Reading Exercise I

F.3 General English Module 1 P.1

Answer questions 1 – 15 using information from the blog post. Write your answers in the space
provided. For multiple-choice questions, choose the best answer and blacken ONE circle only.

1. Who does “You” (line 4) refer to?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the tone of Dr. Cheng’s statement, ‘You ought to get more exercise’ (lines 4-5)?
A. Angry
B. Helpful
C. Humorous A B C D
   
D. Rude

3. In paragraph 1, what reason does the writer give for not starting an exercise routine?

______________________________________________________________________________

F.3 General English Module 1 P.2

4. Dr. Cheng believes that _________.
A. exercising once a week is sufficient
B. jogging is better than going for a walk
C. school is more important than exercising A B C D
   
D. the writer doesn’t have a good work-life balance

5. What is a ‘fib’ (line 16)?

___________________________________________

6. Why does the writer say that he ‘would choose watching paint dry over riding an exercise bike
or running on a treadmill’ (lines 19-21)?
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

7. How does the writer stay active in the autumn and winter?

______________________________________________________________________________

8. Find a phrase in paragraph 3 that means ‘be thankful’.

___________________________________________________

9. Find a word in paragraph 3 that means ‘feeling’.

____________________________________

10. Use ONE word to complete each blank.

The term ‘exergaming’ is made by combining the words __________________________ and

_____________________.

11. VR headset users ‘won’t have to count down the minutes’ (line 36) means that they won’t have
to ____________.
A. spend more time doing exercise
B. recharge their VR headset while exercising A B C D
C. set a time limit on their exercise session    
D. worry about feeling bored as they exercise

12. What is the purpose of paragraph 5?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.3

 ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

13. Read paragraphs 5-6 and decide whether the following statements are True, False or the
information is Not Given. Blacken ONE circle only for each statement.

Statements T F NG
a) VR headsets will be expensive when first released.   
not mentioned and cannot be inferred
b) The writer’s friend wants to work in the technology   
industry.
not mentioned and cannot be inferred
c) The illness caused by VR headsets is similar to motion   
sickness. : ‘if they really want to up their wages, they
can University’ (line 16)
d) The writer doesn’t want to try using a VR headset while   
exercising.
no: ‘nip to Jamie’s Italian next door’ (lines 17-18)

14. In line 47, what can ‘mind-numbing’ and ‘mind-blowing’ be replaced by?
A. boring / exciting
B. challenging / confusing
A B C D
C. relaxing / exhausting
   
D. unhealthy / beneficial

15. Would you like to use a VR headset while exercising? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

F.3 General English Module 1 P.4

 Tenses
Watch the TED-ED video ‘How many verb tenses are there in
English? - Anna Ananichuk’ via the link below at home and share
some basic concepts about tenses with your peers in class.
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-many-verb-tenses-are-there-in-
english-anna-ananichuk

1. Present Simple and Present Continuous

A. Form
Present Simple

We use the base form of a verb or with the ‘s’ ending for the present tense in these ways:
Affirmative Negative Questions
I I I
We work We Do we
You You do not / don’t work you work?

They They they

He He he
She works She does not /doesn’t work Does she work?

It It it

Present Continuous

Affirmative Negative Questions

I am (I’m) I am not Am I
We are We we
working are not / working working?
You (’re) You Are you
aren’t
They They they
He He is not /
She is working She isn’t working Is he working?
It (’s) It she
it

F.3 General English Module 1 P.5

 Verbs ending in ‘ch’, ‘o’ ,‘sh’ , ‘ss’, ‘x’ and ‘zz’ often take the ‘es’ ending . Those which end in ‘y’ often take
the ‘ies’ ending.
Examples:
+ ‘s’ + ‘es’ …. ‘y’ + ‘ies’
quit  quits touch  touches hurry  hurries
shrink  shrinks guess guesses worry  worries
buzz buzzes

B. Use
Present Simple Present Continuous
We use the simple present tense : We use the present continuous tense :

 for permanent or more long-lasting 
situations/ facts:
e.g. Sam works in his father’s construction
company.
e.g. My father works for an insurance company.
Hong Kong is a densely populated city.
Present Simple
 for general truths or laws of nature
e.g. Oil floats on water. ( Oil is floating on
water)
Which travels faster, sound or light?
for temporary situations lasting for a short
time around the present time
e.g. My sister is staying with her friend in London at
the moment.
e.g. We are decorating the kitchen this week.
Present Continuous
 for currently changing and developing
situations
e.g. Our summer is getting hotter and hotter .
It is becoming harder to find big families with
more than four kids nowadays.

 to refer to actions which are going to  to refer to planned / arranged future

happen very soon, or future actions actions:
happening regularly according to a
timetable or fixed schedule
e.g. Paul is leaving for America early tomorrow
morning.
e.g. The train to Guangzhou leaves Hung Hom
Railway Station at 8:00 a.m.
The show starts in 5 minutes. e.g. My parents are buying me a mountain bike for
my birthday.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.6

  to tell stories, or summarizes the plot of a
film or a book or for sports
commentaries or film reviews

e.g. Cinderella’s step mum does not allow her to

join the prince’s party. ( a summary of the
plot)

e.g. Messi wins the ball, crosses Robin van

Persie and scores. ( sports commentary)

e.g. Robert Downey Jr. acts wonderfully in Iron

Man 3. (film review)

 To express feelings and emotions

e.g. I love Paris as it’s a beautiful city.
This juice tastes delicious.

C. Related time expressions

Present Simple Present Continuous

sometimes, usually, often, always,

occasionally, seldom=rarely, never , every now, at present, at the moment, these days,
day/week/month/ year etc, nowadays , today, tonight, currently etc …
in the morning/afternoon/evening,
at night, at / on the weekend,
on Mondays/ Fridays, etc

Exercise 1 : Underline the correct tense in the following sentences.

1. What time do you go/ are you going to bed on Saturdays?

2. If you aren’t listening / don’t listen to the radio, switch it off.
3. His only bad habit is that he talks / is talking too loudly.
4. I’m only working / I only work in the convenience store for a couple of months because
I’m leaving / I leave Hong Kong to study abroad next month.
5. The sea gets / is getting more and more polluted.
6. She is seeing / sees more of her family nowadays. She used to visit them only once a month.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.7

1. When we use always with the Present Simple, it usually means ‘every time’
e.g. I always complain if the service is bad in restaurants.
However, we can also use always with the Present Continuous, it means ‘all the time’ or ‘too/ very often’:
e.g. You’re always complaining that waiters are rude.

2. Some verbs describe a state rather than an action and so they are not usually used in the continuous tense.
These are called “state verbs” or “non-progressive verbs.” Here are some examples:
appearance: appear, look, seem
composition: consist of, contain, include, have
thinking: think (=believe), forget, remember, know, understand, see(=understand), mean,
realise, recognise
likes and dislikes: like, love, prefer, dislike, hate, wish,
needs and wants: lack*, need, want, wish
opinion: believe, doubt, imagine, suppose , think
possession: belong to, have, own, owe, possess
senses: feel, hear ( listen), notice, see, smell, sound , taste
others : come from , cost, fit, suit, be, weigh

e.g. * She lacks confidence.

She is lacking (adj.) in confidence.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.8

 3. However, some of the above verbs have more than one meaning . When they describe actions, we can use
them in the present continuous tense but there is difference in meaning with their present simple form. Here
are some examples:

Present Simple Present Continuous

He has (got) a big car. (possession) He is having a meal. (= eating)
I have two brothers. (possession) He is having a bath (= taking)

He thinks the mobile phone is too expensive.
(=opinion)
She looks sad. (= appearance)
I feel what we did was wrong. (=opinion)
Do you see what I mean? (=understand ;
knowledge)
The juice tastes good. (=senses)
It depends on the weather. (=connection ; the
weather may change the situation)
She appears to be very upset. (= appearance)
They are thinking of buying a cheaper car.
(=considering)
I’m still thinking whether to buy a new
smartphone .
He is looking at his watch. (= checking ; examining)
I am feeling exhausted. (= physical reaction)
Are you seeing a lot of Mary nowadays?
(=spending time with)
He is tasting the milk to see if it is OK. (=checking the
quality )
I am depending on you. (=relying)
A Korean band is appearing at the Hong Kong
Coliseum on Saturday. (performing)

4. We can use verbs that describe the way we feel physically using either the Present Simple or Simple
continuous tense with NO change of meaning:

I feel sick. I am feeling sick.

My feet ache. OR My feet are aching.
My leg hurts. My leg’s hurting.

