Surfing USA

O'NEILL, the sportswear company, is celebrating its fiftieth birthday.The man who started
the company is Jack O'Neill.

As a young man, Jack O'Neill worked for a big company, but he always went to the beach
in his spare time. He loved surfing, but the Californian ocean was cold.Jack wanted to find
a way to stay warm in the water and he started to make protective clothing for cold water,
or 'wetsuits'.

At first he used polyvinylchloride (pvc), but then he discovered a better

material,neoprene. Neoprene was a material used on the underside of a carpet of a DC-3
plane that O'Neill was travelling on. In 1952 he stopped working for the company and
opened the first Surf Shop where he sold surf-boards and wetsuits.

Jack took his wetsuits to all the major boat shows in the fifties.His three young children
went with him and sat in a bath of ice, wearing wetsuits.When people asked, 'what's a
wetsuit?' Jack pointed to his children.

O'Neill is a family-run company. There are now seven children and they all work for the company. Jack is still chairman and
he does a lot of charity work. He looks like a pirate since he lost his eye in a surfing accident.

1. Test your memory! Write down...

a) ... where Jack O'Neill went to the beach.: He loved surfing in the cold ocean of California.

b) ... why he started to make wetsuits.: Because the ocean water was very cold.

c) ... where he discovered a better material for wetsuits.: He discovered a better material, neoprene. Neoprene was a
material used in the underside of an airplane carpet.

d) ... when he opened his first Surf shop.: In 1952 he opened the first Surf Shop company where he sold surfboards and
wetsuits.

e) ... why he took his children to boat shows: Their children sat in an ice bath, dressed in wetsuits. When people asked,
"What is a wetsuit?" Jack pointed to his children.

f) ... why he looks like a pirate: He looks like a pirate ever since he lost his eye in a surfing accident.

2. Read the article again and check your answers to 2. Do you have any clothes by Jack O'Neill? Which other famous
sportswear brands do you know? Which brand makes the best clothes? Discuss with your partner.
3. The regular verbs in the box below come from the article. Say the past simple form and decide if the -ed ending adds an
extra syllable.

Complete the table

A Same syllable B Extra syllable

work/worked want/wanted

use/used stop/stopped

start/started point/pointed

open /opened love/loved

discover/discovered ask/asked

LANGUAGE CENTER-UNIVERSITY OF NARIÑO

University of Nariño
 Language Center

English Exercises on SIMPLE PAST

NAME: Santiago Regalado DATE: May-23-2024

1. Choose the correct form of the verb in past.

1. Yesterday, I went to the restaurant with a client.

A. go B. went C. goes

2. We drove around the parking lot for 20 minutes in order to find a parking space.

A. drive B. drove C. driven

3. When we arrived at the restaurant, the place was full.

A. arrived B. arrive C. arriving

4. The waitress asked us if we had reservations.

A.ask B. asks C. asked

5.l said "No, my secretary wasn´t there."

A.say/weren't B. said/wasn’t C. say/ wasn´t

6. The waitress telled us to come back in two hours.

B. telled B. told C. tells

7. My client and I slowly walked back to the car.

A. walked B. walks C.walk

8. Then we saw a small grocery store.

A.see B.saw C. seeing

9.We stopped in the grocery store and bought some sandwiches.

A. stop/bought B.stoped/bought C. stopped/bought

10. That were better than waiting for two hours.

A. is B. were C.was

II. Circle the mistakes in the following sentences

1. Last night, Samantha have pizza for super.

2. My father arrives late this morning.

3. Yesterday, I spend two hours cleaning my living room.

4. This morning before coming to class, Jack eats two bowls of cereal.

5. What was happened to your leg?