METU/SFL

DBE Spring, 2022

Tense & Noun Clause Revision

UPPER -INTERMEDIATE GROUP

Student’s Copy
Tense & Noun Clause Revision

Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses.
I.
Robert Falcon Scott, a British Royal Navy officer and explorer, (1) _____________________ (lead)
the Terra Nova Expedition, during which he reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912. However,
he found out that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (2) _____________________
(arrive/already) at the Pole. On their return journey, Scott and his four men (3)
_____________________ (kill) by a combination of exhaustion, hunger and extreme cold.

In contrast to the misfortunes of Scott’s team, Amundsen’s expedition benefited from careful
preparation, good equipment, appropriate clothing, an understanding of sledge dogs and their
handling, and the effective use of skis. Scott, on the other hand, (4) _____________________ (be)
as well-equipped and knowledgeable as Amundsen; thus, he and his men (5)
_____________________ (manage) to survive. Nevertheless, Scott became an iconic British hero, a
status maintained for almost 100 years and reflected by the many permanent memorials erected
across the UK.

II.
Dear Agony Aunt*,
I (1) _____________________ (date) this girl, Sarah, for only three months, and she is simply
suffocating me! I really liked her until her landlord kicked her out, and she had to move to my place
two months ago. She (2) _____________________ (live /still) with me although she said she would
soon find a place of her own. She (3) _____________________ (start) looking for a flat yet. I (4)
_____________________ (have) the slightest idea how difficult it was to live with someone else, but
now I do. She (5) _____________________ (paint) the bedroom powder pink and the living room
lilac, and now they look terribly feminine ― an embarrassment! One day I came home only to find
that she (6) _____________________ (hang) frilly lace curtains, and (7) _____________________
(place) dolls and porcelain figures on the mantelpiece. What’s more, she (8)
_____________________ (cook/always) strange-looking, so-called healthy food whose ingredients
are beyond imagination. At the moment, while I (9) _____________________ (write) this letter to
you, she is in the kitchen baking her “famous” home-made bread, which (10)
_____________________ (taste) exactly like wet wood. Over these last two months, she (11)

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_____________________ (make) beef-steak or lamb chops for dinner only twice. Can you believe
it? She (12) _____________________ (care) about what I might like to eat or what kind of a place I
might like to live in. It is as if she were the hostess and I were the guest! If I just happen to arrive
home a little later than usual, she opens the door, smells my breath and, with an accusing tone, asks
“(13) _____________________ (you/drink), John?” This is all because I just once — yes, just once —
went to the pub after work to have a couple of beers with my friends. I want to break up with her,
but I (14) _____________________ (know) how to do it. I’m sure she (15) _____________________
(start) to cry and yell if I talk to her face-to-face. I (16) _____________________ (go) out of town on
a business trip tomorrow, and I don’t want to see her in my flat when I get back. What do you think
I should do? Would it be a good idea to text her and ask her to move out? Or should I leave a letter
for her before my trip? I really need your advice. Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
John Sturges
*Agony Aunt is a person (especially a woman) who answers letters in an agony column and suggests solutions to
people’s problems.

III.

Yesterday, a homemade balloon (1) _____________________ (report) flying away accidentally with
a little boy in it. While the balloon (2a) _____________________ (climb) hundreds of meters into
the air, it (2b) _____________________ (follow) by helicopters and emergency crew in an
ambulance. It drifted for more than two-and-a-half hours in the air and finally landed on the
ground. However, rescue workers (3) _____________________ (see) anyone inside.

The balloon (4) _____________________ (build) by Richard Heene, an amateur science and
weather investigator. It (5) _____________________ (damage) during the landing, but Heene’s six-
year-old son Falcon was not in it. It was feared by many that Falcon (6) _____________________
(climb) secretly through an entrance at the bottom of the balloon and that he (7)
_____________________ (fall) out of it. The county sheriff, on the other hand, suspected the boy’s
parents of doing the whole thing for a show and started a thorough search in the family’s house. On
finally finding him alive, they (8) _____________________ (learn) that all this time he had been
hiding in a box in the attic of the house.

