1.

Going to parties can be fun and enjoyable. If you are invited to a party, do call your host up early
to ___1___ him whether you will be able to attend. If you want to ___2___ along someone who
has not been invited along with you, you should ask for ___3___ first. Remember to ___4___
appropriately for the party. You will stick out like a ___5___ thumb if you are dressed formally
whereas everyone ___6___ is in T-shirt and jeans. If you are not sure of ___7___ to wear, do ask
your host.

___8___ the party, you may perhaps like to help your host by ___9___ to serve drinks or wash
the dishes. Your host ___10___ certainly appreciate these efforts. If you ___11___ to be in a
party where you do not know ___12___, do not ___13___ to monopolize the host's attention.
This is inconsiderate since your host has many people to attend ___14___ and cannot spend all
his time with you. Instead, learn to mingle ___15___ the others at the party. You could try
___16___ the ice by introducing ___17___ to someone who is friendly looking.

___18___ you leave the party, remember to thank your host. ___19___ you have the time, you
could even offer to help your host clean ___20___ the place.

2.

John Amos is a salesman. He ___1___ from door to door selling vacuum cleaners. On his first
day of work, he decided to sell his goods by ___2___ on the doors of a private housing area.

"My first customer," he thought as he ___3___ the doorbell of the first house. A middle aged
woman ___4___ curlers in her hair opened the door.

John began to ___5___ who he was and the product he was selling. The next minute, the door
was slammed ___6___.

"Not interested !" John heard her shout ___7___ the closed door. She refused to open the door
___8___ John's persistent knocking.

John was given a similar ___9___ of treatment from the next few houses. ___10___ rather
discouraged, he knocked at the door of the ninth household. This ___11___ , the occupants of the
house ___12___ him in. They also ___13___ interest in his product. Encouraged by ___14___ ,
John began to explain the merits of his vacuum cleaner. When the family ___15___ him for a
demonstration, he vacuumed the place for them. ___16___ the demonstration, the family,
however, did not ___17___ his product. Instead, they politely but firmly told him that they would
___18___ him a call if they want to buy a vacuum cleaner later.

The family never called him ___19___, John suspected that they had not been really interested in
his product. ___20___ they had wanted was the 'free service' given by John, who had vacuumed
their entire living room.
3.

Whenever you go trekking or walking ___1___ a marsh, remember to watch ___2___ for
leeches. Leeches look ___3___ earthworms but they are a nuisance. They cling ___4___ the
body of a human being or an animal and ___5___ blood from it. Although it ___6___ horrible, it
does not really hurt to be ___7___ by a leech. The leech usually drops ___8___ by itself after it
has had its ___9___. In the past, leeches were ___10___ as a medical tool to suck out poison
___11___ the blood !

You should not ___12___ to pluck off the leech from your body ___13___ it has finished
feeding. This is ___14___ the leech secretes a liquid from its mouth which ___15___ your blood
from clotting while it is in the ___16___ of sucking the blood. This means that ___17___ will
probably bleed for a while if you interrupt a leech ___18___ its meal.

However, if you happen to ___19___ a packet of salt with you, rub some on the leech. It will
let ___20___ at once at the smell of salt.

4. I could not sleep at all last night. Normally, ___1___ a hard day of studying, I am exhausted
and would fall asleep as soon as my head touches the ___2___. Last night, however, I did not
sleep a ___3___. It was an especially hot and humid night. ___4___ I had the fan blowing at me,
I was perspiring all ___5___. I tossed and turned in bed, ___6___ very uncomfortable.

After an hour or so, I decided to help ___7___ fall asleep by reading a book. I had heard from
friends that reading a dull book can induce ___8___. I turned on my table lamp and began
___9___ a chapter from my chemistry text. Sure enough, I began to feel sleepy after ploughing
___10___ two pages. I hurriedly tossed my book ___11___ and turned off the light. However,
the minute I closed my ___12___ , my mind was flooded ___13___ the numerous chemical
equations that I had read. I tried to ___14___ my mind blank but could not do so. I even
___15___ to counting sheep to make myself sleepy. ___16___ all my efforts, sleep simply would
not come.

In the end, I gave up trying to sleep. I sat up in bed and gazed out of my window. ___17___
dawn was approaching, there were still a few twinkling stars in the sky. In the stillness of the
night, only the crickets could be ___18___. Lulled by the chirping of the crickets, my eyes
___19___ heavy. However, just as I was about to ___20___ off, my alarm clock rang. It was
time to be up and about.

