A. Circle the correct option.
Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for over 100 million years 1…… the end of the so-called Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago. when they suddenly disappeared. 2……, the dinosaurs were not the only animals to suddenly die out; many other species did 3…… . What was the reason for this?
Scientists believe that the extinction of the dinosaurs and other animals was mainly 4…… climate change. Temperatures at the end of the Cretaceous Period dropped significantly. These environmental changes reduced the food available to the dinosaurs and, 5……, they were unable to survive.
One theory about why the climate changed is based on the discovery that about 65 million years ago the Earth was hit by a huge asteroid 6…… meteor coming from outer space. The impact of this was 7…… great that it caused massive forest fires, tidal waves and dust clouds which blocked out sunlight and led to environmental change.
Some scientists, 8…… believe that many species died out 9…… environmental changes well before the asteroid hit the Earth. This may have been caused by a series of volcanic eruptions.
10…… the fact that both of these theories have a lot of evidence to support them, neither of them can explain why some animals, like dinosaurs, died out, 11…… others, like frogs, survived.
1 a as long as b until c as soon as
2 a Even though b Incase c In fact
3 a as well b instead c therefore
4 a due to b rather than c according to
5 a as a result b on the other hand c in spite of
6 a yet b but c or
7 a as b so c both
8 a therefore b however c in case
9 a rather than b because of c even though
10 a Instead of b Even though c In spite of
11 a yet b until c instead
Answers
1 b 2 c 3 a 4 a 5 a 6 c 7 b 8 b 9 b 10 c 11 a
B. Underline the correct option.
1 I saw Jack at a party three months ago. There / That was the last time we spoke.
2 These apples look nice but they’re not the tastiest ones / those I’ve ever had.
3 When my cousin went / came to visit us last week, she took / brought a huge fruit cake for us.
4 It’s not a good idea to use a computer for hours on end without taking breaks. I know it / this but I don’t always do the right thing.
5 Most scientists nowadays believe that human activity is causing climate change but there are these / those who disagree with this idea.
6 After he / they had asked the shop assistant what the thief had taken, the police officers interviewed some customers who’d been in the shop.
7 My aunt’s got two plum trees which always give her lots of fruit. She’s really proud of those / them and I can understand why.
8 My flight details are in the same way / as follows: Depart; Madrid 12.20; Arrive: London Gatwick 14.30.
9 Asma told me about a course she was doing but it / this didn’t sound very interesting.
10 Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are two of the greatest characters in European literature. The former is a romantic idealist and the following / the latter is down-to-earth and realistic.
Answers
1 That 2 ones 3 came; brought 4 this 5 those
6 they 7 them 8 as follows 9 it 10 the latter
C. Match the sentences to the correct short answers.
1 Our front room gets very warm.
2 We had the best seats in the theatre.
3 Pietro was really impressed by the concert.
4 My dad never has his mobile phone on.
5 I haven’t had anything to eat yet.
6 I’m sorry you have to leave so soon.
7 My teachers have suggested I apply for university.
8 I can never remember all my passwords.
9 We can learn a new language at school next year.
10 My school has no swimming pool or tennis courts.
a Neither do I.
b So are we.
c Mine haven’t.
d Nor can I.
e Can you?
f So does mine.
g Doesn’t it?
h Nor have I.
i Did you?
j So were we.
Answers
1 f 2 i 3 j 4 a 5 h 6 b 7 c 8 d 9 e 10 g
D. Cross out all the words that can be omitted without changing the meaning.
1 The film was so boring that I fell asleep.
2 I’ve been to the chemist’s and I’ve been to the post office.
3 If it’s possible, go to bed early before an exam.
4 Put the knives and the forks on the table.
5 I don’t want to have a drink but you may want to have a drink.
6 I saw the programme and I found it very interesting.
Replace the underlined words with ONE word only.
7 Izzie had a party on her birthday and she really enjoyed the party.
8 No one else knew the answer but I knew the answer.
9 I love small, sweet tomatoes but I also like larger, sharper-tasting tomatoes.
10 Our neighbours were being very noisy, so we went to talk to our neighbours.
11 There’s a big spider in the kitchen and there’s another big spider in the bathroom too.
12 It’s not my fault and it’s not your fault either.
Answers
1 The film was so boring that I fell asleep.
2 I’ve been to the chemist’s and I’ve been to the post office.
3 If it’s possible, go to bed early before an exam.
4 Put the knives and the forks on the table.
5 I don’t w ant to have a drink but you may want to have a drink.
6 I saw the program me and I found it very interesting.
7 it 8 did 9 ones 10 them 11 one 12 yours
E. Rewrite the sentences to make them more formal. Include the words in brackets in the correct form.
1 She wants to get in touch with Neelam. (like / contact)
She ……………………………… Neelam
2 The way they behave is getting more and more difficult. (behaviour / become / increasingly)
Their ……………………………… difficult.
3 They expect more evidence to come out later. (expect / further / emerge)
It ……………………………… later.
4 We’re going to talk about the problem. (shall / discuss / issue)
We ………………………………
5 We know a lot more about dinosaurs than we did. (knowledge / increase / greatly)
Our ……………………………… .
6 They couldn’t help us last week. (unable / provide / assistance)
They ……………………………… last week.
7 Perhaps she asked for extra information. (may / request / additional)
She ……………………………… information.
8 Plenty of evidence shows that global warming is affecting the Arctic. (deal / demonstrate / by)
There ……………………………… global warming.
9 No one has explained why the project director isn’t here. (no / explanation / absence)
There ……………………………… the project director.
10 We need to check this point before we go on. (important / clarify / continue)
It ……………………………… .
Answers
1 would like to contact
2 behaviour is becoming increasingly
3 is expected that further evidence will emerge
4 shall discuss the issue
5 knowledge of dinosaurs has increased greatly
6 were unable to provide us with assistance
7 may have requested additional
8 is a great deal of evidence to demonstrate that the Arctic is (being) affected by
9 has been no explanation for the absence of
10 is important to clarify this point before we continue
F. Match the pairs (formal to formal and informal to informal).
1 What’s on TV tonight?
2 What’s on television this evening?
a I’m afraid I don’t know.
b I dunno really.
3 What are those children doing?
4 What’re those kids up to?
a I think they’re just playing.
b I reckon they’re just playing.
5 Would you like to use my mobile phone?
6 D’you wanna use my mobile?
a Oh, thanks a lot.
b Oh, thank you very much.
7 Why d’you like that guy?
8 Why do you like that man?
a Cos he’s really nice.
b Because he’s very friendly.
9 I sent that information to you last week.
10 I sent you that info last week.
a But I only got it today.
b But I only received it today.
11 What’s in the paper today?
12 What’s in the newspaper today?
a Some stuff about the economy.
b An article about the economy.
13 What problem does Blanca have?
14 What’s up with Blanca?
a She’s just got the sack.
b She’s recently lost her job.
15 Do you think it’s time for us to go?
16 Time to go, d’you reckon?
a Yeah, we’d better get going.
b Yes, we should leave now.
Answers
1 a 2 b 3 a 4 b 5 b 6 a 7 a 8 b
9 b 10 a 11 a 12 b 13 b 14 a 15 b 16 a
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