Exercise 2 Complete the following sentences using either the Present Simple or
the Present Continuous of the verbs in brackets.
1.He ( appear) to be very friendly but I don’t know him very well.
2.There is nobody at the door; you just (hear) some strange noise.
3.I’m thinking of doing a course on accounting – what ( you think) ? Is it a good
idea?
4.My sister (wait) patiently for her examination results, which are going to be released
next week.
5.We ____________________ ( not travel) by train very often.
6.I’m sorry, I (feel) too tired to go out this evening.
7. We (rely) on you to bring the keys with you.
8. I (wish) I could have a holiday break very soon.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.9

 9. (you see) much of your brother these days?
10. Carol can’t go swimming with us today. She (have) a cold.
11. What (we eat) this evening? I’m really hungry.
12. You’re a great cook! This cake (taste) wonderful.
13. Chemistry is hard. I (not understand) it .
14. Don’t show me that picture! I ( hate) spiders.
15. My sister can’t stand horror films. She ______________ (think) they are silly.
16. I (not take) the bus to school today. My mother
(give) me a lift.

Exercise 3 Fill in the blanks with the simple present or present continuous using the words given
in brackets.

It is (be) a proven fact that smoking (1) (be) bad for your health. However, recent survey
findings (2) ___________ (show) that the number of young smokers (3) _______________ (increase).
Why (4) (young people/smoke)? They (5) (think) that smoking (6)
(make) them look mature and ‘cool’ . In fact, they (7) (not be) cool at all! Although the
government (8) (do) everything to stop smoking in public places, a young person with a
cigarette in hand (9) (become) a common sight. So, the government (10)
(need) to do more to educate the younger population.

2. Past simple and Past continuous

A. Form

Past Simple
Affirmative Negative Questions
I I I
He/She/It worked He/She/It did not Did He/She/It work?
We/ You/ They We/You/They work We/You/They

Past Continuous
Affirmative Negative Questions
I I was not working / I
Was
He/She/It was working He/She/It he/she/it
wasn’t working
F.3 General English Module 1 P.10
We/ working?
were working We/You/ were not working / Were we/you/they
You/They
They weren’t working

B. Use
Past Simple Past Continuous

1. for actions which started and finished at a

1. for an action that was in progress at a specific
definite time in the past. The time is either
point of time in the past .
stated, already known or implied:

e.g. Jane was playing the guitar at 11 o’clock last

e.g. Andy Lau worked as an actor in TVB from 1980-
night.
1987.
e.g. At 3 o’clock yesterday, I was studying at the
e.g. I visited Japan two years ago.
library.

2. for past habits or repeated actions in the past
e.g. I always went cycling when I was younger.
e.g. Paul walked / used to walk to school every day
last year.
2. to describe a situation of the past or to give
background information about a past event. We use
the past continuous tense for the longer action
and the simple past tense for the shorter action.
e.g. While I was doing homework, I heard a loud
scream.

e.g. As I was walking down the street, I saw Sam.

doing homework

heard a loud scream

Past Simple Past Continuous

F.3 General English Module 1 P.11

 3. for completed actions that happened one after 3. for actions that were happening at the same
the other in the past, with no connection to the time in the past (with while).
present.
While Sandra was reading, she was listening to
action 1 action 2 action 3 the radio.
  
listening to the radio
reading
× × ×

Past Present past present

e.g. I finished work, walked to the beach, and
found a nice place to swim.
The students stopped writing, put down their pens
and handed in the exam papers.
[Note: We often use conjunctions such as when, while,
as to talk about actions/ events going on at the same
time.
The past continuous tense is very useful for
describing the background when we tell stories:

e.g. The sky was getting darker. It was raining . The

wind was blowing through the trees.

4. to talk about the lives of people who are no

longer alive.
e.g. Bruce Lee starred in a number of successful
kung-fu movies in 1960’s.
e.g. William Shakespeare wrote ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

C. Related time expressions

Past Simple Past Continuous
yesterday,
last night/ Monday/ month/ January etc… when, while ,as ,
two days/ months/ weeks etc…. ago all day/ night/ morning etc…..
when , in 1997/ 2004 etc…..

F.3 General English Module 1 P.12

 Note :

We usually just add –ed to regular verbs to form the past form. Sometimes, the spelling changes a little:
Other
Examples
examples

With most regular verbs + ed walk  walked

wait  waited

With most verbs ending in -e +d arrive  arrived

save  saved

With verbs ending in -y -y + ied reply  replied

hurry  hurried

With verbs ending in a vowel+ double the occur  occurred

consonant consonant and stop  stopped
+ ed

With verbs ending with a vowel +y + ed stay  stayed

destroy  destroyed

Exercise 4 Put the past simple of the following verbs in the column ‘other examples’ of the list above.

bake fry plot complete obey try

hire delay play cry tidy rub

Exercise 5 Underline the correct tenses.

1. My sister ( graduated, was graduating ) from the University of Hong Kong in 2012.

2. The maids (cooked , were cooking ) the whole morning to get lunch ready for the guests.

3. My husband and I ( window-shopped, were window-shopping ) this afternoon when we

( bumped , were bumping ) into one of our former classmates.

4. While I ( studied, was studying ) for my term exams last night, my little sister ( interrupted, was
interrupting ) me all the time.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.13

 5. The officials ( announced, was announcing ) the winners as soon as the competition was over.

6. My father ( had, was having ) a meeting when I ( phoned, was phoning ) him this morning.

7. Mother Teresa (devoted, was devoting ) all her life to helping the needy.

8. What ( did you do, were you doing ) at 6 pm yesterday?

Exercise 6 Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or past continuous.
1. How ( you feel) yesterday afternoon?
2. Last summer I (go) swimming every weekend.
3. When I (reach) home this evening, I (receive) David’s phone call.
4. While Mary (wash-up), she (break) a cup.
5. Mary (ride) her bicycle when she (notice) the tiny
kitten.
6. As he (drive) to work, he suddenly (remember) that his briefcase was
still at home.
7. When I (be) at school, I (eat) fast food very often.
8. In the past, people (lead) a hard life and they usually (die) at a
young age.
9. When the dog (bite) my leg, I (scream) loudly.
10. What (you do) when I (phone) you last night? There was no reply.

Exercise 7 Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given.

1. I enjoyed the concert. (negative) I didn’t enjoy the concert .

2. Sue dropped her mobile phone. ( question)

3. You brought all the equipment here. (question)

4. Paul didn’t speak Putonghua well. ( affirmative)

5. I paid all the bills. (question)

6. Did Mary stay in a hotel last night?

( affirmative)

7. Sam liked singing karaoke. ( question)

8. I felt well yesterday. ( negative)

9. The boss held a meeting yesterday. ( negative)

10. Did similar accidents occur last year?

(affirmative)
F.3 General English Module 1 P.14
Exercise 8
Proofread the following story to see if the underlined verbs are in the right tense or form. Put a tick
( ) in the space provided if it is correct. Write down the correct tense or verb form in the space
provided if it is wrongly used. The first two have been done for you as examples.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.15

 (1) (2)
It was very late at night. A teenager walked in the street. He 1.was walking

was wearing a school uniform. The young man was on his way home 2. 

after spending hours in a games centre, and he (3) looks very tired. 3.

(4) (5)
As the teenager’s turning the corner, suddenly a man jumped out
(6) (7)
from nowhere. The man was pointing a knife at the teenager and 4.

was telling him to hand over his wallet and mobile phone. The 5.

teenager (8) did not afraid and wanted to fight with the man. 6.

Luckily, at that very moment, a car was driving by and the driver (9) 7.

seen what (10) was happened. He immediately (11) called the police on his 8.

mobile. When the robber saw the car slowing down, he (12) putted away 9.

his knife and (13) disappearing in the dark. 10.

11.
When the police officer arrived, he (14) interviewed the teenager and the
12.
car driver. He had a lot of questions about the robbery. ‘Where were
13.
you when the robber (15) come up to you?’ he asked the teenager. ‘And
14.
how fast (16 ) did you drive when you saw the robbery?’ he asked the
15.
driver. ‘Which way did the robber (17) running?’ he asked them both.
16.
Finally, the police officer (18) was taking the teenager aside. ‘So, young
17.
(19) (20)
man,’ he begin, ‘what were you did in the street so late at night,
18.
(21) (22)
anyway?’ He gived the teenager a stern look and say , ‘You’d
19.
better be careful. You might not be so lucky next time!’
20.

21.

22.

3. Present Perfect

A. Form

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

F.3 General English Module 1 P.16
 I I
We have agreed We have not agreed/ Have I / we / agreed ?
You (’ve agreed) You haven’t agreed you / they
They They

He has agreed He has not agreed / Has he / she / it agreed ?

She (’s agreed) She hasn’t agreed
It It

B. Difference between the Present Perfect and Past Simple

We use either the Past Simple or the Present Perfect ( has/ have + past participle) to talk about past
actions but there are some differences between these two tenses:
Present Perfect Past Simple
1. We use the Present Perfect for actions that 1. We use the Past Simple for actions that
happened at some time in the past, but the exact happened at a definite time in the past and the
time is NOT mentioned. time is mentioned.

e.g. I have heard this song before. e.g. I heard this song on the radio last night.

