Exercise 18. Read and retell the text. Pay attention to the Passive Voice forms. An American in London
One day I was told the following story.
An American in London went sightseeing. He was taken round the
City by a guide and was shown many interesting buildings.
"How long did it take to build this house?" he asked the guide when
they were passing a hotel.
"About six months, " said the guide.
"Six months!" cried the American. "A building like that can be built
in a month in America".
Then he was shown a new building.
"And how long did it take to build that?" he asked.
"This building was built in a month, " said the guide.
"A month!" said the American: "In America a place like that can be
built in two days".
Some minutes later they came to the Houses of Parliament.
"That's not a bad-looking place. When was it built?" asked the
American.
"You may not believe me," said the guide smiling, "but that building
was not there when I crossed the bridge last night".