Answer:
Japan is the country with the most centenarians - over 50,000. It is also where Jiroemon Kimura, the man with the longest lifespan ever, <u><em>was</em></u> born in 1897, the year that Bram Stoker <u><em>had written</em></u> Dracula. Kimura <u><em>left</em></u> school at fourteen and <u><em>got</em></u> a job in a post office. While he <em><u>was working</u></em> there, he <em><u>met</u></em> his future wife, Yae. He had been a postal worker for 45 years when he <em><u>
retired</u></em> in 1962. But he <u><em>
did not stop</em></u> working! He <em><u>became</u></em> a farmer! In an interview just before he <u><em>died</em></u> at the age of 116, he said he wasn't sure why he <em><u>
lived</u></em> so long. 'Maybe it's thanks to the sun, 'he <em><u>
said</u></em>, 'I'm always looking up to the sky!'
Explanation:
In the given passage, the speaker talks about a certain man named Jiroemon Kimura and his life. And throughout the whole passage, the verbs given in parenthesis will be either in the simple past, past perfect, or the past continuous form. The simple past is used to talk of past events, the past continuous to talk of past events that are continuing or happened at some point in the past, and the past perfect is used for actions that were completed at some specified point in the past.
The correct answers for the blanks are as below-
Japan is the country with the most centenarians - over 50,000. It is also where Jiroemon Kimura, the man with the longest lifespan ever, <u><em>was</em></u> born in 1897, the year that Bram Stoker <u><em>had written</em></u> Dracula. Kimura <u><em>left</em></u> school at fourteen and <u><em>got</em></u> a job in a post office. While he <em><u>was working</u></em> there, he <em><u>met</u></em> his future wife, Yae. He had been a postal worker for 45 years when he <em><u>
retired</u></em> in 1962. But he <u><em>
did not stop</em></u> working! He <em><u>became</u></em> a farmer! In an interview just before he <u><em>died</em></u> at the age of 116, he said he wasn't sure why he <em><u>
lived</u></em> so long. 'Maybe it's thanks to the sun, 'he <em><u>
said</u></em>, 'I'm always looking up to the sky!'