2. We use the Present Perfect for an action which 2. We use the Past Simple for an action which
started in the past and continues up to the began and finished in the past.
present.
entered TST

studying TST

2012 2014
2012 2014
Past Present Past Present

e.g. I have studied in TST since 2012.

Note: The action of studying still continues up to the ee.g. I

present moment. entered TST in Sept 2012 .

Note: The action of entering TST started and finished

at a point in the past .

Present Perfect Past Simple

F.3 General English Module 1 P.17

3. We can also use the Present Perfect when a 3. We use the Simple Past for past habits or
finished action or event is connected to the repeated actions in the past, with no connection to
present in some ways . the present.

e.g. My sister has cut her finger. She is crying. e.g. My father drank a lot of beer when he was young.
e.g. My father has lost his job. He is now looking for a e.g. I always stayed with my Grandma in mainland
new one. China during the summer holidays when I was
e.g. I have broken my leg. I can’t play basketball now. small.

4. We use the Present Perfect for actions which

were completed a short time ago.

e.g. The boss has just left his office.

(= The boss left his office a short time ago.)

5. We use the Present Perfect to announce a piece of news, and the Past Simple or Past Continuous to
give more details about it.

e.g. I’ve just seen the new principal. I was talking to Ms Chan near the office when he walked past.
C. Time expressions used with the present perfect

for (+ a period of time) , since (+ a point of time), already , yet, just, ever, never, ,
how long, recently, lately, so far, up to now, * to date (=up to now),
so far this week / this month/ summer etc…….

*e.g. To date, our company has received about 200 application letters for the post.

Note :

1. Sometimes, we can use either the present perfect or the past simple with today , this

F.3 General English Module 1 P.18

 morning, this afternoon etc….
Present Perfect Tense
when these periods of time are not finished
e.g. I’ve spoken to Peter this morning.
( It is still morning.)
e.g. I haven’t eaten all day today, so I’m very
hungry now. ( It is still ‘today’ and
you haven’t eaten anything since you woke up
in the morning.)
Past Simple
when these periods of time are finished
e.g. I spoke to Peter this morning.
( It is now afternoon, evening or night time.)
e.g. I was late for school today. ( meaning that
you were late for school in the morning
but the moment of speaking is the
afternoon or evening)

2. We use the present perfect and the past simple in the same sentence with ‘since’.

e.g. My grandfather has lived in Wan Chai since he moved to Hong Kong from China in 1965.
My brother has worked in Hong Kong Bank since he graduated from City University in 2012.
Pattern: present perfect + since + past simple

3. We use the present perfect in the following pattern:

a. This / It is the first/ second/ third etc. time/ (that) …

e.g. This is the first time that I’ve heard her sing. ( NOT :This is the first time that I hear her sing,)

This is the fifth time you have asked me this question.

b. It/ This is the best/ worst/ most interesting (superlative form) etc. + noun that…

e.g. That’s the third cup of coffee you’ve drunk this morning.
This is the best film I have seen.
This is the hottest day we’ve had so far this summer.

Exercise 9 Complete the following exercise with either the simple past or the present
perfect of the given verbs.
1. Yesterday _____________ (be) a bad day for me. I __________ (bring) my sister's schoolbag to
school instead of mine. I was punished by my teacher because I could not hand in my homework.

2. My father (give) up smoking and he is now in good health.

3. I ______________ (join) the Hong Tai Tours to Thailand last Christmas but it _________ (be) a
terrible experience for me.

4. Miss Chan is an experienced English teacher. We all like her very much. However, she
_______________ (get) a new job and is leaving us.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.19

 5. Bill is short of money; he ________________ (be) out of work for months.

Exercise 10 Complete the following dialogues with the correct forms of the given verbs in
brackets. Use the tenses covered in sections 1, 2 and 3.
1. Oliver: (you/ hear) from Amy recently?
Charles: No, I haven’t. She ( not/ contact) me for quite a while already.

2. Jacky: What (Vicky/ do) all morning?

Ken : She (go) to a restaurant with her parents. They
(just / finish) their breakfast.

3. Mark: (you/ know) the man over there, Mary?

Mary: No, I (not/ see) him before.

4. Paul: Someone (steal) my car last night.

Cindy: I’m sorry to hear that. (you/ report) that to the police yet?

5. Ann: Why (be) you so hungry now?

Anita: I (have) breakfast at 7:00 this morning. I (not/ eat)
anything since then.

6. Jack: How's your brother?

Sam: He is fine, thanks. He's not in Hong Kong. He

_________________ (emigrate) to Australia.

7. May: Does Jane know about the summer camp?

8. Cindy: Shall we go out for dinner tonight?

Sue: Sorry. I can't go with you. I ____________________ (not/finish)
my essay.
Cindy: You haven't? What ______________________ (you/do) this
afternoon?

Sue: I _________________________ (go) for a swim.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.20

 9. Mary: What (happen) to you yesterday?
Why (you/ not meet) us at
the cinema?
Linda: I'm sorry. I ________________ (have) a stomach-ache. Then I
(stay) in bed and (oversleep).
10. Susan: I (find) my lost watch.
Lucy: Where __________________________ ( you/ find) it?
Susan: I ______________________ (find) it in the fridge.
Lucy: You're kidding!

Susan: That's true. My younger brother ______________________ (do) it.

4. Past Perfect

A. Form
had + past participle

Affirmative Negative Question

I I I
You You you
We had worked We had not/ worked we worked ?
They (’d ) eaten They hadn’t eaten Had they eaten ?
He finished He finished he finished ?
She She she
It It it

B. Use
F.3 General English Module 1 P.21
 The past perfect is used:

1. for an action which happened before another past action or before a stated time in the
past.

Sue went out at 7:00 pm I telephoned Sue at 7:20

pm

Action 1 P
Action 2 Present
Past

When I telephoned Sue, she *had gone out.

Action 2 Action 1 (earlier action)

[ * The past perfect is used for an action happening before another action in the past. ]
Other examples:
We arrived at the cinema at 8.00 , but the film had already started.
When I spoke to the woman, I realized I had met her somewhere before.
2. for an action which finished in the past and whose result was visible in the past.
e.g. He had broken his leg, so he couldn’t walk for a few days last week.

(The action ‘had broken’ happened in the past, and the result ‘couldn’t walk’ is still visible in the past.)

e.g. He has broken his leg, so he can’t walk properly now.

(The action ‘has broken’ happened in the past, but the result ‘can’t walk’ is still visible
in the present.)

3. to report what another person said about something that happened in the past.

Direct Speech: Present Perfect Reported Speech: Past Perfect

‘I have finished reading the novel , so I can lend it to Jane said to Sam that she had finished reading the
you now,’ Jane said to Sam. novel , so she could lend it to him then.

Note :

1. We don’t normally use the past perfect if we are talking about a single past action.

 She had gone to bed.

 She has gone to bed.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.22

  She had gone to bed when I phoned him last night.

2. When a series of actions took place one immediately after the other, there is no need
to use the past perfect.

e.g. He turned off the lights, locked the door and left.
e.g. We got to the station at 7.20, and the train left at 7.25.

Compare: We got to the station at 8.00, but the train had left .

e.g. When Sue arrived, we had dinner. (Sue arrived, then we had dinner.)

Compare: When Sue arrived, we had already had dinner. ( We had dinner, then Sue arrived.)

3. We can use either the past simple or past perfect with ‘before’ and ‘after’
without
any difference in meaning as it is already clear which of two actions took place first.

e.g. After she brushed / had brushed her teeth, she went to bed.
she brushed / had brushed her teeth, she went to bed.
He locked / had locked all the windows and doors before he went out.
He locked / had locked all the windows and doors, he went out.
4. The past perfect is like the past equivalent of the present perfect.

Present Perfect Past Perfect

I have not eaten all day today, so I’m very I hadn’t eaten all day yesterday, so I was very
C. hungry now. hungry when I got home . T
i
me expressions used with the Past Perfect

before, after, already, for, since, just , till/ until , when ,

by, by the time, never etc…

Exercise 11
Jimmy forgot to do his homework yesterday. He is now telling lies to his teachers. Complete the
following exercise with the correct form of the given verbs. Use the past perfect if the action
happened earlier and use the past simple if the action occurred later.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.23

 1. Mr Chan: Why didn’t you hand in your English composition?
Jimmy: My brother (tear) all the paper out of my composition book before
I (have) time to do my composition.

2. Mr Lee: Why didn’t you hand in your History worksheet?

Just when I (start) to do the worksheet, I discovered that it
Jimmy:
(disappear) from my schoolbag.

3. Mrs Lo: Why didn’t you hand in your Chinese homework?

Before I (start) to do my homework, I found that I (lend) my textbook
Jimmy:
to David, so I (not have) the textbook to refer to.

