Name: _________________________ Date:_________________________

Complete the biographies with the Past Simple form of the verbs in brackets:

Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison (1) ___ (be) born in 1847 in Ohio in the United States. He (2) ____ (start)
school at the age of eight but he (3) ____ (hate) it because on his first day the teacher (4)
_________ (call) him stupid. After that, he (5) ____ (stay) at home a Lot of the time and (6)
_________ (have) Lessons from his mother. He also (7)_________(read) a Lot of science books
at home. He (8) _________ (go) back to school sometimes but he never (9) ___ (like) it very much.
He (10) _____ (leave) school forever at the age of twelve and (11) _____ (get) a job with a
newsagent. He (12) _____ (begin) inventing things at the age of nineteen. In 1877 he (13)
________ (invent) the phonograph, a sort of very early CD player! Two years later, he (14) _____
(make) the world's first electric Light bulb and New York (15) ____ (become) the first city to have
electric lights.

Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley ________ (be) one of the most popular singers of his time. He was called 'The King of
Rock 'n' Roll' and almost thirty years after his death, people still listen to his music.
Elvis Aaron Presley ________ (be born) on 8th January, 1935, in Mississippi, USA. He ________ (win)
a singing contest at the age of six and played his first guitar at the age of eleven. As a young man, Elvis
________ (work) as a lorry driver before he became a singer.
He ________ (have) his first hit, 'Heartbreak Hotel', in 1956. In the same year, he ________ (make)
his first film, 'Love me Tender'. In 1958, Elvis ________ (join) the army and went to Germany. There he
________ (meet) Priscilla Beaulieu. They ________ (marry) in 1967. Elvis ________ (become) one of the
richest singers in history. During his lifetime he ________ (record) a large number of songs and many of them
were big hits. He ________ (perform) his last concert on 26th June, 1977.
Sadly, Elvis ________ (die) a few months later on 16th August. He was only 42 years old. 'The King'
is dead, but his legend lives on!

LEONARDO DA VINCI
LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519) ____ (be) an incredible man. He _______ (work) as an
architect, artist, mathematician and scientist. He also _______ (work) as a military engineer
and ____ (be) a good musician. When he was a child, Leonardo _______ (like) school but he
_______ (hate) Latin. In 1466, Leonardo's family ____ (move) to Florence and he _______
(finish) school. In 1482, he _______ (move) to Milan and _______ (start) to work for the Duke
of Milan. He _______ (design) many buildings for the Duke. He also _______ (study)
mathematics. His drawing of the Anatomy of a Man _______ (show) him to be a great biologist.
In 1502, he _______ (return) to Florence and _______ (paint) the Mona Lisa. From 1514 to
1516, he _______ (live) in Rome and _______ (continue) his scientific experiments. He
_______ (die) in France in 1519.
The interesting facts about this person are:
• Leonardo da Vinci _______ (write) from right to left - you _______ (need) a mirror to read his
handwriting.
• He was a genius - he _______ (can) write one sentence with his right hand and a different sentence
with his left hand.
• He _______ (invent) scissors.
• He _______ (draw) architect's plans but never built a building.
• He _______ (make) models and in his notebooks there were plans for a tank, a helicopter and a
submarine.
 Name: _________________________ Date:_________________________
Ian Fleming

The ex-banker, journalist, military man and secret agent, definitely

preferred his Martinis shaken, not stirred. A staunch believer in 'luxury
living', he was his own prototype for 007.
Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was much like his fictional character.
Fleming was a spy, a
notorious womaniser and he liked his martinis shaken, not stirred. Part of the
British aristocracy, he was a journalist, a banker and a military man, who
finally wrote his first novel at age 43.
Over the next 11 years, he wrote 13 Bond novels and the children's book
'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. Once translated to the silver screen, James Bond
launched the world's longest running series of movies.

