ENGLISH INTERMEDIATE V (SATURDAY)

Instructions: Read the letter. Then choose the correct answer.

Dear Lisette,

You’ve been talking about doing something a little different for your annual vacation trip for quite some time
now. I know you’ve always liked to go to places with cold or temperate climates to avoid the heat, but I have a
wonderful plan for you to think about! I think that this year you should come to the Venice of Mexico! Well, it
isn’t really Venice, but that’s what people call it. Its real name is Mexcaltitan. You may not know this, but my
grandparents live there. They would love for you to be their guest. This would be a wonderful opportunity for
you to learn about Latin American traditions, community, and art. What would it be like? Well, Mexcaltitan is
a man-made island-city off the Pacific coast of Mexico in the Mexican state of Nayarit. It is very small (only
about a half-mile wide) and shaped like a giant bicycle wheel; the streets of the city are perfect lines that all
start at a park in the city center. Isn’t that interesting? What’s really fascinating, Lisette, is that Mexcaltitan
sits low in the water that surrounds it, and from around September to December, water floods the streets and
everyone rows from place to place in boats. This has given the island the nickname “Venice of Mexico”!

My grandparents say that Mexcaltitan was the ancient home of the Aztecs who once inhabited the whole region
before they migrated south to Mexico City. Can you imagine? You would see where my Aztec ancestors lived
and what their life was probably like! I bet not much at all has changed in all these years. Fishing is the main
source of food and work. In general, life there is very peaceful and slow. This is why my grandparents have not
moved like many others who were pulled away to other places with better employment opportunities. In fact, the
population is very small for a Mexican city... only about 112,000 people.

What would you do? Well, it seems like the perfect place to come and relax. There’s plenty of clean air, sailing,
and fishing. There are no ancient temples or pyramids though… just a plaza, a colonial church, small stores
without names, and a museum that used to be the town cemetery. It’s very humid, but I think that it would be so
nice that you would fall in love with the “Venice of Mexico”! You definitely should think about it.

Paulina

c
___ _ 1. What is the population of Mexcaltitan? ____
a. 110,000
b. 100,000
c. 112,000

___b_ 2. What type of climate does Mexcaltitan have? ____

a. cold and dry
b. hot and humid
c. temperate and wet

__a__ 3. What is the shape of Mexcaltitan? ____

a. round like a bicycle wheel
b. square like a park
c. rectangle like a colonial church

__b__ 4. How do people mainly earn a living in Mexcaltitan? ____

a. sailing
b. fishing
c. tourist

__a__ 5. Why is Mexcaltitan called the “Venice of Mexico”? ____

a. Water floods the streets and people travel around in boats.
b. It has many beautiful churches like Venice, Italy.
c. The area was once inhabited by many Italian immigrants from Venice.
 Instructions: Complete each sentence with the present perfect or present perfect progressive form of the verb
in parentheses.

6. Tanya and her family ______sail ______________ (sail) across the Atlantic Ocean twice.

7. Oh, no more cake for me, thanks. I _____eating_______________ (eat) two pieces already!

8. Lance ________working____________ (work) on the project for five months, and he’s still not finished.

9. Mark and Tina ____have met _________ (meet) before, so you don’t need to introduce them to one another.

10. Can you believe that it ___has snowed______________ (snow) for seven hours?

11. Migration to warmer and drier parts of the country ____causing_______ (cause) problems with the water
supply in those areas.

12. My car is being repaired, so I _______taken_____________ (take) the bus to work this week.

13. I’m sorry, but I ________forget____________ (forget) your name. Could you please remind me?

14. Ranchers ____herd ______________ (herd) cattle in this area since the 1700s.

15. Mr. Andrews is an excellent professor. I ________taking ____________ (take) four of his courses already,
and I may take another one next year.

Instructions: Match the results with the conditions below.

16.It was so hot last summer ____d_

a. that I get confused about when we lived in which apartment.
17.The regular mail is so slow __c___ b. that it’s still dark outside.
c. that you might not get the package until next month.
18.The northern part of the country is so frigid __f___ d. that we thought about buying an air conditioner.
e. that he can lift a refrigerator by himself.
19.Lawrence is so strong __e___ f. that very few plants or trees can grow there.
20.My father gets up so early ____b_
g.