In the Sec 2 novel THE SPIDER, page 17, it says "While Dr Fakhry waited for the picture to appear on her screen, she remembered Ayman's description of the large spider he had seen." Why did you use the past simple with "while"
Sender Eid El Shibini
Position Teacher

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Did you expect the past continuous with while? It is a common misconception that while can only be used with continuous verbs. The conjunction while means (among other things) (1) "during the time that something is happening" or (2) "all the time that something is happening" (see LDOCE).
The first meaning usually takes a continuous verb in the while-clause. This is used when one action is interrupted by another:
While I was talking with my husband, the phone rang. (Our conversation was interrupted by the phone.)
The second meaning usually takes verbs of the same aspect (continuous or non-continuous) in both clauses.
While my husband painted the living room ceiling, I painted the dining room walls. (We are both doing something at the same time.)
This could also be expressed in the continuous (in both clauses) if I want to emphasize that it was a long process:
While my husband was painting the living room ceiling, I was painting the dining room walls.
So in the case of Dr Fakhry, her waiting and remembering happened over the same period of time. The remembering did not interrupt the waiting.

ed 22/11/10