Active and Passive

Exercise 1
The Statue of Liberty (give) _____ to the United States by France. It (be) _____ a
present on the 100th anniversary of the United States. The Statue of Liberty (design)
_____ by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. It (complete) _____ in France in July 1884. In
350 pieces, the statue then (ship) _____ to New York, where it (arrive) _____ on 17
June 1885. The pieces (put) _____ together and the opening ceremony (take) _____
place on 28 October 1886. The Statue of Liberty (be) _____ 46 m high (93 m including
the base). The statue (represent) _____ the goddess of liberty. She (hold) _____ a
torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left hand. On the tablet you (see / can)
_____ the date of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776). Every year, the
Statue of Liberty (visit) _____ by many people from all over the world.
Portal dolmens (be) _____ ancient tombs. They (build) _____ about 6000 years ago.
In order to build such a tomb, ancient people (put) _____ up big stones. These
standing stones then (form) _____ the walls. Another huge stone, the cap stone,
(place) _____ on top of the other stones. Finally, the tomb (have) _____ the form of a
little chamber. In that chamber, the dead person (bury) _____ . Then the entrance to
the tomb (close) _____ with another stone. Nowadays, portal dolmens (see / can)
_____ in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. They (call) _____ portal dolmens because they
(look) _____ like a huge doorway (or portal) _____.

Exercise 2
The Fellowship of the Ring (be) _____ the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the
Rings trilogy, which (set) _____ in a fictive world, Middle Earth. It (tell) _____ the
story of Frodo, a hobbit, and a magic ring.
As the story (begin) _____ , Frodo (give) _____ a magic ring. The wizard Gandalf then
(tell) _____ him of the Rings of Power and of Sauron, the Dark Lord, who (make)
_____ the Master Ring to rule all other Rings. Gandalf (advise) _____ Frodo to leave
home and keep the ring out of Sauron's hands who already (send) _____ his Black
Riders in search for it. Frodo's ring (give, would) _____ Sauron the power to enslave
Middle Earth.
Frodo (leave) _____ the shire with three travelling companions: Sam, Merry and
Pippin. First they (know/not) _____ that the Dark Riders (pick up) _____ their trail
already. But soon the four friends (find out) _____ about that.
They (have) _____ a few encounters with the Dark Riders which Frodo and his friends
(can) _____ only just escape. In one attack by the Dark Riders, however, Frodo
(wound) _____ badly. Still, his friends (manage) _____ to escape with him. Travelling
on, they (reach) _____ the country of the elves. There Frodo (heal) _____ by Elrond,
an half-elven.
A council then (decide) _____ that the ring (must / destroy) _____ and (send) _____
nine individuals, the fellowship of the ring, to the Cracks of Doom to fulfil this task.
The group (travel) _____ through the lands of Hollom and finally (come) _____ to the
mines of Moria. There they (have to) _____ fight against orcs and a demon of flames
called Balrog. Fighting Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-Dum, Gandalf (save) _____ his
friends. Gandalf himself, however, (drag) _____ into the depths by the demon. The
others (manage) _____ to escape.
When Boromir, one of the fellowship, (try) _____ to steal the ring, Frodo (realise)
_____ that he (have to) _____ continue on his own. His dear friend Sam, however,
(want/not) _____ to let him go alone. So he (accompany) _____ him and eventually
the two of them (reach) _____ the evil land of Mordor.

Exercise 3
When the American, Mr Otis, (buy) _____ Canterville Castle, everyone told him that
this (be) _____ very foolish, as the place (haunt) _____. But Mr Otis answered, I
(come) _____ from a modern country, where we (have) _____ everything that money
can buy. And if there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we would have it at
home in one of our museums.
A few weeks later, on a lovely July evening, Mr Otis, his wife and their children,
Washington, Virginia and the twins, |(go) _____ down to their new home. When they
(enter) _____ the avenue of Canterville Castle, the sky suddenly (become) _____dark
and a spooky stillness was in the air.
Mrs Umney, the housekeeper, (lead) _____ them into the library of the castle, where
they (sit) _____ down and (begin) _____ to look around. Suddenly, Mrs Otis (see)
_____ a red stain on the floor just by the fireplace and said to Mrs Umney, I am
afraid something (spill) _____there.
Yes, madam, said the old housekeeper in a low voice, blood (spilt) _____ on that
spot.
How terrible, said Mrs Otis; I (want, not) _____ any blood-stains in my sitting-
room. It must be removed at once.
The old woman (smile) _____ and (answer) _____, It (be) _____ the blood of Lady
Eleanore de Canterville, who (murder) _____ on that spot by her husband, Sir Simon
de Canterville, in 1575. Sir Simon (disappear) _____ seven years later. His body (find)
_____, but his ghost still haunts the Castle. The blood-stain is a tourist attraction now
and it (remove, can, not) _____.
That is all nonsense, said Washington, the eldest son of the Otis family, stain
remover will clean it up in no time, and he (take) _____ a bottle of stain remover out
of his pocket and (clean) _____ the spot. But as soon as the blood-stain (disappear)
_____, a terrible flash of lightning lit up the room and a fearful peal of thunder (make)
_____the whole building shake.


