General English Lower Intermediate Level
Lesson 8

Transport

Transport

1. Watch the video


Expressions to work on

I usually get to work by bus

It takes about half an hour

Sometimes I read a book on the way

How about you? How do you get to work?

I travel by bus, it takes about 15 minutes

I get to work by car

I walk to work

I get to work on a tube and I walk some of the way

About 5 minutes’ walk to the station and then I get on a bus, it takes me 20-25 minutes

Mostly, I use the tube

I cycle to work, because it is the easiest and the quickest way

I cycle to work every day on my bike

What do you do on your journey to work?

I usually listen to the music or read

Sometimes I listen to the music and sometimes I read a book

I’d rather read a newspaper or I read books

Cycling in the fresh air, scenery, trying to avoid holes in the road, which are quite dangerous

I dream usually, I love just looking out of window

What is so short, I am not sure that I do very much at all, but I make sure I don’t have an accident

What do you like about it?

It is very short, so my journey to work is only 30 minutes

It is quick, short

I like having some time to think before work

It is quite early in the morning which means the buses are quiet I don’t have to fight for a seat

I love the fresh air and some exercise

I just like the exercise, which I get from it, being outside

It is not too far I can walk or run it is about 40 minutes of work so I feel very healthy, I don’t have to catch a bus

Activity 1

A disaster at sea

We're going to find out about a famous historical disaster and learn how to use past continuous and past simple to describe details about an event.

But to start, look at these images. What historical event do they remind you of?

Read the text and try the activity

A disaster at sea
Vocabulary Test

The story of the Titanic is one that still captures people's imaginations more than a century after it sank in the North Atlantic Ocean.

It was the biggest passenger liner in the world when it was built in 1912. People said it was 'unsinkable' but they were wrong.

Tragically, the Titanic struck an iceberg while it was crossing the Atlantic Ocean and started to sink. Famously, a string quartet continued to play as the ship was going down.

Most of the people on board died but some were able to escape in lifeboats.

To do 

Read the paragraph above again and look at the words in bold. Do you know what they mean? Try this quiz to find out:

Vocabulary

Match the word with the correct definition

to sink
iceberg
passenger liner
to strike
string quartet
lifeboat

Activity 2

What do you know about the Titanic?

Now we are going to watch an animated video about the story of Eva Hart. She was a seven-year-old passenger on the Titanic.

But how much do you know about the passenger liner already? Before you watch the video, look at these statements - are they true or false? Do you know? Then watch the video and check your answers.

  1. The Titanic was travelling to New York.
  2. The ship struck an iceberg on the first night of the journey.
  3. The lifeboats took women only at first.
  4. Passengers panicked when they realized there weren't enough lifeboats for everyone.
  5. The sea wasn't calm and the sky was cloudy on the night Titanic sank.
  6. The ship broke into two pieces before it sank.

Transcript

I was with my parents. My father was going to open a business in Winnipeg. People were saying to my mother and father how fortunate they were to get on the Titanic. I was excited because I was going on a wonderful big ship.

I had no fear or apprehension or anything. She was very beautiful: luxurious beyond words. It was the first time I'd been on board a ship. Captain Smith was on deck and he was very nice. He had a beard like my own grandfather and he admired a doll I had.

On the third night I was sound asleep. My mother woke me and said "I'm going to dress you." But before she could my father came back from deck and said "You'd best put this thick coat on." That was all he said. Standing on deck, I couldn't see around the funnel. My father came back and said "The ship has struck an iceberg." My father had no difficulty in putting me and my mother in lifeboats but he made no attempt to get in himself.

When we were in the water, we could hear people rushing about on the deck. That's when the panic must have started – when they found there weren't any lifeboats left. I was terrified. I didn't know what a shipwreck would mean or how long it would take but I was too terrified to do anything but shriek for my father I knew we'd left behind.

Before she sank, she was a very beautiful ship: stationary on the ocean with all her lights on. It was dreadfully cold but the sea was the calmest I'd ever seen. The starlit night was the brightest I'd ever seen.

I looked back and saw the whole of that tragedy. And I saw that ship break in half. The front part went down and left the stern sticking up in a horrifying fashion. It was enormous. It seemed to stick up in the air for a long time. And then it gradually went down, turning over.

And after that there was the sound of the whole disaster. And that was people drowning. That is something you could never forget. And then the dreadful silence that followed it. It seemed as if the whole world was standing still.

It was discovered that my lifeboat was overcrowded and the officer in charge of the boat decided he would get rid of his load by putting people in other boats. I got separated from my mother and didn't find her until the next day.

The next day, the icebergs were like white sails in the distance: white yachts with the sun on them. They were very beautiful. They were all around us. The crew of the ship that rescued us were very kind and good to us.