5.

There are many people belonging to different organizations, who try to ___1___ the hungry, heal
the ___2___ and educate the ignorant. The problems of the poor are so great that it seems
___3___ large organizations with huge ___4___ of money could ever hope to ___5___ them.
However, one woman has ___6___ a lot for the poor in Calcutta by going to the ___7___ of the
poor people alone ___8___ only a few coins in her pocket. This remarkable woman is ___9___
as Mother Theresa.

In 1948, Mother Theresa set ___10___ alone, wearing a white sari ___11___ of cheap cotton
cloth, with a blue border and a cross on the shoulder. She went to ___12___ with some American
nursing nuns to get some medical training. She ___13___ the nursing skills so that she could be
of ___14___ to the poor. Then, in a little cubicle given to her ___15___ a poor family, she
opened a school. She ___16___ the children of the slums how to read and how to ___17___
themselves clean.

Mother Theresa had no money ___18___ for those few coins, no food except what she was
___19___. Soon, however, some of the girls she had taught came to her aid, and so the work of
helping the slum dwellers of Calcutta ___20___ to expand.

6. People like you and I keep pets like dogs, cats or guppies. my friend, Jennifer,
however, had a most ___1___ pet -- a snake called Cecil. Cecil was a small black
snake less than one meter in ___2___. Some people were a little ___3___ of Cecil
because his fangs ___4___ threatening. However, he was a harmless creature ___5___
did not bite. He was an extremely friendly creature and would even ___6___ strangers
to touch and pet him. If you ___7___ your hand out, Cecil would even slither
___8___ your arm and coil ___9___ your hand. Cecil's skin felt cool, dry and
___10___ at all slimy.

Cecil's home was a large green tank. To make him ___11___ more comfortable, the
tank was laden ___12___ his favourite branches and leaves. Surprisingly, Cecil
___13___ very little nourishment and he would eat an ___14___ of only once a
month. His favourite foods were lizards and live insects ___15___ beetles and flies.

Unfortunately ___16___ Cecil, his life was cut ___17___ unexpectedly. One very hot
afternoon, Cecil ___18___ a nap in the sun. When his owner found him later
___19___ the evening, she discovered that he had ___20___ from heatstroke !

7.

"Don't forget the sandwiches!" Mother reminded me. We had been ___1___ for this family
picnic for two days. Everybody, ___2___ my little brother, had been looking ___3___ to it.

All of a sudden, dark clouds started to ___4___ in the sky. Soon, it began to drizzle, and
___5___ long, it was pouring ___6___ and dogs. The picnic ___7___ to be cancelled.

I was sulking on the sofa ___8___ Mother suggested, "Why ___9___ we clean up the house ?"
Soon, everyone was ___10___ doing something. We dusted the furniture and ___11___ away
old magazines. The store room was purged ___12___ many things we had conveniently stashed
___13___ inside. Father painted the cabinet, ___14___ he had always said he would do but had
never got round to doing. I found many old photographs and had a good laugh ___15___ them.
My little brother polished the glass table ___16___ well that we could see our reflections
___17___ it clearly.

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted. ___18___ the family gathered round the dining
table ___19___ a dinner of pizza, we were glad that the day had turned ___20___ well.

8. One of the lines from my favorite song ___1___ like this : "Love is something you
do, not what you ___2___ ... "

Indeed, we often say that we love our families, but when was the ___3___ time you
took the effort to ___4___ a cake for them or sit down to ___5___ to them ? Do
you ___6___ time to find out what has been ___7___ in their lives ?

Most of the time, we would rather ___8___ a movie or simply hang ___9___ at
shopping centers with our friends ___10___ spend time with our family. People tend
to take their families for ___11___ because they have lived with them their whole
___12___. They do not feel the ___13___ to be considerate to their families, unlike
being so to their ___14___. This is ___15___ their families would always accept and
love them ___16___ as they are. It is usually when a person leaves his family that he
___17___ how important his family is to him. He will then appreciate the warmth and
love that a ___18___ gives.

Try loving your family now not with words, but by your ___19___. Cultivate a good
relationship with your family members and learn to appreciate each of them as the
unique persons they ___20___.

9.

Dear Diary,

I had a most unpleasant experience this morning. I was shopping ___1___ a birthday present at
the Tiffany Gift Shop. After deciding ___2___ a beautiful musical box for Sharon, I proceeded
to the cashier to pay. As I was ___3___ out of the shop, I was apprehended ___4___ tow fierce
looking men. They ___5___ themselves as the security guards of the shop and ___6___ me of
shoplifting. I stared at them blankly and ___7___ my mouth to protest. However, before I could
___8___ a word, I was practically dragged into a nearby office.

