Какое время выражает процесс, который начался и еще не закончился к моменту времени в прошлом?

Past perfect continuous

It was halloween night . two girls decided to go trick-or-treating. they were excited and by the time they got to the last house in the street they were both tired . so they entered that empty house although they were scared .suddenly,they heard a loud noise and a huge creature jumped out in front of them. they found that it was mrs. shade . she treated the girls with some treats . after that they went home . their mother was angry with them because of their long absence. the girls explained that they were at mrs. shades house . mother was puzzled how could they see a woman which died ten years ago .!

Is it worth it to keep the animals at the zoo and why?     in my opinion keeping wild animals at the zoo is a cruel act. these animals need freedom more than anything else. they are not just some toys or museum showpieces, they are living creatures who need their home without borders and fences. imagine you were hold in a tiny space and hundreds of animals came to look at you, take pictures and make fun of you. you won't like it, would you? that is how they feel.     that being said, i do not encourage keeping animals at the zoo just for our pleasure, i think we must let the nature do its own thing, oherwise it will punish us.