Exercise 12 Complete the dialogue using either the past simple or the past perfect of the verbs in
brackets.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.24

Exercise 13 Complete the dialogue using either the present perfect, past perfect or past simple.
1. A: Mum (lose) her purse.
B: Where (she /lose) it?
A: At the supermarket while she was shopping.

2. The students (find) the last English test very easy because they
(do) some of the questions before.

3. A: Who was on the telephone?

B: It (be) Jane.
A: Who is she?
B: Someone who (work) in my office for a few years. She has got a new job now,
though.

4. The house was very quiet when I (get) home. Everybody

(go) to bed.

5. My sister is looking for a job. So far, she (send) off more than ten application letters,
but she (not receive) any reply yet.

6. A: Why were you so upset this morning?

B: Well, I (just finish) cleaning the house when the children came in with muddy
shoes.

7. Operator: Hello, Housekeeping Section.

Hotel Guest: Hello! I (call) ten minutes ago asking for a technician to repair the
table lamp but he (still not come) yet.
Operator: I’m sorry for that. I’ll send the technician right away.

8. Jacky: My father can’t leave for Malaysia today.

John: Why not?
Jacky: His passport (expire).

F.3 General English Module 1 P.25

 5. Present Perfect Continuous

A. Form
has/ have + been + ing form
Affirmative Negative Questions
I I
have been working/ have not been working I
Have
We/You/ ’ve been working We/You/ we/you / been working ?
haven’t been working
They They they
He/She/ has been working/ He/She/
has not been working Has he/she /it
It ’s been working It hasn’t been working

B. Use
The present perfect continuous is used to put emphasis on the duration of an action which
 started in the past
 is still going on now and
 may continue up to the future

e.g. I have been learning Putonghua since I was in Primary One.

learning
Putonghua

Past 2014 present moment of speaking

Primary 1

Other examples:

They have been talking for the last hour.

She has been working at that company for three years.
What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
Miss Lee has been teaching in our school since she graduated from university.
Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.26

C. Differences between the Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous
1. The present perfect often emphasizes a finished action but the present perfect continuous
can emphasize an action that it is still going on.

e.g. I’ve written five application letters. Note:

writing The action is finished

application letters
at the point of
Present
speaking.
Perfect
Past Present moment of speaking

started writing letters

finished 5 letters

e.g. I’ve been writing application letters all morning. The continuous form
suggests that the action
writing has lasted for a period
Present
application letters but it may or may not
Perfect
be finished at the point
Continuous Present
Past of speaking.
moment of
speaking

2. When we talk about how many times we have done something, how many/ much we have
done, how many things we have done, we use the present perfect.

However, when we talk about how long something has been in progress (i.e. the duration of the
action), we use the present perfect continuous.

e.g. My father has been collecting stamps for about twenty years. (emphasizing the duration) Up to now,
he has collected more than five thousand stamps. (emphasizing how many stamps he has collected)

More examples:

F.3 General English Module 1 P.27

 Present perfect I have walked six kilometers so far this morning.
Present perfect continuous I have been walking all morning.

Present perfect How many novels have you written?

Present perfect continuous How long have you been working as a novelist?

3. We can use the present perfect continuous to express anger, irritation or annoyance.

e.g. Who has been reading my business papers? (The speaker is irritated)
Note :

1. Sometimes there is only a small difference or even no difference in meaning between the two
forms especially with verbs like live, work, teach and feel. For example:

has lived for years.

She in this house since 2006.
has been living

has felt unwell all morning .

He has been feeling

2. However, if there is a clear indication that the action will continue, the present perfect
continuous tense is preferable.

e.g. The speaker has been talking for an hour. I wonder when he will stop.

D. Time expressions used with present perfect continuous

for two weeks/ hours/ months , since last week/Monday / 2012 etc….,
all morning/ day/ week , for ages , lately , recently etc….

Exercise 14 In the following sentences, one form is wrong or unnatural. Underline the correct form.
1. How many times have you visited / have you been visiting Tokyo?

2. I ’ve gone / I’ve been going to London a lot lately.

3. Have you ever gone / Have you been going camping?

4. Have you heard / Have you been hearing that Shirley has come/ has been coming back from her

holiday already?

5. Hurry up, Sandra! We’ve waited/ ‘ve been waiting for you for half an hour!

F.3 General English Module 1 P.28

 6. Oh no! I’ve cut / ’ve been cutting myself.

7. Why are you so sweaty?

I’ve run/ ’ve been running .

Exercise 15 Put in the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous of the verbs in
brackets.

1. It (snow) all day. I wonder when it will stop.

2. The telephone (ring) four times in the last hour, and each time it has been for my
roommates.

3. The telephone (ring) for almost a minute. Why doesn’t someone answer it?

4. We can’t go now. It (not stop) raining yet.

5. The paper is not on my desk anymore. I guess Mum (already throw) it away.

6. The little boy is dirty from head to foot because he (play) in the mud.

7. Jason (play) computer games all afternoon. It’s time to ask him to start his homework.

8. I don’t know where Martha (go) to. I (try) to find her the whole morning
but I still can’t get in touch with her.

9. Kevin (collect) bottle caps since he was in Primary Five. Up to now, he

(collect) around two hundreds.

10. Mr Lee (be) our neighbour for many years. He and my father are now good friends.

6. Past Perfect Continuous

A. Form

had + been + ing form

Affirmative Negative Questions

I I
I been working ?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.29

He/She/ had been working He/She/ had not been working /
Had he/she /it been working?
It (’d been working) It hadn’t been working
We/You/ We/You/ we/you /
been working ?
They They they

B. Use
1. We use the past perfect continuous to talk about a continuous past action that

 happened earlier than another past action

 had been in progress for some time
 continued up to the past time we are talking about

e.g. David had been driving for an hour when his car broke down.

Action 1 Action 2

driving for an hour

Past

his car broke down

( the past time present momentabout)

of speaking
we are talking

Other examples:
Mr Woo had been working in our school for 28 years when he finally retired in 2011.
The workmen had been repairing the lift for the whole morning before they left for lunch.
I'd been walking for about half an hour when it suddenly started to rain.
[note: the underlined parts = the past time we are talking about]

2. The past perfect continuous is the past form of the present perfect continuous.

Compare:

Present Perfect Continuous I have been working hard all day, so I’m very tired now.

Past Perfect Continuous I had been working hard all day, so I was very tired last night.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.30

 Present Perfect Continuous ‘Sam has been working hard all day recently,’ Mary said.

Past Perfect Continuous Mary told me that Sam had been working hard all day recently.

Exercise 16 Put the verbs in brackets into the past, past perfect or the past perfect
continuous.

1. A: Did you do anything last night?

B: I went to the gym and I (just arrive) home when Michael called me. He said he
(try) to call me for ten minutes before I finally answered the phone.

2. A: Did you catch any fish on your fishing trip today?

B: Yes. I (sit) in the boat for two hours when I caught a huge fish.

3. When we switched on the television, the television programme (finish) already.

4. Manager: Why are you so late for work this morning?

Clerk : I’m sorry. I (wait) for the bus for half an hour before it eventually arrived.

5. Betty and her boyfriend (argue) for hours before they finally came to an agreement
yesterday.

6. I didn’t see Joyce at the party last night. She (leave) when I arrived.

7. The students (work) on the project for a couple weeks. Luckily they could meet the
deadline last week.

8. My little sister (perform) badly in the singing contest yesterday because she
_____________________ (not sing) in front of so many people before.

Exercise 17 Complete the sentences using either the present perfect continuous or the past
perfect continuous of the verbs in brackets.

1. I (stand) there for nearly a half an hour when I realized I was at the wrong bus-stop.

2. James (smoke) for 10 years. I don’t think he will give it up.

3. Mum said to my younger brother angrily, ‘You (watch) television all afternoon. When
are you going to do your homework?’

4. A: ‘I’m really sorry I was so late last night.’

B: ‘That’s OK. We (not wait) long.’

F.3 General English Module 1 P.31

5. Tom (work) on the project for the past 4 days, but most of his classmates have finished
it already.

6. Some strange thing happened on the first night of our camping trip. We (just talk)
about ghosts when we heard some noise from outside.

7 A: My uncle and his family moved from Hong Kong to Shanghai when he started his business there.
B: ‘How long (he /live) in Shanghai up to now?’

8. Maria's sister (study) at university for eight years before she finally
passed her exams.

Exercise 18 Fill in the blanks with the past simple, present perfect , present perfect
continuous , past perfect or past perfect continuous of the verbs in
brackets.

1. Nelson: (you / see) Judy recently?

Henry: No, I haven’t, but I (talk) to her on the phone last week.

2. {It is 11:45 am. Susan and Kitty are talking on the phone}
Susan: I (call) you several times this morning and there was no reply. What
(do) all morning?
Kitty : I (play) tennis with my classmates . We (just finish) our game.