Richard Heene vehemently denied hiding the boy to attract attention. He said, “It is a relief that we
(9) _____________________ (find) him safe and well. We promise to watch him more carefully
from now on.” However, the authorities (10) _____________________ (believe) Heene, and they
(11) _____________________ (investigate) the issue at the moment.

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IV.

If you had a sick child, how far would you go to save him/her? What would you risk to give your
child a chance at life?

A child stricken with a potentially terminal disease is undoubtedly every parent’s worst nightmare.
That was the story of one Colorado family, Jack and Lisa Nash, and their daughter, Molly. Molly (1)
_____________________ (diagnose) with Fanconi anemia when she was very young, and her
parents (2) _____________________ (tell) that she probably wouldn’t live beyond the age of seven.
She needed a bone marrow transplant, but it was almost impossible to find the right match. The
Nashes (3) _____________________ (always / want) to have a big family, but after Molly’s
diagnosis, they decided not to have another child for fear that the child would inherit the same
disease.

Molly had been struggling with serious health issues for a long time when, in 1995, the Nashes (4)
_____________________ (meet) Dr. John Wagner, scientific director of clinical research of the
Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He suggested
trying a new procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. (In PGD, embryos that are
created in a test tube (5) _____________________ (screen) at a remarkably early stage to find the
best donor.) With the help of this procedure, the Nashes would have both a new baby and the bone
marrow they needed for Molly. Dr. John Wagner tested one cell of each embryo, which allowed him
to select the best bone marrow match for Molly. The Nashes’ new baby, Adam, was selected from
among these embryos. Upon his birth, Molly had a transplant from the baby’s umbilical cord blood,
which saved her life.

Today, Molly Nash is 25, and her brother Adam is 19 years old. Their younger sister, Delaine, who
(6) _____________________ (also / create) through in-vitro, is 16. Molly is not disease-free; she is
diabetic, deaf in one ear and has thyroid issues. "I (7) _____________________ (think) I'm much
different from anyone else  I just do things differently and enjoy doing them my way. I just wish to
live like an ordinary young woman,“ says Molly.

V.

One of the most embarrassing things in my life happened on September 11 th, the very day the Twin
Towers (1) _____________________ (attack). My best friend, Michelle, and I were about to go out
as I (2) _____________________ (have) an appointment with the optician. I (3)
_____________________ (try) to learn the optician’s address on the phone when my next-door
neighbor, Roxanne, (4) _____________________ (rush) in, shouting, "How horrible! What a
tragedy! This is the end of the world!" We turned on the TV at once and watched the attack.

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Appalled at the sight of the collapsing towers, we considered not going to the optician's for a
moment. However, I really needed to get new contact lenses, so we went out unwillingly. While we
(5a) _____________________ (drive) to the opticians, Michelle (5b) _____________________
(decide) to text to her husband, who probably (6) _____________________ (hear) the news yet. I
(7) _____________________ (want) her to text and drive at the same time, so I did it. A couple of
minutes later, her cell phone rang. Naturally, we thought it was her husband. I got the phone and as
soon as the man said "Hello", I started talking: "(8) _____________________ (you/watch) the news
yet? Oh, God, it's horrible! It's terrible! It's unbelievable! Some terrorists (9)
_____________________ (just/attack) the Twin Towers and the Pentagon! Hundreds of people (10)
_____________________ (kill)! I'm sure the US government (11) _____________________ (declare)
war soon! This is the end of the world!" I went on and on until the man on the other side of the line
interrupted me sarcastically and said, "Very interesting. Now, may I speak to Mrs. Michelle Lelouch,
please?" I immediately stopped talking. It wasn't her husband! For almost two minutes, I had been
speaking to a complete stranger who apparently (12) _____________________ (know) anything
about the attack. He (13) _____________________ (call) from the garage to tell Michelle that he
(14) _____________________ (find) some cheap second-hand tires for her car. He must have
thought that I was insane. I felt like an idiot as I (15) _____________________ (let) him introduce
himself. When he learned about the attack, he probably realized that I wasn't crazy at all. Yet, I felt
mortified at that moment. Now, whenever I remember that conversation, I can't help laughing.

