Each of the following mini-texts is followed by a statement in which one word, or group of words, has been left out. Read through each text and decide which of the four alternatives should be used to complete the statement so that it fits in with the text. Mark the best alternative: A, B, C, or D.
Text 1
Out of the Zimbabwe teak forest a giant shadow is advancing. Sunlight gleams on two heavy tusks—it is Conan. Moments later he is looming over our Land Rover, flapping his big ears. I scatter a handful of acacia seedpods on the ground, and we watch as Conan swings round and lowers his trunk to sniff out the tasty pods.
Text 2
Underwater devices which make a loud noise is the latest invention salmon farmers have introduced to keep seals away from their fish cages. However, seals are pretty smart, and once they have discovered the noise is associated with a salmon farm, it is a signal saying “It’s mealtime”.
Text 3
Residents of a tiny Devon village hoaxed millions of radio listeners yesterday in an April Fool’s Day prank possibly unrivalled since the BBC screened its celebrated footage of “spaghetti trees” in 1957.
Text 4
Hardly any attention has been paid in England to a great TV series on Scottish art.
Text 5
Sir Winston was hard up for most of his life but had extremely extravagant tastes.
Text 6
A year ago environmentalists cheered when Howard McCrindle, the last shark hunter to use harpoons in British waters, gave up his fishing boat. While his boat was scrapped, however, its two harpoon guns survived. McCrindle has now fitted one of them to a new boat and goes on fishing off the west coast of Scotland.
Text 7
Before committing themselves to a holiday, many serious skiers scratch their heads raw over a shortlist of candidate resorts, agonising about the blackness of black runs, the length of lift queues and average snow depth.
- Read the text first before you attempt to answer any questions.
- Find the part of the text which answers the question. The answers to the questions will generally follow in the same order in the text.
- Make sure there is evidence for your answer in the text and that it is not just an answer you think is right.
- Don’t choose an answer simply because a word in the question appears in the text. Sometimes specific words are used to trick you.
- Check that your chosen option is correct by trying to find out why the other options are incorrect.