I have several good friends but I (i) _______ that my best friend is Ellen. We have been friends with each other since we were very young because she (ii) _______ next door to me. We have always been in the same class al school, although she has always been much cleverer than me. I don’t mind (iii) _______, because she often helps me with my homework! Anyway, I’ve always been better at sports than she is. I always beat her at tennis, and she doesn’t like that. In fact, she hates losing al anything and gets very annoyed if she docs. That’s the only thing that 1 don’t like about her. Otherwise, she has a great sense of humour and she’s always making me laugh. We get on very well together, although occasionally we’ve had arguments – usually about silly little things. Ellen and her family moved to another district last year, but I still see her a lot. We’re planning to go on a trip around Europe next summer, I’m really (iv) _______ to it because 1 think we’ll have a lot of fun and sec exciting places. Of course, it’s going to be hard -to afford such a wonderful and exciting trip, so we’re both going to get jobs and try to (v) _______ enough money for it

(v)____

Although the act of writing a book is by necessity a (i) _______ process, it’s often after publication that the sense of isolation is the strongest. Many writers long for critical feedback, but have little (ii) _______  to the average reader’s opinion. While it may be true that good reviews in newspapers and magazines can be gratifying, they’re of little help in establishing what ordinary people think of your work. So, well done to those websites where anyone with access to the Internet can post an opinion about any book. (iii) _______       this, these customer reviews are not without risk. Most writers can expect some glowing praise from family or friends but these reviews are easy to recognize since they tend to be sent in anonymously. On the other hand, visits to these websites can also result in great anxiety. It might well be the (iv) _______ that you receive an unkind review and there is no kind editor to shield you. You can expect most reviewers to be brief but there are those who write long, strangely formal essays, usually containing references to classical literature, presumably in (v) _______ to impress others with their literary knowledge. If you are a sensitive author, I suggest you think twice before you go off searehing for reviews on-line rather than in the safer, traditional places.

(v)_____

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.

(iii)______

A/ An _________is a person who is trained for travelling in a spacecraft. 

People from all cultures and civilizations are also (i) _______ with numbers, dates and festival days. In North America, the number 13 is considered (ii) _______ unlucky that often high-rise buildings do not have a 13th floor and the apartment that should be number 13 is given another number. There is no clear reason behind this superstition, (iii) _______ there is evidence for a pathological fear of the number 13, called triskaidekaphobia. Conversely, in Japan, Korea and China, the number 4 is the one bringing bad luck since the character for this number, ‘shi’ sounds like the word ‘death’. Yet all cultures seem to agree (iv)  _______the importance of New Year’s Day. Virtually all countries have rituals surrounding this first day of the year to (v)________ good luck for the future.

(v)_______

Israel and Palestine have been at war with each other (i) _______ many years now. The reason behind the conflict is religion. Palestine is a very old country lying in the Middle East. It is an Arabic nation where most of its population is Muslim. Israel (ii) _______ at the border with Palestine. It is a much younger country formed by Jews (iii) _______ religion is radically and completely different from the Muslim religion. Israel grew stronger after the Second World War, when it became a friend and ally of the United States. It started to occupy land from surrounding countries (iv) _______ on the fact that Jews used to live on that land (v) _______  years ago.

(i)_____

In a TV interview she hit _____ at her critics. 

There are many available ___________ power sources in Vietnam including sun, wind, water, etc.

Maria Mutola is a great athlete off the field as well. She has started the Lurdcs Mutola Foundation. This charity program (i) ________ money for the development of sports and the education of young people in Africa. It also works to stop the spread of AIDS and HIV in poor countries, and to have (ii) _________  African children protected against such dangerous childhood diseases as measles and polio. Maria Mutola has also donated money to build new social houses in Maputo (iii) ________ a modern outdoor running track. She is also involved (iv) ________  promoting sports without drugs and doping. For her achievements, Maria Mutola has been made a youth ambassador for the United Nations in 1993. She also (v) ________ the official Olympic Flag at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

(iv)______

We have permission to _______ with the plan. 

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.

