English for doers

Cristiano Ronaldo: US judge dismisses $25m lawsuit over rape allegations A Nevada woman has lost her bid in a US court to force the Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009. A US district judge in Las Vegas, Jennifer Dorsey, kicked the case out of court on Friday to punish the woman’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for “bad-faith conduct” and the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers. In a 42-page order, Dorsey said Stovall had tainted the case beyond redemption. She also said dismissing a case outright with no option to file again was a severe sanction, but Ronaldo had been harmed by Stovall’s conduct. Hush money: money paid so that information will be kept secret. Rape: to have sex with someone against their will. 

It is surely beyond dispute that soap opera is the most consistently popular type of television programme in the world. It has succeeded in_____the imagination of millions since it first_____ emerged as a genre back in the 1930s. The word ‛soap’ alludes to the role originally played by detergent manufacturers, who promoted their products during commercial breaks. Soap operas have been_____as mindless entertainment, with viewers only_____to these programmes in order to escape from reality. Soaps are often set in friendly, tightly-knit neighbourhoods, evoking nostalgic feelings in some viewers, since such communities may no longer exist in many areas. The subject matter of soaps also_____great appeal for viewers since the stories_____focus on domestic problems they may have experienced themselves. There has been a significant shift in attitudes with many soaps now_____moral and social issues. The characters and situations_____ are complex and ambiguous, providing much food for thought an...

For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (А, В, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). Our obsession with recording every detail of our happiest moments could be 0 damaging our ability to remember them, according to new research. Dr Linda Henkel, from Fairfield University, Connecticut, described this as the ‘photo-taking impairment effect’. She said, ‘People often whip out their cameras almost mindlessly to 1_____a moment, to the point that they are missing what is happening 2_____in front of them.’ When people rely on technology to remember for them — 3_____on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to 4_____attend to it fully themselves — it can have a negative 5_____on how well they remember their experiences. In Dr Henkel’s experiment, a group of university students were 6_____on a tour of a museum and asked to either photograph or try to remember objects on display. The next day each student’s memory was tested. The...

For questions 9-16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). In the exam, write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on tho separate answer sheet. Most of us buy a new pair 0 __ of __fashionable sunglasses each year. To be honest, we probably 9_____more thought into looking cool than we do into ensuring that the glasses match our needs. It seems an obvious thing to say, 10_____the main role of sunglasses isn’t actually to enhance your image. It is rather to protect your eyes from the potentially harmful rays of the sun. What’s 11_____, price isn’t necessarily the best guide 12_____the effectiveness of sunglasses. Indeed, expensive designer glasses may not provide the best defence against sun damage. 13_____you may still want to choose a pair of sunglasses that look good on you, it’s also crucial to check out just how effective they will be in protecting your eyes. There are three types of lig...

 At the 0 _____ if we want mobile 1 _____ to the Web, we have to travel around with things like tablets and smartphones in our bags or pockets. But the inventor of something called the Gesture Interface has 2_____up with a way of doing this using only something we’ve 3_____around with us for millions of years – our hands. The idea is 4_____on simple technology that is already in existence. 5_____carrying around the usual hardware, you have a small wearable device on your hands. This contains a projector, a camera and wireless technology to 6_____you to the Web. It also has sensors which read and interpret simple hand gestures. For example, when you want to 7_____a photograph, simply make a frame around the image with your hand and click your fingers. The device 8_____out what you want and operates the camera. 1 A line B entry C access D link 2 A come B thought     C found D done 3 A delivered   B fetched C brought ...

 When asked to list the things they would most like to experience in life, a surprising 0 ___ number __ of people mention seeing whales in their natural habitat. It’s an ambition that can be 1 _____ surprisingly easily. It is 2 _____ that the seas around Iceland are home to over five thousand orca whales. But their behaviour, and therefore your chances of seeing them, varies 3 _____ to the season. In summer, the whales have a 4 _____ to hang out near the coast and can be seen swimming up fjords and inlets. During the winter months, however, the animals are generally to be found 5 _____ out at sea. 6 _____ season you choose for your trip, whale-watching trips are very easy to organise, and there’s a chance you’ll get to see other whale species too. Besides Iceland, another option is to 7 _____ for northern Norway between October and January. Orcas arrive here at this time of year in 8 _____ of large shoals of herring, which form an important part of their diet. 1 A answered B re...