1. Introduction

Unit 3a deals with ways reporters describe events, depending on how recent the events are and what detail is provided in the report. In addition, you will see how you can speculate about the imaginary future using the second conditional. All this language is presented within a context of space and spacecraft, which will give you an opportunity to see how technology has advanced in this area since the coursebook was published.

Contents:

  • The Present Perfect tense for talking about recent or unfinished events:

The Ares rocket has crashed.

  • The Past Simple tense for providing details about events happening at specified time in the past:

The Ares rocket crashed early this morning.

  • The first conditional for real or possible situations:

If an aircraft fails, the pilot will activate the ejection system.

  • The second conditional for impossible or imaginary situations:

If a spacecraft failed, the computer would activate the launch abort system.