CLOZE: VOCABULARY
From the words listed below, choose the ones which best fit the space.
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
But it isn't so (1).................... that marriage is expensive in terms of money, as that it is expensive in terms of life
(2).................... , especially when it goes wrong, as it did in the (3).................... of Mr and Mrs Stark. Mrs Stark was
given a divorce because of the unreasonable behaviour of her husband. He was (4).................... to have (5)....................
up a contract which he forced her to sign. (6).................... some points of view - particularly the point of view of a
husband - the contract does not seem to be too bad a (7)..................... In it, Mrs Stark was not allowed to mention the
names of her parents or brother in the house. She could only visit her parents twice a month, the cost to be
(8).................... from the household budget. She would have to return to the house in (9).................... of time to prepare
Mr Stark's evening meal. Her parents could visit her once a month while he was out. If he was in, then they would have
to meet somewhere else. Mrs Stark would be allowed £2 a week (10).................... money for her personal use. In the
(11).................... of a death in the family, she would be allowed two days (12).................... from the house. She could
spend up to five days a year away in the event of family illness. No presents for her parents were to be paid
(13).................... from the housekeeping.
Mrs Stark was (14).................... a divorce, but Mr Stark appealed against the decision. It cost him £6,000 in legal fees,
much more than it cost him to get married in the first (15)..................... "
01. often great much hard
02. now itself then however
03. event instance time case
04. said considered described enabled
05. made written done drawn
06. To With At From
07. idea thing number theme
08. taken met earned lifted
09. best most plenty hours
10. as for in to
11. cause occasion event happening
12. away holiday leave departure
13. out to for with
14. granted awarded let presented
15. time example point place
CLOZE: STRUCTURE
Complete with the word that best fits the space.
EURO-DISNEY
In Euro-Disney, an investment of $2 billion has created a monstrous funfair. Pirates in the West Indies. Ghosts and
graveyards and a haunted house. Simulated space travel. Railway rides and Peter Pan and Dumbo.... There must be
(01)..................... of Europe's 60 or so million children under the age of 14 who are not nagging (02).....................
parents.
When I hear (03)................ this monstrous creation is a bare 24 miles from the centre of Paris, I think it represents the
death of civilisation. One (04)................... have thought the French (05)................... more sense, better taste, but, then,
they always did have this love-hate relationship (06)...................... the USA.
(07)................... me be clear about it. Disney should stay (08)................... he belongs: in the swamps of Florida or the
suburbs of Los Angeles. People (09).................... appreciate him.
Perhaps the most perplexing response (10)................... Disney, that pap-merchant, has been made by collectors. In the
United States, a four-volume Illustrated Disneyana Catalog and Price Guide is (11)..................... It lists 26,000 prices
(12)................... $1 for a 1966 Donald Duck book (13)....................... $14,000 for a tin wind-up walking Mickey Mouse
of around 1930.
In America, there are an estimated 50,000 collectors. The highest (14)................... are paid for cels, paintings on
celluloid, a specialised market worth an annual $60 million. The most paid (15)................... far for a cel has been
$286,000
RE-PHRASING
Complete the second sentence, using between two and five words, including the word given. Do not change that word in
any way.
01. It was difficult for the yachtsman to steer into the wind.
got
The yachtsman ............................. into the wind.
02. I couldn't have managed without your help.
been
If it ............................. your help, I couldn't have managed.
03. We had just arrived when it started to rain.
than
Hardly ............................. it started to rain.
04. He only did the work after he had been paid.
did
Not until he had been paid ............................. the work.
05. The idea that the Scots are miserly is simply not true.
truth
There ............................. the idea that the Scots are miserly.
06. She was too busy to see us.
so
She was ............................. see us.
07. It is quite pointless to complain.
point
There ............................. complaining.
08. I've never met anyone who works as hard as he does.
man
He is the most ............................. met.
09. A long speech is unlikely to be interesting.
little
There ............................. a long speech being interesting.
10. It was difficult to hear the speaker from the back of the room.
difficulty
From the back of the room, we ............................. the speaker.
ERROR CORRECTION
Some of the following lines are correct; others have a word that should not be there. Tick the correct lines. Underline
the words that should not be there.
THE POLE-SITTER
01. Valentine Pushup has a very strange own job. He is a competition pole-sitter,
02. and takes it all very professionally. For publicity, he sits on a small platform
03. on top of a high pole, the higher up the better. He started out early
04. as a teenager in Paris when up he tried to climb to the very top
05. of the Eiffel Tower. He got his name written in the newspapers in Italy
06. when a night watchman found him hiding on the upper steps
07. of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Mr Pushup explained that, "I have always ever been
08. fascinated by the tall towers. It must be something psychological."
09. Recently, he had made a telephone installed at the top of his pole
10. in the St Elemo shopping Plaza, Los Angeles. It was while he was having a try
11. to break the world pole-sitting record. The first call he had at the top of his
12. pole was from a woman who she had lost her dog somewhere below him
13. The second call was from his only trainer, a Mr Harold Simon, who told him the
14. world record was not 4 months and 8 days as they had thought it. It was 8 months
15. and 4 days, set up by a Mrs Trudi Schnell in Luxembourg.
Said Mr Pushup, "I shall sit on, but I am having the phone disconnected."
WORD FORMATION
To fill the spaces, use a word formed from the words in the list below.
PIGEON POWER
Tom Jones, a psychologist, reports a new role for pigeons. Asked by a pharmaceutical company to measure the effects
of drugs on animal behaviour, Jones noticed one day that some 70 women were employed to check flawed capsules.
"That is a job any pigeon could do," he said, because he knew about the pigeon's learning (01)............................ .
On (02)............................ , capsules left the (03)............................ line. There, Jones arranged for a bright, narrow beam
of light to pass through them. If a capsule was perfect, the light showed a single spot; if it was (04)............................ ,
the light showed a double spot.
In their training, two pigeons were rewarded with food every time they correctly identified a wrong capsule. The
experiment worked. A (05)............................ belt carried the capsules as fast as two a second past the pigeon
(06)............................ , who achieved 99 per cent success within a week.
But the company rejected (07)............................ of the pigeons on a permanent basis. They feared (08)............................
that might be bad: The public might think pigeons were not as (09)............................ as humans. "A main obstacle to
progress," commented Jones sadly, " remains man's obstinate belief in his (10)............................ over other creatures."
01. able 06. inspect
02. complete 07. employ
03. produce 08. public
04. perfect 09. rely
05. convey 10. superior
ANSWERS
THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
1. much
2. itself
3. case
4. said
5. drawn
6. from
7. thing
8. met
9. plenty
10. as
11. event
12. away
13. for
14. granted
15. place
EURO DISNEY
1. few
2. their
3. that
4. might / would
5. had
6. with
7. let
8. where
9. there
10. to
11. published / available / sold
12. from
13. to
14. prices
15. so
WORD BUILDING PIGEON POWER
01. ability
02. completion
03. production
04. imperfect
05. conveyor
06. inspectors
07. employment
08. publicity
09. reliable
10. superiority
PART 4: RE-PHRASING
Check your answers.
1. got into difficulties steering
2. had not been for
3. had we arrived than
4. did he do
5. is no truth in
6. so busy she did not
7. was no point in
8. hard-working man I have (ever)
9. is little likelihood
10. had difficulty hearing
ERROR CORRECTION THE POLE-SITTER
01. own
02. -
03. up
04. up
05. written
06. -
07. ever
08. the
09. made
10. -
11. -
12. she
13. only
14. it
15. up
