Miami – the place to be seen

Miami is a magical city full 1)......... beautiful buildings and surrounded by an amazing natural environment. The city is famous 2)......... its art deco buildings, which are among the most stylish and vibrant in the world. In the 1920s, Miami Beach was the winter playground of 3)......... rich and famous. Holiday accommodation was built in the extravagant style of Venetian palaces, Spanish villages 4)......... French chateaux. Then in the 1930s, 5)......... of middle class tourists started flooding into the city and this sparked the development of more hotels. It was then that architects 6)......... the decision to turn Miami into an art deco city. The buildings were given sharp lines and bright happy colours which made them stand 7).......... Although art deco looks very modern, the style was strongly influenced by the designs found on ancient Egyptian tombs, 8)......... particular, King Tut’s tomb, which had various sharp lines, vibrant colours and zig zag features. Starting with a basic steel and concrete box, the architects accessorised the buildings with spheres, pylons, cylinders and cubes. The designers added nautical elements to the buildings 9)......... as portholes and images of seaweed, starfish and waves. But what made these hotels even more appealing was their reasonable price tag; they were 10)......... at all expensive to stay in. Miami became and 11)......... remained a top holiday destination for Americans who want to enjoy the high life. So, Miami is not just 12)......... place to see, it is the place to be seen!

4. Complete the text with a/ an or the, or leave blank for zero article.

The Dominican Republic

a)......... Dominican republic is b)........ country of approximately 8 million people, and is located on c)......... eastern two-thirds of d)......... Caribbean island of e)......... Hispaniola, which is f)......... second-largest of g)......... Greater Antilles islands. h)......... western part of i)......... island forms j)......... Republic of k)......... Haiti. l).......... capital of m)......... country is n)......... city of o)......... Santo Domingo and is located in p)......... southern part of q).........island. r)......... second largest city is s)......... Santiago. t)......... country has three major mountain ranges, and u)......... highest peak is v)......... Pico Duarte (3,175m). w)......... geography of x)......... country is varied, and ranges from y)......... semi-desert plains to z)......... lush valleys of tropical rainforest. 1)......... economy depends largely on 2).........agriculture, with 3)......... sugar as 4)......... main crop, though 5)......... mining and 6)......... tourism are also important.

Choose the correct form.

Hello again from the rainforest. You won’t believe this, but I a) sit / am sitting on a small boat on a river in South America. I b) don’t know / am not knowing the name of the river in England, but now we c) travel / are travelling through the rainforest. It’s really hot, and water d)drips /is dripping from my face, so I e) apologize / am apologizing for my bad handwriting. The batteries of my camera f) run out / are running out too, so don’t expect many photos. The other problem here is the rain. It g) rains / is raining nearly every day, which is why they h) call/ are calling it a rainforest I k) have / am having a really good time, and l) find out / am findingout a lot about the flora and fauna in the rainforest. The trees here m) grow / are growing to 60 metres, which n) makes / is making it very dark all the time in the forest. There aren’t really any paths, and people o) travel / are travelling everywhere by water, or by plane. Of course we ecotourists p) take / are taking this trip for fun, because we q) want / are wanting to. What else can I tell you? Well, everything r) smells / is smelling really bad here. And it’s very noisy because the birds and animals s) seem / are seeming to stay awake all night. Ugh, sorry, a horrible spider t) crawls / is crawling along my leg. That’s all for now!

Choose the correct form.

1. Gottfried Liebnits and Isaac Newton developed the mathematics we call calculus at about the same time in the 17^th century, although their versions a) were / had been slightly different. However, Newton was sure that he was first and that Leibnits b) copied / had copied him.

2. The Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903, but only four men and a boy c)saw / had seen their plane fly. Until Wilbur Wright flew in front of a large crowd in France in 1908, most people refused to believe that their earlier flight d) succeeded / had succeeded.

PRACTICE 7.

Complete the text with a relative pronoun in each space, or leave it blank if this is possible.

