Read the texts below and think of the word which best fits each space.Use only one word in each space.1 The Importance of Family

In Western Europe and the USA, family life

0) has

changed dramatically over the last forty years.The number of families that depend

………….... both parents going out to work, or where

…………….. is one parent raising the children alone, is much greater than it

………………. to be.Also, many more people move away from their families

….......... ever before.

………………….these changes, most people still think

……………….. their family as one of the most significantparts of

…………… lives.A recent American survey showed that

……………….. people think that spending time

………………… home is more important

10)

………………. earning a high salary or having a challenging job. The majority of young people surveyed said that they

11)

………………….. be happy to earnless money if they had more time to

12)

……………………. with their loved ones. Older people alsocommented that they had worked

13)

………………… hard in the past when they should have

14)

…………… with their families.

15)

……………………. the typical family doesn’t follow the traditionalmodel today, it is still a vital part of our lives.

2 The Eden project

The Eden Project (1) ………. the original idea of a man (2) ………. Tim Smith. He wanted (3) ………. explain the importance of plants to humans. From this the Eden project developed. The project isin the town of St Austell, (4) ………. is in Cornwall in the south of England, and it covers an area asbig (5) ………. 35 football pitches. It consists (6) ………. two huge covered conservatories, or Biomes.(7) ……… are over 100,000 plants representing 5,000 species (8) ……… many of the world'sclimatic zones. The Humid Tropics Biome is (9) ………. largest greenhouse (10) ………. the world. Itis home to plants of the rainforest such (11) ………. bananas, rubber, cocoa and coffee. The WarmTemperate Biome (12) ………. filled with plants from the Mediterranean region of the world. Outsidesunflowers, hemp, tea, and (13) ………. other British plants grow. (14) ………. you visit The EdenProject, you won't be disappointed. Entertainment and education are central to the project and thereare all (15) ………. of events including art, lectures, storytelling, drama, and music.

3 Collecting things

A new book (1) ……… just come out with the title

To Have and to Hold.

According to the title, itwould seem just a story of collecting and collectors, but actually it goes much further (2) ……….that. As well as telling us about great collectors of the past, it also investigates the reasons whypeople collect things.In past centuries, only wealthy people (3) ………. afford to travel and most collections started with just a (4) ………. strange objects which had been brought on trips abroad. In the days beforephotography and television, this was the only (5) ………. people could see objects from other cultures.Gradually, museums were established (6) ………. that ordinary people would be (7) ………. to seethese treasures too.These days, everyone seems to be (8) ………. collector. The book describes collectors (9) ………. the « archaeologists of the present» and it contains some fascinating interviews. (10) ………instance, there's the man (11) ……… has 50,000 items of food packaging stored tin his home, andthe teenager willing to spend large sums of money on the rare

Star Wars

toy that (12) ……….complete her collection. In explaining (13) ……… we collect things, however, the book sees nodifference (14) ………. great art collectors and teenagers collecting items related (15) ………. their favourite pop stars. The social and psychological explanations for collecting, it says, are much thesame.

4Wildlife writer

David Lewis is a wildlife writer and photographer (0)

who

has travelled to many parts of theworld. He (1) _______ being interviewed by Anna Douglas. One of his books was based (2) ______ wild animals in South America - principally the armadillo.However, he has (3) _______ the last 18 months studying the urban fox in London, (4) _______ he lives. He (5) _______ up his mind about his new project while travelling back home (6) _______ train. It was (7) _______ half past three in the afternoon and suddenly he noticed what he thoughtwas a brown dog sitting in the sunshine. (8) _______he realised it wasn't a dog, it was a fox.People usually think that foxes (9) _______ open country, but (10) _______ are foxes that nowlive on the outskirts of London, (11) _______ instance, near Crystal Palace Park. David is fairlyconvinced that, most certainly, these few specimens came following the railway tracks. They don't(12) _______ particularly aggressive as they can easily (13) _______ food in dustbins, rubbishdumps, which provide rich pickings not (14) _______ for foxes but also for cats.So far, in his stidies he has found no (15) _______ of foxes attacking domestic animal. In theWild, they sometimes attack lambs.

5 How television was invented

Television owes

(0) its

origins to many inventors. But it was the single-minded determination of an amateur inventor, John Logier Baird that led

(1) .............

the first live television broadcast.Born in Scotland in 1888 and educated in Glasgow, John Logier Baird earned a living

(2)..........

arazor-blade salesman. In the 1890s Galileo Marconi showed that sound could

(3).................

sent byradio waves. Baird became convinced that a similar system could transmit a picture. He spent most of

(4)...............

spare time working on his ideas in his tiny workshop without

(5).................

Commercialsupport. He

(6).................

to use his

(7)...............

earnings to continue his research.In 1924, Baird successfully transmitted the general outline of a figure over more

(8)................

3metres. He continued to experiment and

(9)...............

October 25, 1925 transmitted a recognisableimage of a doll. He ran

(10) ..................

to the office on the ground floor and persuaded one of theoffice boys to come upstairs.

