You are given a piece of text with eight spaces.

You are also given a set of four words (A, B, C, and D) which
correspond to each space.
You are required to choose the correct word for each space from the
set of words given.

There are 3 ways of putting your chosen word into the correct
location:
1- Type the word directly into the empty space.
2 - Type the letter which corresponds to the chosen word into the
empty space.
3 - Click on the chosen word first and then click on the chosen empty
space. The word will appear in the chosen empty space.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over, and you need to be
able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.
(You have been given a timer.)

Example:
I don't agree ........WITH.......him.
A) ABOUT B) OVER C) WITH D) UNDER

Paper

The (1) of making paper is thought to have been invented in

China around 200 AD, which is ironic, because China is today one of
the principal producers of this invaluable commodity. This thin

material is so (2) that it plays a role in nearly every area of

modern life. It would be a mistake to think of paper as just some

(3) commodity, because there are, in fact, hundreds of

different kinds of paper, each with specific characteristics and

specific functions. We have become extremely (4) on this

product. So much so that it would be difficult to imagine (5)
without it. There is no doubt that paper is very versatile, but there is a

dark (6) to its use. Its manufacture has serious negative

effects on the environment, and requires huge amounts of water,

(7) to staggering amounts of waste. Another sad fact is that,

after paying such a high environmental (8) to make this item,

huge amounts of it are actually wasted worldwide.
The Tribune

(1)A process B manufacture C industry D task

(2)A expensive B delicate C versatile D subtle
(3) A shy B humble C frightened D nervous
(4) A accustomed B proud C excited D dependent
(5) A live B life C lives D lived
(6) A dimension B zone C area D side
(7) A leading B showing C directing D informing
(8) A currency B invoice C price D bill

You are given a piece of text with eight spaces.

Think of a word which best fits the context of the sentence, and type it
into the space.
Use only one word for each space.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over, and you need to be
able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.
(You have been given a timer.)

Example:
I don't agree ......WITH............what you say.

The Crow
There are many different kinds of birds which successfully share our

cities with us, but (1) of the most intelligent are crows. This

bird has been carefully tested by scientists in (2) manner of

ways, and the results are clear for everyone to see. Even their success

in (3) they have adapted to our civilization would seem to

confirm this. Despite past attempts to kill them all, crows, (4)
are very common in land used by farmers, can still be seen in towns
and cities, going about their daily business. They are sociable,

especially (5) not looking after their babies, and often gather
as a group on winter nights. Sometimes thousands of them gather

(6) in one place. Most crows are able to adapt to different

conditions, and they are quite trusting, (7) though they are
often shy where people attack them. Some become friendly when in
towns, and then they regularly visit gardens, and it is not strange for

them to become friends (8) humans.

The Tribune
You are given a piece of text with eight spaces.
You are also given a set of words for each space which you need to
change to create the correct word for each space.
Type the correct word in the space given, and you can only type one
word per space.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over, and you need to be
able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.
(A timer is given here to help.)

Example:
His family is not very ....HAPPY.......... HAPPINESS
 Micro Mansions

We all need homes to live in, but there is an enormous (1) in the kinds of homes people

build. Some people live in (2) large houses called mansions, while others live in tiny
apartments. First there were micro-apartments, which were defined as suitable for one family but were

very small, with (3) kitchens and bathrooms. Then came the tiny houses, which was an

(4) popular trend. Now, Frank McKinney, a developer based in the US, is gambling that

many of the very (5) homebuyers will be interested in purchasing what he's calling a

micro-mansion. This is a one thousand square metre, (6) home, at present under
construction, in a coastal community about 30 minutes south of Palm Beach in Florida. McKinney's

target market includes the very rich individuals who can (7) afford a 10 million dollar
house, or even more than one. Having made their money, these lucky people want to enjoy their luxury

and privacy, and they would prefer to do so in a smaller, more (8) space.
The Tribune

 (1) VARY
 (2) EXTREME
 (3) FUNCTION
 (4) EXCEPT
 (5) WEALTH
 (6) SPECTACLE
 (7) DOUBT
 (8) MANAGE

You are given 6 sets of two sentences and a key word, and one of the
sentences in each set includes a gap.
For each set, complete the gapped sentence so that it has a similar
meaning to the complete sentence, using the key word given.
Do not change the word given and you must use between 2 and 5
words, including the word given.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.
The pass mark for this exam is 60% or over, and you need to be able
to do this exercise in about 10 minutes in the exam.
(A timer is given here to help.)

