My friends didn’t take part in the game. I wish  ........

Parents whose children show a special interest in a particular sport have a difficult decision to  (i) _____  about their children’s career. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and women? For many children, it means starting very young and school work, going out with friends and other interests have to take second place. Il’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train for five hours a day, even at the weekend, when (ii) _____of his or her friends are playing. Another problem is of course money. In many countries, money for training is available from the government for the very best young sportsmen and women. If this help cannot be given, it means that it is the parents (iii) _____ have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development- and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment etC. can all be very expensive. Many parents are understandably worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Some doctors agree that young (iv) _____ may be damaged by training before they are properly developed.Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by starting young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person. What is clear is that very (v) _____  people reach the top and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training.

(ii)______

In Britain, the average young person now spends more money on games each year than on going to the cinema or renting videos. But is this (i) _______ a bad thing? For years, newspaper reports have been saying that children who spend too much lime playing computer games become unsociable, bad- tempered, even violent as a result. But new researeh, (ii) _______ out in both Europe and the USA, suggests that the opposite may be true. Indeed, playing some of the more complicated games may help people of all ages to improve certain skills. Researehers claim that this is because the games make the brain work harder in certain ways, like (iii) _______ sounds and movements quickly and identifying what they are. The fact that people play the games repeatedly means that they get a lot of practice in these skills which are therefore likely to become highly developed. Social skills may benefit, too. Researehers in Chicago think that fans of first- person shooter games (iv) _______ . “Counterstrike” are better than non­ players when it comes to building trust and co-operation, and that this helps them to make good friendships and become strong members of their communities. So rather than (v) _______ up computer games, perhaps young people need to spend more lime on them?

(v)______

A worrying question which requires global attention is severe over-population and its drastic effects in the countries of the Third World. In regions where the birth (i) _____ is extremely high, poverty and starvation are rife. In India, there is (ii) _____ of thirty five infants being bom every minute, yet the most shocking figures are those which indicate the enormous number of the victims of famine in certain African territories. Communities afflicted with acute destitution are additionally confronted with illiteracy, life in appalling conditions and infectious diseases decimating the (iii) _____ populations.

There is an urgent need for these problems to be solved or else they might continue bring about innumerable worries upon the affluent societies ties around the world. Unless measures are taken to (iv) _____ the  uffering of the impoverished undeveloped nations, desperate crowds of immigrants will persist in flooding the richer states in seareh of a brighter future. It’s the most (v) _____ task for the international giants nowadays to help the poor populations get out of the poverty trap.

(ii)_____

Stories about how people somehow know when they are being watched have been going around for years. However, lew (i) _______ have been made to investigate the phenomenon scientifically. Now, with the completion of the largest ever study of the so-called staring effect, there is impressive evidence that this is a recognizable and genuine sixth sense. The study involved hundreds of children. For the experiments, they sat with their eyes covered and with their backs to other children, who were told to either stare at them or look away. The results consistently showed that the children who could not see were able to (ii) _______ when they were being stared at. In a total of 18,000 trials (iii) _______ worldwide, the children correctly sensed when they were being watched almost 70% of the time. The experiment was repeated with the added precaution of putting the children who were being watched outside the room, separated from the starers by the windows. This was done just in case there was some (iv) _______ going on, with the children telling each other whether they were looking or not. This prevented the possibility of sounds being transmitted between the children. The results, though less impressive, were more or less the same. Dr. Sheldrake, the biologist who designed the study, believes that the results are (v) _______ enough to find out through further experiments precisely how the staring effect might actually come about.

(iii)_______

Today we are accustomed to seeing news as it presents, whether it is a fire in a nearby community, a speech by a president or an actual (i) _____ between two armies ten thousand miles away. It is important for students to grasp that. This experience has been possible only within the (ii)     _____  fifty years. Until well into the twentieth century it took days or weeks before newspapers could report on invasions or great natural disasters. We live, therefore, in a remarkable period when we not only (iii) _____ instant news on the radio but can watch dramatic events just as they are taking place thousands of miles away. Television news can be (iv) _____  as part of the entertainment provided by the broadcasting industry. We don’t only sec newsreaders providing detailed accounts of events but we have a great (v) _____ live footage. News items are generally short, rarely more than three minutes, and features are included that are attractive to local audiences, even though they are unimportant in terms of world, or national news.