3. Mr. Lee (work) in our office for 35 years when he (retire) last year.

4. Joe (practise) the violin since he (be) ten. He

(get) 4 major prizes up to now.

5. It is midnight. I (study) for five straight hours. No wonder I’m getting tired.

6. The boy scouts ____________________ (walk) for hours before they stopped to have a rest.

7. Our neighbour (already put) out the fire when the firemen came.

8. Doctor Lam (study) the danger of cigarette smoking for 20 years. He

(publish) his findings recently.

9. Although Richard (play) tennis for two hours, he did not feel tired.

10. Everybody (be) late for the meeting yesterday because the secretary (tell)
them the wrong time.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.32

 7. The Future
We can use different ways to express the future in English. The
choice depends on the situation. Here are the main forms and their uses:

1. Future Simple ( will+ bare infinitive)

Form
Affirmative Negative Questions
I I I
You You you
We We will not work/ we
They will work They they
(’ll work ) won’t work Will work ?
He He he
She She she
It It it

Note: We use will with all persons ( I, you, he, they, etc…) . We can also use shall instead of will
with I and we ( e.g. I/ we shall work) , but in everyday speech, we normally use the
contractions I’ll and we’ll. The negative of shall is shall not ( contraction shan’t).

2. Use
Future Simple is used:

a. to talk about what we think will happen in the future:

e.g. Tomorrow will be another cold day in all parts of the country.
In the future, robots will do many jobs that people do today.
Who do you think will win the football match on Sunday?

b. to talk about decisions made at the moment of speaking :

e.g. Lee said, ‘We’ll call you when the show starts.’
e.g. ‘Can anybody take me home?’ Alex said. ‘I’ll take you home,’ said Jane.
e.g. ‘I’m going out shopping.’ ‘Oh, are you? I’ll come with you, then. I need to get something myself.’

c. to talk about scheduled events:

e.g. The competition will take place at the Hong Kong Stadium next month.

3. Time expressions used with future simple

F.3 General English Module 1 P.33

 tomorrow, the day after tomorrow , next week/ month/ year etc..
tonight, soon, in a week/ month/year etc….

Note :

1. The future simple is not used after as , while, until, as soon as, after, if or by the time .
We use the present simple or present perfect instead.
e.g. I'll wait until you finish/have finished. (NOT: .... until you will finish-.)

2. When (=At what time?) used as a question word can be followed by the future simple. When
(=at the time) used as a time word is followed by the present simple.
e.g. When will I know the results? (when = question word)
e.g. I can't tell when it will be ready. (when =question word)
e.g. He'll call us when he gets there. (when= time word)

3. The future simple is often used after I think, I believe, I’m sure, I promise, I’m afraid etc….

e.g. It’s almost seven o’clock. I think Sue will be back soon.
James is having a cold. I’m afraid he will not come to our party.
I’m sure Jack will win the game.

4. If can be followed by the future simple only after expressions which show ignorance,
uncertainty, etc..., such as I don't know if , I doubt if , I wonder if , etc…
e.g. I wonder if he will be on time.

but: If you see him, tell him about the party. (conditional sentence Type I)
 If you will see him, tell him about the party.

Exercise 19 Complete the sentences using I’ll or I won’t and the verbs in the box. Each word can
only be used ONCE.

go answer go put on have lend wait

e.g. I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.

1. A: I haven’t got any money.

B: Haven’t you ? Oh, you some if you like.

2. A: The telephone is ringing.

B: Oh, it.

3. I'm a bit cold. I think a sweater.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.34

 4. A: Would you like something to eat?

B: anything at the moment, thank you. I’m not very hungry.

5. A: I’m going out for a walk.

B: It’s raining.

A: Oh, is it? Well, out now, then, until it’s stopped.

2. be going to
be + going to + bare infinitive

1. Form
Affirmative Negative Questions
I am I am not Am I
He He he
going to work Is going to work?
She is She is not she
going to work
It It it
We We we
Are
You are You are not you
They They they

2. Use
Sentences with ‘be going to’ connect the future and the present:

a. We use ‘be going to’ to talk about something in the future which we can see as a result
of something in the present.

e.g. Look at those black clouds in the sky. It's going to rain. Those people are going to get wet.

Other examples:
Hurry up! It's getting late. You're going to miss your train.

Look out! That ladder is going to fall!

{ Note: For this reason, sentences with ‘be going to’ are often about the near future.}

F.3 General English Module 1 P.35

 b. We also use ‘ ‘be going to’ to talk about what we intend to do in the future.
We use ‘be going to’ when we have already decided to do something.

e.g. ‘Why have you moved all the furniture out of the room?’ ‘ I’m going to clean the carpet.’
e.g. ‘Sam has just sold the car.’ ‘ Is he going to buy a new one?’

3. Differences between will and be going to

a. We use both will and be going to to talk about predictions about the future , but there are some
differences between these two forms:

Will + bare infinitive Be going to

We use will + bare infinitive to talk about what We use is going to to talk about something in the
we think or believe will happen in the future future which we can see as a result of something
e.g. Don’t climb up that tree You’ll fall. in the present.
e.g. Look out! You’re going to fall!
.

b. We use both will and be going to to talk about what we intend to do, but there is a difference
here:
Will + bare infinitive Be going to
We use will when we decide to do something at We use be going to when we have already
the moment of speaking. decided to do something.
e.g. ‘Oh dear! I’ve spilt some wine on my jacket.’ e.g. ‘Why have you moved all the furniture out of the
‘Don't worry. I’ll clean it for you.’ room?’ ‘ I’m going to clean the carpet.’

e.g. What shall I do tomorrow? I know! I’ll e.g. ‘Why are you putting on those old clothes?’
paint the kitchen. ‘I’m going to paint the kitchen.’

Exercise 20 Complete the sentences using will or be going to and the verbs in brackets. 3

e.g. ‘What can I do this evening? I know! I ’ll go (go) and see Sue.’
1. ‘Someone told me that you’re moving from Kowloon.’ ‘That’s right. I (live) in the New
Territories .’
2. ‘Would you like to come to my house this evening?’ ‘Yes, all right. I (come) at 9
o'clock.’
3. I don’t feel very well. I think I (faint).
4. A: It’s Simon's birthday soon. Shall we buy him a birthday cake?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.36

 B: Oh, I’ve decided to make a cheese cake for him!
A: Oh, really? Perhaps, I (buy) him something to wear.
5. A :Oh, I know that you are going to take a holiday next week!
B: Yes, I (visit) my parents in mainland China for a couple of days!
6. ‘I could lend you some money if you like.’ ‘Could you? I (pay) you back on Friday.'
7. A: Why are you buying flour and eggs?
B: Because I (make) a cake.
8. A: Have you tidied up your room yet?
B: No, but I promise I (do) it this afternoon.

4. Using other tenses to express future actions

a. Present continuous

We use the present continuous to talk about something that we have already arranged or
planned to do in the future . We can also use it when we are very sure about something.

e.g. ‘What are you doing on Saturday evening?’ ‘I’m meeting Andrew.’
Sam is taking his driving exam next Monday.
We’re visiting our relatives in mainland China next weekend.

Note: We can also use be going to to talk about something that we have already arranged
or planned to do in the future . Therefore, the above examples can be rewritten as
follows:

‘What are you going to do on Saturday evening?’ ‘I’m going to meet Andrew.’
Sam is going to take his driving exam next Monday.
We’re going to visit our relatives in mainland China next weekend.

However, when we make predictions about the future, we can use be going to ( or will )
but not the present continuous.
e.g. It is going to rain tomorrow. (  It’s raining tomorrow. )

b. Present simple
We use the simple present to talk about future events which are part of a fixed timetable or
fixed programme.

e.g. ‘What time does the football match start tomorrow evening?’ ‘At 6.15.’

F.3 General English Module 1 P.37

 The film starts at 7.30 and finishes at 9.00.
What time does your plane leave tomorrow?

We can also use the present simple in this way when we think of something in the future
as a fact, or as an arrangement or plan which we cannot change.

e.g. The park closes at nine o’clock in the summer.

The tennis course finishes on 18th August.

Exercise 21 Complete the sentences using the future simple, present simple or present
continuous.

1. A: I ____________________________________ (go) to the cinema. There’s a new film. Do you

want to come with me?
B: What time ____________________________________ (the film/ start)?

2. The exhibition __________________ (open) on April 3rd and ___________________ (finish) on 31st
October .

3. A: Aunt Maggie __________________________________(come) to visit us tomorrow.

B: I know. What time _____________________________ (she / arrive)?

4. Celine Dion _____________________________ (give) a concert at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo

next week.

5. Are you looking forward to your party?

Yes. I hope everyone ____________________________________ (enjoy) it.

6. A: As soon as John ____________________________________ (come) in, tell him to come to my

office.
B: Certainly, sir.

