Sentence structure

Combine each group of sentences to form not more than two complex sentences. Make the
necessary changes to the ordering of the material and syntax, but do not change the
information or vocabulary. Skeleton structures have been suggested for most of the sentences
to indicate logical approaches to the synthesis. Opt for a structure that has an organising
principle that facilitates reading.

EXAMPLE

No one was watching. The intruder first made sure of this. He climbed up a drainpipe. He
climbed up to a window on the first floor. He succeeded in entering the house through the
window. He was not observed.

Having first made sure that no one was watching, the intruder climbed up a drainpipe to a
first-floor window, through which he succeeded in entering the house unobserved.

1. Money or plate may be found hidden anywhere in Britain. It may have no owner. It is then
called ‘treasure-trove’. It is legally the property of the Crown. The finder must hand over his
‘trove’ to the authorities. He is, however, in practice, given its full value in return.

If money ... no owner, it ... Crown. Although the finder ...

2. The bubonic plague raged in England during the Middle Ages. The name given to it was
‘The Black Death’. It carried off thousands of the population. In some cases, it exterminated
whole towns and villages.

‘The Black Death’ ... , carrying ... and ... exterminating ...

3. Fleet Street was once famous for its coffee houses. Men used to meet there. They were
prominent in the literary world. It is now synonymous with journalism and English national
newspapers. It takes its name from the Fleet Stream. This used to run from Hampstead. It ran
down into the Thames at Blackfriars.

Fleet Street, once ... where men ... and now..., takes ...

4. Guy Fawkes was the leader of a band of conspirators. They intended to blow up the Houses
of Parliament. They intended to do this while the King and his Ministers were in session. Guy
Fawkes's memory is perpetuated. There are firework displays. These are held on November
5th each year.

Guy Fawkes, whose memory ... each year, was ...

5. I returned to the city. I had been born there. I had been absent for many years. Many of its
narrow streets had been demolished. So had their picturesque houses. They had made way for
shop-lined thoroughfares. These were modern but undistinguished. I was dismayed to find
this.

When ... , I was dismayed to ... .

6. The Pilgrim Fathers were a group of English Puritans. They first spent some years in exile
in Holland. They did this to escape religious persecution. They later sailed to America in the
Mayflower. They established a colony at Plymouth in Massachusetts.

The Pilgrim Fathers ...

7. The ‘South Sea Bubble’ was the name given to a great financial crash. It occurred in Britain
in 1720. It followed a wave of national speculation. The dimensions of this speculation have
since been repeated only once. This was before the great crash on Wall Street, New York.
This was in 1929.

The ‘South Sea Bubble’ ...

8. Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) had already attained distinction as an astronomer. He

was only sixteen then. Nevertheless, later, he seriously took up the study of architecture. This
was not till he was nearly thirty. The crowning result of this study was St Paul’s Cathedral.

Although ... , it was not until .... that ...

9. What the English call “public schools” are in fact private or independent schools.
Foreigners are frequently surprised to learn this. These schools cater, in the main, for fee-
paying pupils. These pupils come from middle and upper-class families. Many of these
families have to make great financial sacrifices. They do this in order to send their children to
the school of their choice. (2 sentences)

10. The jury system has its disadvantages. This is the opinion of many people. Nevertheless,
the disappearance of this system is unthinkable. In the same way, in principle there is a very
great deal to be said for making magistrates out of certain persons. These persons are
prominent local citizens. This is their chief qualification. (2 sentences)