I would have been here sooner but the rain kept me ......

Today the police are able to make use of all kinds of scientific and technological achievements in their fight against crime. This was not always the (i) _______ , however. In the early days of the British police force, during the nineteenth century, the police office’s whistle was his main way of calling for help if he got into (ii) _______ . Gradually, in the twentieth century, things (iii) _______ _ to improve.

Those police officers who were lucky enough to be given a patrol car rather than a bicycle could also took (iv) _______ of radio communications. In 1903, a new system for identifying people by their fingerprints was discovered. (v) _______ it soon proved to be one of the most significant developments in crime investigation, a seareh of the national fingerprint collection could take days, if not weeks, until computers were introduced in the 1970s.

(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)________

History is full of inventions that looked good at the time, but which nobody wanted to buy. New ideas may fail for one of several reasons. Firstly, there are those which do not (i) _____ work very well when put to the lest. Then, there are the ideas which are good in themselves, but which do not fulfill a real (ii) _____. In other words people can do without them, so do not buy them. A third group are those which prove to be too expensive to manufacture. But none of these reasons explains why, in the 1990s, no new technology was (iii) _____ in replacing (iv) _____ for the home. During this time, a number of alternative technologies were invented that could have replaced the CD, but none of them (v) _____ on. The new ideas worked, were not costly to make and would have provided consumers with higher quality recordings. Despite all this, few people bought them. And this can only be explained by the fact that people who had invested in CD players and discs of their favorite music did not think the improvement in quality on offer was great enough to make it worth the effort and expense ofchanging.

(iv)_______

It used to be thought that people could not swallow well in space, so the food programmes for astronauts consisted of bite – sized pieces of food pushed out of tubes. But now it is known that you can cat in space in the same way as on Earth. The physical constraints lie in the body of the spaceship rather than the body of the astronaut. Limited storage and cooking facilities, with no space or power to (i) _______  for complex food preparation, mean that the (ii) _______  for space nutritionists has gone beyond providing astronauts with food that is palatable and good for them. The solution has emerged in the form of dehydrated foods. Simply add water to the freeze – dried granules. With space flights often lasting more than a week, astronauts cannot live on granules alone. They also take pre- cooked meals scaled in bags, which they (iii) _______  up in a small oven. There are tastier than granules but, according to Dr. Helen Lane, a researeh putritionist, it is difficult to  get astronauts to cat as much as they need. It is partly that they are so busy but also because there is no stimulation. So tickling their taste buds is an uphill struggle, especially since one of the effects of zero gravity is to (iv) _______  the sense of smell. Weightlessness is an important consideration in space food because of the danger that the food might fragment and float off in different (v) _______  . “We need foods that coalesce”, says Dr. Lane. “Yoghurts, puddings sauces all hold together in large droplets. Your spoon may float away, but the food will stay on it.”

(v)_______

Dad turned on _____ radio to listen to _____ news. A. a/a B. a/the C. the/the D. the / a 

From next year, every student in their final year at our school will study for a compulsory Diploma of Practical Achievement.

This will be in addition to the (i) _____ examinations. Up to now, the course has been optional, but from now on every student must (ii) _____ it. The aim is to (iii) _____ students with “life skills”, which the Diploma divides into eight categories. These cover a range of things relevant to life beyond school, from sending an e-mail to giving presentations to an audience. Under the heading “survival”, (iv) _____, students can learn car maintenance, first aid and cooking. We have discovered that many students cannot do simple things such as mend a puncture or boil an egg. At the other extreme, the Diploma includes such things as how to design a webpage and how to (v) _____ if someone has a heart attack. It has been called a “Diploma in Common Sense”.

