News extracts

A ADDITIONAL READING

1 Read the news extracts (A-D). In which media can you find them? Choose from the following: Facebook, Twitter, serious newspapers, tabloids, sports journals, TV news. 2 Use the following words to complete the extracts. amazing • doubt • spotted • suffered • win • landing

B

EVANS WINS the Tour de France.

Cadel Evans will create history tonight when he becomes the first Australian to ____________ the Tour de France. For the many Australians who have spent the last three weeks on only a few hours sleep watching the ________ courage of their new national hero…

C

AMERICAN RESEARCHER evacuated from the South Pole.

After weeks of waiting, an American researcher who ____________ a stroke while working at the South Pole has arrived in New Zealand for treatment. Last week, she told CNN she had been waiting for a rescue evacuation flight for weeks. She had been unable to leave because of the weather with storms preventing planes from ____________ during the region’s winter period.

112 TIMOTHY IS ACTIVE AGAIN!

While Timothy Smith and Stacy Horn were __________ together last week at the Toronto Film Festival, they managed to avoid posing for any photos as a couple, simply meeting at various times for dinners and meetings.

D

ADMIT IT! YOU LOVE REALITY TV!

Big competitive reality shows, such as ‘American Idol’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ often hold the top spot in the overall TV ratings. So let’s face it: while there are, no _____________, plenty of you who wouldn’t dare watch a single episode, there must be just as many or more who would and do. We want to hear from you!

VOCABULARY

a cb

1 Complete the sentences with the correct form of words from the list.

1. Do you have the Internet ____________ at your school? 2. The only _________ to his plan is that we don’t have enough money. 3. The website _________ users with information on local events. 4. Has anyone mentioned the number of ____________ in the event? 5. The British Empire ___________ so much that it covered almost a quarter of the globe.

2 Choose the best definition for the words in italics. 1. An economic boom, especially in housing and construction, marked the 1980s. a) growth b) progression c) evolution 2. Those discoveries had a profound effect on many areas of medicine. a) extreme b) deep c) rich 3. He endured a painful and difficult time, but didn’t give up. a) felt b) experienced c) suffered 4. In his speech, he referred to his recent trip to America. a) remembered b) mentioned c) said 5. He felt the apartment’s only drawback was that it was too small. a) advantage b) defect c) difficulty

3 Use the correct form of the words in capitals to complete the sentences.

1. ________________ (VARY) activities save them from boredom. 2. One of her first _________________(ASSIGN) was to write a report. 3. They thought that the painting was very ______________ (VALUE). 4. The noise was so _______________ (IRRITATE) that I couldn’t sleep. 5. He was so ______________ (PATIENCE) to find her that he left immediately. 6. The tragedy was _____________ (AVOID), but nobody made any effort to prevent it.

GRAMMAR

4 Complete the sentences using the words from the box. There is one extra word.

encourage, decide, can’t afford, mind, avoid, let, can’t risk 1. My family always ____________talking about politics. 2. My parents always ____________ me to take an interest in sport. 3. Our teachers never ___________us use mobile phones during class. 4. I don’t _______________ lending money to my friends. 5. She ________________to go on holiday every year. 6. He ________________losing his job because of that mistake.

KEY WORD LIST

Verbs

assign endure expand provide refer

Nouns

access assignment boom consumer drawback feature participant feedback

Adjectives

amazing literate profound significant

Phrases

go away go in for go off go on go out go up

Expressions

leisure activities in no time at times one thing at a time

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