Example:
Making new friends was easy for her.
DIFFICULT
She didn't FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE new friends.

 (1) I bought the ironing board, although it was expensive.

 SPITE

 I bought the ironing board, cost.

 (2) Maria is not talking to me because we had that argument.

 HAD

 Maria would still be talking to me that argument.

 (3) The concert is so expensive that I won't be able to go.

 TOO

 I won't be able to go to the expensive.

 (4) Linda's sister is not as nice as Linda.

 MUCH

 Linda sister.

 (5) They will start the match before we get there.

 HAVE

 The match time we arrive.

  (6) Would you like to go fishing with Dave?
 HOW

 Dave?

You are given a piece of text with six questions.

You are also given a set 4 choices for each question.
Identify the correct option by clicking on it.

Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over and you need to be
able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.
(A timer is given here to help you.)

Nobel Prize of conservation

Biologist who saved nine species from extinction has been given the
Indianapolis Prize for conservation.
A Welsh biologist once criticised for stealing eggs from the nests of
the rarest bird in the world has been awarded the 'Nobel Prize' of
conservation after his controversial methods saved nine species from
extinction. Professor Carl Jones won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize - the
highest accolade in the field of animal conservation - for his 40 years
of work in Mauritius, where he saved an endangered kestrel from
becoming the next Dodo.
When the 61-year-old first travelled to the east African island in the
1970s he was told to close down a project to save the Mauritius
kestrel. At the time there were just four left in the wild, making it the
rarest bird on Earth. However he stayed, implementing the
controversial techniques of captive breeding and a strategy known as
double-clutching, which involved snatching eggs from the birds' nests
and hatching them under incubators, prompting the mothers to lay
another set of eggs in the wild.
A decade later, the number of Mauritius kestrels had soared to over
300 and today there are around 400 in the wild. The biologist has also
been integral in efforts to bring other rare species back from the brink
of extinction, including the pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Rodrigues
warbler.
He is credited with championing the idea of ecological replacement,
which is a conservation tactic in which other species fill in important
ecological roles once held by extinct species. Prof. Jones, originally
from St Clears, near Carmarthen, was awarded the $250,000 prize at a
ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London.
Reflecting on the start of his career, he said the Mauritius kestrel
project had been seen as a dead loss at the time. He had originally
gone out there for one or possible two years only to be told to pull out
of the project and hand it over to the locals. At the time they didn't
have the money or expertise to do it so that would essentially have
meant closing it down.
In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding
techniques, with critics arguing that they were too risky and took the
emphasis off breeding in the wild. But the biologist, now chief scientist
of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and scientific director of the
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, said the method of taking eggs from the
nests had worked exceedingly well.
Prof. Jones has dedicated his whole life to his work, only becoming a
father for the first time eight years ago, at 53. He said receiving the
prize was particularly important to him because it vindicated his work
to save birds, whereas previous winners have tended to concentrate
on more high profile species, like polar bears or elephants.
When asked what motivated him, the father of two said that when you
lose species from the world you are simplifying the world and it's
becoming a duller place. The world has become such a modified place
and there are very few wild areas left. He said that he wanted to live in
an interesting world which was diverse. Even if he did not get to see
them, he wanted to know there were polar bears in the Arctic or blue
whales in the ocean. However, despite humankind's scarring of the
planet, Prof Jones refuses to be downbeat, and insists the future can
still be a positive one.
There are lots of scientific breakthroughs such as gene editing and
having designer systems and designer animals. It is absurd for people
to criticise these methods saying they go against nature. But
 everything man does has an effect on nature. People are very happy to
destroy the world, but if you want to save it, then you have to be
prepared to take bold action. Dr Lee Durrell, director for Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust, said that Carl was living proof that by having the
courage, talent and vision to take small steps, we can win victories for
species large, and small.
The Tribune
Questions
1) In the first paragraph, the writer's intention is to draw a contrast
between

 A) how different parts of society see conservation.

 B) how geographical perspectives affect conservation.

 C) the way different species are treated.