(iv)______

There’s extensive historical evidence that our ancestors may have witnessed a massive invasion of Unidentified Flying Objects encroaching on their territories. These extraterrestrials are (i) _______ to have come into touch with the ancient earthly populations and helped them erect numerous magnificent structures or even establish glamorous empires. However, the present – day fascination with UFO was only instigated by the first widely (ii) _______ American sighting in Idaho in 1947. Since that time, countless other close encounters have been reported both by highly credible witnesses such as top – class pilots and less credible ones such as ordinary civilians. Thousands of people around the world maintain having come (iii) _______ to the visitors from outer space or to have been abducted for a scientific study inside their flying saucers. Although most of theseaccounts have been dismissed as fantasy or hallucinations, there’s (iv) _______ criticism from the public and media for ignoring the subject for too long. To many people, rejecting even the most inexplicable sightings or UFO encounters as luminous artificial objects, natural phenomena like auroras or even as meteorological balloons and satellites seems to be an irresponsible approach. Most of us would prefer to believe that there extraterrestrial guests are arriving from some remote galaxies to establish a peaceful relationship and possibly give us a fair warning against the consequences of our wasteful lifestyles. Yet, there’s another theory (v) _______ that the visitors’ attitude towards mankind isn’t so conciliatoryas the terrestrial populations. Doubtless, flying saucers still continue to be observed in many places of the world, triggering the imagination of UFO – maniacs. But, a large percentage of such sightings will remain beyond explanation until more convincing evidence is supplied by the true experts.

(v)______-

Choose A, B,C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions: 

It was very important that we delay discussion.

The weather across much of the British Isles remained settled last week with a good deal of sunshine. On Saturday, the lunchtime temperature at Bridlington on the north-cast (i) _______  of England was 28.2 c, which compared favorably with Alicante in southern Spain at 229 C. the rest of the world, however, was coping with some (ii) _______ conditions. A tropical storm, given the name Helen, hit Hong Kong on Saturday morning, though her presence had been felt in advance. From noon on Friday, the showers and (iii)  _______ of rain became more and more frequent so that by midnight on Sunday, thirty – six hours later, there had been 333 mm of rainfall, not far off the average for the month of August, at 367 mm. Even on Sunday there was a sting in Helen’s tail. The town centre of Shanwci, near Hong Kong, was (iv) _______ when 468 mm of rain fell in the sixty hours leading up to midday on Sunday, nearly twice the normal August rainfall. On the other side of the globe, tropical storm Gabrielle moved across the Gulf of Mexico and overnight rain exceeded the usual rainfall for the whole month. Although most of Europe enjoyed sun, the high temperatures were sufficient to set off some (v) __showers. On Tuesday morning, a thunderstorm at Lyons in eastern France deposited 99 mm of rain in just six hours.

(iii)_______

History is full of inventions that looked good at the time, but which nobody wanted to buy. New ideas may fail for one of several reasons. Firstly, there are those which do not (i) _____ work very well when put to the lest. Then, there are the ideas which are good in themselves, but which do not fulfill a real (ii) _____. In other words people can do without them, so do not buy them. A third group are those which prove to be too expensive to manufacture. But none of these reasons explains why, in the 1990s, no new technology was (iii) _____ in replacing (iv) _____ for the home. During this time, a number of alternative technologies were invented that could have replaced the CD, but none of them (v) _____ on. The new ideas worked, were not costly to make and would have provided consumers with higher quality recordings. Despite all this, few people bought them. And this can only be explained by the fact that people who had invested in CD players and discs of their favorite music did not think the improvement in quality on offer was great enough to make it worth the effort and expense ofchanging.

(i)_______

_________ starts at seven o’clock. 

Many adults in America and increasing numbers elsewhere take part in mentoring schemes. A mentor is an adult who provides support and friendship to a young person. There are (i) _____ different ways of mentoring: passing on skills, sharing experiences, offering guidance. Sometimes the most helpful thing is just to listen. Mentoring is open to anybody – no particular (ii) _____ experience is required, just a desire to make a difference to the life of a young person who needs help. This may seem a difficult thing at first, but many people find they have a real (iii) _____ for it.

The support of a mentor can play an important role in a child’s development and can often make up (iv) _____a lack of guidance in a young person’s life. It can also improve young people’s attitude towards society and build up their confidence in dealing with life’s challenges. For the mentor, it can be incredibly rewarding to know that they have had a significant (v) _____ on a child and helped to give them the best possible chance in life. Indeed, it is not only adults who are capable of taking on this role. There is now an increasing demand for teenagers to mentor younger children, for example by helping them with reading or other school work.

(v)______

Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions. "We should _____ healthy food and exercise regularly."