7. A: I’m exhausted.
B: Me too. I wonder if David ____________________________________ (come) to help tonight.

8. A: What are your plans for future?

B: I want to go to university after I ____________________________________ (finish) school.

c. Future Progressive / Future Continuous

1. Form (will be + ….ing )

F.3 General English Module 1 P.38

 Affirmative Negative Questions
I I I
You You you
We We will not be working we
They will be working They they
(’ll be working) (won’t be working) Will be working ?
He He he
She She she
It It it

2. Use
a. We use will be + …ing to talk about something which will be in progress at a time in the
future.

e.g. I’ll be having dinner at 7.00.

future

having dinner from 6:45 -7:15 pm

present moment
of speaking

Other examples:
Don't phone me at 8.00. I'll be doing my homework then.
What will you be doing this time next week?
Will she be resting at home at noon?
I’ll be working in the Kowloon office for the whole of next week.

b. We also use will be + -ing to talk about things in the future which are already planned, or
which are part of a regular routine.

e.g. I’ll be doing some shopping this afternoon. Do you want to go with me?

e.g. A: ‘Would you like me to give Peter a message for you?’

B: ‘Oh, I don't want to trouble you.’
A: ‘It's no trouble, really. I'll be seeing Peter tomorrow anyway.’

c. We often use will be + -ing as a polite way of asking about someone's plans, especially when
F.3 General English Module 1 P.39
 we want someone to do something for us.

e.g. ‘Will you be going out this morning?’ ‘Yes, why?’ ‘Oh, could you get me a newspaper?’
e.g. Will you be using your camera at the weekend? I wonder if I could borrow it.

Exercise 22 Complete the sentences in A using the will be + -ing form. Find a question in B to go
with each sentence. The first one has been done for you as an example.

Column A Column B
1. I will be going (go) past the post office.  Would you like to borrow it?
2. (you/ speak) to Rose?  Shall I get one for you?
3. I (not/ use) my car tonight.  Can you give her something?
4. I (get) some concert tickets.  Could you return these books
5. When (you/ visit) Sue again? for me ?
6. (you/ go) to the library today?  Shall I post your letter?
 Can you give her a message?

d. Future perfect
1. Form will have + past participle (p.p.)

Affirmative Negative Questions

I I I
You You you
We will have finished We will not have finished we have finished?
They gone They gone Will they have gone?
He He he
She she
She It it
It

2. Use
We can use will have + past participle to talk about

a. an action that will be completed by ( not later than) a certain time in the future.

e.g. My father will have retired by the time I finish my university

F.3 General English Module 1 P.40

 education.

father retires I finish university education

future

present moment of speaking

3. time expressions used with the future perfect

by the time …, by then, by tomorrow / the end of this month/ year/ May , etc…

Note: After the time expressions by the time, until , before , we use the present simple
because they introduce the time clauses.

e.g. I will have tidied up my study room by the time you get back.

time clause

(  I will have tidied up my study room by the time you will get back.)

e.g. By the time she finishes work, we will have arrived home.

time clause
( By the time she will finish work, we will have arrived home.)

Exercise 23 What will life be like in the year 2100? Complete the sentences using the
will have + past participle form.

1. By 2100, the world’s population (increase) to around 30,000

million.

2. Life (become) more automated by then.

3. Computers (take over) many of the jobs that people do today.

4. The earth’ s supplies of oil, coal and gas (run out).

5. A lot more species of animals (be) extinct.

6. (scientists / find) other sources of energy?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.41

7. How (education / change)?

8. (we/ find) a way to feed all the people in the world?

Exercise 24 Underline the correct word or phrase in each of the following sentences.
1. This time next week Billy will spend/ will be spending his holiday in Bangkok.

2. We will have moved / will be moving to our new house BY next Tuesday.

3. Don’t forget to turn off the lights before you will leave / leave.

4. By the end of this year, Mr Chan will be working / will have worked in our company for ten

years.

5. My brother is now a F.5 student. In two years’ time, he will be studying / will have studied in

university.

6. By the time we get to the cinema, the film will be starting / will have begun.

7. I will be waiting / will wait at the airport when Jane arrives / will arrive.

8. By the end of this year, we will be learning / will have learnt Putonghua for ten years.

Exercise 25 Put the verbs in brackets in the correct future forms.

1. A: What are you doing (you/ do) tonight?

B: I (leave) at 7 o’clock to the airport.
A: Oh yes, I remember. You (go) on a holiday.

2. A: Excuse me, what time (the bus/ arrive) ?

B: It (arrive) at 11 o’clock.
3. A: It’s cold here.
B: You’re right. I (close) the windows.
4. A: Mum, my winter coat needs dry cleaning.
B: Okay, I (take) it to the dry-cleaner’s tomorrow.
5. A: Is Jerry coming to the theatre with us next week?
B: I don’t know, but I (see) him at football practice tomorrow. I
(ask) him then.
6. A: How is your project coming along? Is it done?
B: Not yet, but I (finish) it by the time the holidays are over.
Exercise 26 Proofreading
In these sentences some of the underlined verbs are in the wrong tense. Correct them. Do not make any
unnecessary changes. The first two have been done for you.
F.3 General English Module 1 P.42
1. My friend Mike is a writer. He has been writing many books on travels. 1._has written___

2. 
2. You look tired. Have you been working hard these days?
3. ________________
3. Somebody has broken the window. Will you have a look at it please?

4. By the time I got to the phone, it stopped ringing. 4. ________________

5. You’re always late! I’m waiting here for ages. 5. ________________

6. Julie can’t meet you tomorrow. She will play basketball. 6. ________________

7. It is raining hard outside. When it will stop raining, I will leave. 7. ________________

8. After my brother graduated from university, he joined the Hong Kong 8. ________________
Police Force.

9. We will complete the Geography project by this weekend. 9. ________________

10. I’ve taken some pictures while I was in Shanghai. Would you like to look at 10. ________________
them?

11. My aunt went to Canada to visit her son every year. She has been doing this 11. ________________
for years.

12. Tony had driven home when he crashed into a tree. 12. ________________

13. The children’s hair was wet because they had been swimming in the sea. 13. ________________
14. Most people in Hong Kong are speaking Cantonese.
14. ________________

15. By the end of this year, my brother will finish his driving course. 15. ________________

16. I’m meeting Sue this weekend. Do you want to join us? 16. ________________

17. I had cleaned the car. Does it look good? 17. ________________

18. You’re working so slowly. I’m sure you will still do the homework in the 18. ________________
next two hours.

19. I don’t think George tells us the secret as he has promised Jane not to 19. ________________
do so.

20. We don’t need to rush ! The shuttle bus leaves every 10 minutes. 20. ________________

F.3 General English Module 1 P.43

Passive in Different Tenses:

The passive verb is formed in the following way:

be + past participle (p.p.)

The different tenses of `be’ are listed as follows:

Simple Present Simple Past Simple Future Present Perfect
am / is/ are was / were will / shall be has / have been
Present Continuous Past Continuous Past Perfect Future Perfect
am / is / are + being was / were + being had + been will /shall have been

The rules for choosing the tenses in the passive are the same as in the active. The following table
shows how passive voice is used with different tenses.

Tense Structure Active Voice Passive Voice

Simple is/ am/ are My mother washes the The clothes are washed by
Present (not) + p.p. clothes every day. my mother every day.

Simple past was /were (not) My mother washed The clothes were washed by
+ p.p. the clothes yesterday. my mother yesterday.

Simple future will/ shall (not) My mother will wash The clothes will be washed
+ be + p.p. the clothes tomorrow. by my mother tomorrow.

Present has/ have(not) My mother has The clothes have been

perfect + been + p.p. washed the clothes washed by my mother
already. already.

Present am/ are/ is My mother is washing The clothes are being

continuous (not) + being + the clothes now. washed by my mother now.
p.p.

Past was/ were(not) My mother was The clothes were being

continuous + being + p.p. washing the clothes washed by my mother when I
when I arrived home. arrived home.

Past perfect had (not) + My mother had The clothes had been
been + p.p. washed the clothes washed by my mother before
before I arrived home. I arrived home.

Future perfect will/ shall (not) My mother will have The clothes will have been
+ have + been washed the clothes by washed by the time I come
F.3 General English Module 1 P.44
 + p.p. the time I come home. home.

