1. My friend, Simon, having just released a CD, plays the guitar.

2. .
3. Microsoft has a lot of power in the world of computers, annoying some people.
4. The euro, being introduced in January 2002, replaced a number of national currencies.
5. Friends, being one of my favourite series, ran for 10 years.
6. Venus, being much closer to the Sun than the Earth, is a very hot place.
7. Cricket, being played between 2 teams of 11, is popular in many countries.
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9. .
10. 1984 being written by George Orwell, whose real name was Eric Blair.