eupeimproveenglish

The passive The passive (present simple, past simple and will) Use We use the passive when we don’t know who or what does the action, or when it isn’t important. After the car accident, Peter was arrested. The space shuttle will be launched on 4th July. We use the active when we know who or what does the action, and it’s important. After the car accident, the police arrested Peter. NASA will launch the space shuttle on 4th July. Form We use the correct tense of the verb be + past participle. These computers are made in Japan. The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell. The crime will be investigated by the police. 1 Underline the passive verbs. Then rewrite the sentences in the active. A valuable painting was stolen from the Louvre last night. Someone stole a valuable painting from the Louvre last night. 1 The World Cup is watched by millions of football fans. Millions of football fans …………………… ……………………………………………… 2 The film premiere will be attended by lots of stars. Lots of sta...

SAYING GOODBYE AFTER 30 MONTHS? Forget the traditional Valentine card message; love is not forever. In fact, for most people, it lasts no more than 30 months. After that, according to research on the nature of romance, couples have to choose between breaking up and deciding that they are easy enough with each other to stay together. The conclusions of Professor Cindy Hazan, Cornell University, based on 5,000 interviews across 37 cultures and medical tests on couples challenge the romantic ideal, suggesting instead that men and women are biojogically and mentally predisposed to be "in love" for only 18-30 months. That is just long enough for a couple to meet, mate, and produce a child. There is evidence that what we call love is created by a chemical cocktail in the brain. Some chemicals are registered together only during the initial stages of a relationship. But even the most ardent lovers develop a tolerance to the effects of these chemicals, as a drunk person becomes imm...

WHISKY ROBBER The Hungarian police say that he committed 30 armed robberies, and that he shot at officers trying to arrest him. He spent what he stole on expensive vacations, cars, and drink. Yet many Hungarians regard him as a hero. He is called Attila Ambrus, also known as “The Whisky Robber,” because he used to drink Scotch to build up his courage before each robbery. He escaped 5 from jail in the centre of Budapest six months after his arrest, and robbed three more banks before being recaptured. The biggest police mistake was to allow him to escape. In spite of a security camera he scaled a wall of a prison yard where he had been taking a walk. His popularity is enormous. Almost everyone has been amused by his hide-and-seek game with 10 the police. An Austrian firm has acquired the rights to use his image to promote an energy drink. His unfinished memoirs, left behind in his cell when he escaped and published by a local journa...