VI.

In the 21st century, there are still some countries where women’s suffrage, that is, the right to vote,
(1) _____________________ (deny) or (2) _____________________ (depend) on conditions. One of
these countries is Lebanon, where proof of elementary education (3) _____________________
(require) for women but not for men. In other words, women who (4) _____________________
(complete) their elementary education cannot vote. Men, on the other hand, (5)
_____________________ (need) to have an elementary-school diploma in order to vote.
VII.
One of the most impressive buildings in Europe, La Sagrada Família, the masterpiece of renowned
Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, is a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that (1)
_____________________ (be) under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia since 1882. The project’s
vast scale and unique design (2) _____________________ (make) it one of Barcelona’s top tourist
attractions.

Antoni Gaudí had been working on the project for the last 15 years of his life when he (3)
_____________________ (kill) in an accident in 1926. After his death, work (4)
_____________________ (continue) under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes. Unfortunately,
during the Spanish Civil War, parts of the unfinished church, Gaudí’s models and his workshop (5)
_____________________ (destroy). Since 1940, several architects (6) _____________________

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(carry) on the present design, according to the reconstructed versions of the lost plans as well as on
modern adaptations. Over the last years, computer-aided design technology (7)
_____________________ (apply) to speed up the construction of the church.

La Sagrada Família (8) _____________________ (complete/probably) in 2026, the 100 th anniversary

of Gaudí's death. So far, the construction of the cathedral (9) _____________________ (support) by
any government or official church sources. Instead, private donations and money from tickets
purchased by tourists (10) _____________________ (use) to finance it.

VIII.

The placebo effect is one of the most fascinating aspects of health care. Although doctors are aware
of the effect, in some cases they 1) _____________________ (know) whether to prescribe placebos
or not. Placebos first 2) _____________________ (come) to the general public’s attention in the
1950s. It 3) _____________________ (discover) that harmless sugar pills psychologically had a
healing effect on some patients. While the success rates were between 20% and 30% in the 1960s,
now the actual success rate of placebos is much higher. Today, the use of placebos still causes some
controversy. However, some doctors seem to be sure about their benefits. In 2018, surgeon Walter
White conducted an experiment. White had ten patients who 4) _____________________ (suffer)
from arthritis pain in their knees. He took all his ten patients into the operating room, but he 5)
_____________________ (operate) on all of them. Actually, only two of the patients 6)
_____________________ (operate) on. Interestingly, however, six months after the experiment, all
ten patients reported that they 7) _____________________ (recover/completely) and that they 8)
_____________________ (have) much less pain. Recently, White 9) _____________________
(contact) one of his patients who really 10) _____________________ (undergo) an operation during
the experiment. The patient says everything is alright and thanks Dr. White. Although using
placebos remains a controversial issue, it seems to be quite a popular approach in medicine. This
popularity is likely to continue, and thus in the following years, doctors 11)
_____________________ (prescribe/probably) placebos more frequently. To conclude, the time
has come to investigate ways to rationalize placebo use. Sorting the issue out 12)
_____________________ (happen) overnight and will require a lot more research in the lab. In
other words, further investigation 13) _____________________ (need) in order to develop ethical
and cost-effective placebos.

IX.

