TEST PAPER 9

Complete with the correct form of the verbs: past tense, present perfect, past perfect (simple or
continuous):
Four men once_______________DWELL in a foreign country. They _______________DEAL in cotton, which
they_____________ SELL to Europeans who_____________WEAVE it into cloth. People _____________KNOW them as
Peter, James, Terence and Archibald. One day an idea ______________STRIKE Peter, and he ____________TELL it to the
others. As a result of the idea which Peter________________BEGET they all ______________PUT their capital together
and _____________GO into partnership. First they_____________BUY a site. Then they_______________BUILD a
warehouse near the docks on part of it. Some time after they ____________DO this, Peter_______________SPEAK to the
others:
I_______________THINK it over, he _____________SAY, and my meditations_____________BRING it
home to me that though up to now we______________BEAR the responsibilities of the firm jointly, the mistakes that one
man______________ KEEP making________________ COST us a lot.Archibalds carelessness ______________ DRIVE
me to desperation.
After he ______________EXPLAIN his idea further, the others ______________ CATCH what he
___________MEAN but_______________SHRINK from the solution he____________SEEK to impose. But
he____________WIN them round, and they________________FALL in with his idea. So they________________TEAR
UP the old deed of partenership, and they _____________DRAW UP a new one. They __________________SPLIT UP
their responsibilities equally and each ______________ STRIVE to make the new business pay and the firm
_________________THRIVE for a while. But soon they ________________ BEGIN to have trouble with rats, which
_______________EAT the bales of cotton that the workmen _______________SEW UP ready for export. So they
______________BUY a cat, ______________TAKE it to the warehouse, __________________SHUT it and
________________LEAVE it there. When it _____________TRY to escape, they _______________THRUST it back. Each
partner ________________HOLD shares in the cat, one leg to each partner; and they _______________FEED it by turns.
Luckily it _____________EAT very little. One day they ______________SEE that the cat _____________BE lame. A dog
________________ BITE it or somebody ______________TREAD on it and its leg _______________BLEED and
________________SWELL. On consulting their books the partners ________________FIND that the leg which the cat
_______________HURT _______________ BE Terences. when Terence _________________LEARN this, he
________________TAKE the cat into the office, _______________ PUT it on the floor, ________________KNELL down,
_________________WIND a rag soaked in oil round the leg, and ______________BIND it carefully. The cat
_________________FEEL cold; so it _________________GO by the fire, where it ______________LIE down and
________________SLEEP. But it _______________CREEP to close, and the bandage soaked in oil
______________CATCH fire. The cat ________________AWAKE terror-stricken,________________SIT UP,
_______________ FLY into a panic, _________________SPIN round, ________________RUN into the warehouse, and
_________________SET the cotton bales on fire with its blazing leg. A strong wind _______________BLOW at the time
so that the fire __________________ SPREAD and the whole warehouse _________________BURST into flames. The
fire-brigade ________________SPEED to the scene and _______________HACK and _______________HEW to get into
the burning building. But to no purpose. The building _______________BURN too fast. Numberless rats
________________FLEE from it, _________________SLIDE into the water, and _______________SWIM away. The
partners ________________LOOK ON helplessly; and their blood almost ________________ FREEZE in their veins, as
they think what their fate ______________MAY _______________BE, if they _________________ CAUGHT inside. The
cat ______________BURST through the flames, ________________SPRING into the street, _______________ SHAKE
OFF the burning bandage, and _______________RID itself of the trouble. The partners ________________CATCH and
________________SMITE the cat, which _______________DIG its claws into them, and________________BREAK
loose. They _________________FLING stones at it. It ________________STEAL off and ________________HIDE. They
_________________ SEEK it out, ________________FIND it and _______________SLAY it. After they
_______________SLAY the cat, the partners ________________REMEMBER again what they ______________LOSE.
They ______________TEAR their hair, ______________ REND their garments, _________________BEAT their breasts,
__________________WRING their hands and _________________ SHED tears of rage. Gradually, the first effects of the
disaster ________________WEAR OFF, and they ________________ BEGIN to think what to do. Suddenly Peter
_______________HIT ON the solution of the problem of damages. He _________________SEND for Terence. They
_______________MEET at their club. I _______________FORGET, _____________SAY Peter, that it
____________BE your leg which ______________DO the damage. You must therefore pay us damages. At this Terence
____________GROW pale. Then he ______________KNIT his brows, ________________GRIND his teeth, and

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________________ SWING his stick menacingly. When Peter _______________SEE the reception he
_______________GET he _______________ BE afraid to say any more and _______________RETIRE hastily. He, James
and Archie _______________MEET and _______________ MAKE their decision. They _______________RING UP a
lawyer for legal advice. Then they _______________CLOTHE themselves in their Sunday best and
_______________BRING Terence before a judge. The judge _______________LEND their lawyer attention for a while,
but the latter_______________SPIN out the argument to such a length, that in the end the judge ______________ CUT him
short and __________________CHIDE him for wasting the time of the court. Then he _______________LAY down the
law. Everybody _________________HANG on his words. Poor Terence _______________CLING to the hope of success
like a drowning man to a straw and he ______________BE justified, for the judge _________________OVERRIDE the
plaintiffs charms. He _______________HEAR the arguments which the plaintiffs lawyer _____________STRING out to
such inordinate length, he ______________SAY:
It _________________BE true that Terences leg ______________BE on fire, he_____________GO ON. but it
____________BE also true that the other three legs ______________TAKE the flaming leg to the inflammable cottonbales. Those three legs and their owners _________________BEAR the burden of responsibility for the damage. He
therefore ______________ BID the three reimburse Terence for his loss. When Terence _______________HEAR this, his
spirits _____________RISE. His face ________________LIGHT up, and his heart_________________LEAP with joy, as
he __________________DRINK IN the judges words. The plaintiffs ________________FLY into a rage and
__________________PROTEST angrily, for the decision ____________ SPELL ruin to them. But the judge
________________SWEEP their protests aside, and ________________BESEECH them to obey the law. After Terences
former associates ________________PAY him off, they________________GIVE UP the cotton trade, and
_______________SHOE horses for a living instead.

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