In Britain these days, it seems even very young children hope to wear a Calvin Klein watch or Nike trainers. Fashion experts claim that brand names have become so important that their followers (i) _____  to be able to buy the company’s products no matter what. In an (ii) _____  to get people to buy, these companies’ symbols are used so extensively that they have become more important than the products themselves. In a recent survey of British teenagers, only one out of 60 would admit that they did not own any designer clothes of the (iii) _____ fashion. The survey also revealed that a staggering 60 percent are willing to spend the same (iv)    of money on one designer item as on two non – designer items which might do harm to their image. Some people argue that on the whole, designer labels offer a guarantee of quality, but 35 per cent said they would rather buy counterfeit designer wear than a non – label item of clothing. The survey suggests that we have less real choice in what we buy than we might think. The media make the decisions about what is in fashion, and so a whole generation is trying to (v) _____ smart by wearing identically labeled trainers, jeans, shirts and sweatshirts.

(v)______

Choose a, b, c or d that best completes each unfinished sentence:

My friends and I meet for lunch once ____ a while.

The internet is like a huge city, full of many different kinds of places and people. As a real city, there are certain places which are suitable for youngsters and others which need to be avoided. The Internet neither belongs to (i) _____ is controlled by anyone person, organisation or government. It gives all of US the opportunity to create material for others to seC. On the other hand, as in ordinary life, there are those who might use it for illegal (ii) _____. The freedom of the Net offers exciting opportunities for youngsters and, (iii) _____ being aware of the possible dangers and taking steps to avoid them, they can happily explore that online world in safety. Common sense will certainly help children to use the Internet safely.It is preferable, for example, for parents to get to know (iv) _____ their children are meeting online and make sure they never give our personal information about themselves. Although it is an excellent tool for learning, playing and communicating and others, youngsters should not be allowed to become so involved that they forget other activities important to their development. Obviously, surfing as a family activity is the best solution, so that any problems that are fond can be discussed together. Parents need to thinks about safetv issues and aerree on a set of rules. Just as youngsters are given instruction on road (v) _____, they also need to be instructed on how to travel safely along that superhighway.

(iii)______

The internet is like a huge city, full of many different kinds of places and people. As a real city, there are certain places which are suitable for youngsters and others which need to be avoided. The Internet neither belongs to (i) _____ is controlled by anyone person, organisation or government. It gives all of US the opportunity to create material for others to seC. On the other hand, as in ordinary life, there are those who might use it for illegal (ii) _____. The freedom of the Net offers exciting opportunities for youngsters and, (iii) _____ being aware of the possible dangers and taking steps to avoid them, they can happily explore that online world in safety. Common sense will certainly help children to use the Internet safely.It is preferable, for example, for parents to get to know (iv) _____ their children are meeting online and make sure they never give our personal information about themselves. Although it is an excellent tool for learning, playing and communicating and others, youngsters should not be allowed to become so involved that they forget other activities important to their development. Obviously, surfing as a family activity is the best solution, so that any problems that are fond can be discussed together. Parents need to thinks about safetv issues and aerree on a set of rules. Just as youngsters are given instruction on road (v) _____, they also need to be instructed on how to travel safely along that superhighway.

(ii)______

Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the folllowing word(s). "boost"

Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions. " People should _____healthy food and exercise regularly."

In the future, people could live in “smart homes” that will tell them when to wake up or remind them to (i) _____  the front door. These homes will be equipped with electronic sensors connected to a computer that will remind people to take their medicine or turn off the oven. This computerized system, with about thirty sensors will be (ii) _____ to talk and negotiate with the tenant. It will also have the ability to (iii)  out if it is doing something that might be harmful. The aim of the “smart home” is to allow the elderly to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible, instead of moving into nursing homes. The number of people living into their 80s is expected to increase dramatically in the next few decades. As a result, there will probably be a great demand for these homes, which will enable the elderly to keep their independence and privacy. In addition to reminding them about things they may have forgotten to do, the system would contact a volunteer in (iv) _____ of illness or danger. At the moment a bioengineer at Brunei University near London is working with several housing associations, communication companies and charities in order to make this (v)     _____ home a reality. Although he is planning to put up new homes and apartments with the system, he says that it would also be possible to change existing homes, too.

(i)______-