Shorts- short readings
Vocabulary building /Present perfect / simple past
Pre-rereading quiz

 

Exercise 1 What do you know about Nicole Kidman?

She is a famous actress singer scientist		Nicole Kidman was born in: Honolulu London Sydney
Nicole grew up in Uk Usa Australia		She was married to Brad Pitt Matt Damon Tom Cruise

Exercise 2

Now quickly read the text and check your answers

Glossary box short sighted: not being able to see things clearly which are far away from you miniseries a film made to be shown on television in several parts on different days left-handed: someone who is left-handed is born with a natural tendency to use their left hand to do things, especially things such as writing

Nicole Kidman Actress and producer, Nicole Kidman was born June 20, 1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Though American-born (her father Anthony, a biochemist and psychologist, was studying in Hawaii), Kidman grew up in Longueville, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, from the time she was four years old.
She has been acting practically all her life. Her first acting role came when she was six years old, she appeared in her school’s Christmas pageant. She trained in dance, drama, and mime through her teen years, developing a particularly strong passion for ballet. She became a regular performer at Sydney’s Philip Street Theater and in 1983 made her television debut in ‘Bush Christmas’, which can still be seen on Australian TV at Christmas. In 1985, when she was only 17, members of the Australian Film Institute voted Kidman Actress of the Year for her work in the TV miniseries ‘Vietnam’ .
That same year, her mother, Janelle Kidman was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Nicole dropped out of North Sydney High School to concentrate on her family and her acting career. Family has always been important to Nicole. (Nicole’s mother recovered from cancer). Nicole is short sighted, and often wears contact lenses or glasses in her acting roles.
She is left handed and has been allergic to bee stings since she was a teenager.The first time she was stung, she was thirteen and a bee stung her on her chin.Her face became like a balloon and she had to be rushed to hospital. Fortunately the sting was nowhere near her wind pipe and so she was simply treated with cortesone cream.
	Nicole has made dozens of films over the last fifteen years. By the time she made her American film debut in 1989 in ‘Dead Calm’, Kidman was already a popular star in Australia.Her success in this film led to a lead role in her next movie, the race-car drama ‘Days of Thunder’. Nicole Kidman has won a variety of different awards over the years including her 2nd Golden Globe for ‘Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy’ for her performance in the musical ‘Moulin Rouge’. She also appeared as part of the celebrated cast of Stephen Daldry's ‘The Hours’, starring as the British author Virginia Woolf alongside Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore.
Her costar of ‘Days of thunder’ was Tom Cruise, then most famous for his role as a naval fighter pilot in 1986’s ‘Top Gun’. The pair fell in love and married on Christmas Eve, 1990, in Telluride, Colorado. Unfortunately, after 11 years of marriage, the couple divorced. They have two children by adoption, Isabella and Conner. She is eager to experience marriage again, "I hope at some stage I will find someone to love me and who I'll be able to love. I enjoyed being a wife. I'm sort of a one-man woman so I like being married and I like a family. I'm still a huge believer in marriage."
Tom Cruise has since been dating the actress Penelope Cruz. The redhead star of The Hours has been enjoying a low-profile romance with rocker Lenny Kravitz for several months, with reports recently emerging the pair have plans to walk down the aisle - but she has refused to divulge any details to the press. And the Hawaii-born beauty explains her reluctance to talk about her love life has come about after going through a very public break-up with ex-husband Tom Cruise in 2001 - and she's also determined to protect her children Isabella, 10, and Connor, eight. She says, "Unless I'm married again, I'm not discussing’.

Exercise 3 Read for more detail. Now read the text more closely and complete the following sentences and then check your answers.

Nicole Kidman’s first love was theatre comedy ballet		Nicole has been acting since she was six for six years for eleven years
Nicole goes home every Christmas works on TV at Cristmas can be seen on TV in an old show at Christmas		Nicole left school to concentrate on her ballet on her singing on her acting
At the age of thirteen, Nicole had an accident had her first allergic reaction was bitten by a snake.		In the last fifteen years, Nicole has made twelve films a lot of films a few films
The film ‘Dead Calm’ made her very popular in Australia helped her become well known in the US made her become popular in the UK		According to the text She has won more than one Golden Globe award She has won one Golden Globe award She has never won a Golden Globe award
Nicole Kidman has been married to Tom Cruise for eleven years was married to Tom Cruise for eleven years has been married to Lenny Kravitz for eleven years		According to the text, Nicole Kidman does not want to marry again would like to marry again will never marry again

Exercise 4 Word search- meaning in context

Match words or phrase from the text above with the definitions given below: You should use the infinitive of any verbs. Then check your answers

EXAMPLE to become fit and healthy again after an illness or injury:
a play or performance with a religious meaning
the first time a performer appears in tv
leave school without finishing
to be taken in a hurry
result in
the day before Christmas
enthusiastic
monogamous
public separation
to happen

Present perfect /simple present

Exercise 5 Present perfect /simple present. Choose the correct answer

Where did you park did you parked parked you you parked the car?
When I looked round the door, the baby is sleeping slept was sleeping were sleeping quietly
I’ve ever just never yet made some coffee, it’s in the kitchen.
We goes going have gone went to Ireland for our holidays last year.
Robert had been has been is was ill for three weeks.He’s still in hospital
Which team did win did it win won had won the game?
How long you know you knew have you known have you knew Marco

Present perfect/ simple past

Have + past participle A. Do you want some toast? B. I have had breakfast this morning. A.Have you seen the film ‘Passion?’ B.Yes I saw it last week A:I have never eaten Indian food. Have you? B: No never! Have you ever had Chinese food? A: Yes I have. How about you? B: Yes I went to an Indian restaurant in Trastevere last month We use the present perfect to talk about past experiences in our lives, when we are not interested in when something happened but what happened We use ever when asking questions- hai mai…? We use never in affermative sentences I have never- non ho mai- We use the simple past to talk about finished completed actions…I went … yesterday.Often there is a time adverb for example–‘yesterday’

Present perfect/ simple past

Exercise 6 Complete the following sentences about Nicole with the verb in the correct form.

Kidman in Longueville (grow up)
She in dance and drama. (train)
Nicole dozens of films over the last fifteen years.(make)
She her American film debut in 1989 (make)
Nicole Kidman a variety of different awards (win)

Exercise 7

Without looking back at the text see if you can correct the following sentences.Then reread the text and check your answers. Write the correction in the space provided

Nicole Kidman finished school
Nicole Kidman was not popular in Australia
She does not like marriage
She and her husband had two children
She is very open about her private life.

Present perfect/ simple past : more practice.

Exercise 8

Complete the following sentences with the verb in the correct form.

A	What are you going to do this summer
B	I don’t know .I yet. (not decide)
A	Do you know where Marco is?
B	I him in the gymn about an hour ago (see)
A	you ever French food? (try)
B	Yes, I some last year on holiday in Paris (eat)
A	You look a bit nervous.What’s wrong?
B	I’m going up to Florence on Monday by car and I never on the motorway before.(drive)
A	Davide’s English is excellent!!
B	Yes I think he to England a few times.(be) I know he to London at Easter (go)
A	It my parents’ wedding anniversary last Saturday. (be)
B	Really? How long married? (be)
A	Those trainers you're wearing are very nice. Are they new?
B	No I them since Christmas (have). My sister them for me. (buy)
A	What you of the film last night?(think)
B	I really it.(enjoy)
A	Paula Radcliffe a number of important races. (win)
B	Which was the last one she ?(win)
A	Aston Villa Ipswich 3-0. (beat)
B	Really? Ipswich not for months!!(beat)