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Arriving in the Northeast — New York

Read about a trip to New York, practise the simple past and compare things using adjectives.

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Ex A – ReadingRead about Lisa's trip and answer comprehension questions
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Ex B – Simple PastFill in the correct irregular past tense forms
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Ex C – Comparing ThingsUse comparative and superlative adjectives
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Ex D – WritingWrite about a trip using the simple past and comparisons
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Exercise A

Lisa's Trip to New York

Read the text carefully, then answer the questions below.

Read the text

Last summer, Lisa travelled to New York with her family. It was her first time in the USA. They flew from Frankfurt to JFK Airport. The flight took about nine hours.

On their first day, they visited the Statue of Liberty. Lisa took lots of photos. She thought it was amazing. "It's much bigger than I expected!" she said.

The next day, they walked through Times Square. There were bright lights everywhere. Lisa found it very exciting. She bought a souvenir T-shirt for her best friend.

They spent an afternoon in Central Park. It was quieter than the busy streets. They had a picnic and watched people jogging and cycling. Lisa's brother ate three hot dogs from a street vendor!

Lisa and her family stayed in New York for five days. On their last evening, they went to the top of the Empire State Building. The view of the city at night was incredible. Lisa said it was the best holiday of her life.

Answer the questions
1. Where did Lisa go on holiday?
2. How did she travel from Frankfurt?
3. What did she visit on the first day?
4. What did Lisa think about Times Square?
5. What did Lisa buy in Times Square?
6. How many days did the family stay in New York?
Exercise B

Simple Past — Irregular Verbs

Complete each sentence with the correct simple past form of the verb in brackets.

Fill in the gaps
1. Lisa _____ to New York last summer. (go)
2. She _____ the Statue of Liberty from the boat. (see)
3. They _____ a yellow taxi to the hotel. (take)
4. She _____ a souvenir for her friend. (buy)
5. Her brother _____ three hot dogs in Central Park. (eat)
6. They _____ a wonderful time in New York. (have)
7. Lisa _____ postcards to her friends in Germany. (write)
8. She _____ New York was the best city in the world. (think)
Exercise C

Comparing Things

Complete each sentence with the correct comparative or superlative form of the adjective in brackets.

Grammar reminder

Comparative (comparing two things): short adjectives add -er (tall → taller), long adjectives use more (beautiful → more beautiful).

Superlative (the most / the least): short adjectives add -est (tall → tallest), long adjectives use most (beautiful → most beautiful).

Irregular: good → better → best, bad → worse → worst.

Fill in the gaps
1. The Empire State Building is _____ than the Statue of Liberty. (tall)
2. New York is _____ than Lisa's hometown. (big)
3. Times Square is the _____ place in New York. (busy)
4. Central Park is _____ than the busy streets. (beautiful)
5. The subway is _____ than walking. (fast)
6. Hot dogs are _____ than restaurant food. (cheap)
7. New York is one of the _____ cities in the world. (famous)
8. Lisa's trip was the _____ holiday of her life. (good)
Exercise D

Writing — My Trip

Write 6–8 sentences about a trip you took or a trip you would like to take to an American city. Use the simple past and at least 3 comparisons.

Helpful phrases
Simple past: I went to… I visited… I saw… I ate… We stayed for… It was…
Comparisons: bigger than more exciting than the tallest better than the most beautiful cheaper than
Your text

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