For some, the advent of television marked the beginning of the end of civilised society. More and more, people have watched TV at the (i)  _______  of playing cards or board games, or other communal pastimes. Many fear that the Internet too will further limit social interaction. That may be true but, as researehers at Stanford University in the USA are the first to say, further study is needed. In a recent survey they found that the Internet and the use of email have actually increased some forms of human interaction. What’s more, people who go online are (ii) _______  watch less television than others. The study makes two things clear. Contrary to all the fuss in the media, the Internet’s popularity is still in its infancy. More than half of US households are not connected yet, but the Internet’s potential impact (iii) _______  we live and interact is enormous. Workers may be using the Web on the job for such personal ends as checking sports scores but, according to the study, they also use the Internet to work from home. Just 4 per cent of the surveyed Internet users said they had cut back on their working hours since getting connected to the Internet.But will the Internet make US more isolated socially? While a fourth of the Internet users say they spend less lime talking on the telephone with friends and relatives, email allows them to stay in touch, regardless of distance. Since email is (iv) _______  and can be sent and received at any hour of the day, it has many built-in advantages. For some, it has actually revived the highly social art of letter writing. As for spending less time on the telephone, the continuing boom in mobile phone use makes an overall decrease less and less likely. Few would argue that the Internet has had a profound effect on the lives of many in its first decade of common use. But assessing its long-term impact is difficult. That’s why for all the questions they raise, studies such as Stanford’s are so useful. If we don’t pay close attention to how we use the Internet, it will change our lives not just for (v) _______  , but for worse.

(iii)_____

The battle was on, and the Canadians delivered. After (i) ________ minor step errors by Sikharulidze, Sale and Pelletier gave a mesmerizing performance and people were expecting them to win. The shock came when 4 (ii) ________ 5 judges placed the Canadians in second place. The public booed as the gracious, yet the confused pair accepted their silver medal. An official protest was launched and, following the results of a formal investigation, it was determined that the French judge had been pressured into giving the highest mark to the Russian skaters in return for a win of the French couple Marina Anissina and Gwcndal Pcizcrat in the ice dancing competition. The judge at (iii) ________ was promptly suspended, and a second gold medal was awarded to the Canadian team. A new marking system was (iv) ________  place in order to (v) ________ any future possibilities for misconduct.

(v)_____

The groom usually traveled to the house of the bride for the ceremony, then stayed there for three days (i) _______ taking his new bride to his family’s home. The actual ceremony involved many small rituals, with many bows and symbolic gestures. The (ii) _______were expected to control their emotions and remain somber. (iii) _______ Koreans have kept several aspects of the traditional ceremony, most modem ceremonies resemble Western marriage ceremonies more than (iv) _______ Korean ones.

However, many folk villages and museums across the country regularly perform ceremonies to (v) _______ the traditions alive.

(i)_____

As President, Grant had the task of continuing to attempt (i) _______ reunify the American nation after its Civil War. One of Grant’s accomplishments as President was the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution which ensured voting rights for blacks. Grant is also remembered as the President who signed the bill into law which created America’s first national park – Yellowstone Park. But financial problems throughout the land while Grant was in office (ii) _______ the Panic of 1873.

Grant was criticized for his indecisiveness, failure to lake decisive action, and inability to helo the American economy during the Panic, and in the next elections the (iii) _______  won more scats in Congress and look the Presidency. Several scandals occurred during Grant’s administration. Grant was an (iv) _______ man but had appointed loyal friends and supporters to serve in governmental capacities.

Some of his appointees were involved in the corruption. It is thought that Grant’s early business failures and lack of success in personal relationships with other military leaders and businessman (v) _______ reasons why Grant appointed those who had remained loyal to him and had been nice to him even though they were not political astute.

