Unit 11. Language practice, reading and writing

I. Can, could, may, might - possibility

Main points: You use can to say that something is possible. You use could, might and may to indicate that you are not certain whether something is possible, but you think it is. We also use could have to say that there was a possibility of something happening in the past, but it didn’t happen.

A. Read and translate the text in writing. Underline the could have structures for a possibility in the past.

World War I

The outbreak of World War I in research papers is shown in the way that WWI came about as the result of a series of hasty actions by fervently nationalistic countries – and not due to the strategic advances of Germany or any other single European power.  Austria-Hungary could have refrained from offering Serbia an unacceptable ultimatum. Russia could have abstained during the outbreak of WWI from mobilizing hastily, allowing the conflict to remain within the geographical boundaries of the Balkans, and France could have been more aggressive in restraining its Russian ally rather than issuing the Russians a “blank check.”  As well, Britain could have been more assertive in warning of its impending involvement in a pan-European conflict in the outbreak of WWI, perhaps enough to deter the Germans from moving forward. German historians Zara Steiner and Luigi Albertine fiercely opposed Fischer’s theory on the outbreak of WWI as well, claiming that he had taken numerous historical quotes and documents out of context.  Indeed, the so-called Fisher Thesis may have given the Germans a tad too much credit – according to Fischer, the Germans first encouraged Austria-Hungary to place the Serbian ultimatum, then pushed the monarchy to declare war on Serbia when their terms were not met.  It is far more plausible that the cause of World War I was the result of a series of miscalculations and political blunders that was not meant to be had the European rulers and statesmen understood the effects their actions would have had on those of others.

B. Which of theses things could you have done if you have lived a hundred years ago? Which things couldn’t you have done? Write six sentences like this one.

A hundred years ago I could have ridden a horse, but I couldn’t have flown in an airplane.

flown in an aeroplane gone to the cinema learned English

listen to Beethoven listened to The Beetles played chess

played computer games read Ernest Hemingway read Shakespeare

ridden a horse traveled by train watched television

С. Complete these sentences using was able and could

Another reason the empire (1)…. to survive external threat was that she was blessed with fairly weak antagonists who were, at times, otherwise engaged.  Russia and Austria were the adjacent European powers that (2)…., conceivably, threaten the empire’s very existence, but neither of these (3)…. in the eighteenth century to throw their full weight against Turkey. They had other foreign policy concerns and these worked to protect Turkey.  Austria and Russia acted as checks upon each other from time to time and Prussia was a check on Catherine the Great’s move to the south.