Fleming was born in Mayfair, London, to Valentine Fleming, an MP, and his
wife Evelyn Ste Croix Fleming. Ian was the younger brother of travel writer
Peter Fleming and the older brother of Michael and Richard Fleming. He also
had an illegitimate half-sister, the cellist Amaryllis Fleming.
He was educated at Eton before going on to the Royal Military Academy at
Sandhurst. After an early departure from the prestigious officer training
school, he opted to study languages at a private school in Austria.

Following an unsuccessful application to join the Foreign Office, Fleming

worked as a sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters news agency, and then
as a stockbroker in the City of London.

On the eve of World War II, Fleming was recruited into naval intelligence.
Owing in part to his facility with languages, he was a personal assistant to
Admiral John H. Godfrey, who served as the model for James Bond's
commanding officer, "M".

Fleming was put in charge of a special commando unit (from behind his desk
in Whitehall) and was involved in the plot to wash up a dead body on
occupied Europe containing false intelligence about Allied landings.
During the last year of the war, Fleming visited Jamaica on military business and decided that he would work
to make this tropical paradise his home. He set about making this goal happen and did it with style. He designed
and built a home in Jamaica he called Goldeneye.

He left naval intelligence after the war, having attained the rank of Commander, and kept up his rank with the
Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve for some years, having to undergo two weeks training a year. There is little
evidence that Fleming carried out any of the exploits that he later attributed to James Bond - however, what is
clear is that Bond would have been unlikely to come about had Fleming not spent the time he did in the
intelligence services.

Indeed, Fleming's intelligence work provided the background for his spy novels. In 1953, he published his first
novel, 'Casino Royale'. In it, he introduced secret agent James Bond, also famously known by his code number,
007 - which gave him a “licence to kill”. It is believed that, in this initial story, he based the female character
"Vesper Lynd" on real life SOE agent, Christine Granville.

Besides the 12 novels and nine short stories he wrote featuring James Bond, Fleming is also known for the
children's story, 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
In 1961, he sold the film rights to his already published as well as future James Bond novels and short stories
to Harry Saltzman, who, with Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, co-produced the film version of 'Dr. No' (1962). For
 Name: _________________________ Date:_________________________
the cast, Fleming suggested friend and neighbour Noël Coward as the villain Dr. Julius No, and David Niven
or, later, Roger Moore as James Bond. Both were rejected in favour of Sean Connery, who was both Broccoli
and Saltzman's choice.

'Dr. No' proved to be an instant sensation and sparked a spy craze through the rest of the 1960s. It was
followed by 'From Russia with Love' (1963), the second and last James Bond movie Ian Fleming saw.

Fleming died of a heart attack in Kent in August, 1964. He was only 56. His widow, Ann Geraldine Mary
Fleming (1913-1981), and son Caspar Robert Fleming (1952–1975), are buried next to him.

Comprehension exercise

After you have read the text, answer the following comprehension questions in your notebook:

1. Where did he study?

2. Where and when was he born?
3. How many novels did Ian Flemming write?
4. How old was Ian Flemming when he wrote his first novel?
5. By whom was Ian Flemming’s family composed?
6. What did he decide to study?
7. Which were some of his occupations?
8. Who served as a model for the character of “M” on Ian Flemming’s books?
9. Which country did he visit during the last year of war and decide to stay in?
10. What was the name of the house he built in?
11. When did he publish his first novel?
12. Who did he sell the film rights to?
13. Which was the last film that Ian Flemming saw while being alive?
14. Where did he die?
15. When and how did Ian Flemming die?

Read carefully the following biography and then match the following item.

Lionel Andres Messi

Lionel Andrés Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in the city of Rosario, Argentina. Everyone knows
him now as the best football player in the world. In fact, a lot of people say he might become the
greatest player ever. We’ll see about that at the World Cup. Messi is FIFA World Player of the
Year. He also helped his club team Barcelona win the European Champions League and the
World Club Championship.
Messi grew up playing football. He joined his first club when he was five. At the age of eight, he
signed up for the famous Newell's Old Boys' youth team. His career nearly ended when doctors
found out he suffered from a growth hormone deficiency. Luckily, agents from Barcelona saw his
talent and in 2000, he moved to Spain. The Catalan club paid for his medical treatment and
coached him until he made his Barcelona debut.
Lionel started breaking records as soon as he played his first game for Barcelona in the 2004-05 season. He
became the youngest footballer ever to play a La Liga game and the youngest to score a goal. He helped his
_____6. Lionel started breaking f. Player of the Year
_____7. win the league in g. to the legendary Pele
_____8. Messi has an amazing career h. up playing football
_____9. experts compare him i. his Barcelona debut ____10. He takes advantage
Name:
j. _________________________
ahead of him Date:_________________________

