EPISODE 80
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

 

HISTORY: VERBS

There are many verbs we can use when we want to talk about history. Look at the list of situations which happened in the past:

Romans invaded Egypt (= entered Egypt with soldiers) many times and they spent plenty of time there.
Christopher Columbus discovered America (= found America for the first time) in 1492.
King Charles I was deposed from the English throne (= was removed from his position) in 1646.
Theodore Maiman invented lasers (= produced lasers for the first time) in 1960.
Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated (= killed a famous person) John F. Kennedy in 1963.
The smaller 10 pence coin was introduced (= was put into use) in 1992.

 

More contexts for the new words: 

  • They are planning an invasion of the country. 

(= They want to enter the country with soldiers) 

  • The Spanish conquered the New World in the 16th century. 

(= They took control of the New World)

 

EXERCISE 1 

Put the events of the story in a logical order. The first sentence is given.

  1. Mefisto Fellini was a famous 15th-century Spanish conqueror.
  • He became king of Italy and introduced the Spanish currency in the country.
  • He was able to do it because he had discovered a secret underground route to Rome.
  • His first success came when he invaded Italy in 1465.
  • In France, he invented a special machine which would bring him back to Italy.
  • Sadly, he was assassinated before he could test the machine in practice.
  • Unfortunately, he was deposed from the Italian throne in 1467 and had to escape to France.

 

EXERCISE 2 

Add the missing vowels (a, e, I, o, u), then answer the questions.

  1. Which …………………….. NVNTN do you think was the most important in human history?
  2. Should the euro be …………………….. NTRDCD as a currency in Poland? Why/ why not?
  3. Why do you think people …………………….. SSSSNT politicians? It this ever justified?

 

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

Another expression which can be used with uncountable nouns is „plenty of.”
If we say „Romans invaded Egypt many times and they spent plenty of time there,” we say they spent a lot of time in Egypt.
If we say that we have plenty of money, we think that we have a lot of money.

 

Here there are some more examples with „plenty of„:

 

  • plenty of food 
  • plenty of milk 
  • plenty of information

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP 

 

A/ What is Margaret Thatcher famous for?

B/ She MADE HISTORY by becoming the first British woman prime minister.

 

If you make history, you do something that many people will remember or learn about because it is very important.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

  1. When you GIVE IN TO something, you stop fighting and accept that you cannot win.

The country’s government finally decided to give in to terrorist threats.
He was a harsh Prime Minister, never giving in to the demands of the public.

 

  1. When you HAND something OVER to someone, you give it to them.

They formally handed power over to the new government after the rebellion had finished.
The waiter bowed and handed over the menu.

 

EXERCISE 3 

Rewrite the sentences keeping the same meaning and using the word in capitals. 

 

  1. Barack Obama will be remembered as the first Afro-American President of the US.

[MAKE]  ……………………………………………………………………………….

  1. They told us to give them our passports.

[HAND] ……………………………………………………………………………….

  1. Navratilova did not surrender to her opponent and won the game.

[GIVE] ……………………………………………………………………………….

 

 

NEWS

 QUEEN VICTORIA

Queen Victoria was the longest ruling monarch in British history, reigning for over 63 years. Also, this is the longest a woman has ever been queen in history. Known as the Victorian era, the time was a period of great changes in all aspects of British culture, and also witnessed a great expansion of the British Empire.  Although she was initially unpopular, she soon became respected and admired, and projected a kind and friendly image. Her links with Europe’s royal families got her the nickname „the grandmother of Europe,” and her descendants include the past monarchs of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Spain. 

 

GLOSSARY 

– ruling, reigning – being in power as a monarch
– witnessed – saw
– Empire – a group of countries ruled by a single person
– nickname – unofficial name
– descendants – children, grandchildren, etc.

 

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>>Answers

KEY TO EXERCISES  

Ex.1

  1. Mefisto Fellini was a famous 15th-century Spanish conqueror.
  2. His first success came when he invaded Italy in 1465.
  3. He was able to do it because he had discovered a secret underground route to Rome.
  4. He became king of Italy and introduced the Spanish currency in the country.
  5. Unfortunately, he was deposed from the Italian throne in 1467 and had to escape to France.
  6. In France, he invented a special machine which would bring him back to Italy.
  7. Sadly, he was assassinated before he could test the machine in practice.

Ex.2

invention
introduced
assassinate

Ex.3 

  1. Barack Obama will make history as the first Afro-American President of the US.
  2. They told us to hand over our passports.
  3. Navratilova did not give in to her opponent and won the game.

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