Page 107 - Real English 2024 Book 8

TINTIN, THE COMIC HERO

The following table shows how verbs in various tense forms change when they turn passive.

tense forms active voice passive voice
simple present Engineers build dams. Dams are built by engineers.

present continuous Big dams are destroying forests. Forests are being destroyed by big dams.

present perfect They have improved nothing. Nothing has been improved.
simple past They built this dam in 1976. This dam was built in 1976.

past continuous The farmers were using the land for The land was being used for agriculture
agriculture. by the farmers.

past perfect They had taken a decision much A decision had been taken much before.
before.

future tense They will start an agitation. An agitation will be started.
will/shall We shall support their protest. Their protest shall be supported.

modals: can, We can review it. It can be reviewed.
may They may stop the agitation. The agitation may be stopped.

D7 Read the first paragraph and study the italicized words. Fill in the blanks in the other two
paragraphs with the passive voice forms of the verbs in brackets.
It is a well-known fact that flood is caused by heavy rainfall in the catchment area. Dams are
built to control floods and to generate hydroelectricity. But ironically, now flooding of rivers
is caused by sudden and heavy discharge of water from dams and sometimes people living
downstream are caught unawares by the unexpected surge of water.

Water from dams _____________ (release) either on a routine or emergency basis. The first
_____________ (mean) to meet peak hydel power demand. The second _____________ (suppose)
to prevent the collapse of the dam itself. Such a situation can arise when the existence of the
dam _____________ (threaten) by torrential rainfall. The river _____________ (flood) and the ability
of the dam to absorb water _____________ (exhaust). Emergency releases of water _____________
(know) to cause destructive flash floods, but it _____________ generally _____________ (assume)
that people _____________ not _____________ (affect) by routine discharge of water.

Flash floods _____________ (cause) when a ‘wall’ of water _____________ suddenly _____________
(release) as opposed to the gradual rise in water seen during normal floods. During flash floods
vast tracts of land _____________ (submerge) in a short span of time and the havoc _____________
(bear) by hapless villagers living downstream.
AGILE
D8. ‘Things have been moved!’ LEARNING
Divide the class into groups of four. Take turns to send one group out of the classroom for a
minute. The teacher and the other students will move a few things in the classroom and call the
group back in. The group has to talk about the changes that have been made, using the passive
voice. The members have to take turns to speak about as many moved things as possible within
two minutes. A point will be awarded for each correct sentence. You can change the pattern by
sometimes calling the group outside back in while you are shifting things around. The group with
the most points at the end wins.

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