Exercise. Do the following exercise in your notebook.

1. Write positive sentences:
1. My sister/finish/her studies/two years ago.
2. My neighbours/buy/a new car/last week.
3. We/spend/the whole afternoon/in the park.
4. Dan/write/an interesting report/yesterday.
5. My father/bring/a nice cat/last month.
6. I/forget/to call my friend/yesterday.
7. Bill/fight/with Sam/after the lessons.
8. They/visit/Paris/three years ago.
2. Write negative sentences:
1. She had a nice dress on yesterday.
2. I came to school very late.
3. Jane went to London last week.
4. Our class won in football competition.
5. He saw Kate on TV last night.
6. We wrote invitations to our guests.
7. Bob looked very happy yesterday.
8. Mike showed us a nice collection of coins.
. 8. Mary got the first prize two years ago.
3. Write general questions:
1. You/do homework/yesterday?
2. She/see/an interesting film/on Sunday?
3. Jim/go/to the sports club/last week?
4. Lucy/send/ a message/to her friend?
5. Tom/get/ a new task/ yesterday?
6. They/meet/their guests/at the bus station?
7. Nick/ride/his bike/yesterday?
8. You/go/to the hospital/last week?
4. Write questions to the underlined
words:
1. I ate a tasty cake yesterday.
2. She bought two books in the bookshop.
3. Tim entered the room through the window.
4. They spent three hours in the museum.
5. Liz went to New York on her holidays.
6. Chris passed his exam yesterday.
7. Nora wrote a nice poem last week.

IRREGULAR VERBS
team win the league in his first season, and the league and Champions League double in the following season.
In the 2008-09 season he scored an impressive 38 goals as Barcelona won the treble.
Messi has an amazing career ahead of him. He is set to shine in South Africa. Many football experts compare
him to the legendary Pele and Maradona. This World Cup could be the stage for him to show people he really
is the best. His skills on the ball, ability to get past defenders and his goal-scoring are breathtaking. Top soccer
coach Arsene Wenger said Messi is “like a PlayStation. He takes advantage of every mistake teams make”.
PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article.
_____1. Everyone knows him now as a. hormone deficiency
_____2. Messi is FIFA World b. of every mistake
_____3. Messi grew c. the best football player
_____4. he suffered from a growth d. records
_____5. coached him until he made e. his first season
 Name: _________________________ Date:_________________________
E S W A S W E R E A E E Q Q U

X X L E A R N T H T K S A W OTOLD HAD

W Q F D V V H T E O L E B V STHOUGHT MET
LEARNT SAW
K R L L C R H B R O U G H T GTOOK SENT
TAUGHT WON
G O O T E G E B C Q E W M F AWASWERE RODE

T X G T U W G A K A C G A E VCAMDID E SANGSOLD

LEFT DROVE
R L Y O E N H A D Q M E D N EMADE ATE

WENT
J O H P A I S S Q R F E E L R BEGAN
WROTE BROKE
Y T D G V T A S P F E B I E CLOST DREAMT

W M E E H V N X E O E A Y F DBROUGHTFELT GAVEFLEW

FOUGHT
L B A G B L G V D N K L M T S
KNEW
F O U G H T O L V O T E T T AREAD
SAID
D A S A U R O E O E S W O N ISPOKE

T I G T D S Z T M D T V Z D D

Y A D E G C K N E W W E N T O
Name: _________________________ Date:_________________________
write the verbs in the infinite form and the meaning in your notebook.