have been + done/cleaned/seen etc. The room should have been cleaned.

I haven't received the letter yet. It might have been sent to the wrong address.

If you hadn't left the car unlocked, it wouldn't have been stolen.

There were some problems at first, but they seem to have been solved.

Present perfect

active: have/has + done etc. The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it

passive: have/has been + done etc. The room looks nice. It has been cleaned.

Have you heard? The concert has been cancelled. D Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

'Are you going to the party?' 'No, I haven't been invited.'

 

Past perfect

active: had + done etc. The room looked nice. Somebody had cleaned it

passive: had been + done etc. The room looked nice. It had been cleaned.

The vegetables didn't taste very good. They had been cooked too long.

The car was three years old but hadn't been used very much.

 

Present continuous

active: am/is/are + (do)ing Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment.

passive: am/is/are + being (done) The room is being cleaned at the moment.

There's somebody walking behind us. I think we are being followed. (in a shop) 'Can I help you?' 'No, thank you. I'm being served.'

 

Past continuous

active: was/were + (do)ing Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.

passive: was/were + being (done) The room was being cleaned when I arrived.

There was somebody walking behind us. We were being followed.

 

 

Sources of food

Plants supply most of the food people eat. In many African, Asian, and Latin-American countries, the people depend on plants for more than two-thirds of their food. In Australia, Europe, North America, and parts of South America, the people eat much meat. But even these areas, over half the diet consists of food from plants.

Consumers commonly buy some basic foods, including eggs, fruits, and vegetables, in their natural form. But basic foods are also processed before they reach the market. Most of foods have been processed. Processors also produce baked goods, frozen dinners, and many other convenience foods, which save work for the cook when preparing a meal.

The most important food obtained from plants are grains and fruits and vegetables.

Grains, also called cereals, are the seeds of such plants as barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum and wheat. The human diet has been based on grains for thousands of years. Rice or a grain product, particularly bread, is the main food in many cultures. Millers grind much of the world’s grain, especially wheat, into flour. Wheat flour is used in almost all breads, in pastries, and in macaroni and other kinds of noodles. Processors also make breakfast cereals from grains.

Fruits and vegetables add a variety of colors, flavors, and textures to the diet. Popular fruits include apples, bananas, cherries, melons, oranges, peaches, pineapples and strawberries. Most fruits are eaten as snacks or in a salad or dessert.

Favorite vegetables include beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, and sweet corn. Vegetables are commonly eaten during the main part of a meal. They may be served raw in a salad, cooked and served with a sauce, or added to a soup.

Other foods from plants include nuts, herbs and spices, and beverages. Coffee, cocoa, tea and many other drinks are made from plants. Nuts are popular snacks and can be used as flavorings in other foods.

 

Exercises