Exercise 4
There (be) _____ a horrible storm that night, but apart from that nothing scary
(happen) _____. The next morning, however, when the family came down to
breakfast, they (find) _____ the terrible stain of blood once again on the floor.
Washington (clean) _____ it a second time, but the second morning it (appear) _____
again. The third morning it (be) _____ there, too, although the library (lock) _____ up
at night by Mr Otis himself.
The following night, all doubts about the existence of the ghost (remove, finally)
_____ forever. At eleven o'clock the family (go) _____ to bed and some time after, Mr
Otis (awaken) _____ by a strange noise in the corridor, outside his room. It (sound)
_____ like the clank of metal, and it (come) _____ nearer every moment. Mr Otis (get
up) _____ and (look) _____ at the time. It (be) exactly one o'clock. So Mr Otis put on
his slippers, (go) _____ to the door and (open) _____ it. There, right in front of him,
(stand) _____ the ghost - his eyes (be) _____ as red as burning coals; long grey hair
fell over his shoulders and from his wrists and ankles (hing) _____ heavy chains.
My dear Sir, said Mr Otis, you must oil those chains. It (be) _____ impossible to
sleep with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms. I (bring) _____ you this bottle
of lubricator, and I will be happy to supply you with more if you require it. With
these words Mr Otis (lay) _____ the bottle down, (close) _____ his door and went
back to bed.
Shocked, the Canterville ghost (stand) _____ quite motionless for a moment, but then
he (growl) _____ angrily. Just at this moment, the twins (appear) _____ on the
corridor and (throw) _____ a large pillow at him! The ghost hastily (escape) _____
through the wall, and the house (become) _____ quiet again.
When the ghost (reach) _____ his small secret chamber, he (take) _____ a deep
breath. No ghosts in history (treat, ever) _____ in this manner!

Exercise 5
There (be) _____ many attempts at developing a modern snowboard. In 1965, the
Snurfer (a word play on snow and surfer) (develop) _____ as a childs toy. Two skis
(bind) _____ together and a rope (place) _____ at the front end to afford control and
stability. Over 500,000 Snurfers (sell) _____ in 1966 but they (saw, never) _____ as
more than a child's plaything even though organized competitions (begin) _____ to
take place. The year 1969 (bring) _____ a slightly more sophisticated snowboard
based on the principles of skiing combined with surfboard styling.
The Flying Yellow Banana (develop) _____ in 1977. This (be) _____ nothing more
than a plastic shell (cover) _____ with a top surface like that of a skateboard, but at
the time it (consider) _____ a major advance in the little known sport of
snowboarding. The first national snowboard race (hold) _____ in the area outside
Woodstock and (know) _____ as The Suicide Six.The race (consist) _____ of a steep
downhill run (call) _____ The Face in which the main goal was probably mere survival.
Snowboarding (continue) _____ to increase in popularity over the next several years.
In 1985 the first magazine (dedicate) _____ specifically to snowboarding hit the
newsstands with huge success and furthered the popularity of this exciting sport.
Hoards of fans (begin) _____ to organize regional events and pretty soon
snowboarding events (hold) _____ in all parts of the world. In the year 1994
snowboarding (declare) an Olympic event, much to the delight of fans. The not-so-
new sport of snowboarding (recognize) _____ and meant a huge victory for serious
snowboarders across the globe.
A collection of snowboarding tricks and stunts (release) _____ on video in 1996.
Filmed in Alaska, the breathtaking beauty and captivating snowboarding techniques
featured in the video (expose) _____ snowboarding to a new generation, and by 1998
snowboarding (constitute) _____ almost 50% of all winter activity. Today, nearly all
ski resorts (accept) _____ snowboarders. There (be) _____ still a few holding on to
the past but this (be) _____ unlikely to continue as the number of snowboarders
continually increases.

Exercise 6
In the year 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian (visit) _____ his provinces in Britain.
On his visit, the Roman soldiers (tell) _____ him that Pictish tribes from Britain's north
(attack) _____ them. So Hadrian (give) _____ the order to build a protective wall
across one of the narrowest parts of the country. After 6 years of hard work, the Wall
(finish) _____ in 128. It (be) _____ 117 kilometres long and about 4 metres high. The
Wall (guard) _____ by 15,000 Roman soldiers. Every 8 kilometres there (be) _____ a
large fort in which up to 1,000 soldiers (find) _____ shelter. The soldiers (watch)
_____ over the frontier to the north and (check) _____ the people who (want) _____
to enter or leave Roman Britain. In order to pass through the Wall, people (must go)
_____ to one of the small forts that (serve) _____ as gateways. Those forts (call)
_____ milecastles because the distance from one fort to another (be) _____ one
Roman mile (about 1,500 metres). Between the milecastles there (be) _____ two
turrets from which the soldiers (guard) _____ the Wall. If the Wall (attack) _____ by
enemies, the soldiers at the turrets (run) _____ to the nearest milecastle for help or
(light) _____ a fire that (can / see) _____ by the soldiers in the milecastle. In 383
Hadrian's Wall (abandon) _____ . Today Hadrian's Wall (be) _____ the most popular
tourist attraction in northern England. In 1987, it (become) _____ a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.