Marie Tussaud was a French woman who became famous for her wax models. She was born in Strasbourg in 1761, and developed her hobby by watching the doctor who her mother worked for. He taught her the difficult art of wax modeling. When she was older, she travelled around Great Britain, showing many of her creations, and eventually settled in London, opening up her famous wax museum. There are actually many Madame Tussauds. One that I went to this summer was in San Francisco. It was the first time that we had been to that city, and as (1)we were there for only a couple of days, we wanted to see all the main tourist attractions. We had a great time in the museum, and really laughed a lot. I was surprised when I learned that you are allowed to touch the wax models. When we learned that, there was no stopping us(2). We hugged them, kissed them, pulled faces near them, and copied their poses. When I spotted Leonardo di Caprio, I had to pose with him. He is one of my favorite actors. I pretended that he and I were walking on the red carpet to see the premier of his latest film. When I looked at the photos we had taken, the wax models looked more real than we did (3)! The figures are so perfectly made. I couldn't decide which one of us looked more real, me or di Caprio!

1. '..as we were there for only a couple of days, we wanted...' as here is used the same way as 'because' or 'seeing as though'. It is good to practice producing such long sentences with as.

a. We got off the bus, and as we already had the tickets, we went straight into the theatre. 

b. Maybe you can explain our car problem to the mechanic, as you know more about cars than I do.

2. 'There was no stopping us/ there's no stopping us' is obvious in meaning, and is used to express enthusiasm or determination.

a. We wanted to hike, but it had rained for two weeks. When the sun finally came out, we put our boots on and headed out. There was no stopping us!

b. The business owner was so angry about the rise in taxes, that he went to the local government building to complain. There was no stopping him!

3. 'The wax models looked more real than we did!' I chose this sentence in order to practice the end auxiliary 'did'. This type of sentence sounds very natural. Remember, that we don't use 'did' with the verb 'to be'.

a. He ate more cake than everyone else did!

b. He is definitely taller than you are.

c. She is more generous than you are, but she has less money than you do.

d. She studies less than you do but still gets good grades.

e. They saw the movie before we did.

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