The two men insisted on ___9___ my handbag. I allowed them to do ___10___ since this was
the only way to prove my ___11___. To my horror, one of the men drew ___12___ a pen from
my bag. The price ___13___ on the pen carried the name of the gift shop. In a flash, I ___14___
that I had absent-mindedly slipped this pen ___15___ my bag after examining it. I explained to
the two men that ___16___ was an honest mistake but they would not listen. In the end, i was
near tears and demanded to ___17___ the manager.

___18___ the security guards, the manager was a kind and benevolent-looking man. He told me
not to ___19___ the mistake again and ___20___ me go. What an embarrassing incident !

10.
There are many strange partnerships in the world. Crocodiles and sharks are ___1___ to be
ferocious carnivores. yet, they would not ___2___ each other for anything in the world.

The crocodile has a little bird as a friend too, the plover, ___3___ lives on the crocodile's back.
The plover is often seen ___4___ the crocodile's wide open mouth, hopping daringly near it
sharp teeth. This special friend ___5___ the crocodile picks out little bits of food ___6___ the
reptile's teeth. It ___7___ pecks leeches and fleas from its gums.

The shark has a penchant ___8___ fresh fish, but it would ___9___ eat the tiny shoal of fish
which swim beneath its belly. These fish are called sucker-fish and they ___10___ a two-fold
function. They lure larger fishes ___11___ the shark and they clean up the ___12___ of the
shark's meal at the end of ___13___ feast.

The rhinocerous and the buffalo, too, ___14___ their helpmates. These come in the ___15___ of
tick-birds and egrets. They ride on these grazing bovines' ___16___ , feeding on the fleas and
ticks which ___17___ otherwise harm these animals. Fleas and ticks suck the blood ___18___
these animals and transmit diseases ___19___ them.

Such partnerships, known as symbiosis, ___20___ common in the animal kingdom.

11. Albert works as a lifeguard at a beach resort. His ___1___ comprises of sitting on
a high chair at the beach area and ___2___ a sharp lookout for anyone in the water
who could be ___3___ trouble.

Albert meets ___4___ kinds of people. They include families ___5___ small children,
elderly folk as well as young, energetic teenagers. One morning, Albert was sitting in
his 'high' chair as ___6___ when he heard a voice ___7___, "Excuse me, lifeguard."
Albert looked ___8___ from his chair. An anxious looking, bespectacled middle aged
man stood below, ___9___ a pail.

"Excuse me, lifeguard," the man repeated. "Do I ___10___ to pay you for getting
water from the sea ?"

Albert was puzzled. No one had ever asked him such a ___11___ before. He decided
that this man ___12___ either be a country bumpkin or a lunatic.
"Oh, you have to pay fifty cents for ___13___ pail of water you collect," said Albert
jokingly. ___14___ to his surprise and amusement, the man paid him.

Albert soon forget the incident ___15___ the course of the day. In the late afternoon,
however, he saw the man ___16___. As it was ___17___ tide, the water level was
much lower than ___18___ the morning. When the man saw this, his eyes ___19___
wide with amazement.

"Why, you must have made a lot of ___20___ this afternoon," he exclaimed to Albert.

12.

The origins of the Olympic Games can be traced ___1___ to ancient Greece, to as
___2___ back as 776 B.C. It was a Greek tradition to ___3___ athletic
competitions every four years ___4___ honour of their gods or dead heroes. There
were also competitions to ___5___ their skills in music ___6___ poetry.

The prizes awarded to the ___7___ of each event in those ___8___ were a crown
of olive and a palm branch. ___9___ this may seem meaningless in modern times,
the true ___10___ lay in the honour of having won the event. The winners were
___11___ as heroes in their hometowns; they were ___12___ places of honour on
public occasions. In some towns, they were even exempted ___13___ paying
taxes.

The first modern Olympics was held in Athens in 1896. ___14___ then, nations
from around the world have been meeting ___15___ four years to compete
___16___ one another. New Olympic records are ___17___ every time they meet.
The only ___18___ to this quadrennial event was in 1944, ___19___ the Olympic
Games was not held ___20___ of the Second World War.