Note :

Present perfect continuous, Past perfect continuous, Future perfect continuous and
Future continuous tenses do not accept the passive. If such tenses are used, the active form is
more preferable.
e.g. Active:  I will be interviewing some applicants at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.
Passive:  Some applicants will be being interviewed (by me) at three o’clock tomorrow
afternoon.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.45

 Passive with Different Modal Verbs:

The following table shows the passive forms of different modal verbs.
Modal Verb Structure Active Voice Passive Voice
can I can / could make a A birthday cake can /
could birthday cake for mother. could be made for my
mother.

will I will / would make a A birthday cake will /

would birthday cake for my mother. would be made for my
mother.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.46

shall + be + p.p. I shall / should make a A birthday cake shall /
should birthday cake for my mother. should be made for my
mother.

may I may / might make a A birthday cake may /

might birthday cake for my mother. might be made for my
mother.

ought to I ought to make a birthday A birthday cake ought to

cake for my mother. be made for my mother.

must I must make a birthday cake A birthday cake must be

for my mother. made for my mother.

be going to I am going to make a A birthday cake is going to

birthday cake for my mother. be made for my mother.
+ be + p.p.

has to/ I have to make a birthday A birthday cake has to be

have to cake for my mother. made for my mother.

used to I used to make a birthday A birthday cake used to be

cake for my mother when I made for my mother when
lived with her. I lived with her.

Language Arts : A Poem

Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

Feel Free To Share My Hobby Mary Nagy

[1] I've never had a hobby... [4] But as I'm getting older
one that I would share. I crave the written word
I never got excited and now it gives me comfort
coz I really didn't care. when I know that I am heard.

[2] Now I feel the passion [5] I now will claim my hobby.
of sharing what I write. I say ''I love to write''.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.47

 I'll welcome you to read it.
Although I may not have the skill
Share my pleasures and my plight.
I surely have the fight.

[3]
I used to write in shadows.
 
My thoughts were just my own.
I never thought they'd find themselves
outside my comfort zone.
1. In stanza 2, ‘ the fight’ means…..
A. a quarrel C. a battle
B. an argument D. the energy or the desire to
keep fighting for
something you want
2. What does ‘themselves’ in stanza 3 refer to? ____________________________________
3. What do you think is the main reason why the writer now loves writing so much? Find out the
words that suggest her great love for writing from the poem.

______________________________________________________________________________

4. In stanza 4, the writer uses a passive structure ‘I am heard’, who do you think is/ are the person(s)
doing the action of ‘hearing’? __

5. The poem is about a change on the part of the writer? What is it? How does she express such a
change in terms of grammar?

_
6. Look at the last words of each line in the poem. Underline each pair of words that rhyme in a
different colour.
Vocabulary:
1. fight (n.): energy or the desire to keep fighting for something you want.
e.g. There is plenty of fight left in your grandmother.
2. crave (v.): to have an extremely strong desire for something.
e.g. He is an insecure child who craves attention.
e.g. She has a craving (n.) for some chocolate.
3. plight(n.): an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad or difficult one.
e.g. the plight of the poor/homeless

Reading Exercise II
Read the following article and then answer questions.

Extreme Sports Are Not for the Faint-hearted

F.3 General English Module 1 P.48

1 1 Extreme sports are regarded as the sports of the new generation. Although they have been
fringe sports for some time, extreme sports are now enjoying more attention, attracting big
sponsors and a wider audience.

2 The first Extreme Games were held by ESPN, a sports channel, in 1993 in the US. Extreme
5 sports athletes competed in 27 events in nine sports categories: bungee jumping, eco-challenge,
in-line skating, skateboarding, sky surfing, sport climbing, street luge, biking and water sports. A
total of 198,000 spectators attended the games. ESPN held the Extreme Games again on Rhode
Island in June, 1996 based on the enthusiastic responses from athletes, organizers and sponsors.
The event name ‘Extreme Games’ was changed to ‘X Games’. Subsequently, more events were
10 held and the X Games were divided into Winter X Games and Summer X Games.

3 What is an extreme sport? Some people say if one pushes the envelope of a sport, the sport
can be regarded as an extreme sport. Extreme sports are about exhilaration, skills and danger. In
some extreme sports, the athletes must risk injury in order to get good results. They take part in
the sports using their skills and experience to control the risks. Extreme sports usually do not
15
involve teams.

4 Most people do not understand why people risk injury to participate in sports that are so
dangerous. Most athletes who take part in extreme sports think that it is the element of high risk
that makes the sports appealing. Brian Curtis, a champion sky surfer, said, ‘I was attracted to sky
surfing because of the speed and risk. I am not looking for danger. I’m in it for the challenge. My
20
heart is thumping every time I finish a dive. That makes me feel very much alive.’

5 When asked about the safety of the sport, Brian said, ‘A few accidents have happened. There
were two surfers who passed out in mid-air because of some unusual fast spinning. But they were
fine because their parachutes were opened with a small computer device. The computer knew the

25 surfers were in danger and automatically deployed the parachutes for them. They were injured but
they are alive!’

6 Snow skiing, argues Brian, is more dangerous than sky surfing. Many people think that snow
skiing is safe and hence, they take foolish chances. Fatal accidents are not uncommon on ski
slopes. Sky surfers, according to him, know that they are going to jump out of a plane and they
30 know very well what the consequence will be if they are not careful.

7 According to a cover story published in Time magazine, an increasing number of young

people are getting into extreme sports because there are fewer real risks for them to take in the
F.3 General English Module 1 P.49
 modern world. While the previous generation had to live through wars and the threat of world
destruction, the recent one has lived through a relatively peaceful era. Some people therefore feel
the need to experience challenges through risky behavior.
35
8 Dr. David Seymour, a long-time sports coach and a psychologist for the US Extreme Sports
Association, says that it takes a certain type of person to excel in dangerous sports. This type of
person usually has a high level of tolerance for risk and as a result, they enjoy the challenge and
the risk. The high element of risk makes them feel alive. The fear that drives many people away
from extreme sports is exactly the same ingredient that keeps others coming back for more. As
40 one athlete puts it, ‘After the game is over, there is exhilaration. I wouldn’t have had the same
feeling if the risk hadn’t been there.’

Watch the video ‘Top 10 Extreme Sports’ via the link below at
home and do a 1-min presentation in class with reference to the
following questions.
 Which extreme sport do you like best?
 Why do you like it?
 Do you think your parents will allow you to engage in it and why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKc6z4LRgQ&t=449s

Answer the following questions using the information from the article. Write your answers in the
spaces provided. For multiple-choice questions, choose the best answer and blacken ONE circle only.

1. In paragraph 1, find a word which implies that extreme sports were not mainstream ones. (1 mark)

______________________

2. According to paragraph 2, were the first Extreme Games held by ESPN successful? Justify your
answer with ONE reason and answer in complete sentences. (3 marks)
_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________
F.3 General English Module 1 P.50
3. What does the phrase ‘pushes the envelope of a sport’ in line 12 mean? (1 mark)
A. To apply creativity to a sport
B. To apply new technology to a sport
C. To extend the limits of what is possible A B C D
D. To change the rules of a sport

4. Fill in the blank with ONE word which best completes the meaning of the sentence. (1 mark)
According to paragraph 3, extreme sports are usually i____________ sports which do not need
cooperation between athletes.

5. According to the writer, how can athletes reduce the risks of extreme sports? Fill in each blank with
ONE word. (3 marks)
 They should make good use of their _______________ and _______________.
 They should not be _______________.

6. Which of the following words can replace ‘chances’ in line 28? (1 mark)
A. possibilities
B. opportunities
C. risks A B C D
D. successes

7. What does ‘one’ refer to in line 34? (1 mark) ___________________________

8. According to paragraph 8, name the factor which draws and stops people from engaging in Extreme

Sports at the same time. (1 mark) ___________________________

9. Choose the best alternative for ‘exhilaration’ in line 41. (1 mark)

A. addiction
B. fear
C. passion A B C D
D. excitement

10. Decide whether the following statements are true, false or not mentioned in the text. Tick () the
appropriate Answers column. Write ONE tick only for each statement. (4 marks)
Statements Answers
True False Not
Mentioned

F.3 General English Module 1 P.51

 a. Sky surfing sometimes cause death.

b. Young people take up extreme sports because

they want to gain recognition.
c. Extreme sports are difficult and need a lot of
effort.
d. The two sky surfers were safe due to their
good emergency landing skills.

11. Based on the article, what type of person is Brian Curtis as analyzed by Dr. David Seymour? Justify
your answer with ONE reason and answer in complete sentences. (3 marks)
_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Oral Activity – Group Discussion (I)

[2011 TSA Group Interaction Set 4 ]

You and two other classmates are doing a survey on what teenagers do in their spare time. In your
discussion, you may include:
 which sporting activities are popular with teenagers
 what music teenagers like to listen to e.g. Canto- pop, English songs …
 what teenagers like to spend their money on
 where teenagers like to go e.g. coffee shops, shopping malls ….
 any other details that are important

F.3 General English Module 1 P.52

You may begin by saying:
We’re doing a survey on what teenagers like to do in their spare time. What should we ask in the
survey?