Darcy Mountbatten was a 29-year-old journalist from London. He had been working as a junior
reporter for the BBC for a few years, but there (1) _____________________ (seem) to be any
prospect for promotion in the foreseeable future. Darcy (2) _____________________ (want/always)
to be a war correspondent. He was fed up with writing silly news about bird-brained celebrities and

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jet-set scandals. Therefore, when he (3) _____________________ (offer) the chance to go to
Chechnya to report on the war between Russia and Chechnya, he felt elated. Darcy (4)
_____________________ (be/never) in a military camp or war before, so during his first day in the
camp, he felt lost and useless among all those soldiers, wandering around, carrying equipment from
one place to another. There (5) _____________________ (seem) to be any purpose to what they
(6) _____________________ (do). The camp was in complete chaos. Darcy had been walking
around in the camp aimlessly for hours when it (7) _____________________ (suddenly / occur) to
him that he had to call the London office to let them know that he (8) _____________________
(arrive) and was ready to give his first report. He tried to reach the office, but it was impossible.
Something was probably wrong with the telephone itself or the lines. Just as he (9)
_____________________ (ask) a young soldier where he could find another phone, the first attack
plane of that day (10) _____________________ (fly) over the camp. A wooden building a hundred
meters away suddenly disappeared in an explosion of flame. Darcy (11) _____________________
(push) to the ground by the soldier he was talking to. Afraid to move, he stayed in that position for
a while, unable even to open his eyes. He felt like a small, frightened child ― unlike all those
courageous war correspondents on TV whom he admired. He (12) _____________________
(remember) how excited and happy he (13) _____________________ (feel) on his way to
Chechnya. Now he bitterly regretted accepting this job. There were deafening explosions and
screams everywhere. All of a sudden, the planes vanished, and all the chaos came to an end. Darcy
turned his head slowly and saw the young soldier lying dead in a pool of blood—the first dead man
he (14) _____________________ (see/ever). Wishing he had been in his warm, safe, boring office
in London, Darcy started to cry. Coming there was the biggest mistake of his whole life.

X.

Carbon pricing is an approach to reducing carbon emissions, and it uses market mechanisms to pass
the cost of emitting on to emitters. The idea 1) _____________________ (be) around for nearly two
decades. In order to slow down climate change, more and more nations 2)
_____________________ (make) polluters pay for the damage they cause. The approach 3)
_____________________ (consider) to be a practical solution to the problem of global warming by
environmentalists, politicians and even many oil companies. Carbon pricing 4)
_____________________ (apply/usually) either through a tax on each metric ton of carbon dioxide
that is emitted or by creating a market to trade permits to emit carbon. The latter system is also
called the cap-and-trade system. The concept may have great support, but the fees 5)
_____________________ (cause) controversy in Germany, Canada, Australia and some other
countries as soon as their governments imposed laws on pricing carbon emissions. Furthermore,
some people argue that a carbon tax 6) _____________________ (prevent/probably) those who
can afford to pay for their emissions from continuing to pollute the air in the future.
Still, it is worth noticing the reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide that is released by factories
or other corporations relying on energy production after the introduction of this law. In the UK, for

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example, greenhouse-gas emissions 7) _____________________ (fall) to their lowest level since
1980. Although the country 8) _____________________ (follow) the taxing system, it allows
companies to buy and sell carbon permits as it is covered by the European Union’s broader cap-and-
trade system. Over the last few years, China 9) _____________________ (experiment) with cap-
and-trade programs in several pilot cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen. Currently, it 10)
_____________________ (work) on the expansion of the program nationwide. The country 11)
_____________________ (extend) it to major sectors like electricity, steel and concrete in 2020.
Emissions 12) _____________________ (expect) to decrease by 20-25% after the scheme is up and
running.

XI.

Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States,
which 1) _____________________ (celebrate) on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after
Thanksgiving 2) _____________________ (regard) as the beginning of the United States Christmas
shopping season since 1952 ― although the term "Black Friday" 3) _____________________
(become) widely used until more recent decades.
Many stores offer highly promoted sales on Black Friday and open very early, such as at midnight, or
may even start their sales at some time on Thanksgiving. Black Friday 4) _____________________
(be) an official holiday, but California and some other states observe "The Day After Thanksgiving"
as a holiday for state government employees, sometimes as a substitute for another Federal
holiday, such as Columbus Day. Many non-retail employees and schools have both Thanksgiving and
the following Friday off, which, along with the following regular weekend, 5)
_____________________ (make) it a four-day weekend. This, as a result, increases the number of
potential shoppers. Black Friday 6) _____________________ (be/ routinely) the busiest shopping
day of the year in the US for almost 20 years. At this time of the year, social media are full of videos
and photos that portray the hysteria of shoppers and the shortage of stock.
For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 a.m., but in the late 2000s many had
crept to 5:00 or 4:00 a.m. This 7) _____________________ (take) to a new extreme in 2011, when
several retailers, including Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls, opened at midnight for the
first time. In 2012, Walmart and several other retailers 8) _____________________ (announce) that
they would open most of their stores on Thanksgiving Day, which caused outrage among their
employees.
There have been reports of violence occurring between shoppers on Black Friday. So far, 12 deaths
and 117 injuries 9) _____________________ (report) throughout the United States. It is common
for prospective shoppers to camp out over the Thanksgiving holiday in an effort to secure a place at
the front of the line and thus a better chance at getting desired items. This 10)
_____________________ (pose) a significant safety risk, such as the blocking of emergency access
and fire lanes. Environmentalists cite one more adverse factor: discount deals encourage people to

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purchase things they 11) _____________________ (need), and this overproduction contributes
to climate change.

NOUN CLAUSES

A. Combine the sentence pairs below to form indirect questions and write them on the
appropriate blanks in the text. The sentences are NOT in the correct order. Use each sentence
pair ONCE.

HOW TO WRITE A COVER LETTER FOR JOB-SEEKING DOCTORAL STUDENTS

A. Are you going to be working on different subjects in the future? You can tell them.
B. Can you teach different levels? They might also want to know.
C. How does your background match the qualifications for the position? Let the readers know.
D. Why are you writing? You should explain.
E. What is your field? Let the readers know.

As doctoral students enter the final year of their work, many of them struggle with their thesis, continue
their work as a research assistant and start looking for an academic job. If you are a doctoral student
looking for an academic position, the following suggestions may help you write your cover letter.
The first step you should take when responding to job notices is to write an application letter (cover
letter) which illustrates most of the crucial information about you. When you are applying for an
advertised position, examine the expected qualifications in the ad. The most important aspect of your
letter is that it should be written to address that specific position, clearly presenting your academic
history. This means that you must 1) _______________________________________________________
______________________________________________. In addition, your letter must indicate a sincere
interest in academic life and the institution to which you are applying.
If there is not an advertised position, you need to be writing for a specific reason. Start by giving your
reason for writing the letter. In other words, 2) ______________________________________________
______________________________________________. After that, you can start introducing yourself.
Who are you? Where are you attending school? 3) ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________. If you have any special interests other
than your field that may be of interest to the department or institution you are applying to, make sure
you indicate them. These paragraphs will vary according to your field and possibly the types of positions
for which you will be applying, such as teaching or research positions. Discuss your thesis or most recent

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research, your methodology, conclusions and the implications of your work. Elaborate on future plans
for research as well. For instance, 4)_________________________________________
__________________________________________________. You should also point out any supporting
fields in which you have expertise or enumerate the variety of classes you could teach. If the position
requires teaching, be enthusiastic about your experience and discuss the courses you have developed or
your teaching style. 5) __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________. Finally, mention that you look forward to
meeting with the committee and to their inviting you for an interview.

B. Combine the following sentence pairs using NOUN CLAUSES. Write full sentences in the blanks.
Don’t change the meaning.
1. Will there be any cancellations in the concert program? The fans are primarily interested in this.
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________.

2. The emperor refused to keep up with the economic progress of his rivals. This has brought the empire to its
inevitable end.
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________.

3. How did the government manage to overcome financial problems so easily? This has recently occupied my
mind.
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________.

4. Sam’s friends have been lying to him all this time. Are they going to apologize for that?
___________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________?

5. What does an anxiety attack feel like? We need to learn more about this.
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________.