Day: April 9, 2026

Once a sailor went ashore on the coast of South America. He had a number of blue woollen caps with him, which he wanted to sell. On his way to the town some distance from the coast, he had to pass through a forest in which there were great numbers of monkeys. At noon, with the sun directly overhead and the heat intense, the sailor decided to take a rest. He lay down under the shade of a large tree, took one of the caps, put it on his head, and soon fell asleep.

When he awoke, he found, to his surprise, that the caps were all gone! Soon he heard a loud noise among the thick branches above him, and he looked up. He saw the trees alive with monkeys, and on the head of each monkey was a blue woollen cap! The monkey had watched his actions, had stolen his caps while he slept and had put them on, and now they did not pay any attention to his shouts.

When the sailor saw that he could not get his caps back, he pulled off the one that he had on his head and threw it on the ground, crying out, “If you want to keep the rest, you may take this one too!” To his great surprise, the little animals did the same. Each took the cap off its head and threw it on the ground. The sailor got his caps back and went away in triumph.

1. There were a lot of monkeys.

a) at some distance from the forest

b) in the wood not very far from the coast

c) on the coast of South America

2. What did the sailor decide to do at noon?

a) to try on one of the woollen caps

b) to take off his cap as it was very hot

c) to lie down and rest

3. What did the sailor see when he woke up?

a) The monkeys were wearing his caps.

b) His companions had all gone.

c) There were a lot of birds singing in the trees.

4. Seeing that he could not take the caps back, the sailor

a) sat down and began to cry

b) thought that it was a funny sight and laughed heartily

c) thought that he could never have the caps back

5. What did the little monkeys do?

a) They repeated the sailor’s actions.

b) They were touched by the sailor’s tears and returned the caps.

c) They took the cap off the sailor’s head.

1. Tenses

1. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
A) I have seen him yesterday.
B) I saw him yesterday.
C) I was seeing him yesterday.
D) I had seen him yesterday.

2. By the time we arrived, they _______ dinner.
A) finished
B) were finishing
C) had finished
D) have finished

2. Conditionals

3. If you _______ earlier, you wouldn’t have missed the train.
A) leave
B) left
C) had left
D) will leave

4. If I _______ enough money, I would buy a new car.
A) have
B) had
C) will have
D) would have

3. Modal Verbs

5. You _______ eat so much fast food. It’s not healthy.
A) should
B) must
C) can
D) may

6. Which sentence expresses a strong obligation?
A) You should finish your homework.
B) You must finish your homework.
C) You might finish your homework.
D) You could finish your homework.

4. Passive Voice

7. The cake _______ by my grandmother yesterday.
A) made
B) was made
C) is made
D) makes

8. The book _______ in 1995.
A) wrote
B) is written
C) was written
D) has written

5. Relative Clauses

9. The person _______ invented the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell.
A) who
B) which
C) whose
D) what

10. This is the house _______ I grew up.
A) where
B) who
C) which
D) what

6. Reported Speech

11. She said, “I am learning Spanish.” → She said she _______ Spanish.
A) was learning
B) is learning
C) has been learning
D) learns

12. My teacher asked me, “Did you complete your assignment?” → My teacher asked me if I _______ my assignment.
A) complete
B) had completed
C) have completed
D) was completing

7. Phrasal Verbs

13. I need to _______ early tomorrow for my trip.
A) set up
B) set off
C) set out
D) set in

14. Which phrasal verb means “to cancel”?
A) Call off
B) Call out
C) Call back
D) Call up

8. Miscellaneous Grammar

15. I wish I _______ more time to travel.
A) have
B) had
C) will have
D) has

16. Choose the correct form:
She is interested _______ learning new languages.
A) on
B) in
C) at
D) to

17. I regret _______ him about my plans.
A) tell
B) told
C) to tell
D) telling

18. We arrived _______ the station just in time to catch the train.
A) at
B) in
C) on
D) to

19. She is very good _______ playing the piano.
A) at
B) in
C) on
D) with

20. The meeting was postponed _______ next week.
A) to
B) until
C) for
D) by

Complete the sentences with JUST , ALREADY or YET .

1. Has Morris finished his studies yet  ?
2. My brother has  already bought a new car but he hasn’t driven it yet.
3. Maria has just phoned from Italy. I spoke to her a few minutes ago.
4. Have you had lunch  already?
5. I can’t go to Spain. I have already booked two tickets for Italy. I booked them a few months ago.
6. Have you already seen the new James Bond film  ?
7. The concert will start in two hours but the singers haven’t arrived yet.
8. Another postcard ! I’ve already had six from him.
9. Congratulations ! You just have won a trip to New York.
10. The group has  already visited two museums today, so they don’t want to go to another one.
11. I have been to Norway yet but I haven’t been to Sweden .
12. I’ve just come home from Frankie’s place, but there was nobody at home.
13. We have already tried to contact her twice. There’s no point in trying again.
14. Has your new boyfriend met your parents yet ?

Review of all intermediate verb tenses (CEFR B1)

Exercise 1

Choose the correct verb tenses to complete the sentences below.

1I _____ anything about the night of the accident.

A. don’t remember

B.‘m not remembering

C.wasn’t remembering

2After we broke up, she sold the ring that I _____ her for her birthday.

A.give

B.was giving

C.had given

3We _____ our website.

A.recently renewed

B.are recently renewing

C.have recently renewed

4We took off our clothes and _____ into the river.

A.were jumping

B.had jumped

C.jumped

5A: You look fitter! B: Yes, I _____ at the gym for the last few months.

A.‘m working out

B.‘ve been working out

C.work out

6I’m pretty sure printed books _____ one day.

A.are disappearing

B.are going to disappear

C.will disappear

7Look at the traffic. We _____ late.

A.are going to be

B.will be

C.are being

8____ your room yet?

A.Have you tidied up

B.Did you tidy

C.Do you tidy up

9I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that someone _____ us.

A.followed

B.was following

C.had followed

10I’m unemployed and I _____ for a job. Tomorrow I have my third interview.

A.‘m looking

B.‘ve looked

C.look