John Lennon, a)............ was born in 1940, was a member of the Beatles, the British rock group. He grew up in Liverpool, b)............ he performed in a number of groups, and met the other members of the Beatles. After studying at art college, c)............ he disliked as much as he had disliked school. Lennon spent his time learning to be a musician. In 1962, the Beatles had their first hit record, d)............ was soon followed by success in the USA. Lennon and Paul McCartney, another young musician e)............ he had met in 1957, wrote most of the group’s songs. The success of the Beatles, f)............ was worldwide, created problems for Lennon, g)............ often said exactly what he thought to the press and TV, and got into trouble. By the time the Beatles stopped working together, h)............ came about during the late 1960s, Lennon’s songs had become both political and highly personal. His personal life, i)............ was made more difficult by his problems with drugs and alcohol, was also often in the news. He and his wife Cynthia were divorced, and he married Yoko Ono with j)............ he carried out political process. They also made records together, and went to live in the USA, k)............ Lennon continued his solo career. In the mid 70s he took a break from music l)............ lasted for five years. In 1980 he started to record a new album, m)............ was still unfinished n)............ he was shot dead by Mark Chapman, a fan o)............ wanted to become famous, on 8 December 1980.

2. Complete the following text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Cairo is 1) ……… capital city of 2) …….. Egypt. It has 3) ……… long and interesting history, and is still one of 4) ……… most exciting 5) ……… places to visit. The ancient Egyptians are most famous for building the pyramids, but their civilization achieved many other great things. They had 6) ……… writing in the form of hieroglyphics, which decorate 7) ……… tombs and monuments of their pharaohs, and they produced beautiful stone and metal objects which can be seen in 8) ……… Egyptian Museum. Pictures in the tombs of Giza and Saqqara show how the ancient Egyptians lived, the clothes they wore, and 9) ……… gods they worshipped. 10) ……… visit to Cairo isn’t complete without 11) ……… trip to 12) ……… big bazaar Khan Al Khalili, where you can buy everything from 13) ……… belly dancing costumes to dates, beautiful silver and gold jewellery and papyrus pictures of camels and pyramids. You can even have your name written in 14) ……… hieroglyphics!

Choose the correct form.

1. Shakespeare e) used / had used familiar stories and events from history in a lot of his plays, so the audience f) heard / had heard the plots before. However, that didn’t stop him being very successful.

2. Aristotle g) was / had been a philosopher and teacher in ancient Greece. By the time he died in 322 BC, he h) had written / wrote some of the most famous philosophical texts of all time, and had tutored Alexander the Great.

4. In the sentences below choose from the adjectives in bold two that form appropriate adjective-noun collocations.

1. This seaside resort has a vibrant / luxurious / lively atmosphere and is frequented by young people or the young at heart who are interested in living it up.

2. Upon reaching the summit, you encounter an elegant / outstanding / idyllic view, which n\more than makes up for the strenuous five-hour hike needed to get there.

3. This establishment has spectacular / exclusive / tranquil amenities that make your stay here exceptionally convenient by catering for your every need.

4. The lush / unspoilt / traditional beaches and crystal-clear waters are bound to take your breath away.

5. The traditional / lush / exceptional cuisine will tantalize your taste buds and broaden your culinary horizons.

6. This restaurant distinguishes itself from other establishments by virtue of its unspoilt / outstanding / elegant service.

7. The luxurious / idyllic / unspoilt accommodation made staying at that pricy resort well worth it.

8. I fond lively / lush / unspoilt scenery at the tropical resort a refreshing change from the bland and colourless landscape back home.

Choose the correct form.

1. Scientists a) have recently identified / have been identifying a new species of animal in the rainforest of Borneo. They b) have been searching / searched for this creature for several years, after reports from local villagers, and say it a type of lemur.

2. Archaeologists in Guatemala c) have found / have been finding a Mayan wall painting which they think is more than 2.000 years old. Archaeologist William Saturno d) explored / has been exploring the site since 2002.

3. Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope think they e) found / have found two new moons circling the planet Pluto. Astronomers f) have been looking / looked closely at Pluto since 1978 when they g) spotted / have spotted its first moon. The telescope h) worked / has been working for fifteen years, and i) has been producing / has produced more than 700,000 images of the universe.

4. Australian scientists j) have been discovering / have discovered a new coral reef over 60 km long in the Gulf of Carpentaria by using satellites to spot the reefs in deep water. Recently divers k) have managed / have been managing to reach the reefs and take photographs.