13. One of my favorite cartoons is a Walt Disney production. Donald Duck's

nephews bought him a box of cigars ___1___ his birthday but hid it from him as
they wanted to ___2___ him. Donald became ___3___ of his nephews when he
saw them acting strangely. He ___4___ them secretly to their hideout and
rummaged ___5___ their things.

When Donald Duck found the box of cigars, he ___6___ to the conclusion that his
nephews were ___7___ in secret. He was furious and rounded ___8___ his
nephews. ___9___ his anger, he refused to listen to his nephews' explanations. He
stuffed three cigars into ___10___ of their mouths and forced them to smoke
___11___ they nearly went blue ___12___ the face. In contrast, there was a
satisfied smile on Donald's ___13___. He thought he was ___14___ them justly for
being naughty.

When Donald ___15___ to the last cigar, he saw a note attached to it that said:
"Happy birthday, Uncle Donald!" It was ___16___ that Donald remembered that
his birthday was drawing ___17___. Only then did he piece things ___18___ in his
mind. He was so ashamed of himself that his face turned as ___19___ as a tomato.
He felt so small that he shrank to the ___20___ of a thum

14. Birthdays are very special occasions. We like to ___1___ these occasions by
having birthday cakes and presents. We also take delight ___2___ throwing
birthday parties and inviting our friends to ___3___ over. During these parties,
games like Treasure Hunt, Charades or Musical Chairs are enjoyed by ___4___ the
young and the young ___5___ heart. In Latin America, there is a popular
birthday ___6___ called 'Breaking the Pinata'.

A pinata is a fairly large, round object ___7___ from hardened newspapers and
paste. It has a hollow center which is ___8___ with sweets, chocolates and toys
that children love. The outside of the pinata is lavishly decorated ___9___ colorful
strips of paper. Before the party ___10___ , the pinata is usually hung in a high
___11___ such as the ceiling of a room.

During the party, ___12___ child would be blindfolded and ___13___ a long stick.
The children would then use the stick to poke hard at the pinata and try their
___14___ to break it. Sooner or ___15___ , the pinata will break. When this
happens, the contents of its hollow center would spill ___16___ and come
tumbling ___17___. The delighted children would then scramble ___18___ to
collect as many presents as ___19___. As they are still blindfolded, they will have
to grope ___20___ for these gifts. What an enjoyable way to celebrate a birthday !

15.

This is a story that happened during the days of Robin Hood and his merry men.
One day, the Sheriff of Nottingham decided to ___1___ an archery contest. Many
archers from ___2___ and near came to pit their skills ___3___ one another. In this
contest, each archer would aim ___4___ a circular disc. ___5___ in the middle of
the disc was a gold circle and nay one who shot at ___6___ spot would get the
most points. Every archer was to shoot twelve ___7___.
In the final round, there were only two teams ___8___ . One of the teams ___9___
of Little John and his two friends. The other team went first. They did extremely
well. Little John's two friends ___10___ performed well.

It was Little John's ___11___ to shoot. In order for him to win the contest, he
would ___12___ to hit the gold circle nine times out of twelve.

Little John was an expert archer. He stood calmly and performed an incredible
___13___, his first seven arrows all hit the gold circle. the crowd went wild
___14___ delight. His next two arrows, however, ___15___ the mark completely.
With only three arrows left, Little John had to hit the gold circle twice to
___16___. His tenth shot hit the bull's-eye !

Now, Little John only needed one ___17___ hit to win. His next shot, however,
missed the gold circle narrowly. This meant he had only one ___18___ left. As the
spectators held their ___19___, he took careful aim and hit the gold circle. The
cheer that came from the crowd ___20___ deafening. Little John and his team
members were rewarded generously by the Sheriff.

16.

Many of us might not have ___1___ the opportunity to ___2___ Egypt, but you
___3___ have seen pictures of Egyptian mummies and the tombs ___4___ they are
placed in. Some of these tombs are breathtaking ___5___ grandeur. The Great
Pyramid at Giza, ___6___ of the landmarks of Egypt today, is the ___7___ of the
Pharaoh (the Egyptian name ___8___ a king) Cheops.

___9___ the ancient Egyptians, the tomb is the real home ___10___ a human
being and therefore, he works hard ___11___ his whole lifetime to furnish it
comfortably for his ___12___. When a rich Egyptian ___13___, his body is
embalmed ___14___ a huge amount of special herbs and salts to ___15___ it. The
body is then placed in a tomb to further protect it ___16___ harsh weather. The
dead man is ___17___ along with his material possessions, which are to ___18___
for his needs in the new world where he is supposed to ___19___. Oil, furniture,
pottery and copper tools have been discovered in some tombs. In one tomb,
archaeologists found a whole ___20___ comprising porridge, pigeon stew, fish and
bread !

