Unit 1
Grammar Practice (Plus)
1 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1 I ______(just / make) some biscuits. They’re nicer than the ones I ______(make) last week.
2 In the past, children ______(work) in factories and ______(live) in unsanitary houses.
3 Rick ______(just / change) the channel. Why? Well, because he ______(already/watch) the film on Channel 1 two nights earlier.
4 We ______(get) there late because the train (be delayed) back in Manchester.
5 Sally ______(write) those letters yet? She ______(start) them hours ago, so they should be finished.
2 Write questions for the answers using the prompts.
1 When / Jenny / join / the book club?
______
Oh, on the fifth of September.
2 How long / Simon / have / a bad cold?
______
Oh, for a couple of days. He feels awful.
3 When / he / write / the play?
______
Two years ago.
4 he / lose / his umbrella?
______
Yes. He can’t find it anywhere.
5 What time / she /get up?
______
Seven o’clock this morning.
3 Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.
1 I’ve been to the gym …
a last weekend. c twice this weekend.
b since Tuesday. d a couple of days ago.
2 He’s been playing computer games …
a twice today. c from two to three o’clock.
b all afternoon. d last night.
3 He had been phoning Donald …
a since he got in. c twice today.
b these days. d but he has been busy.
4 Josephine has left the school …
a since two o’clock. c before you rang.
b five minutes ago. d and is on her way home.
5 Sean had gone home …
a since five o’clock. c as soon as the bell had rung.
b before the lesson ended. d from two hours.
4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1 I’ve ______(know) Simon all my life.
2 Susie got absolutely soaked because she ______(forget) to bring her umbrella.
3 We ______(wait) for you for ages. Why are you so late?
4 Tim has ______(tell) that awful joke at least four times already.
5 I ______(not eat) very much for breakfast so I felt very hungry by twelve o’clock.
6 How long you ______(renovate) that old house? Will you finish the work soon?
5 Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
Sally (1) ______(work) as a journalist in London for six months when I first (2) ______(meet) her in the summer of 2008. The week before, she (3) ______(just / write) a couple of important articles about British politics for her newspaper. Since then, Sally and I (4) ______(be) friends. She (5) ______(help) me many times in my career as a reporter and we (6) ______(have) a lot of fun together from time to time. She (7) ______(travel) in South America for the last month or so. She (8) ______(send) me a postcard last week, saying that she (9) ______(interview) a leading politician there earlier in the day, and that she (10) ______(have) a great story for one of the tabloids.
6 Translate the sentences into your own language.
1 Amy had been playing tennis for an hour when we arrived.
______
2 I’ve just bought a new coat.
______
3 How many times have you fallen off your bike?
______
4 Jo has been listening to music since she got home.
______
5 Sue felt tired because she had been working hard all day.
______
Vocabulary Practice (Plus)
1 Write a word for each definition.
1 a sensationalist newspaper ______
2 a period of change ______
3 not impartial or objective ______
4 someone who writes newspaper articles ______
5 a type of TV programme that is informative about things like history, geography or wildlife ______
6 a person who decides what goes in a newspaper ______
7 a serious newspaper ______
8 a type of TV programme on which someone interviews celebrities ______
9 a shock or gossip ______
10 a discussion about something serious by people with opposing views ______
2 Complete the sentences with the correct words.
1 Emma spends most afternoons ______the internet.
2 Brad Pitt has just ______an interview to a leading Spanish magazine.
3 Emily likes channel ______because she can’t concentrate on one programme for long.
4 Greg ______in to his favourite radio programme every day.
5 I hate the way tabloids ______down the news. We’re not all stupid!
6 Most mornings, I ______the newspaper headlines to see if there is anything interesting to read in more depth.
3 Write a word for each definition.
1 someone on a news programme who looks at a story in careful detail ______
2 the person in charge of commissioning and planning a TV programme ______
3 the person who is in front of the camera on a TV news programme and tells you what the day’s news is ______
4 a long historical period ______
5 someone who interviews celebrities on a TV programme ______
6 a news programme that suddenly appears on TV or radio to inform you of a major news story that has just happened ______
4 Make compound nouns with the words in the box. Then complete the sentences.
broad reader pod web cast spot sheets lines pages head news light1 I downloaded a ______of my favourite comedy programme onto my laptop.
2 I like the way the ______on my local news always smiles at the end of each story.
3 This website has hundreds of ______, and all of them are full of information.
4 Tabloid ______tend to be huge and shocking sometimes.
5 Some celebrities love being in the ______. They enjoy the fame and attention.
6 I prefer reading serious ______to sensationalist tabloids.
5 Complete the sentences with the correct words.
1 The discovery of America was a major turning ______in history.
2 There is some breaking ______just in. A plane has crashed in India.
3 Tabloid newspapers are often referred to as gutter ______.
4 I watched an interesting current ______programme about the state of the economy.
5 The president spoke to journalists at a press ______.
6 A lot of different social ______influenced the change in moral attitudes in the 1970s.
7 The chat show ______asked the pop star a lot of questions about her private life.
8 The 19th century was a golden ______in British history.
9 I get most of my news and information from mobile phone ______.
10 The next short news ______will be at ten o’clock.