Tenses

The words in bold are either incorrect or need improvement.
1.	Recently there is a story in the newspaper about the caning of a young man in Singapore. Singapore is famous for its strict policies, both from the government and its schools. These policies always punished the guilty severely. In the case reported in the newspaper, a teenager was found guilty of painting public buildings in the downtown area. He is punished by caning, which means he is beaten with a kind of long, hard stick. Many people think this kind of punishment is too strict, but I am thinking that it is good. If more young people realize that the government is not afraid to punish them, they will behave better.
	(Keys: was; punish; was; was; think)

Exercises: Correct or improve the tenses in bold.
1.	Last summer I have attended a bushiban in Taichung. I went there to improve my English. I'm not sure, though, that it is worth it. First of all, my teacher, though a foreigner from Canada, was not a good teacher. Of course he had known English fluently, but he could not teach us very well. Whenever we were asking him questions about grammar, he was saying that he doesn't know the answers. He wasn't much help. The classrooms were too crowded, too. There were almost 30 of us in one small classroom. The lighting was not good enough, either. My eyes hurt after each class from reading in that poor light. I didn't think the bushiban is a good place to study anything.
2.	My dream finally came true! Anthony Jones, the most handsome boy in our class, asked me out to dinner and a movie this weekend. I can hardly believe it! He was so cute when he had asked me. During our ten-minute break between classes, Anthony comes up behind me and gave me a bunch of flowers, just like in the movies! Then he looked a little embarrassed and asks me out. At first I don't know what to say, but finally, of course, I said "Yes!" Ooh! My best friend Patty Ann helps me choose a dress for the big occasion. Do you think it's too soon if I suggest to him that we got married?
3.	Last night we had a big thunderstorm in our town. The evening had been quiet, so nobody really expected any severe weather. However, while my family and I were watching TV, the electricity in the house was going off. My younger brother got out a flashlight, and my mother has started to light candles, one for each room. I was noticing that other houses in our neighborhood were also without power. Then all of a sudden, the sky turned black as night, and it had started to rain cats and dogs. Lightning and thunder filled the sky, and frankly, we were being a little afraid. An hour later, though, the storm was stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Though thunderstorms are a little exciting, I can live without them!
4.	Are you believing in ghosts? Let me tell you a story that really happened to me. Last winter vacation I visited my friend in his country home in the deep mountains of central Taiwan. There was only one road into and out of his town, and the country bus did not go all the way into his town. As there was no telephone at the bus stop either, I had to walk into the town alone towards my friend's house. Although it has only been 4:00, it will be dark soon, and I started to feel a little frightened. As I looked across one rice field, I was seeing a shadow move very quickly from one end to the other, and I had heard a very high sound, like a scream! I almost screamed, too, and ran all the way to my friend's house in town.
5.	Last weekend my friends and I had a big party. We invite many of our classmates and neighbors to my house. We have cooked a lot of food and bought a lot of snack food, like pizza, fried chicken, and potato chips. Because we wanted to dance, too, we were moving a lot of furniture to make enough room. We played music all night. One of the guests played his guitar, and several others sang songs. Everybody is having a good time. At the end of the party, we made plans to have another one next month. I love parties. I could not wait for the next one!
6.	In the United States there is Disneyland in California and Disneyworld in Florida. Both of these amusement parks are wonderful places to visit. Last summer I took my wife and two children to visit Disneyworld. While we are there, we are taking many rides. It was very exciting and a lot of fun. We also visited the Epcot Center, a place where everyone can study science and technology, but it is as interesting as it was educational. We all had a great time there. I advise you to visit Disneyworld, too, the next time you visited the United States.
7.	Are you liking to ride motorcycles? I do, but everyone should remember that motorcycles are not toys. They can being dangerous. Last week I ride my motorcycle to the market to buy some fruit and vegetables. While I was drove, a big city bus came too close to my motorcycle, and I was falling off it. I hurt myself and had to see a doctor. It wasn't my fault, but I still had to pay the doctor myself. We should always be careful when riding motorcycles, or we could be hurt very badly. The next time you were riding your motorcycle, remember to wear your helmet and drive as carefully as you can.
8.	Did you hear about the airplane crash in Hong Kong in August? A jet was trying to land at the Hong Kong airport during a typhoon. The pilot is a very experienced one, but the wind was too strong and dangerous. Unfortunately, he could not land the plane safely. Instead, the airliner crashes and even turns over and burns. A very brave policeman on the airplane helped many other passengers get off safely. Due to his and the crew's efforts, only three people were killed. That was really a miracle. One of my friends saw the whole accident at the airport because he is sitting in another jet plane waiting to take off. What a terrifying experience that must have been for him!
9.	I hate computers! I have to admit that they are convenient, but sometimes they drive me crazy. Also, sometimes I am thinking that they waste as much time as they save. Had your computer ever gone down? I'm sure it has; everyone's has. When this happens, if you are being lucky, you will lose only the file or document that you are working on. If you are more unlucky, you will lose everything in your computer! Sometimes the printer didn't work well, either. Or sometimes we lost a floppy disk or forget a file name we need. Computers can be useful--sometimes!