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Grammar: Narrative tenses

Read the first part of the story and answer the following questions.

1. What did the people of America think was happening?

2. What was actually happening?

The Martians Have Landed

A few minutes after eight o’clock on the night of Sunday, October 30, 1938, a somber voice
interrupted a radio broadcast to warm Americans, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have agrave
announcement to make…….”
Two words that followed, beamed out in a programme networked across the United
States, caused remarkable scenes of panic. For the announcecement was that Martians had
landed in North America and were moving across the country at great speed. Nothing seemed
able to stop them, all resistance was useless. The USA was being taken over by men from
outer space.
Theannouncement was part of a radio play, but one so realistic and produced by such
a genious of theatre that most people who heard it took it for fact.
The programme had started undramatically enough. At 8 p.m. listeners heard “The
Columbia Broadcasting System presents Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of The Air in
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells”. Then came the unmistakable voice of OrsonWelles: “We
know now that in the early years of the twentieth century, this world was being watched
closely by intelligences greater than man’s.” He was interrupted by a news announcer
apparently reading a routine bulletin: “Tonight’s apparently reading a routine
bulletin: “Tonight’s weather….. For the next 24 hours there will not be much change in
temperature….”
Nothing to cause alarm at thisstate. But the atmosphere was being cleverly built up. Listeners
who had tuned in from the start were already beginning to forget that what the were listening
to was really a radio play

Which is used to refer to:
1. An action which happened before another past action?
I wake up early before I came to school… I ate my dinner after I woke up.
2. a finished (single or repeated)action or situation in the past?
Simple past
3. An action in progress at a definite time in the past?
I was studying when my sister was playing.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY ABOUT THE ORSON WELLES RADIO PLAY AND FILL IN THE
GAPS WITH THE CORRECT FROM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS.

By Chance, on the main rival network there (1) was (be) a new singer being featured. He was
an unknown. He (2) came(come) on at ten minutes past eight and bored listeners (3)began (begin)
turning their dials to find out whether there was anything better on CBS. They (4) joined War
of the Worlds after all the preliminary announcements had bee made. They had no idea that
a play was in progress. All they knew was that strange thins /5) happened (happen) along the eastern
coast. The CBS announcer continued:“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make. The strange object
which fell in New Jersey earlier this evening was not a meteorite. Incredible as it seems,
it (6) contains(contain) strange beings who are believed to be part of an army from the planet
Mars.”

A subtle touch to get people anxious. What (7) _is going___(go) on?
The announcer broke in again. There was anervous, panicky tone to his voice. The Martian,
hideous, leathery-skin creatures (8) _ (spread) out. New Jersey police (9) raced_ (race) to stop
them.
There was more music, more urgent announcements, chilling silences. People were
glued to their sets. Earlier they (10) phoned_ (phone) their relatives and warned them about what
(11) _was happening___ (happen). Across the whole of America, peoplewere beginning to panic.
Then the announcer (12) _came__(come) on to the air again: “We take you now to
Washington for a special broadcast on the national emergency by the Secretary of the
Interior.” A solemn voice was heard asking people not to panic – but at the same time telling
them that the Martian landing was not only in New Jersey. Space vehicles Martian landing
was not only in New...