17. It was a hot afternoon. The scorching sun ___1___ mercilessly on the little
village. As usual, the place was quiet. I groaned to myself as I hastily wiped ___2___
the perspiration on my forehead. I would never get home ___3___ this heat.

As I walked along the main road, a dog ___4___ rushing at me from an alley. It has
foam all over ___5___ mouth. ___6___ shouted:

" ___7___ cover ! Rabies ! Mad dog !"

On hearing that, I quickly glanced ___8___. All the doors to the houses were bolted.
No windows were ___9___ either. Nobody was ___10___ any chances. I saw a tree
nearby. I ran to it and started ___11___, manfully ignoring the painful ___12___ of
the ants in the tree.

"I would rather be bitten by these insects ___13___ by a slavering dog," I thought at
that time.

Two men holding a wire noose on a long pole walked stealthily ___14___ the dog.
They gauged the distance between them and the dog and neatly lassoed the animal.
The dog struggled to ___15___ itself ___16___ the wire was thick and strong. Most
importantly, the wire did not ___17___.

That night, and ___18___ many nights after that, my bottom was ___19___ sore for
me to sit down. Maybe being bitten by the dog would have hurt ___20___ after all !

18. It is often said that ___1___ you want a pet to look up to you, get a dog. If you
want a pet that looks straight ___2___ you, get a horse. For an animal that looks down
___3___ you, the cat must surely ___4___ this description.

Cats are their ___5___ bosses. They have ___6___ or no regard for anyone or
anything. If you have ___7___ looked closely at the cat, you will observe that it looks
at you ___8___ the corner of its eyes, almost condescendingly. If you call to it, it
appears to consider if ___9___ to your call is worth its ___10___. When it finally
decides to humor you, it will swagger ___11___ you, sit itself an inch away from you
and start washing ___12___. It seems to say, "Well, ___13___ on with it, I don't have
all day !"

Cats are creatures of ___14___. At precisely the ___15___ time every day, my cat
would perform the task he had been doing the day before. ___16___ to mew like a
whistling kettle ___17___ berserk, for its food; when to scratch the front door to be
___18___ out; when to leap ___19___ my unsuspecting head in the morning ... these
are all done ___20___ clockwork regularity.

19. It was past midnight. We were walking ___1___ the beach enjoying the cool sea
___2___. Then one of us spotted ___3___ we had come to look for. ___4___ of the
sea came a giant leatherback turtle, crawling slowly ___5___ the beach. It had a great
hard shell upon its ___6___ and used its huge flippers to ___7___ about effortlessly.

The turtle ___8___ the middle of the beach and began digging ___9___ at the sand.
Large scoops of ___10___ were flung everywhere as the turtle worked ___11___
deep concentration, oblivious ___12___ our prying eyes. When a deep ___13___ had
been dug, the turtle settled over it ___14___ ten minutes. As it got up, it began
___15___ the hole with sand again.

In the bright moonlight, we could see numerous round, white ___16___. In a month's
___17___, tiny turtles will hatch ___18___ them. These baby turtles would all crawl
to the ___19___ as if guided by instinct and swim away. When they reach adulthood,
they ___20___ would return to this spot to lay their eggs

20

How does a camel survive in the desert ? Many people think that the camel
___1___ water in its hump, but the hump is really made ___2___ of fats. That is
why you can tell a healthy camel ___3___ a sick one by its hump ! A firm and tall
hump indicates good ___4___ while a soft and flabby one is a ___5___ of
weakness.

When a camel ___6___ find water, it passes less urine to conserve ___7___ small
amount of water it has ___8___ its body. Furthermore, the camel has a higher body
temperature than ___9___ of most mammals. This means that it starts to sweat
___10___ a higher temperature than that ___11___ human beings, for example,
___12___ to perspire. This also helps it to ___13___ water loss through sweating
to a minimal. Moreover, in ___14___, the loss of water thickens the blood. This is
what ___15___ man need water. In a camel, its cells can release some of ___16___
water content to dilute the blood.

These are the reasons why a camel can go ___17___ water for up to thirty-four
days at a ___18___. Because of its unique ability to adapt ___19___ desert
conditions, it is no ___20___ that the camel is the chief means of travel in the
desert.
.