 D) past and present circumstances.

2) How does the writer describe the plight of the Mauritius kestrel in
the second paragraph?

 A) Desperate.

 B) Promising.

 C) Predictable.

 D) Surprising.

3) How does the writer feel about Professor Jones' influence on other
endangered species?

 A) He was the source of unnecessary conflict.

 B) His participation was indispensable.

 C) His ideas were considered unorthodox.

 D) He was thought to be too selective.

4) What does the writer mean with the word championing in

paragraph 4?

 A) Choosing one species over another.

 B) Projecting a 'win at any cost' mentality.

 C) Being the driving force.

 D) Having an inclusive attitude.

5) In what way does the writer feel the professor was let down in the
fifth paragraph?

 A) He wasn't give his due respect.

 B) The money he was promised never materialised.

 C) His living conditions were not acceptable.

 D) The duration of the project was altered abruptly.

6) What conclusions does the professor draw from winning the prize in
the seventh paragraph?

 A) He felt justified in saving a less publicised group.

 B) The pride his family felt made the suffering worthwhile.

 C) He appreciated finally being considered important.

 D) He understood how fortunate he was.

You are given a piece of text with six spaces.

Six sentences have been removed from the text, corresponding to the
spaces.
You are also given a set 7 sentences A, B, C, D, E, F and G for each
space.

The Balkan War On Waste

The planet is facing two extremely serious problems, wars between
communities and the amount of rubbish which people discard into the
environment. (1) That has to be very welcome news in today's
confrontational societies. Balkan countries, once divided by war,
nationalism and religion, have been quietly uniting to confront a
common foe - rubbish. Let's do it represents a joint effort by Albanian
and Kosovar activists, once bitter enemies, to jointly clear their border
area and the polluted Lake Vermica.
The initiative doesn't stop there. Slovenian and Romanian populations
have also mobilized to clear illegal land-fills, under the
banner Ecologists without Borders. The powerful message of these
movements is that it bridges borders, and breaks national barriers.
When Bosnia had a clean-up, they had to talk to several regional
administrations. (2) Permission was needed and forms had to be
filled in. What was particularly surprising was the fact that the
country had been a war zone just ten years ago. Bosnia is one of
several Balkan countries that now has annual clean up actions.
In Albania, the issue has become so fashionable that events are now
organised every six months. Sadly, one of the few Balkan countries
not well represented in the clean-up campaign is Serbia. (3)
Serbia has the same clean-up problems the other countries have. The
importance of civic movements is that they educate. When people
really put their hands in the dirt, they realise what they are dealing
with. School students made up most of the 55,000 volunteers who
helped clear an estimated 37,000 tonnes of rubbish from forests,
rivers, mountains and beaches in Croatia four months ago.
Does that mean that all animosities are over? That's difficult to say.
(4) There's no harm in hoping. Not all waste reduction activism,
however, is so organised. In the village of Litoric on Croatia's forested
border with Slovenia, Igor Barbara has just returned from his daily trip
to scatter past-expiry date bananas, watermelon and apples for the
brown bears and other animals which roam his territory.
Barbara puts food out for the bears every day, and he has set up
automatic feeders that dispense food every month. His team also does
planting and seeding and secures the peace in this area from
poachers.(5) The 2 m tonnes of food that he collects from local
supermarkets are his weapons in the war against food
waste. Annually they get around two tonnes of food for the bears, wild
boars, red deer and roe deer to eat.
This is just a supplement to what these animals can find in the forest,
but it prevents problems between villagers and bears. Wild boars have
caused the biggest headache for local people but two young male
bears also sparked alarm this summer.(6) Scared villagers
reacted by calling hunters, who shot one of the animals. A good way
to prevent the bears from coming into the villages is to leave apples
out for them in the forest. This harmony between the local people and
the animals of the forest is the right way to improve the quality of life
for all living things in the area, be it by cleaning up and collecting
rubbish, or by feeding wildlife.
The Tribune

Sentences

 AHopes are high, however, that they will come on board very soon.
 BNow, solutions have appeared for both these problems at the same
time.
 CAs head of the local hunting club, he describes himself an
environmentalist.
 DThey collect any kind of rubbish.
 EThey raided garbage bins left outside houses and left rubbish all over
the road.
 FBut, maybe collecting rubbish together can succeed where years of
diplomacy failed.
 GThis made it necessary for all the minorities to cooperate.

