English with Jo

Here is today’s English lesson. It is a news story about some old whisky that was returned to Scotland. The answers to the exercises will be uploaded to my blog tomorrow.

Whisky Returns to Scotland

Vocabulary

1. liquor: (noun) - Any fermented alcoholic drink like whiskey or vodka.
2. recreate: (verb) - To make something from the past exist again in a new form or be experienced again
3. cargo: (noun) - Freight; what is carried in a ship, plane, truck, etc.
4. tucked: (verb) – when something is put into a small space, especially in order to protect, hide, carry, or hold it
5. modest: (adjective) - Small, not great.
6. discovered: (verb) - To be the first to have seen or learned about and reported on something.

100-Year-Old Whisky Returns to Scotland

By: VOA News

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/100-Year-Old-Whisky-Returns-to-Scotland--113934034.html

17th January, 2011

More than 100 years ago, British explorer Ernest Shackleton buried several crates of Scottish whisky under the Antarctic ice. On Monday, three bottles of the precious liquor were flown back to Scotland.

The bottles of Mackinlays whisky were discovered in 2007, in crates marked "British Antarctic Expedition 1907" that had been tucked under the floor of a hut Shackleton built during his failed attempt to reach the South Pole. Last year, one crate was brought to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Researchers there gradually brought the century-old whisky to room temperature.

Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who owns whiskymaker Whyte and Mackay, which makes the Mackinlay brand, flew the precious cargo in his private plane from New Zealand to Scotland Monday.

Mallya hopes to recreate the whisky, which is believed to date from 1896 or 1897. The liquor will be studied in a lab in Scotland before being returned to under the floorboards of Shackleton's modest polar hut.

Comprehension Questions

Select the correct answer for following multiple choice questions.

1. Where did Shackleton bury the whisky?
( A ) Scotland
( B ) Antarctic
( C ) New Zealand
( D ) Britain

2. What year were the bottles of bottles of Mackinlays whisky discovered?
( A ) 1896
( B ) 1907
( C ) 1897
( D ) 2007

3. How many boxes of whisky were flown back to Scotland?
( A ) one crate
( B ) three bottles
( C ) several crates
( D ) one bottle

4. Make a time line of the events outlined in the article. The first one has been done for you.

1896 or 1897 -         The whisky was made in Scotland

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Vocabulary Quiz

1. He _______________________ the gloves into his pocket.
2. His show was a _______________________ success.
3. Columbus _______________________ America
4. That plane doesn't carry passengers, only _______________________.
5. He drank too much _______________________ and fell asleep in his chair.
6. I wish I could ____________ that wonderful weekend in Paris.

Focus on Grammar

The simple past shows that an action ended. For example, the sentence "I ate dinner last night" uses the past of eat, "ate," to show that dinner ended last night.
Find the actions in the past tense in the sentences below.

1. Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who owns whiskymaker Whyte and Mackay, which makes the Mackinlay brand, flew the precious cargo in his private plane from New Zealand to Scotland Monday.
2. The liquor will be studied in a lab in Scotland before being returned to under the floorboards of Shackleton's modest polar hut.
3. Researchers there gradually brought the century-old whisky to room temperature.
4. More than 100 years ago, British explorer Ernest Shackleton buried several crates of Scottish whisky under the Antarctic ice.
5. The bottles of Mackinlays whisky were discovered in 2007, in crates marked British Antarctic Expedition 1907 that had been tucked under the floor of a hut Shackleton built during his failed attempt to reach the South Pole.

Practice - Sentence Writing

Write your own sentences using each of the past tense verbs found above.

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5. __________________________________________________