A. Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
‘In-see-Ad?’
‘No, I’ve never heard of it.’
Soon after I ______________ (1. begin) the process of telling my family, friends, employer and even dentist that I ______________ (2. leave) the US to move to INSEAD’s Singapore campus and study on its MBA programme, I ______________ (3. discover) that my acquaintances in the US ______________ (4. tend) to be more provincial in their understanding of business schools.
In a few weeks from now, I ______________ (5. leave) my home in small-town New Jersey, US, to join the Singapore cohort. How did I, a young professional born, raised and educated in the US, make the decision to study for an international MBA?
I studied in North Carolina where I ______________ (6. develop) a keen interest in international affairs. During my undergraduate years, I ______________ (7. study) overseas in London. And later I ______________ (8. accept) the opportunity to work in Waterloo, Belgium, the European headquarters for Johnson & Johnson, where I managed technology solutions for J&J’s medical devices sector. I ______________ (9. return) to the North American headquarters where I created a similar platform.
While I ______________ (10. be) still in Belgium a senior manager had urged me to apply to INSEAD and I rapidly ______________ (11. realise) that the school was the place where I could continue my development towards an international career.
The existence of INSEAD’s Singapore campus ______________ (12. make) the school that much more compelling, because of my desire to have a global understanding of business, which up until then ______________ (13. only / include) North America and Europe.