Choose the best answers:

1.I really must go and lie down for a while; I’ve got a…………….headache.
A. cutting B. splitting C. rigging D. cracking
2.I usually buy the clothes ………………... It’s cheaper than going to a dressmaker.
A. off the peg B. on the house C. in public D. on the shelf
3.Because he was so small , he could …………..his way through the crowd.
A. worms B. butterflies C. crabs D. hedgehogs
4.I can’t stand Mr. Bryant. He’s always blowing his own………….. -telling everyone how good he is at everything.
A. balloon B. breath C. mind D. trumpet
5.I was already fed up with the job, but when the boss walked into my office and told me he expected me to work
overtime that was the…………………..I quit.
A. final curtain B. last straw C. end of the line D. last waltz
6.John will never buy you a drink - he’s far too……………………………...
A. tight-fisted B. pigheaded C. highly strung D. easy-going
7.Peter was born and brought up in Hastings and knows it like the………………….
A. nose on his face B.tip of his tongue C.back of his hand D.hair on his head
8.He’s got the committee firmly under his ……………..- they agree to whatever he asks.
A. thumb B. hair C. toe D. leg
9.Those second-hand Walkmans are selling like ………….. . If you want one, you’d better buy one before they’re all gone.
A. shootings stars B. fresh bread C. hot cakes D. will oats
10. When I got to the point of ………………., I knew that something had to be done.
A. hitting the roof B. seeing pink elephants C.making my blood boil D. bringing the house down
11.Nowadays, with the help of the computer, teachers have developed a………………approach to teaching.
A. multilateral B. multilingual C. multiple-choice D. multimedia
12.James could no longer bear the……………..surroundings of the decrepit old house.
A. oppressive B. domineering C. pressing D. overbearing
13.Does Mr. Ba bring his farm………………….to the local market every day?
A. productivity B. product C. production D. produce
14.According to a Government spokesman, further…………….in the public sector are to be expected.
A. cutbacks B. breakdowns C. out-takes D. layouts
15.You shouldn't have criticized him in front of the class. It was extremely……………of you.
A. sensible B. insensitive C. insensible D. sensitive
16.He will be sued for…………………..of contract if he does not do what he promised.
A. fracture B. crack C. rupture D. breach
17.You shouldn't…………………into other’s people private lives.
A. prowl B. prod C. proceed D. pry
18.Some romantic novelists………………….out books with the same old formula every year.
A. churn B. spill C. ladle D. pour
19.Even the best medicines are not……………….
A. infallible B. unfailing C. fail-proof D. falsified
20.The dog was a little subdued yesterday, but she’s full of………………this morning.
A. sprouts B. beans C. chips D. berries
Word forms:
1.Would you rather listen to single work of this composer or to a (thesis)……………………of several of his works?
2. They were disappointed and the office atmosphere was a bit quieter but there were no (consent)…………….
3. She was the (form)…………………….daughter while her sister was a rebel.
4. Though I like company , there are times when I prefer (solitary)…………………………….
5. A bright student (similar)………………..knowledge rapidly.
6. The (script)…………………..on Paul’s medal reads “For excellence in English”
7. Helen Keller’s deafness and blindness were not (gene)………………….but were acquired after birth,
8.Don’t jump to a conclusion before considering all the facts. Be (inspect)……………….
Lexical text:
Goat Racing
I was about to witness goat racing. Easter Monday in Buccoo Village. I was fighting my way through ice-cream vans,
(1).... of people, food stalls and hot music singeing my eardrums. Even though the general movement was towards the
racecourse, I (2).... my way through the crowds in an effort to get a good pitch. An area had been (3) .... to make a
course for competitors. Not quite on a (4) .... with established racecourses, but on the similar assumption that
spectators were to line either side of a (5).... of ground along which the participants would travel. An attempt was being
made to keep a handful of select goats in order. No mean feat when dealing with an animal fabled to eat almost
anything it can get (6) .. .. of.

1 A flocks B shoals C hordes D herds

2 A handed B thumbed C fingered D elbowed
3 A cordoned off B shut away C penned in D closed down
4 A standard B rule C par D norm
5 A spread B stretch C space D span
6 A grip B hold C hang D grasp
Canoe Trip
As the day (7) .... to a close, I started to think about the night ahead, and I (8) .... with fear. The canoe was too wet to
sleep in, there was nowhere to stop, and we hadn’t seen any villages or huts since early morning. In the dim moonlight,
and with the (9) .... of our torch we could just make out the line of the cliffs; the torch batteries were (10)...., so we put
in new ones, but they didn’t work. Obviously we weren’t going to be able to spot a camping place. A couple of miles
later, Lesley called out that she had seen a distant flickering light and our hopes (11) .... : the light turned out to be
moonlight glinting on waves; soon we could hear the roaring noise of fast-rushing water, though we couldn’t see what
was happening. Time (12).... still, and we moved on.