Oral Activity – Group Discussion (II)

You are a group of Form 3 students. Your principal would like you to organise an exhibition for Form 1
students on hobbies that they can take up. You are planning this now.
You may want to talk about:
 why students need to take up hobbies
 suitable hobbies for Form 1 students
 where and when to set up the exhibition
 how to advertise it
 anything else you think is important

F.3 General English Module 1 P.53

 You may begin by saying:

We’re going to organise an exhibition for Form 1 students on hobbies that they can take up. Why do
students need to take up hobbies?

Background
information about
the hobby:
Writing Task
What exactly is the
----- Descriptive Writing
hobby?
 What The do
English
peopleSociety
need is going to organise an exhibition introducing some interesting and lesser-known
What
toispursue
the place
hobbies the of
from around the world. You are invited to contribute to the exhibition by completing the
hobby?
origin?
(e.g. skills or training
following
required, sections of the information poster. Write about 250 words.
special
When did it become
equipment / protective
gear, venue etc..)
popular?
Is itanWhat Title
personal
individual or team
qualities
activity? should the
hobbyists possess?
(e.g. courage,
Do people do it indoors
creativity, patience,
or outdoors?
physical strength
etc… )
F.3 General English Module 1 P.54
 An unusual hobby --- _________skateboarding________
[ Write the hobby you would introduce in the space provided]

skateboarding_____? [ Write the hobby you

would introduce in the space provided]

Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using

a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment

industry job, and a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and

influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. It also has different

styles, such as trampboarding and swing-boarding. 

What should we do to take up the hobby?
We need a helmet that fits well. It should be a multi-sport helmet or one
. specifically meant for skateboarding, wrist guards to support the wrist during falls,
knee pads and elbow pads, closed-toe shoes that have soles that don't slip,
Why is it good for goggles or shatterproof glasses to protect yourselves.
people to take up
such a hobby?
Are there any
major
competitions or
international
tournaments?

What is the fun/ benefit of pursuing such a hobby?

You can play trick skating, it is a manually performed on

a skateboard while skateboarding. Skateboarding tricks may vary greatly in

difficulty, such as flip tricks, which are tricks that are a subset of aerials which

are all based on the ollie, these are very difficult to play, so you can challenge

yourself in this sport. Also, this sport has a lot of usage, such as transportation

and entertaining, you can use to go to school or work, also as playing, which is
F.3 General English Module 1 P.55
very convenient.
Is there any
potential problem
or danger for
people pursuing
such a hobby?
What should
people be aware
of if they intend
to take up such a
hobby?

F.3 General English Module 1 P.56

 Vocabulary Core Part

Complete Exam Practice

 Set 1 Mad about noodles

 extensive  servings

 instant  nutritious

 eye-catching  homemade

 transform into  run into

 a huge hit

 Set 1 Cup Noodles Museum

 bazaar

 resemble

 admission

 Set 3 Farming in the City

 on the rise  a slab of concrete / a concrete slab

 an escape from _______  vibrant

 brighten up  flyovers

 windowsill  wheelchair-friendly

 groceries (grocery)
 Set 3 Interview: The urban farmer
 A plot of land  Torrential rain

 At mealtime  Pesticides
F.3 General English Module 1 P.57
 Composter  Environmentally friendly

 Fertilizer  repel

 Organic  figure out

 Out of town

F.3 General English Module 1 P.58

Hobbies and interests

Watch the video ‘How to Talk About Your Free Time and
Hobbies in English’ by Oxford Online English at home and
share three useful expressions you have learnt from the clip in
class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoyhPZDp3dE

Collocations with ‘hobby’ [verb +hobby]

take up a hobby
engage in (= a pastime)
a recreational activity
pursue

e.g. Retirement gave him the time to pursue his hobbies.

Synonyms of ‘hobby’
1. pastime =something that you do because you think it is enjoyable or interesting
e.g. Reading is my sister’s favourite pastime.
e.g. Gardening was her mother's favourite pastime.

2. interest =something that you are interested in and like doing or talking about
e.g. Her interests were the same as most young girls – pop music,
boys and clothes.
3. passion =something that you feel extremely interested in and care a lot about
e.g. Football is my father’s great passion.
4. pursuits = an activity such as a sport or hobby, which you spend a lot of time
(noun, doing
formal) e.g. On Sundays, she just spends time on such home-based leisure
pursuits as watching television.
Cycling, golfing, and fishing were among his leisure pursuits.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.59

Synonyms of ‘interested’ (adj.)

1. be interested in (doing) sth. ( passive voice)

e.g. My father is interested in classical music.

2. be/get into sth. ( informal) = used when talking about the kind of things you are
interested in and enjoy doing
e.g. Are you into classical music?
e.g. My elder sister got into (= became interested in ) yoga when she was
at college.

3. be keen on sth. = be very interested in sth and enjoy doing it very much
e.g. My brother is very keen on football.

4. crazy about somebody/something = liking someone very much, or very interested in

something :
e.g. He’s crazy about her.
e.g. Dan’s crazy about football.

5. fascinated [ not usually before noun ] =very interested by something you see, read, or hear
about
e.g. The more I read about Paris, the more fascinated I became.

6. intrigued [ not used before noun ] = interested in something because it seems strange or
mysterious
e.g. He was intrigued by her story.

7. be/ feel enthusiastic (adj.) about (doing) sth.

e.g. The Irish are very enthusiastic about horse racing.

8. be mad about something (informal) = to like something very much and be very interested
in it :
e.g. My sister’s mad about Korean singers.

9. be fond of (doing) something = to like something, especially something you have liked for
a long time :
e.g. My sister is fond of cooking.

F.3 General English Module 1 P.60

 Popular Internet activities

 checking email
 updating status on Facebook
 commenting on others’ posts/status on Facebook
 doing research
 downloading music or movies
 writing posts on online forums
 writing blogs (+blogging)
 reading online newspapers/magazines/novels/news stories
 shopping online
 playing online games

Types of films Adjectives describing films

 action film  positive   negative 
 animated film/animation  absorbing  exaggerated
 biographical film /  amusing  disturbing
biography  cult  dull
 comedy  educational  melodramatic
 crime film  entertaining  predictable
 disaster film  fabulous  pornographic
 drama  hilarious  obscene
 documentary  historical  violent
 horror film  informative
 martial arts film  inspiring
 musical  moving=touching
 romance (bromance)  powerful
 science fiction/sci-fi film  realistic
 thriller  remarkable
 war film  spectacular
 western  superb

F.3 General English Module 1 P. 45

P.57
 Benefits of taking up a healthy hobby
- to kill time - to give us peace of mind

- to help relieve the stress from our - to add spice to our lives
hectic lives - may give us a sense of satisfaction and
- to help cultivate a healthy/sound mind achievement

- to help us stay healthy/ fit - enable us to get to know some like-minded

- to be good for both our physical and friends

psychological well-being - can widen our social circle

- to broaden our knowledge - can give us more opportunities to

- to help cultivate a more positive outlook socialise with others

on life - can improve concentration

- to bring us pleasure - can improve hand-eye coordination

After learning the topic-related vocabulary about hobbies and

interests, watch the video ‘How to Find a Hobby’ at home. Tell
your teacher and friends three things that you will consider when
choosing your hobby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjdmIY04soc

F.3 General English Module 1 P. 46

P.58
 Extended Part
Types of performing arts
 a cappella
 ballet
 ballroom dance
 beatboxing
 circus
 martial arts
 mime
 modern dance
 musical
 opera
 play
 Peking opera / Cantonese Opera
 puppet show
 recital
 stand-up comedy

Other kinds of pop culture

graffiti
tattoos
viral videos (e.g. The video has gone viral. )
comic strips in the newspaper
tabloid newspapers
gossip magazines

Speaking Tasks
Work in pairs. Take turns to answer the following questions using some relevant
theme-based vocabulary items.
1. Why is playing video games so popular among Hong Kong teenagers?

2. Why are some hobbies like stamp collecting getting less popular nowadays?

3. Is it good for teenagers to take up a hobby?

4. Can some hobbies be bad for teenagers?

P.59

F.3 General English Module 1 P. 1

 A Brief Guide to Traditional Sports of Different Countries
 Perseverance (L6)
 Integrity (L7)
 discipline (L7)
 self-control (L7)
 It is no surprise that (L7)
 endurance (L8)
 teammates (L19)
 striking (L25)
 individuals (L28)
 come into conflict (L28)
 combat techniques (L29-30)
 flexibility (L32)
 competitive (L36)

Extreme Sports Are Not for the Faint-hearted

 the faint-hearted (title)
 fringe sports (L2)
 athletes (L5)
 spectators (L7)
 subsequently (L10)
 push the envelope (L12)
 exhilaration (L13)
 appealing (L19)
 thump(ing) (v.) (L21)
 pass out (L23)
 deploy (L25)
 fatal (L28)
 consequence (L30)
 long-time (L36)
 psychologist (L36)
 excel in (v.) (L37)
 a high level of tolerance (L38)

End of Module I

F.3 General English Module 1 P.P.60

2

P.60