Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
WATER
You’re thirsty and you get yourself a glass of water. Do you ever (1) ………… how old that water really is? The glass of water that you’re (2) ………… to drink may have fallen from the sky as rain only last week.
However, water itself has been around pretty much as (3) ………… as the earth has! In fact, (4) ………… oceans, seas and rivers cover 70% of the earth, there is a (5) ………… supply of water, which keeps on moving round the earth. This is (6) ………… of what’s known as the water cycle. The sun heats up water and it turns into clouds, which are (7) ………… from water vapour. When the clouds become (8) ………… , the water falls back onto the earth as rain.
Of course, clean water is absolutely essential for good health. The amount of safe drinking water has gone up around the world, but (9) ………… one billion people still lack easy (10) ………… to clean water.
After years studying North America’s black bears in the conventional way, wildlife biologist Luke Robertson felt no closer to understanding the creatures. He realised that he had to (1)…………… their trust. Abandoning scientific detachment, he took the daring step of forming relationships with the animals, bringing them food to gain their acceptance.
The (2)………… this has given him into their behaviour has allowed him to dispel certain myths about bears. (3)……….. to popular belief, he contends that bears do not (4)……… as much for fruit as previously supposed. He also (5)……….. claims that they are ferocious. He says that people should not be (6)………… by behaviour such as swatting paws on the ground, as this is a defensive, rather than an agressive, act.
Read the following text and answer the questions below.
Water-skiing barefoot
by Dan Thomas
Have you ever been barefoot water-skiing? It’s just like normal water-skiing, being pulled along behind a boat at 40 mph – but without any skis! It sounds scary but it’s amazing! My cousin used to take me water-skiing, and that’s where I first learnt to stand up and balance. But I moved on to barefooting when I did it for a laugh with some mates. And I loved it!
Barefoot water-skiing is one of the most popular watersports there is – to watch, anyway! When someone jumps really high and then lands, it’s awesome. And you don’t need expensive stuff like boards, although a wetsuit’s a good idea. But catching your toes on things in the lake can hurt. I guess you can’t help getting water up your nose when you start learning, too, as you have to lie almost flat in the water before you pull yourself up – but it’s OK.
Now I’m experienced, I’ve learnt not to attempt new moves in rough water as it never goes well. Instead, I make sure I limit myself to skiing directly behind the boat, where the water’s calmer. I ask the boat drivers to warn me about big waves coming, although they can’t always see them.
Finding time to practise regularly is hard as I’m still at school – but then it’s not as if I’m into winning prizes and stuff. But if I want to learn a new move, I need to repeat it over and over, and that’s not easy in winter when it’s cold. Lots of skiers say they’ll continue during cold weather, but not many do. So I’m often the only one out on the lake!
William Perkin was born in London in 1838. As a child he had many hobbies, including model making and photography. But it was the (19) ………… of chemistry that really interested him. At the age of 15, he went to college to study it.
While he was there, he was (20) ………… to make a medicine from coal. This didn’t go well, but when he was working on the problem, he found a cheap (21) ………… to make the colour purple. At that (22) ………… it was very expensive to make clothes in different colours. William knew he could make a business out of his new colour. Helped by his father and brother, William (23) ………… his own factory to make the colour. It sold well, and soon purple clothes (24) ………… very popular in England and the rest of the world.
Read the following text and answer the questions below.
Starting at a new school By Anna Gray, age 11
I’ve just finished my first week at a new school and I’d like to tell you about it. Like other children in my country, I went to primary school until I was eleven and then I had to go to a different school for older children. I loved my primary school but I was excited to move to a new school.
It was very strange on our first day. There were some kids from my primary school there, but most of the children in my year group were from different schools. But I soon started talking to the girl who was sitting beside me in maths. She lives near me so we walked home together. We’re best friends now.
When I saw our timetable there were lots of subjects, some were quite new to me! Lessons are harder now. They’re longer and the subjects are more difficult, but the teachers help us a lot.
At primary school we had all our lessons in one classroom. Now each subject is taught in a different room. It was difficult to find the classrooms at first because the school is so big. But the teachers gave us each a map of the school, so it’s getting easier now.
The worst thing is that I have lots more homework to do now. Some of it is fun but I need to get better at remembering when I have to give different pieces of work to the teachers!