7 A led B pulled C drew D headed
8 A thumped B beat C throbbed D shuddered
9 A support B means C backing D aid
10 A dimming B failing C sinking D fainting
11 A soared B expanded C reared D ascended
12 A kept B waited C stood D remained
How to be Presentation Perfect - we answer your questions
I am not a natural at making presentations, yet in my role as managing director I am increasingly required to present
internally to my colleagues, (13) .... externally to the major shareholders. How can I improve my presentational
techniques and my confidence?
You are not the only one. Making a presentation involves completely different skills from those you need to run a
company, yet more and more senior executives are (14).... to be accomplished at it.
If you are trying to convince your audience of something, you have to be convinced yourself. Demonstrate your
conviction in the passion and enthusiasm you (15) .... to the presentation. That means you must do your homework. Test
your proposition carefully in advance. Ask colleagues to identify the ‘hard questions’ your audience might (16) .... to you.
You also need to build a positive climate from the (17) Begin with an area of (18) .... ground that people can identify
with and build gradually towards the conclusion you want to reach.
13 A let alone B not to mention C besides D alongside
14 A demanded B called C expected D desired
15 A bring B bear C convey D deliver
16 A make B request C propose D put
17 A outset B outcome C outlook D output
18 A mutual B common C shared D similar
Cloze text:
CHEKHOV
Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer (0) born in Taganrog in 1 860. In 1 879, he became a
medical student in Moscow, later (1)…………….as a doctor. (2)………………… a needy family to support, Chekhov (2)
…………..to writing, contributing short humorous stories and sketches (3)……………………….popular newspapers. His major
work (4)…………….to come towards the end of his short life - Chekhov died of tuberculosis in 1904 - his reputation resting
chiefly (5)…………….four plays, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard,written in 1896, 1899,
1901 and 1904 (6) ……………….All four works, (7)……………….. gloomy and pessimistic in tone, blend a poetic atmosphere
(8) …………….a sympathetic treatment of characters (9) ……………….. , unable to break out of the (10)………………. circle that
they find (11) …………….in, are trapped in unfulfilling lives which they feel (12)…………….. powerless and dispirited to
change . They (13)……………… be regarded as (14) …………….of the torpor and stagnation of late nineteenth century Czarist
Russia. (15) ……………. realism is a product of Chekhov's scientific training and experience as a provincial doctor. They
remain masterpieces of Russian literature.
Mistake correction: (8 mistakes)
Watching movies, one can be carried away to the degree which one feels a part of the world of the moving picture. It is
an experience that lifts one out of oneself into a world where one is not beholden to ordinary reality, at least during the
length of the film. So it seems that what one feels and does while at the movies it does not really count.
But as soon as the lights are turned on, the spell is abruptly broken, one is again in the ordinary world. One does not feel
responsible for the time he spent under the spell of the film and, further, this unreality prevents one from devoting
much serious attention to which was considered in my boyhood like not an art, but ' sheer entertainment'. This was how
some people of our parents' generation, and most of our teachers, disparaged the movies. Like most people, they liked
to be entertained, but they did not consider the movies to be an art.
Reading Comprehension:
Reading 1:
You are going to read an extract from an article about a sport. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract.
Choose from the paragraphs A–G the one which fits each gap (1–6).
There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
The scariest ride on the planet
The scariest ride on the planet Charles Starmer-Smith spent a weekend in Norway learning how to ride on a bob
skeleton, a one-person sledge which races down an ice track at 60 mph.
I glanced down at the red snow by my feet just a few yards from the finishing gate of the Lillehammer bob skeleton
track. The bob skeleton is also known as a toboggan and reminded me of a tray a waiter might use to bring plates of
food out in a restaurant. But this one was going to have me on it rather than a pile of food so seeing the blood of an
earlier rider was a little unnerving. Make no bones about it, this has to be one of the scariest rides on the planet.
1………………………………………….
I feigned nonchalance at this information, but I was fooling no one. I have made a habit of scaring myself: I’ve leapt
down the face of Switzerland’s Verzasca Dam – the world’s biggest bungee jump, I have descended the near-vertical
Corbets Couloir at Jacksonhole – perhaps the most fearsome ski run in North America – and I have learnt to ski-jump at
Calgary.
2……………………………………………..
At least I was not alone as several other novices would be joining me. After a fitful sleep, we went out early to walk to
the top of the track. The snow, hanging heavy on the branches of Lillehammer’s forested slopes, made the track look
even more imposing. Snaking down the slope like a giant metallic python, the walls were steeper, the straights were
longer but the 16 turns were much sharper than I expected.
3………………………………………………..
Halfway up, we arrived at the infamous Turn 13, a shuddering 180-degree U-turn where the centrifugal pressures equal
those experienced by fighter pilots. ‘This is where you’ll feel the full force,’ said Tony, our instructor, his eyes sparkling.
‘So, is the track running quickly?’ I asked tentatively. He did not need to answer.
4……………………………………………..
All we caught was a fl ash of eyeballs and overalls as the rider sliced around the curved wall of ice at breathtaking speed.
