Fill in the gaps
Past tenses
Past Simple

• Прошлые действия, которые происходили одно за другим:
  We didn't wait for you because we were in a hurry.
• Прошлые привычки или состояние:
  I used to read a lot of books when I was a child.
• Действия, которые произошли в указанное прошедшее время:
  Lisa brushed her teeth, had breakfast and then went to school.
• Предыдущее действие, которое прервало другое предыдущее действие в процессе:
  When the fire in the kitchen started, dad was taking a shower.

Past Continuous (was/were + -ing)

• Действия, которые осуществлялись в указанное время в прошлом:
  Larry was playing computer games while his brother was chatting with a friend yesterday evening.
• Прошлое действие, которое выполнялось, когда другое прошлое действие прервало его:
  Peter was playing video games when the lights went off.
• Фоновые описания событий в истории/описании:
  The sun was shining.

The Past Perfect (had + past participle)

• Используется для прошлого действия или события, которое произошло до указанного времени в прошлом:
  Jim had completed his project by 6 p.m. yesterday.
• Используется для прошлого действия или события, которое произошло до другого прошлого действия:
  When we arrived at the theatre, the play had already started.
• Используется для прошлого действия, которое завершилось в прошлом и результаты которого были видны в прошлом:
  He was terrified because he had seen a monster.
• Является эквивалентом Present Perfect:
  He had never travelled by plane.

The Past Perfect Continuous (had been + -ing form)

• Используется для прошлого действия, которое продолжалось в течение некоторого времени до указанного времени в прошлом:
  Jim had been working for 3 hours by 6 o'clock yesterday.
• Используется для прошлого действия, которое продолжалось в течение некоторого времени до указанного времени в прошлом:
  When I looked out of the window, I saw that it had been snowing all night.
• Используется, когда мы фокусируемся на продолжительности действия:
  He had been driving for four hours.
• Является эквивалентом Present Perfect Continuous:
  He had been waiting for a long time.

The Price of Fame

In one book, which was on the must-read list, we meet an unusual character. A year ago he [ ]a book. The plot of that book was based on the story of two orphans who terrified their foster family. Soon the author realized that his book would most likely remain unknown. And suddenly he was gone.

While the police [ ]for evidence and his body, the main character [ ]in a country house. It's terrible that the relatives believed that he died and suffered a lot. But his plan [ ]: people began to talk about him more often and read his book. It is harder not to be among the dead, but to rise again. The hero [ ]that moment for many months. When people [ ]about him again, he decided to appear and announce that he was alive. When everyone [ ]by the empty coffin, he suddenly [ ]. This was followed by administrative punishment, the hatred of the mother and the bewilderment of the fans.

Whether it was worth declaring oneself dead for the sake of fame is the question.