(v)_____

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)____

Scientists therefore agree that it is (i) ________ spread of global warming before it is too late. Solar radiation and volcanic emissions (ii) ________ produce natural global warming. Yet. the major responsibility for turning global warming into a potential dangerous activity falls on humans. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels to power cars and generate electricity (iii) ________ to the ever-increasing emission of toxic carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat and lead to the formation of the so-called greenhouse effect, which in turn (iv) ________ global temperatures. Only decisive government measures will curb down and limit the growth of this destructive (v) ________ on our planet.

(ii)______

___________ energy is produced by collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity.

Special effects, abbreviated SPFX or SPF, are a (i) _______ enhancing and intensifying the impact a filmed scene has on its audience in order to create an optical illusion which would render that particular image undistinguishable (ii) _______  reality. Special effects engineers have at their disposal a (iii) _______ number of techniques, ranging from traditional theatre effects to sophisticated photography and modem computer graphics, which are often used in one single shot (iv) _______ create the desired effect.

Most special effects are employed to obtain effects that cannot (v) _______ by normal means, such as intcrgalactic battles or space travelling; others are substituted for more expensive real-life effects, such as high-blast explosions, while others still are there to recreate the particular atmosphere of long- ago times, such as restoring the arehitectural splendour of a princely castle.

(iv)______

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 arehitects who designed the London Eye (i) _______ drew it for a competition in 1993. Subsequently, they formed a (ii) _______ with British Airways to develop the project. As the biggest observation wheel ever built, its covnstruction involved 1,700 people in five countries. Most of its (iii) _______had to be invented, and delivering them had to be coordinated with the tides in the River Thames. On average, 350 hours a week are spent (iv) _______ the maintenance of the Eye, and only distilled water is used to (v) _______ the glass.

(iv)_______

The use of “code talkers” had its beginnings in World War I when the Americans used Choctaw Indians during the battle of the Meuse Argonne in France in 1918. But none of the volunteers in war were (i) _______ recognized or honored for their contributions to the war effort until several years after the end of the Second World War. And it was not the Americans who (ii) _______ tribute to these volunteers first. It was the French, who, in 1989, honored the survivors by presenting them with an Order of Merit, which is the second-highest honor (iii) _______ valor that the French bestow. Ten years later, the United Slates Department of Defense recognized the sole surviving Comanche “code talker” for his bravery and achievements in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. and they presented him with an award created a few years before by the intelligence corps to recognize contributions such as the Comanchcs had made. The Comanche volunteers made an additional contribution to society as a (iv) _______  by their wartime efforts. These men, all of whom had attended school in America and had been chastised for trying to retain English, can be credited not only with helping to win the war but also with insuring the preservation of a language, which until after the war, had been nearly destroyed by its non-use. their native languages and criticized when they did not (v) _______ English, can be credited not only with helping to win the war but also with insuring the preservation of a language, which until after the war, had been nearly destroyed by its non-use.

(i)___

 In India, the demand for ___________ has always been more than the supply.

Global oil prices ………… sharply over the past seven months, leading to significant revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations. 

The Great Wall stretches for 5,000 kilometres (i) _______ China from the East coast to the Gobi Desert. This biggest of all building projects was begun 2,000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty. Separately built walls were all joined up to form one huge line, supposedly to (ii) _______  any invading nomads. The project used thousands of workers, many of them prisoners.

Around 180 million cubic metres of earth were used to form the wall’s core. The wall was not particularly successful as a deterrent to invaders. However, it was very useful as a kind of ancient, elevated motorway. Men and equipment could be easily moved along the wall, through the previously (iii) _______, mountainous land. Also, a very useful communication system was developed between the different sections of the wall. Smoke signals were used to send messages quickly anywhere along the wall’s length. Now, the Great Wall is China’s most popular tourist attraction. It has suffered some decay and destruction over the centuries. Parts have been (iv) _______ by the wind and weather. Other sections have been destroyed by local peasants who carried off the materials to make their own homes. However, the wall is still an amazing sight, and a lasting monument to the ancient Chinese civilization that (v) _______ it.

(iii)______--