We glanced at each other, panic etched across our faces and laughed the nervous laugh of the truly terrified as we
realized this would soon be us.
5…………………………………………….
I therefore took comfort in the knowledge that, with a professional in charge, someone would be keeping his head while
the rest of us were losing ours. I drew the short straw and was given position four, where you feel the full brunt of the
force with nothing but cool Norwegian air behind you.
6……………………………………………..
We barely had time to check that we were all in one piece before we were sent off to get kitted up for the skeleton. On
Tony’s instructions I lay face down on the sledge, arms clamped by my sides, nose inches from the ice and off I went.
After seventy seconds of terror, I could barely speak and my body felt as though it had been in a boxing ring, but I had
never felt so alive. What a ride!
A Before we had any more time to contemplate our fate, we found ourselves at the top, climbing aboard a bobraft.
Designed to give you a feel for the track before going down on your own, this giant, padded open-top box looked about
as aerodynamic as a bus, but it travelled a whole lot faster. It had a driver who did this all the time which was reassuring.
B As if on cue, snow crystals began to jump in unison on the metallic railings as, high above, a sledge began its
inexorable journey down. What started as a distant hum became a rattle, then a roar as the sledge reached top speed.
The tarpaulin covering the track stiffened in its wake and the girders groaned.
C On these previous occasions, I had had experience or the expertise of others to fall back on, but with this there was
nothing from which to draw strength. The bob skeleton confounds conventional logic.
D It started deceptively slowly, but within moments picked up speed. It soon became clear that the rider has little
control and survival instinct takes over.
E It is hard to describe the debilitating effect that such immense speeds and forces have on your body. It was like
nothing I have ever experienced. The last thing I remember going through my mind was straining just to keep my head
upright.
F We listened to advice on how to get round them safely – use your eyes to steer and tilt your head away from the
corners to minimise the pressure. It sounded simple enough, but get it wrong at these speeds and your chin faces the
cheese-grater.
G The man behind these adrenalin-packed weekends at Norway’s Olympic park, explained that those who attempt
the famous run often accidentally ‘kiss’ the ice with their nose or chin, leaving a layer or three of skin behind.Dramati
(coc
Reading 2:
The houses of famous writers have, to me, an ambiguous quality. First, they are houses like anyone else's. If they had
not been once lived in by famous people, there would be plaque on the wall, no visitors to roam round the rooms. In
some cases ordinary people are living there, hardly aware of the past illustrious occupants. But, to me, a famous writer's
house is irresistible; I find sheer magic in the rooms, in the staircases, in the gardens. The more ordinary the scene, in
fact, the more I succumb to sensation, wonder and awe.
Once I found myself in the house of a famous living poet without at first realising it. It was in wartime England, in the
summer of 1944. I was travelling from my home in Edinburgh to my job in the Foreign Office, my department of which
was in a county outside London. In the train I sat next to a girl who was also going back to her job. She was a mother's
help, she told me, in a professor's family. The train arrived with five hours' delay, too late for me to cross London and
make my connection to the country. My new friend asked me to come and spend the night with her at the house where
she worked; her employers were away, she said.
It was a warm summer evening, still light enough to see the small, tangled garden in front of the house. We entered a
large room almost entirely filled by a long worktable of plain wood, just such a table as I myself always write on now.
The place was generally unconventional. I thought, at first, unnecessarily so. It looked like eccentricity for its own sake.
One room had nothing but a mattress-bed on the floor. There was a handsome writing-desk and a marvellous library of
books. It was a decidedly literary collection. I began looking through the titles.
I found two of the books, and then more, inscribed by famous novelists. Another was dedicated to a famous poet, and
so was yet another. I called upstairs to my friend, who was now having a bath. 'Is this the house of a famous poet ?'
'Yes,' she called out, 'he writes poetry.'
The famous poet was Louis MacNeice, whose work I loved and admired tremendously. I was rather embarrassed when I
found myself in Louis MacNeice's house. I made my new friend assure me there was no likelihood of his return that
night. I saw the house with new eyes, the functional rightness and nobility of all it held.
I ran outside to look at the house from the point of view of my new knowledge. I had never met a real poet. I have
always known that this occasion vitally strengthened my resolve to become a writer.
1How did the author come to spend the night at the poet's house ?
A. She had arranged to stay there with a friend.
B. She thought it sounded an interesting place to visit.
C. She couldn't complete her journey without a rest.
D. She didn't have anywhere to stay in London.
2.When she found out that the house belonged to a famous poet,
A. she was taken by surprise
B. she understood certain aspects of the house.
C. she was eager to meet him.
D. she wanted to leave.
3.How did the visit affect her later life ?
a.It established her as a writer.
b.It changed her views on poetry.
c.It determined her career.
d.She decided to become a poet.
4.What, for the author, was exciting about the house she visited ?
a.The writer's possessions were on display for the public.
b.The exterior of the house was unusual.
c.The writer's presence could be sensed from his possessions.
d.The house had been visited by so many famous people.