(ii)_____

The town of Bunol in Spain is famous for La Tomatina, the world’s largest vegetable fight. The event takes place during a week-long celebration (i) _______ festivities and with even greater anticipation for the battle ahead. La Tomatina started during the 1940s, when (ii) _______ of friends started a tomato fight and passers-by got dragged into it. From that day forward, the fiesta has been celebrated annually and is expected to draw record numbers this time around. The reason for the fight has never been established and it hardly matters since the point is fun. La Tomatina has blossomed into a huge fiesta that coincides with the festival for the town’s patron saint. This is partly in an effort to draw more tourism into Bunol, and at the same time many more targets. The night before La Tomatina, the narrow’ streets are filled with tomatoes, and in a much (iii) _______ form than the next day. No one can do battle on an empty stomach so huge pans filled with delicious paella are on offer. Then, early Wednesday morning, shopkeepers set about covering windows and doors in preparation for the mess. Large trucks rumble up the streets to arrive in the square and be cheered by the 20,000 strong crows. Men on top of the tracks then begin the attack (iv) _______ soft tomatoes from the four comers of Spain. The victims retaliate against the trackers, each other, and anyone else that strays within their range. When all the tomatoes have been demolished, (v) _______ heads to the river to clean it all off.

(i)____

The professor (i) _______ the ancient symbol in the course of researeh for a visual history of the 20th century, to be published by the Trecca in Encyclopedia. The first (ii) _______ instance of its use, he says, occurred in a letter written by a Florentine merchant on May 4th, 1536. He says the sign made its (iii) ________  along trade routes to northern Europe, where it came to represent “at the price of” – its contemporary accountancy (iv) _______  . Professor Stabile believes that Italian banks may possess even earlier documents (v) _______ the symbol lying forgotten in their arehives. The oldest example could be of great value. The race is on between the mercantile world and the banking world to sec who has the oldest documentation of @.

(ii)_____

The violence of the conflict has (i) _______ the attention of the international world, with many labelling it as the (ii) _______ humanitarian crisis since the 2004 Asian tsunami. Members of the United Nations have called upon the rest of the world to put an end to this terrible (iii) _______ and the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic group. In 2004, Chad negotiated a ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese government and the JEM and SLM groups, (iv) _______ would put an end to the hostilities.

Yet, there is an uneasy truce, as the National Movement for Reform and Development (v) _______ away from the JEM during peace negotiations and stills continues its guerrilla war against the Janjaweed in spile of careful peace monitoring done by the African Union and the European Union. A new peace agreement has been proposed in May 2006, but its rejection by a couple of rebel groups docs not bode well for the future of Darfur.

(ii)______

I cannot go ______ with his suggestion. 

Please don’t parking in those spaces that have signs reserving them for the handicapped.

Instead of throwing in the towel, Shakira kept her focus on music and participated (i)  ______  a televised singing competition for children, (ii) ______  she started being invited to various events in Barranquilla and became a local celebrity. When she turned 13, she caught the eye of theatre producer Monica Ariza, who took her under her wing and made her name (iii) ______  outside Barranquilla. On a flight from her hometown to the Colombian capital of Bogota, Ariza happened to sit next to Sony executive C’iro Vargas, who agreed to hold an audition for Shakira a few weeks later inside a hotel lobby. Vargas was (iv) ______  impressed with the budding new artist and praised her in lavish terms to the Sony artist directors. They, (v) ______  , were less excited and thought Shakira was a “lost cause’’ until Vargas tricked them into a surprise audition with the singer at a bar in Bogota, which resulted in Shakira’s signing a deal with Sony for three recorded albums.

(i)_____

There was a power cut and all the lights _______. 

Around 1190, Tcmujjin and his close allies and advisers began to unite many (i) _____ Mongol clans. Using his strong will and charisma, he managed to persuade (ii) _____ of those fighting and warring clans to accept him as the one and only leader. It seems Tcmujjin had a gift, the unusual ability to act as a leader and (iii) _____ respect. Several tribes tried to oppose him. There were a lot of betrayals and killings, but eventually Tcmujjin managed to do what nobody had ever done before: unite all Mongols (iv) _____  one nation in 1206. In honor of his achievements, the Mongol clan chiefs (v) _____Tcmujjin the title Khan, or “leader”.