We were given clothes because I'd only got my nightclothes and a blanket around me. I had nightmares from the time it sank until I was 23. And though I wouldn't like to say I'm not frightened of the sea, I lost a lot of the horror. I've never been in anything touching the Titanic. A beauty. She was lovely.

Session Vocabulary
  • fortunate
    lucky
  • apprehension
    fear that something bad will happen
  • luxurious
    extremely comfortable or elegant
  • shipwreck
    the destruction of a ship at sea by sinking or breaking up
  • stationary
    not moving, still
  • tragedy
    an event causing great suffering, destruction and distress
  • overcrowded
    when there are too many people in a space than is comfortable
To do

Check your answers in this activity.

Test your knowledge about the Titanic

Are the sentences true or false?

  • The Titanic was travelling to New York.
  • The ship struck an iceberg on the first night of the journey.
  • The lifeboats took women only at first.
  • Passengers panicked when they realised there weren’t enough lifeboats for everyone.
  • The sea wasn't calm and the sky was cloudy on the night Titanic sank.
  • The ship broke into two pieces before it sank.
True False
Grammar Reference

Past simple and past continuous

Meaning and use

We use the past simple for something that happened and finished in the past. We use it when we say or know the time when something happened. It is often used in stories, when one thing happened after another.

  • Last year, we travelled by jeep across the Sahara.
  • When the car stopped, we all got out.

We use the past continuous for something that happened in the past but was not finished at a particular time. This can be an exact time in the past (12 o’clock, etc.) or the time when another thing happened.

  • It was 12 o’clock and we were standing in the midday sun.
  • Mick was checking the engine when the rescue helicopter arrived.

We also use the past continuous to describe a scene or situation in the past or for an action that continued for some time.

  • The stars were beginning to come out.
  • The dog was barking loudly.

Form

Past simple: positive

For regular verbs, the past simple ends in -ed. Irregular verbs have different forms. The past simple form is the same for all persons (I, you, he, she, etc).

  • Suddenly the jeep skidded and stopped.
  • Jake thought that we had a puncture.
Past continuous: positive

The past continuous is subject + was/were + -ing form. There are no short forms of was/were.

  • Fortunately, we were carrying a toolkit.
Past simple: negative

We make the negative past simple with didn’t + infinitive.

  • We didn’t stay inside the jeep because that was even hotter.
Past continuous: negative

We make the negative past continuous with wasn’t/weren’t + -ing form

  • Despite the heat, Jess and Debs weren’t wearing hats.
Past simple: question

The past simple question form is did + subject + infinitive for all persons. The short answers are Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.

  • Did the helicopter land in the desert? Yes it did.
Past continuous: question

The past continuous question form is was/were + subject + -ing form. The short answers are Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.

  • How were you feeling when it arrived?
Take note: spelling changes

In the past continuous, all verbs end in -ing, but sometimes the spelling changes:

take – taking hit – hitting die – dying
Take note: verbs we don’t use in the past continuous

There are some verbs that we don’t usually use in the continuous form. They are often verbs related to the senses and thinking, for example: hear, see, smell, hate, know, understand, believe, notice, want, need, seem, wish.

WRONGWere you knowing Jess when you were living in Madrid?
CORRECTDid you know Jess when you were living in Madrid?
Spoken English

In the past simple and the past continuous, we usually use a contraction with the negative auxiliary verb:

didn’t (= did not) wasn’t (= was not)
Examples:
  • was watching TV when she called.
  • When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
  • While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
  • What were you doing when the earthquake started?
  • was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
  • You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
  • While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
  • Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
  • While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
  • A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
    B: I was snowboarding.
Examples:
  • was studying while he was making dinner.
  • While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
  • Were you listening while he was talking?
  • wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
  • What were you doing while you were waiting?
  • Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
  • They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

Exercise

Past Simple or Past Continuous

  1. A: What (you, do)  when the accident occurred? 
    B: I (try)  to change a light bulb that had burnt out. 
  2. After I (find)  the wallet full of money, I (go, immediately)  to the police and (turn)  it in. 
  3. The doctor (say)  that Tom (be)  too sick to go to work and that he (need)  to stay at home for a couple of days. 
  4. Sebastian (arrive)  at Susan's house a little before 9:00 PM, but she (be, not)  there. She (study, at the library)  for her final examination in French. 
  5. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch, also)  television. That's all she ever does! 
  6. A: I (call)  you last night after dinner, but you (be, not)  there. Where were you? 
    B: I (work)  out at the fitness center. 
  7. When I (walk)  into the busy office, the secretary (talk)  on the phone with a customer, several clerks (work, busily)  at their desks, and two managers (discuss, quietly)  methods to improve customer service. 
  8. I (watch)  a mystery movie on TV when the electricity went out. Now I am never going to find out how the movie ends. 
  9. Sharon (be)  in the room when John told me what happened, but she didn't hear anything because she (listen, not) 
  10. It's strange that you (call)  because I (think, just)  about you. 
  11. The Titanic (cross)  the Atlantic when it (strike)  an iceberg. 
  12. When I entered the bazaar, a couple of merchants (bargain, busily)  and (try)  to sell their goods to naive tourists who (hunt)  for souvenirs. Some young boys (lead)  their donkeys through the narrow streets on their way home. A couple of men (argue)  over the price of a leather belt. I (walk)  over to a man who (sell)  fruit and (buy)  a banana. 
  13. The firemen (rescue)  the old woman who (be)  trapped on the third floor of the burning building. 
  14. She was so annoying! She (leave, always)  her dirty dishes in the sink. I think she (expect, actually)   me to do them for her. 
  15. Samantha (live)  in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live)  there when the Berlin Wall came down.
Homework

