Past Time, Change, and Technology

Which option demonstrates the correct use of past continuous to describe what Diego was doing one Saturday afternoon?

• a) Diego played video games all afternoon while his sister studied in her room.

• b) While Diego was painting in the garden, his dog started barking at a bird.

• c) Diego’s new book arrived, and he spent the day reading it.

• d) Diego had finished cleaning the garage before he started painting.

Answer explanation

a) Incorrect. Uses past simple but doesn’t describe an ongoing action.

b) Correct. Past continuous ("was painting") captures the ongoing nature of the action when another event occurred.

c) Incorrect. Relies on past simple to narrate events but not an ongoing activity.

d) Incorrect. Past perfect is used, but the question emphasizes an ongoing action.

Which sentence correctly uses the past perfect to describe a sequence of events in Leyre's morning routine?

• a) By the time Leyre left for work, she had already packed her lunch.

• b) Before Leyre arrived at the office, she was listening to her favorite podcast.

• c) Leyre’s bus arrived at 8:15 a.m., and she quickly got on board.

• d) After Leyre poured her coffee, she started reading the news.

Answer explanation

a) Correct. Past perfect ("had already packed") indicates an earlier action completed before another past event.

b) Incorrect. Uses past continuous ("was listening") but doesn’t establish a sequence of events.

c) Incorrect. Uses past simple but lacks the sequence implied by past perfect.

d) Incorrect. Uses past simple to describe consecutive actions without the nuance of past perfect.

Which sentence best highlights the appropriate use of past perfect continuous to describe what Henry had been doing before a specific event?

• a) By the time Henry finished writing his report, he had been working on it for three hours.

• b) Henry was reading the newspaper when his phone rang unexpectedly.

• c) After Henry completed his grocery shopping, he decided to go for a walk.

• d) Henry’s friends had organized a surprise party for him last weekend.

Answer explanation

a) Correct. Past perfect continuous ("had been working") emphasizes an action ongoing before a specific event.

b) Incorrect. Uses past continuous but doesn’t establish the sequence implied by past perfect continuous.

c) Incorrect. Past simple is used to describe consecutive actions without ongoing emphasis.

d) Incorrect. Past perfect is used, but the sentence doesn’t indicate an ongoing action.

Which sentence properly uses the past perfect and past simple to describe technological progress?

• a) The first streaming platforms gained popularity after internet speeds had increased significantly.

• b) By the early 2000s, people started downloading music onto MP3 players.

• c) Broadband had become widespread, and users enjoyed faster browsing.

• d) Developers were experimenting with mobile applications before smartphones became popular.

Answer explanation

a) Correct. Contrasts a past simple event ("gained popularity") with a prior past perfect event ("had increased").

b) Incorrect. Past simple is used but without a sequence that justifies past perfect.

c) Incorrect. Uses past perfect but does not compare it with a distinct past simple event.

d) Incorrect. Relies on past continuous but doesn’t use past perfect.

Which sentence uses the past continuous to emphasize simultaneous technological progress?

• a) Internet users adopted social media platforms as smartphones became mainstream.

• b) While developers were creating new software, companies were investing in cloud services.

• c) By the late 1990s, websites had become more interactive.

• d) Scientists developed a new form of artificial intelligence during the 2010s.

Answer explanation

a) Incorrect. Uses past simple but doesn’t describe simultaneous actions.

b) Correct. Past continuous ("were creating" and "were investing") highlights two ongoing actions occurring at the same time.

c) Incorrect. Relies on past perfect but does not show simultaneous progress.

d) Incorrect. Past simple describes a single completed action, not a process.

Which sentence correctly uses a phrasal verb to describe a technological action?

• a) Developers decided to key out the unnecessary code from the program.

• b) The outdated software was done off after a new version was launched.

• c) Engineers managed to use up the spare parts during repairs.

• d) Users often back up their data to avoid losing important information.

Answer explanation

a) Incorrect. "Key out" is not an appropriate use of the phrasal verb. (key out: digital image or video editing)

b) Incorrect. "Done off" is not a correct phrasal verb.

c) Incorrect. "use up" is valid, the context of spare parts is imprecise.

d) Correct. "Back up" is a precise phrasal verb to describe saving data.

Which sentence properly uses a collocation with "change"?

• a) Technological progress has always been associated with making the break in traditional methods.

• b) The rise of AI has forced companies to take the change towards automation.

• c) The invention of the microchip brought about a significant change in computing.

• d) Broadband brought change about how we communicate.

Answer explanation

a) Incorrect. "Making the break" is not used correctly in this context.

b) Incorrect. "Take the change" is not a valid collocation.

c) Correct. "Brought about" is the correct collocation to describe initiating a change.

d) Incorrect. The word order for "brought change about" is incorrect.

Which word best completes this sentence: "The introduction of smartphones led to a ________ in how people access the internet."

• a) demand

• b) breakthrough

• c) change

• d) network

Answer explanation

c) Correct. "Change" fits the context of altering how people access the internet.

a) Incorrect. "Demand" refers to need but doesn’t fit the sentence meaning.

b) Incorrect. "Breakthrough" refers to a significant discovery, not general progress.

d) Incorrect. "Network" doesn’t fit the sentence logically.