Part III. Use of english

Task 1

For questions 1 - 15, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. Explain your choice. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Politeness

The British are widely considered (0) to be a very polite nation, and in (1) ……….. respects this is true. An Italian journalist once commented (2) ………… the British that they need no fewer than four “thank yous” (3) ………… to buy a bus ticket. The first, from the bus conductor means, “I am here”. The second accompanies the handing (4) …………….. of the money. The third, again from the conductor, means “(5) ...................... is your ticket”, and then the passenger utters a final (6) …………… as he accepts the ticket. (7) …………… transactions in most other parts of the world are usually conducted in total silence.

In sharp (8) …………… to this excessive politeness with strangers, the British are strangely lacking (9) …………… ritual phrases for social interaction. The exhortation “Good appetite”, uttered in (10) ……………… many other languages to fellow-diners before a meal, does not exist in English. The nearest equivalent – Enjoy your dinner! – is said only by people (11) ………… will not be partaking of the meal in question. What’s (12) …………., the British wish happiness to their friends or acquaintances (13) ………… at the start of a new year and at celebrations such as birthdays, (14) ………… the Greeks routinely wish (15) ……………. and sundry a “good week” or a “good month”.

Example:

0. to – we use to after Passive Voice

Task 2

Read the whole text below, then complete the gaps by writing the appropriate form of the verb in the margin.

Choose from these tenses – Present simple / continuous, going to + verb, Future simple / continuous, Future perfect simple. Explain your choice.

It happens every October. I’ll be sitting on a train on a rainy

Friday afternoon and I (1) ……………. up and see that almost LOOK

everyone else in the carriage is old enough to be my mother.

Some of these women (2) ……………..at their watches and GLANCE

sighing a lot, as if to brace themselves for an ordeal.

Others (3) ……………… on duty for the school ALREADY BE

half-term holiday. They (4) …………….. two or three HAVE

school-aged children with them, the younger ones settled with

colouring books and crayons and matching bags of crisps.

And, as always, I (5) …………… like saying to one of FEEL

them “Would you like to come and be our grandmother too?”

You see, grandparents (6) …………… into two categories FALL

these days - the doting and the disappearing. Some of the

doting ones (7) ……………… their grandchildren up from PICK

school every day. Others are on duty less frequently but are

quite happy to drop everything and rush round to baby-sit

when their working daughter or daughter-in-law (8) ……….. PHONE

them at 7.00 am to say that a grandchild is sick.

But that is only half the story. Not once in my 22 years of working

motherhood have either my parents or my in-laws offered to

baby-sit. When asked why, they say “We (9) ……………..too SEE

many of our friends being taken advantage of. They raised their

own families and now they (10) ………….. up their grandchildren. BRING

By the time they’re seventy, they (11) ………….. half their SPEND

lives looking after children.” My children (12) …………. entirely. AGREE

In fact, that's what they (13) ……. most about their APPRECIATE

grandparents – they’re so much fun. They (14) …………. NOT TREAT

their grandchildren like burdens or mouths to feed, but like

fascinating friends. When they can squeeze in a visit, they

(15) ………….. . Monopoly with the children with real PLAY

enthusiasm or get out a globe to show them all the countries

they (16) ………. on their next holiday. As I write this VISIT

my own parents (17) …………… in the Far East on a TRAVEL

Month’s holiday and my children (18) …………… to LOOK FORWARD

getting postcards from Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

I am resigned to the fact that they (19) ………………. NEVER BE

grandparents of the doting variety. But I (20) …………… ADMIRE

their verve and hope that I will be as adventurous as they are

when I reach their age.

Task 3

For Questions 1-15, read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If a line is correct, put a plus (+) by the number. If a line has a word which should not be there, write the word on the line. Explain your choice. There are two examples at the beginning (0 and 00).

A MEMORABLE MEETING

0 Last week I had a most enjoyable experience when I met a friend +

00 that I had not seen for over than five years. The last time I saw him than

1 was at a wedding, so we had a lot of catching up on to do, finding ____

2 out what had been happened over the five years. We had a meal ____

3 together and spent the whole of the time while talking about our ____

4 lives, loves and jobs. Paul is married now, and has two sons and ____

5 he showed me just photographs of them all. He works in London ____

6 as a solicitor and commutes for to work every day which he said ____

7 he does not mind, as he gets round some paperwork done during ____

8 the journey and he can spend some time with his sons in the ____

9 evenings. Paul also told to me that he has taken up golf, and he ____

10 and his wife play most Sundays while his parents look after the ____

11 children. He asked me what I had been doing and I explained ____

12 about I was married, too, had one child and worked as

a language ____

13 teacher in a private school. Before parting we arranged to

meet ourselves ____

14 again soon. This time, however, we would be joined by our

own partners ____

15 and children so that they can all meet each other. ____