1. Learn the topic vocabulary

2. Learn the difference between Past Simple and Past Continuous

Activity 1
  • What happened to the Titanic?
  • Eva's story of survival
  • In previous lesson, we heard the incredible tale of how seven-year-old Eva Hart survived the Titanic disaster. Now you'll get a chance to watch the video again, study the grammar of the past continuous and past simple, and learn how to use these verb forms to tell stories.
  • Watch the video and try the activity

Transcript

I was with my parents. My father was going to open a business in Winnipeg. People were saying to my mother and father how fortunate they were to get on the Titanic. I was excited because I was going on a wonderful big ship.

I had no fear, apprehension, or anything. She was very beautiful: luxurious beyond words. It was the first time I'd been on board a ship. Captain Smith was on deck and he was very nice. He had a beard like my own grandfather and he admired a doll I had.

On the third night I was sound asleep. My mother woke me and said "I'm going to dress you." But before she could by father came back from deck and said "You'd best put this thick coat on." That was all he said. Standing on deck, I couldn't see around the funnel. My father came back and said "The ship has struck an iceberg." My father had no difficulty in putting me and my mother in lifeboats but he made no attempt to get in himself.

When we were in the water, we could hear people rushing about on the deck. That's when the panic must have started – when they found there weren't any lifeboats left. I was terrified. I didn't know what a shipwreck would mean or how long it would take but I was too terrified to do anything but shriek for my father I knew we'd left behind.

Before she sank, she was a very beautiful ship: stationary on the ocean with all her lights on. It was dreadfully cold but the sea was the calmest I'd ever seen. The starlit night was the brightest I'd ever seen.

I looked back and saw the whole of that tragedy. And I saw that ship break in half. The front part went down and left the stern sticking up in a horrifying fashion. It was enormous. It seemed to stick up in the air for a long time. And then it gradually went down, turning over.

And after that there was the sound of the whole disaster. And that was people drowning. That is something you could never forget. And then the dreadful silence that followed it. It seemed as if the whole world was standing still.

It was discovered that my lifeboat was overcrowded and the officer in charge of the boat decided he would get rid of his load by putting people in other boats. I got separated from my mother and didn't find her until the next day.

The next day, the icebergs were like white sails in the distance: white yachts with the sun on them. They were very beautiful. They were all around us. The crew of the ship that rescued us were very kind and good to us.

We were given clothes because I'd only got my nightclothes and a blanket around me. I had nightmares from the time it sank until I was 23. And though I wouldn't like to say I'm not frightened of the sea, I lost a lot of the horror. I've never been in anything touching the Titanic. A beauty. She was lovely.

To do

What were the events Eva told us about? And what order did they happen in? Try the quiz to find out!

What order did these events happen in?
5
1
6
2
4
7
3
Past simple and past continuous

We heard Eva talking about the story of what happened to the Titanic. Now let's look at some of the verb forms used to talk about these events in the past.

Look at these sentences:

  • Captain Smith was standing on the deck when Eva boarded the ship.
  • The ship struck an iceberg while Eva was sleeping.
  • Eva's father took her to the deck and put her on a lifeboat.
  • When the lifeboat reached the water, the people on the Titanic were running about and starting to panic.
  • The Titanic broke into two pieces and slowly sank into the ocean.

These sentences contain examples of past simple and past continuous.

The ship struck (past simple) an iceberg while Eva was sleeping (past continuous).

When to use past simple

We use the past simple to describe an action that happened and finished in the past. We commonly use it to give the order of events in a narrative.

Examples
  • The Titanic struck the iceberg at 11.40pm.
  • It slowly sank into the ocean.
When to use past continuous

We use the past continuous to describe an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past but not completed. We often use this tense with a specific time or together with another shorter event.

Examples
  • The passengers were having dinner at 9 o'clock.
  • Captain Smith was standing on the deck.
How to make positive past continuous sentences

The past continuous is made from subject + was/were + verb-ing.

Examples
  • Eva was sleeping

Activity 3

Past simple or continuous?

Test yourself on past tenses

Past simple or continuous?

Choose the grammatically correct sentence from the options