Past Tenses 2 – Lead In

Grammar for IELTS 4. Past Tenses 2 Past Tenses 2 – Lead In

A. Context Speaking

Describe a meaningful song for you.
You should say:
What kind of song it is
What it is about
when you first heard it
What kind of people like that song
and explain Why it means something to you.

B. Context Listening

Listening Comprehension: Mozart

You will hear a woman giving a talk on the famous composer, Mozart. Before you listen, match the words (1-10) with the correct meanings (a-j).

extraordinary
sibling
achievement
keyboard
demand
master (verb)
gifted
in rapid succession
reputation
precocious

a brother or sister
b reach a high level in something
c part of a piano or computer
d amazing
e status
f success
g very talented
h ask in a forceful way
i fast development at a very early age
j quickly one after another

Now listen and complete the notes below

Name:
Date of birth:
Number of surviving brothers and sisters:
Profession of father:
Wrote first composition before the age of:
Taught self to play:

Listen to the text again and fill in the gaps.
1. However, when Mozart was five of his siblings _________ in infancy or early childhood.
2. Mozart’s father, Leopold, ________ a composer, and his grandfather ________ a musician.
3. In just 30 minutes, Mozart ________ the piece of music, which his father ________ into Nannerl’s notebook.
4. By the time he ________ six, the little boy ________ a composition of his own.
5. They ________ to Vienna and ________ sensational reports of Mozart’s talent.
6. His family ________ richer than they ________ before.

For each sentence, underline which event happened first.

Exercise 1: Look at your answers to Exercise 3 and answer these questions.

Which tense is used in sentence 5 to show that the events took place in chronological order? ________.
Which tense is used in the other sentences to show that the second event the speaker mentioned actually happened first? ________.

Show Answer Key and Audio Transcript

Answer Key

1 I d 2 a 3 f 4 c 5 h 6 b 7 g 8 j 9 e 10 i
2 1. January 27, 1756 / 27 January 1756 I January 27th, 1756 / 27th January 1756; 2. one/1; 3. (a) composer; 4. six/6; 5. (the) violin
3 1. was born; had already, died; 2. was; had also .been; 3. mastered; had copied; 4. was; had written; 5. hurried; spread; 6. were; had ever been
4 1 past simple 2 past perfect

Transcript

Presenter: Good morning and welcome to today’s talk on famous composers. Today we’re going to look at the remarkable career of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756, the last of seven children. However, when Mozart was born, five of his siblings had already died in infancy or early childhood. His only surviving sibling was his sister, Nannerl, who was five years older. Mozart’s father, Leopold, was a composer, and his grandfather had also been a musician. Times were hard, and the family had been struggling for some time.

When she was eight, Nannerl began keyboard lessons with her father.

Mozart’s sister was extremely gifted at the keyboard, and she had been making excellent progress when her brother, then aged three, demanded to be taught as well. In just 30 minutes, Mozart mastered the piece of music which his father had copied into Nannerl’s notebook. Wolfgang’s achievement was followed in rapid succession by others. By the time he was six, the little boy had written a composition of his own into the notebook. And by age seven, he had taught himself how to play the violin without ever having received a lesson.

When Leopold Mozart saw how extraordinary his son was, he decided not to waste Wolfgang’s precocious talents and took him on a tour across Europe with his sister. At Linz, Wolfgang gave his first public concert. Among the audience were some important statesmen who were astonished and hurried on to Vienna to spread sensational reports of what they had seen. By the time he was 17, Mozart’s reputation had already begun to spread through Europe, and his family was richer than they had ever been before.

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