The government has just announced that it is cutting the money it gives to the influenza research centre. complete these texts about it with an appropriate form of the verb given. use the present perfect continuous if possible; if not, use the present perfect or past simple. indicate where more than one of these tenses is possible. it's remarkable to think that since 1950 influenza ( (claim) more than 50,000 lives in this country, and in 1957 alone around 6,000 people ( (die). but over the last 20 years we at the centre (3) ) considerable progress on understanding the illness. we (4) ) over a hundred books and articles reporting the results of our research and in 1995 they (5) (award) the nobel prize for medicine to one of my colleagues. in our more recent work we ) (look) into the effects of influenza on heart disease and we (7) (also explore) a possible link between climate change and the recent increase in the number of cases of influenza. it is a tragedy that the government (8) (make) this decision now.

1) has been claiming 

2) have been dying

3) have been making

4) have been producing

5) have been awarding

6) have been looking

7) have also been exploring

8) has been making

Well, students, today we have an interesting exercise about a recent announcement made by the government regarding the influenza research center. The task is to complete the texts with an appropriate form of the verb given, using the present perfect continuous if possible, and if not, using the present perfect or past simple tense. Let's take a closer look at each sentence.

1. It's remarkable to think that since 1950 influenza has claimed more than 50,000 lives in this country.
- Here, we use the present perfect tense (has claimed) because we are talking about a past action that continues until now, emphasizing its ongoing impact.

2. In 1957 alone, around 6,000 people died.
- In this sentence, we use the past simple tense (died) because it is a specific past event that happened and is already completed.

3. But over the last 20 years, we at the center have been making considerable progress on understanding the illness.
- In this sentence, we use the present perfect continuous tense (have been making) because we want to emphasize the ongoing nature of our progress. It started in the past and continues until now.

4. We have published over a hundred books and articles reporting the results of our research.
- Here, we use the present perfect tense (have published) because we are talking about a completed action (publishing) with a connection to the present. The results are still relevant.

5. In 1995, they awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine to one of my colleagues.
- In this sentence, we use the past simple tense (awarded) because it is a specific past event (the awarding) that happened and is already completed.

6. In our more recent work, we have been looking into the effects of influenza on heart disease.
- Here, we use the present perfect continuous tense (have been looking) to show ongoing research. We started looking into it in the past, and it continues until now.

7. We have also been exploring a possible link between climate change and the recent increase in the number of cases of influenza.
- In this sentence, we use the present perfect continuous tense (have been exploring) to express ongoing exploration. It started in the past and is still happening.

8. It is a tragedy that the government is making this decision now.
- We use the present continuous tense (is making) to talk about an action happening at this very moment, the government's decision-making process.

I hope this explanation helps you understand the appropriate use of verb tenses in these texts. Remember, the present perfect continuous emphasizes ongoing actions, the present perfect indicates completed actions with a connection to the present, and the past simple refers to specific past events.