Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1When the curator reached the archive door at 7:30 p.m., she could not get in because she ............... the only electronic key during the afternoon inventory.
Wrong!
"Had mislaid" is correct because the completed loss happened before the later past moment when she could not enter.
2At the precise moment the plaster ceiling collapsed, the pipe above the conservation room ............... directly onto the electrical panel.
Wrong!
"Was leaking" is correct because the pipe was in progress at the exact past moment the ceiling collapsed.
3By midnight, Nadia’s eyes were burning because she ............... diplomatic cables for three hours without a break.
Wrong!
"Had been translating" is correct because the three-hour activity led to the visible past result of being exhausted.
4The investigators concluded that the intruder ............... the perimeter by 2:10 a.m., since the motion sensors recorded him inside the compound at 2:12.
Wrong!
"Had crossed" is correct because the completed crossing came before the guards noticed the cut fence.
5During her first winter in Reykjavik, Eva ............... the office before dawn every Friday to photograph the harbour lights.
Wrong!
"Would leave" is correct because it describes a repeated past habit in that period.
6Before the scandal, most shareholders ............... the chairman incorruptible, but few would defend him now.
Wrong!
"Used to consider" is correct because the sentence contrasts a former state with a different present view.
7When the last witness finally arrived at the tribunal, the stenographer ............... for two hours and had already missed her train.
Wrong!
"Had been waiting" is correct because the two-hour duration continued up to the later past arrival.
8The committee ............... the emergency motion when a power cut plunged the chamber into darkness.
Wrong!
"Were debating" is correct because the debate was ongoing when the interruption occurred.
9When the archaeologists returned from lunch, the bronze figurine ............... from the locked display case, leaving only a dust outline behind.
Wrong!
"Had vanished" is correct because the disappearance was already complete before the archaeologists returned.
10Until they met at the inheritance hearing in 2016, the half-brothers ............... to each other, not even by email.
Wrong!
"Had never spoken" is correct because the lack of contact is measured up to a specific later past meeting.
11At 6:05 p.m., when the fire alarm sounded, the cellist ............... the opening solo on the empty stage.
Wrong!
"Was rehearsing" is correct because the solo was in progress at 6: 05 when the alarm sounded.
12By the end of March, the external auditors ............... the investigation, and the final report was released on 2 April.
Wrong!
"Had completed" is correct because the audit was finished by a stated past deadline before the report was released.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- When the curator reached the archive door at 7:30 p.m., she could not get in because she had mislaid the only electronic key during the afternoon inventory.
- At the precise moment the plaster ceiling collapsed, the pipe above the conservation room was leaking directly onto the electrical panel.
- By midnight, Nadia’s eyes were burning because she had been translating diplomatic cables for three hours without a break.
- The investigators concluded that the intruder had crossed the perimeter by 2:10 a.m., since the motion sensors recorded him inside the compound at 2:12.
- During her first winter in Reykjavik, Eva would leave the office before dawn every Friday to photograph the harbour lights.
- Before the scandal, most shareholders used to consider the chairman incorruptible, but few would defend him now.
- When the last witness finally arrived at the tribunal, the stenographer had been waiting for two hours and had already missed her train.
- The committee were debating the emergency motion when a power cut plunged the chamber into darkness.
- When the archaeologists returned from lunch, the bronze figurine had vanished from the locked display case, leaving only a dust outline behind.
- Until they met at the inheritance hearing in 2016, the half-brothers had never spoken to each other, not even by email.
- At 6:05 p.m., when the fire alarm sounded, the cellist was rehearsing the opening solo on the empty stage.
- By the end of March, the external auditors had completed the investigation, and the final report was released on 2 April.