(ii)________

For all the talk of what humankind has done to cause destruction to the planet, we should not forget that nature itself is a powerful force, capable of doing damage on a huge scale. The greenhouse (i) _____ and the hole in the ozone layer are indeed made worse by the industrialized society we live in. However, we must remember that there are certain species of plant and animal which, quite naturally, (ii) _____ offgases that are very harmful to the atmosphere. And only fifty years ago in London, hundreds of people died from the smog which hung over the River thames. What is interesting here is that, yes, smoke and gases from industry, vehicles and fossil (iii) _____  were ingredients in this deadly mixture. The other vital ingredient, though, was the completely natural fog, and who would have thought that could be harmful? In the early days of the industrial revolution, poets, painters and philosophers described how the polluted urban skies made them think of the end the world. Well, towards the end of the nineteenth century, the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa nearly made it happen! Though of tons of dust and ash were thrown into the air and, for years afterwards, there were red sunsets caused by the light filtering through this natural pollution. Remembering scientists pet theory about the dinosaurs (iv) _____ out because of a huge volcanic eruption, we were lucky that humankind survived this time. So next time you look out from your garden or balcony and see a beautiful red sunset, think of the possibilities. It could be the result of our activities poisoning the air we breathe, or it might just be (v) _____ turning on the radio to check there haven’t been any major eruptions lately!

(iii)______

Years ago there were many social rules and etiquette procedures involving introductions. Some formal introductions between two people were (i) _______ by letter by third party. A person had to be very careful to weigh the importance of social class or status, age, and gender when deciding (ii) _______  person should be presented or introduced to the other person first. However, times have changed, and most of the social rules about introducing older people to younger ones, women to men, and those in higher positions to those in lower positions have changed, too. Many people now feel much more (iii) _______ about making introductions. In most situations, handshaking is (iv) _______ , but these days it is more often done than not-especially in formal social or business settings. It’s very common for one person (or both) to extend a hand when meeting someone. If you are in this situation, and you are offered a hand to shake, you should grasp it firmly and shake it briefly. People often tend to make some (v) _______ about someone according to their handshakes, so make sure yours is not too weak or limp, not too hard, and not too long-lasting. It should be firm and brief.

(i)_______

The doctor suggested that his patient ........

Are you a fan of the popular logical puzzle that go by the name Sudoku? Even if you’re not, the chances are you know somebody who is. Once (i) _______ known outside Japan, this addictive brain teaser has become a common feature of newspaper puzzle pages all over the world. Sudoku’s great success owes much to its simplicity. The game (ii) _______ for neither mathematical ability nor general knowledge and there are just a few sentences of straightforward instructions to read before you can play. The only skill required is the ability to recognize the difference between nine different symbols, and these don’t even have to be numbers. Some clever marketing has helped the game. Western newspapers worked hard at promoting the game Without this, it is unlikely that it would have (iii) _______ off and become quite such a runaway success. The same also benefited from its Japanese name that made people in many parts of the world regard. It as a superior kind of puzzle compared to those you usually find in newspapers and magazines. But the popularity of Sudoku reached a peak in 2006, if the number of (iv) _______  on one leading website is anything to go by. Newspapers responded by (v) _______ up with new kinds of logical puzzles, all with simple rules and Japanese names. But for true Sudoku fans, only the real thing will do.

(i)_____

A large supermarket was looking for a manager for a new store they were (i) _____ to open. Out of over 90 people who had applied for the post, the had chosen five and asked them to come for an interview. The first (ii) _____, Mr Riley, walked into the interview room. He was smartly dressed, but it was clear that he was listening to a personal stereo. He sat down, (iii) _____ off his shoes and lit a cigarette. One of the interviewers said that they would (iv) _____ him not to smoke and Mr Riley excused. Just at that moment, a telephone rang. Mr Riley reach into his pocket, took out his mobile phone and began a conversation with a friend of his. After a minute or two, the interviewers had had enough and said they wanted to begin, “Certainly, go ahead”, said Mr Riley. They asked him why he wanted the job. “I don’t”, he replied. “But I felt like a day in London, and you’ve already paid my train (v) _____ to come up here for the interview.”

(i)_____-

In Britain, greetings cards are sold in chain stores and supermarkets, in newsagents’ shops, comer shops and, increasingly, in shops that specialize in the sale of cards and paper for wrapping presents in. The (i)  _______ cards are birthday and Christmas cards. Many Christmas cards are sold in aid of charity and special ‘charily card shops’ are often set up in temporary premises in the weeks before Christmas. A wide (ii) _______ of birthday cards is available to cater for different ages and tastes. Some, especially ones for young children or for people (iii) _________ a particular birthday, have the person’s age on the front. Many have comic, often risque, messages printed on them, and cartoon-style illustrations. Others are more sober, with reproductions of famous paintings or attractive original designs. The usual greeting on a birthday card is ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Many Happy Returns’ or ‘Best Wishes for a Happy Birthday’. Some people also send special cards for Easter and New Year, Easter cards (iv) _______ portray images of spring, such as chicks, eggs, lambs, spring flowers, etc., or have a religious theme. Cards are produced for every ‘milestone’ in a person’s life. There are special cards for (v) _______ engagement, a marriage, a new home, a birth, success in an examination, retirement, a death in the family, etC. Some are ‘good luck’ or ‘congratulations’ cards. Others, for example ‘get weir cards for people who are ill, express sympathy.