(11).............

boy became the first living image transmitted by television.Overnight, Baird became famous and the money

(12)..............

he needed to continue his research wasat

(13).................

made available. In 1927 he made a transmission from London to Glasgow and in1928 he made

(14)............

from London to New York. He continued experimenting

(15).................

spenthis last years exploring the possibility of colour television.

6 Bicycle safety

Having to obey rules and regulations when riding a bike is

(0) One

of the first experiences childrenhave of the idea of obeying the law. However, a large number of children

(1)............

left to learn therules by trial and error; instead of

(2)............

guided by experienced adults.

(3) ..............

year, hundredsof children visit the doctor or the hospital casualty department

(4) ................

crashing on their bikes.This could

(5)............

easily prevented by teaching them the basics of bicycle safety. Ideally, childrenshould be allowed to ride only in safe places,

(6).............

as parks and cycle tracks. When this is notpossible, and they are permitted

(7) ...........

go on the road, it is important to teach them three basicsafety principles.First, they ought to learn and obey the rules of the road,

(8) .............

include traffic signs, signals androad markings. Second, they should always wear

(9) .............

helmet. Studies

(10) ..............

shown thatwearing bicycle helmets can reduce head injuries by

(11) ..............

to 85 per cent. In many places,helmets are required

(12) .............

law, particularly

(13) ..............

children. Finally, children should bemade to understand

(14) ...............

importance of riding in areas that are brightly lit and of wearingclothes that make

(15) ................

clearly visible on the road.

7 Vegetarianism

Vegetarians don't eat any meat, fish or poultry, and they avoid foods with animal products in

(0) them.

Some people avoid red meat but they include chicken and fish

(1)...........

their diet. These are oftenpeople who recognize

(2)...........

health benefits of a vegetarian diet, but who find they can't

(3)..............

up meat completely. This half-way position is sometimes taken by people who are makingthe change

(4).............

a completely vegetarian diet. Vegans go one step further

(5)............

other vegetarians, avoiding all foods of animal origin, such as dairy produce, eggs and honey.Vegetarians are growing in number.

(6)..............

estimated seven per cent of British people are nowvegetarian, and there are a great many others

(7).............

only eat meat occasionally. In the

(8)...............

few years, food manufacturers have expanded their vegetarian ranges, and it has

(9)..............

a lot easier to choose an animal-free diet. Many restaurants also now offer a wide variety

(10)

.............

vegetarian dishes.People might choose a vegetarian diet

(11)..............

moral or health reasons,

(12).............

both.Some vegetarians simply don't like the idea of eating other creatures, and they may dislike theconditions in

(13) ..............

many animals are kept before

(14).............

killed for food. Others mayhave become vegetarians

(30)...............

of the health benefits.

8 Intuition

Sometimes you just know things about people the first time you see them - for example that youwant to be friends

(0)

with

them or that you don't trust them. But perhaps this kind of intuitionisn't as hard to explain

(1)............

it may seem. For instance, everybody gives out body languagesignals

(2).........

the time. The

(3)..............

you hold your body head and arms tells people aboutyour mood. If you hold your arms tightly at your sides

(4)...............

fold them across your chest,people will generally feel that you

(5)..............

being defensive. Holding your head on one sideshows interest in the

(6)............

person, while

(7)..............

relaxed, 'open' posture indicates that youare self-confident. Ah this affects

(8).............

we feel about someone.Also, a stranger may

(9)...............

you of a previous meeting with someone. This may be because of

(10)..............

as simple as the fact that he or she is physically similar

(11).............

someone whotreated you well - or badly But your reaction doesn't

(12)...............

to be the result of the memory of a person you previously met - your feelings about the stranger could

(13)...............

influenced by asmell in the air that brings to mind a place

(14)...............

you were happy as a child. Since even asingle word can bring back a memory

(15)...............

as that, you may never realise it is happening.

9 Where are the rainforests?

Rainforests once occupied almost all the land around the Equator; (1).............. there is hot sun andrainfall almost every day. In these hot, wet areas, trees and (2).............. kinds of vegetation grow fast,feeding massive numbers (3).............. insects and animals.Until recently, the rainforests filled river valleys in warmer countries (4).............. Australia. Theyclimbed hillsides of great (5)..............chains such as the South American Andes, and coveredislands (6).............. Borneo to the West Indies.In West Africa, the rainforests cover (7).............. wide strip of the coast from Sierra Leone toGabon. In the last century these forests (8).............. mostly uninhabited. The Europeans arrived andsoon began chopping (9).............. the trees for timber and to make way for massive plantations of cocoa, peanuts and cotton.Today, two thirds of the West African forests (10)..............gone. But elsewhere in Central Africa it(11) .............. still possible to find huge undisturbed forests. Nineteenth century explorers along(12).............. river Zaire called Africa the 'dark continent'. Even today (13).............. are no roads insome places. The inhabitants include pygmies, (14).............. are trying to lead (15) .............. lives inharmony with the forest.

10 Television and reading

Many people believe that watching television (0)

has

resulted in lower reading standards in schools.(1) ………….. , the link between television and printed books is not as simple as that. In many (2).............. , television actually encourages people to read : for example, when a book is turned into aTV series, (3) ………….. sales often go up.One study of this link examined six-year-old children who (4) …………..viewing a special series of 15-