Classroom activities (7)

Complete the sentences choosing the proper modal.

1. If the doctors give her a blood transfusion they … be able to save her life. (can / may / must) 2. Notice above petrol pump: All engines … be switched off. (must / should / are to) 3. I wonder who broke the vase yesterday. – It … not have been me as I was out all day yesterday. (can / might / must). 4. I’ve bought two pounds of carrots. – You … have bought carrots, we’ve got enough to last a month. (didn’t have to / needn’t / shouldn’t) 5. You … at least have thanked him for helping you out of trouble! (could / must / might) 6. The man … be intelligent but he has no common sense. (may / can / has to) 7. Gigantic cities like London and New York … be difficult to administer. (might / are to / must) 8. “What else … we have done under the circumstances?” Fiona exclaimed in despair. (could / might / should) 9. Sydney doesn’t often go to the opera. He … appreciate the new soprano. (must / can’t / may) 10. Being homeless … lead to frustration and alcoholism. (can / may / must) 11. Diane doesn’t answer the phone. What … she be doing? – She … be sleeping for all I know. She had a sleepless night. (can / may / must)

Cross-cultural Notes:

1. the Ivy League – a group of universities in the north-east of the USA (Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College) with a very high academic reputation, status and prestige. The name comes from the ivy that grows on the old buildings of colleges.

2. the Wild West – the western part of the USA, where many European settlers moved during the 19^th century to establish new farms and cities. It is thought of as a violent place where the law was not generally respected.

3. a manila envelope (folder) – an envelope (folder) made of strong brown paper.

4. to lynch sb – to take hold of a person thought to be guilty of a crime and kill them, especially by hanging, without a legal trial. Many people think of lynching in the context of the American Wild West and with the illegal killing of blacks in the South by the Ku-Klux-Klan.

5. Wal-Mart [‘wO:lLmQ:t] – any of a very large group of shops in the US selling a wide range of goods at low prices. The first Wal-Mart Discount City was opened in 1962 by Sam Walton, who became one of the richest people in the US.