(i)_____

Liza Cooke works (i) _______ vso, a voluntary charity organization. For the last three years she (ii) _______ English in a primary school in a small village in Nigeria. Before that she lived with her parents in a semi-detached house in Croydon, and worked in an office in north London. Her life changed dramatically after she decided to join vso as a volunteer worker. “I used to travel to work every day by train. The journey would take between forty minutes and an hour. Now it only takes me a few minutes. I used to work in a large office with about thirty other people. Now 1 teach classes of up to fifty children. I still work (iii)         _______  well, more or less. The classroom has walls but no windows! I used to hale my office job. It was so boring. But teaching is so different -I really enjoy it. Of course, working in an office and living at home (iv) _______ that I had a lot of free time. I would go out every night of the week and enjoy myself. I never stayed at home. Now 1 find 1 have hardly (v) _______ free time, but I don’t mind. I seem to spend most of my free time doing

(V)______

In 1977, the United States enacted the Mine safety and Health Act, and since that time the overall number of deaths related to mining accidents (i) _______ decreased. But, unfortunately, in the United States, several coal mine explosions have recently (ii) _______ the lives of several miners and increased this year’s mining- related deaths above of the total number of mining-related deaths recorded last year. The mining industry and the United States government take seriously the safety problems confronting miners. (iii) _______ is being done to help protect the miners is important in the mining industry throughout the world. The United States Congress has recently considered legislation increasing the amount of oxygen miners must have available to them as they work below the earth’s surface because a lack of available oxygen may have caused the death of some of the trapped miners in recent coal mine explosions. When an explosion (iv) _______ in an underground mine and air packs are in short supply or those available to miners are not in working condition, the successful rescue efforts can be crippled even though rescue workers are (v) _______ valiant efforts to save lives.

(iv)____

Over the years, not all of the American boats have been the fastest but their maneuverability, good sails and construction have been the keys to success because in the America’s Cup not always (i) _______ the waves splash gently nor docs the summer sun shine down romantically upon the huge yachts racing through rugged ocean waters navigating buoys to determine the winner. The winner of the previous America’s Cup race and the challenger selected to race the previous winner need to navigate the deep, and sometimes rough and unpredictable salt waters of the ocean (ii)      tranquil and flatter waters of inland lakes. And it is the ease of maneuvering and the exacting ratios of weight, balance, and sail volume which can determine the winner. Throughout the years, the types of boats raced in the America’s Cup have changed but the challenge and possibility of fame for winning the competition is still alluring and has not changed. In 1983, the Australians took away the Cup from the Americans and the races left the American waters for the Australian waters. After that, the American waters have again been host to racers as well as European waters (iii) _______ the coast of Spain.

Regardless of (iv)________ the race is held or who the competitors or the winners are, the America’s Cup continues to be the oldest continual racing competition – and (v)  _______  prestigious

(ii)______

In Korea, in former days, the marriage between a man and woman represented the joining of two families, rather (i) _______ the joining of two individuals. The event (ii) _______ Tacryc (Great Ritual), and people from all over the village or neighborhood participated. The ceremonies and events surrounding the actual marriage were long and (iii) _______. Professional matchmakers paired up likely candidates for marriage, with the new couple often meeting for the first time at their wedding. The families considered many factors in the decision, consulting with fortune tellers for (iv) _______ about the couple’s future life together. During the Chosun period, people married (v) _______ their early teens, with the girl often being several years older than the boy.

(iv)___-

Choose the best option:

If you need help finding a new job, I ____ you.

Have you hung the washing ______? 

Every year a festival is held to commemorate the founding of our town over 150 years ago. The festival (i) _______ for a week and during that time many local people dress up in old- fashioned clothes, sometimes even wearing them at work. On the first day of the celebrations an opening (ii) _______ is performed by a visiting celebrity at the band-stand in the town centre. From there a colourful procession makes its way through the streets of the town. We spend weeks beforehand preparing the floats, many of (iii) _______ are sponsored by local firms and organizations. In addition to these floats, there are bands and street entertainers, such as fire caters, jugglers and clowns walking on stilts. The procession ends up in the park, where a large marquee has been erected around the marquee. There are various stalls where you can buy local produce or play traditional games. Throughout the week many events are organized to recreate life 150 years ago. You can have your photograph (iv) _______ wearing 19th century clothes or _______ learn traditional crafts such as basket-weaving. For the children there are puppet shows and talent contests. The festival attracts thousands of visitors, and what used to be just a small local event has now grown into a (v) _______ tourist attraction.

(iii)_____

If you really want to lose weight, you need to ______ eating desserts. 

Mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions: 

Only 489 athletes took part in the first Asian Games.