(v)_____-

Today, there are libraries in almost every towns in the world. Even in areas where there are no libraries, there are often mobile libraries which take books from one village to (i) _______  . But in the days when books were copied by hand rather than printed, libraries were very rare. The reason is simple: books took a very long time to produce, and there were far fewer copies of any given work around. The greatest library (ii) _______ all, that in Alexandia had 54,000 books. In the ancient world, this number (iii) _______ considered huge. It was the first time that anyone had collected so many books from all around the world under one roof. There are many theories about why these books were lost. (iv) _______ is that the library accidentally burned down. Another is that one of the rulers of the city ordered the books to be burned. They were taken to various places and it took six months to bum them. (v) _______ happened, the collection there was priceless. Many of the library’s treasures were lost forever, some books were never recovered. We cannot even know exactly what the library contained.

(iii)______

Linguistics……..out the ways in which languages work

The tomatoes are 99 pence _____kilo. 

Parents whose children show a special interest in a particular sport have a difficult decision to  (i) _____  about their children’s career. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and women? For many children, it means starting very young and school work, going out with friends and other interests have to take second place. Il’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train for five hours a day, even at the weekend, when (ii) _____of his or her friends are playing. Another problem is of course money. In many countries, money for training is available from the government for the very best young sportsmen and women. If this help cannot be given, it means that it is the parents (iii) _____ have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development- and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment etC. can all be very expensive. Many parents are understandably worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Some doctors agree that young (iv) _____ may be damaged by training before they are properly developed.Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by starting young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person. What is clear is that very (v) _____  people reach the top and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training.

(iii)______

Many species of animal and plants have disappeared from the earth. They have died out, or become extinct. But sometimes animals or plant (i) _______ can be found buried in rocks. These are called fossils. Imprints in rocks, paw prints, for example are also called fossils. Not every creature survives as a fossil. Many simply rot away completely and leave no (ii) _______ of their existence. Because many creatures and plants have disappeared without leaving any fossils, we will never know anything about them. The study of fossils, or palaeontology, to give it its scientific term, became established at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Before this researeh began, people did not believe that fossils had once been alive. Large fossil teeth were seen as evidence of a race of giants in the past, while ammonites, a very(iii) _______ type of fossil which you might easily find yourself on a beach or among rocks, were called snakcstoncs because of their snake-like shape. People believed that snakes had been turned to stone by a miracle. The most famous fossils of all are the dinosaurs. There are, of course, no dinosaurs on display in zoos. They were not (iv) _______ to extinction by humans as some animal have been, but became extinct millions of years before our own species developed. The reason why the dinosaurs became extinct is still a mystery. Many theories have connected the disappearance of dinosaurs with major climatic change. One possibility is that a gigantic meteorite crashed into the earth (v) _______ so much dust into the atmosphere that the heat of sunlight was reduced. The temperature would have fallen and, as a consequence, many types of plants and animals would have become extinct.

(iv)______

They had never come .........such a beautiful little village before 

Stories about how people somehow know when they are being watched have been going around for years. However, lew (i) _______ have been made to investigate the phenomenon scientifically. Now, with the completion of the largest ever study of the so-called staring effect, there is impressive evidence that this is a recognizable and genuine sixth sense. The study involved hundreds of children. For the experiments, they sat with their eyes covered and with their backs to other children, who were told to either stare at them or look away. The results consistently showed that the children who could not see were able to (ii) _______ when they were being stared at. In a total of 18,000 trials (iii) _______ worldwide, the children correctly sensed when they were being watched almost 70% of the time. The experiment was repeated with the added precaution of putting the children who were being watched outside the room, separated from the starers by the windows. This was done just in case there was some (iv) _______ going on, with the children telling each other whether they were looking or not. This prevented the possibility of sounds being transmitted between the children. The results, though less impressive, were more or less the same. Dr. Sheldrake, the biologist who designed the study, believes that the results are (v) _______ enough to find out through further experiments precisely how the staring effect might actually come about.

(v)_______

Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the following word(s). "exercise"

Sainsbury’s, one of Britain’s leading supermarkets, are deeply concerned about (i) _____  out theirresponsibilities regarding the environment. They claim that many of their customers want to buy products that don’t have a negative environmental (ii) _____. Due to this, more than 50 per cent of their own­ brand products are environmentally friendly. Furthermore, Sainsbury’s have been using recycled cardboard packaging for years on such things as breakfast cereals and biscuits. Many of their stores also offer customers the opportunity to recycle their own packaging. They have (iii) _____ them with special recycling bins for paper, glass and even shoes. These bins are supplied by the local authority and are in display at the front of most major stores. (iv) _____ from many other environmental projects which they are involved in, Sainsbury’s also encourage their customers not to use plastic carrier bags, with their Bag for life and Penny Back offers. In the first scheme, the orange reusable Bag for life bags cost lOp, and when they wear out, customers can take them back to the store and (v) _____ a free bag in return. In the second scheme, customers get a penny back for every plastic carrier bag they reuse. Via this second scheme, they gave 640,000 penny back to customers last year, of which more than half ended up in Sainsbury’s charity boxes.

(iii)______