7. Complete the text with the past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in brackets: It was past midnight when Helen (arrive) home. She (close) the door quietly because her parents (sleep) upstairs. As she (take off) her coat, she (see) a letter on the floor with her name on it. She (open) the letter and (read) it. Then she (put) it in her pocket, (pick up) her coat and (go) out again. It (be) a cold night but it (not rain). A few people (walk) towards the High Street, so Helen (cross) the road and (follow) them. She (not know) where they (go) but she (not want) to be alone.

Перевод задания: Дополните текст формами глаголов в Past Simple или Past Continuous.

Completed text:

It was past midnight when Helen arrived home. She closed the door quietly because her parents were sleeping upstairs. As she was taking off her coat, she saw a letter on the floor with her name on it. She opened the letter and read it. Then she put it in her pocket, picked up her coat and went out again. It was a cold night but it wasn’t raining. A few people were walking towards the High Street, so Helen crossed the road and followed them. She didn’t know where they were going but she didn’t want to be alone.

Перевод выполненного текста:

Было за полночь, когда Хелен пришла домой. Она тихо закрыла дверь, потому что её родители спали наверху. Когда она снимала пальто, то увидела на полу письмо со своим именем. Она открыла письмо и прочитала его. Затем она положила его в карман, подняла пальто и снова вышла. Ночь была холодной, но дождя не было. Несколько человек шли в сторону Хай-стрит, поэтому Хелен перешла дорогу и последовала за ними. Она не знала, куда они направляются, но не хотела оставаться одна.

Why these forms: The past simple describes completed events in sequence; the past continuous describes actions in progress at that time. “Was taking off” was in progress when Helen saw the letter; “were sleeping,” “wasn’t raining,” “were walking,” and “were going” describe ongoing situations.

Почему выбраны эти формы: Past Simple описывает завершённые события, происходящие одно за другим; Past Continuous — действия, которые продолжались в тот момент. «Was taking off» обозначает действие, во время которого Хелен увидела письмо; «were sleeping», «wasn’t raining», «were walking» и «were going» описывают продолжавшиеся ситуации.