You are given a piece of text which is divided into sections, and a set
of questions.
You are also given a set of choices for each question.
Choose the correct answer by clicking on the button.
The sections of text may be used more than once.
Once all the questions have been answered, click on the check button.
Correct answers will appear in green, incorrect answers in red.
Your mark will be given as a percentage.

The pass mark for this exercise is 60% or over and you need to be
able to do this exercise in the exam in about 10 minutes.
(You are given a timer here to help you.)

Exotic Fruit
(A) The Banana
The banana is a fruit which is actually a berry, and in some countries,
bananas are used for cooking. The fruit is variable in size, colour and
firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh. It is rich
in starch, and covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red,
purple, or brown, when ripe. The fruit grows in clusters hanging from
the top of the plant. Banana plants are grown in at least 107 countries,
primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fibre, banana
wine and banana beer, and as ornamental plants. Bananas are an
excellent source of vitamin B6 and though many people think they
have a very high potassium content, that is not the case. In 2016, the
leading producer of bananas was India with 32 million tons.
(B) The Mango
The mango is a juicy fruit with a stone inside, which is native to South
Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of
the most popular fruits in the tropics. It is the national fruit of India,
Pakistan, and the Philippines, and the national tree of Bangladesh.
Over 400 varieties of mangoes are known, many of which ripen in
summer, while some give a double crop. The most common variety of
mango grown worldwide is the Tommy Atkins mango, and it's
estimated that mangoes are the most daily eaten fruit around the
world. It takes three to six months to ripen, and it does not survive
freezing and drying. Mangoes contain a variety of nutrients, but the
only vitamin present in significant amounts is vitamin C. Mangoes
were being grown and harvested in India going back to 2000 BCE, and
some mango tree species can live up to 300 years and continuously
produce fruit.
 (C) The Kiwi
The Kiwi is a fruit with an oval shape. It is green on the inside with
small black seeds that can be eaten. The kiwi has furry brown skin
which can also be eaten, but is usually removed, and is relatively thin.
The kiwi is native to South China. It was named in 1959 after the kiwi,
a bird and the symbol of New Zealand. Before that, its English name
was Chinese gooseberry. The kiwi is extremely healthy and contains
many vitamins and minerals. Kiwis are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K,
potassium, and fibre, and they have more vitamin C than the same
amount of oranges. They are very useful, and can be eaten raw,
turned into a juice, added to baked goods or used to season and
garnish food dishes. Most of the kiwis bought in local grocery stores
come from Australia, but the fruit originally came from central and
Eastern China.
(D) The Coconut
The coconut is very strange because it is a fruit, a nut, and a seed, all
at the same time. Its name comes from the Spanish word for head
because it looks like a human head. They also used this name
because the dark spots on the fuzzy brown coconuts look like a
monkey's face. Coconuts are known for being very useful, as they are
widely used in cooking and frying, as well as in soaps and cosmetics.
The coconut also has cultural and religious importance in certain
societies, particularly in India, where it is used in Hindu religious
ceremonies. Coconuts are different from other fruits because of the
large quantity of water they contain, and when they are green, they
are harvested for their potable coconut water, which is a good source
of vitamin C, Riboflavin and Calcium, but is very high in Sodium. Pacific
Islanders believe coconuts can cure all diseases.
The Tribune

Questions
1) Which fruit gets its name from a European language?

 A

 B

 C
 D
2) Which fruit contains more vitamin C than an equivalent amount of
another fruit?

 A

 B

 C

 D
3) Which fruit is connected to a belief system?

 A

 B

 C

 D
4) Which fruit can be used to make a cleaning product?

 A

 B

 C

 D
5) Which fruit is the national fruit of several countries?

 A

 B

 C

 D
6) Which fruit used to have a different name?

 A

 B

 C

 D
 7) Which fruit is mistakenly thought to be a good source of potassium?

 A

 B

 C

 D
8) Which fruit is used in making alcoholic drinks?

 A

 B

 C

 D

9) Which fruit is spoilt if frozen?

 A

 B

 C

 D
10) Which fruit is associated with a bird?

 A

 B

 C

 D