A first time for everybody

Joe stepped onto the aeroplane and was met by one of the cabin crew who showed him to his seat. This was his
first flight and he was feeling quite nervous. His hands were _________   slightly and he was breathing deeply.
He walked along the _____________   of the plane and found his seat. Joe had spent a lot of time
___________   planning his holiday, given this was the first time he had been abroad. Sitting next to him was
an 8 year-old-boy who also ____________   to be quite nervous. Joe knew he was quite good __________  
children, so he decided to try to calm the boy. After ____________   with the boy for a few minutes, Joe
produced some chocolate and gave it to him. The ______________   then became quite cheerful as he
explained that he loved chocolate _____________   much. 

The man and the boy found that they _______________   well together as they chatted for the whole flight.
Joe discovered that they were on the same return flight the following week, which pleased them both. When they
__________   at the terminal, Joe commented about what a very ____________   flight he'd had. The young
boy agreed, saying that he was looking forward to ____________ Joe again on the return flight.

Choose the best word for each space.

If you think that people’s hobbies are getting weirder, think again.  Modern hobbies are tame compared to some
of the things people ____________   in the past.  Here are just a few.
These days, everyone knows how to _____________  with photographs to make them look different from real
life.  Trick photography goes back many years before the days of Photoshop. Back in the late 1800s, when
photography was in its ______________  , people used to enjoy posing with their families in headless
photographs.  Otherwise serious family portraits would feature a typical family in their best Sunday clothes,
except that the father would be _________________   an axe, mother would be headless and a child would be
holding mama’s head ____________  .  The effect was achieved by layering the images of different photo
negatives on top of each other.  Judging by the sheer number of such pictures out there, it was a pretty common
_______________   a century or so ago.
Another favourite family day out in nineteenth century Paris was a visit to the city morgue.  A glass-walled,
refrigerated room was set up a short walk from the Cathedral of Notre Dame originally so that the public could
identify the bodies of the dead.  However, it became a huge ____________  with as many as 40,000 visitors
per day – similar to the numbers who visit Disney World today. The morgue was ______________   in all the
Paris guide books, and was popular for nearly 50 years until it eventually closed in 1907.
Go back in history even further, to the days of the American civil war in the 1860s, another free-time activity was
the battlefield picnic.  There was strong belief among the northerners that the civil war would be over quickly,
and the public wanted front ______________   seats.  At the first battle of Bull Run, troops were followed by
hundreds of civilians carrying picnic baskets and _____________   glasses, who then watched the
_______________   from what they considered to be a safe distance.  In the morning, the battle went in their
____________ , but later on Confederate reinforcements arrived and the tide turned.  Soldiers and picnickers
alike were soon running for their lives.
All in all, the today’s free-time pursuits seem positively tame compared to those of our ancestors!

Key

1- trembling – aisle – on – appeared – with – conversing – youngster – so – got on – disembarked – good –

catching up with

2- got up to – tinker – infancy – wielding – aloft – fad – attraction – featured – row – opera – proceeding –
favour
Doing a gap year

Gap year is the   used to describe the year that some students take off before   to
university. Gap years are quite popular in many countries,   the UK, Australia and Germany.
There are a variety of options   for people who are thinking of taking a gap year. One is
to   the year travelling around the world.   possibility is to spend the year at home
getting work experience. A third option is to do volunteer work ,   at home or abroad.

In 2003, Sam Cooke chose this option and travelled to Ecuador to provide tuition in basic literacy for
underprivileged children. "It was a wonderful experience and it really helped me   mature".

However, Sam warns   it's not for everyone. "Voluntary work is certainly not an easy option and
before you go you should make   you are properly informed about the living conditions you will
find there. Young people need to ask themselves   they'll be able to put   with these
conditions for a whole year."
 
Read the following passages carefully and then fill in the blanks with onecorrect or best answer.
 
(I)
 
People of the olden days seldom had feet problems. This may be due to the fact ___1___ their shoes
were more comfortable. They ___2___ made from animal skin which did ___3___ harm the feet. Foot
sores became ___4___ common with the discovery of wooden ___5___ cloth shoes. No account was
taken ___6___ the anatomy of the right or ___7___ foot in the making of wooden ___8___. They
were made clumsily or hastily. ___9___ of this, shoes caused more harm ___10___ good. Friction
between the feet and the inner lining of the shoes created painful corns and bunions which
sometimes resulted in deformed feet.
 
 
(II)
 
Many of us are still unaware of or are indifferent to the need to preserve rare species. Some people
argue that species have ___1___ dying out since life began. "So ___2___ should we worry about them
now ?" ___3___ ask. They calmly believe that others ___4___ take their place. What these people
___5___ not realize is that it will ___6___ millions of years before a set ___7___ species is evolved to
replace those ___8___ are rapidly losing. These species are ___9___ national heritage. We should not
let ___10___ die off. They should be preserved for our decendants.
 
 
(III)
 
The cobra is not swift in attacking as one is led to believe. It first erects the hood and ___1___ flattens
the neck. A characteristic marking, ___2___ like a pair of spectacles, appears ___3___ the neck. As the
cobra raises ___4___ hood, it also sways from side ___5___ side in a slow rhythmic manner. ___6___
several seconds or minutes of this, ___7___ strikes by darting its head forward ___8___ downwards
and the fangs sink into ___9___ flesh of the victim. The teeth ___10___ on to the prey until it dies of
the venom. The venom can kill in a few minutes.
 

key
Gap year is the TERM used to describe the year that some students take off before GOING to university. Gap
years are quite popular in many countries, INCLUDINGthe UK, Australia and Germany. There are a variety of
options AVAILABLE for people who are thinking of taking a gap year. One is to SPEND the year travelling
around the world. ANOTHER possibility is to spend the year at home getting work experience. A third option is
to do volunteer work , EITHER at home or abroad.

In 2003, Sam Cooke chose this option and travelled to Ecuador to provide tuition in basic literacy for
underprivileged children. "It was a wonderful experience and it really helped me BECOME mature".

However, Sam warns THAT it's not for everyone. "Voluntary work is certainly not an easy option and before
you go you should make SURE you are properly informed about the living conditions you will find there. Young
people need to ask themselves IF they'll be able to put UP with these conditions for a whole year."
 

People of the olden days seldom had feet problems. This may be due to the fact that their shoes were
more comfortable. They were made from animal skin which did not harm the feet. Foot sores
became more/very common with the discovery of wooden and cloth shoes. No account was
taken of the anatomy of the right or left foot in the making of wooden shoes. They were made clumsily
or hastily. Because of this, shoes caused more harm than good. Friction between the feet and the inner
lining of the shoes created painful corns and bunions which sometimes resulted in deformed feet.
---------------------------------------------
Many of us are still unaware of or are indifferent to the need to preserve rare species. Some people
argue that species have been dying out since life began. "So why should we worry about them
now ?" they ask. They calmly believe that others would take their place. What these people do not
realize is that it will take millions of years before a set of species is evolved to replace those we are
rapidly losing. These species are our national heritage. We should not let themdie off. They should be
preserved for our descendants.
---------------------------------------------
The cobra is not swift in attacking as one is led to believe. It first erects the hood and then flattens the
neck. A characteristic marking, just like a pair of spectacles, appears on the neck. As the cobra
raises its hood, it also sways from side to side in a slow rhythmic manner. After several seconds or
minutes of this,it strikes by darting its head forward and downwards and the fangs sink into theflesh of
the victim. The teeth hold on to the prey until it dies of the venom. The venom can kill in a few
minutes