Look at tenses
The story below comes from my local community newspaper and was written just after the 2011 Australian Open tennis final. In this task, we focus on verbs and tenses. Fill the gaps below with the correct form of the verbs ‘to be’, ‘to have’ and ‘to win’.
Mothers can do anything
Kim Clijsters put motherhood in the spotlight by beating Li Na of China to win the Australian Open tennis title last weekend.
Clijsters ______________ now ______________ four Grand Slam titles, three since her daughter Jada, now nearly 3, was born.
The Belgian is the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Cawley ______________ Wimbledon in 1980. A few years before that, Cawley’s fellow Australian, Margaret Court, ______________ ______________ the world’s No 1 player while a mother.
Clijsters is a better player now than before she took a break from the pro circuit to marry and start a family.
Perhaps she ______________ more perspective in her life. She handles tense situations on court with calmness and maturity and, more than her opponents, understands that even a Grand Slam final ______________ still just a tennis match.
Now check your answers against the complete text.
Mothers can do anything
Kim Clijsters put motherhood in the spotlight by beating Li Na of China to win the Australian Open tennis title last weekend.
Clijsters has now won four Grand Slam titles, three since her daughter Jada, now nearly 3, was born.
The Belgian is the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. A few years before that, Cawley’s fellow Australian, Margaret Court, had been the world’s No 1 player while a mother.
Clijsters is a better player now than before she took a break from the pro circuit to marry and start a family.
Perhaps she has more perspective in her life. She handles tense situations on court with calmness and maturity and, more than her opponents, understands that even a Grand Slam final is still just a tennis match.
(This is an extract from Mothers can do anything, by Joseph Romanos in his Sports Talk column in The Wellingtonian, February 3, 2011, page 23.)