1 STORY It was a trip Ill never

1 STORY It was a trip I’ll never forget. We were feeling very excited as we climbed into the rather old bus. With 40 noisy kids and three nervous teachers, it was very crowded. I was still at primary school and our teachers had decided to organise an excursion to a nearby wildlife park. Although the weather was bad, we found the tour round the park fascinating because there were animals we had only read about in books before, such as zebras and elephants. It was brilliant to see them in real life and we were really having a great time. However, just after entering the part where the monkeys lived, the bus suddenly had a puncture. While we were waiting for the driver to change the wheel, a whole group of monkeys approached the bus and started climbing all over it. We had never seen such a cool thing before and we started laughing and shouting. Eventually, the driver managed to change the wheel and continue the tour, so the teachers felt relieved. All in all, it was a memorable trip.

2 REVIEW My new bicycle I was given a new bicycle for my birthday. I went to choose it with my mother in a local bicycle shop. I went for a red Abacus cruiser and it cost my mother 200€. It’s a road bike and although it isn’t as high-tech as the ones in the Tour de France, it still goes pretty fast. I love the fact that it’s so light. It has three gears, which are all I need because I live in a flat part of the country that I wouldn’t use more if I had them. However, don’t worry if you live somewhere hilly, the nine-gear models are inexpensive either. The Abacus cruiser is also really comfortable. In fact, the saddle is the most comfortable I’ve ever had. What’s more, you can ride it easily in the rain as the tyres don’t slip on wet roads. Go to your local shop or have a look online and see if you can find it! I recommend you should buy it because it’s cheap and great to ride. It’s probably the best bike you can find on the market.

3 LETTER / EMAIL Hi James, Thank you for your letter. I have a part-time job in a shop near where I live. Although I enjoy the contact with people, it’s a shoe shop and I’m not really interested in what I’m selling! Most people in my country don’t want to work in the evening, so it’s not too difficult to get an evening or a weekend job in a supermarket. Some even stay open all night! For the same reason school kids and students often work in restaurants and cafés. The disadvantage is that during term time, it can be hard to get all your homework done as well. On the other hand, it’s great to have a bit of money to spend, especially during the holidays! Both the jobs I’ve mentioned are hard work. However, that tends to be the kind of part-time work available for teenagers in my area. If you like, I’ll send you some pictures of me in the shop – then you’ll be able to see what sort of place I work in! I hope you find a job you enjoy. Best wishes, Mark

4 ARTICLE My favourite time of year Don’t you just love the summer? Like all young people I adore it, and especially the month of July. Why do I love July? Most of all because school has finished and, although, of course, we are really, really sad not to be sitting at our sweaty desks, it means going to the beach with my friends, swimming and snorkelling. When it comes to eating out, we often go and eat at a little restaurant on the beach, especially if we want to meet my aunt and cousins. We often spend our evening there too, when the stars are shining and the music is playing: it’s absolute magic! Wouldn't anyone like this experience? For me summer is all about relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. However, we sometimes have to travel miles to visit relatives I hardly know, so it isn’t all about having fun. Fortunately, we get on well for the short time we are together. I can honestly say that I hope my summers will always be like this. What more could anyone ask for?

WEBSITE FOR TIGERS If you are interested in the environment, (0) …. …there……. . is an excellent website called Tigernation. The website was set (9) UP …………. to help with the conservation of tigers. It focuses WHERE its work particularly on India, a country (10) …………. many thousands of tigers once lived. There are now thought to (11) BE …………. fewer than 2, 000 remaining there. Did you know that a tiger’s stripes are like a person’s finger prints IN (12) …………. the sense that every individual is unique? This IT makes (13) …………. possible for the website to track the tigers as it recognises them by the pattern of their stripes. If ENOUGH to catch sight of a tiger, then someone is lucky (14) …………. they take a picture and upload it to the website. The website is gradually collecting a large quantity of photos, (15) …………. WHICH enables researchers to identify how the animals move from one ANOTHER place to (16) …………. . The hope is that an improved understanding of how tigers live will help us to ensure their survival.

ONLINE SHOPPING? NO THANKS! Some adults think that because teenagers do so (0) …. …much……. . else online, we probably do most of our shopping on the internet too. That isn’t actually true, at (9) …………. LEAST not for me and my friends. First of all, (10) …………. a AS / BEING thirteen-year-old, I don’t have a credit card. So if I want to buy anything online I have to ask my mum to carry (11) …………. OUT the transaction for me. HOW You can probably imagine (4) …………. well that works if she RATHER / doesn’t think I’m making a ‘wise decision’! SOONER There’s also the social aspect of shopping. I’d (13) …………. go out shopping with a group of friends than sit at home on my LIKE own. And some shops are (14) …………. a pirate’s treasure WHAT chest: you never know (15) …………. you might find! We don’t necessarily buy very much, but we do spend a lot of time looking. Sometimes we choose things online, then go and ON look for them in the shops. And we love trying (16) …………. clothes together.

Sara would only go dancing if her husband bought her a new dress. UNLESS wouldn’t go dancing unless Sara ……………………… her husband bought her a new dress.

I prefer to go on walking holidays than lie on a crowded beach. RATHER ‘d rather go on I ……………… walking holidays than lie on a crowded beach.

I’m sorry there’s not enough time to explain. TOO too little time to give There’s…………………you an explanation.

Why not turn professional, as you are such a good swimmer? SO so well (that) you should so well you ought to You swim …………………… turn professional.

Barry really knows how to get other people involved. VERY is very good at getting Barry …………………. other people involved.

I’m sure those gloves don’t belong to John because I saw him put his in his bag. BE can’t be John’s couldn’t be John’s They ………………… gloves because I saw him put his in his bag.

Ilona took her mobile, so she was able to call her mum. HAVE wouldn’t have been able Ilona …………………… to call her mum if she hadn’t taken her mobile.

The customs officer demanded to know what was in his suitcase. INSISTED insisted on knowing the contents The customs officer ……………………. . … of his suitcase.

My brother’s trainers cost a lot less than mine. FAR were far less are far less My brother’s trainers ……………… expensive than mine.

The film probably won’t last more than two hours. UNLIKELY is unlikely to go The film……………… on for more than two hours.

It wasn’t Mary’s fault, so I shouldn’t have raised my voice at her SHOUTED I hadn’t shouted at I wish that ……………… Mary because it wasn’t her fault.

I’ll play squash with Mark tonight unless we get too much homework. GIVEN we aren’t given I’ll play squash with Mark tonight if ………… too much homework.

It’s possible that my phone fell out of my bag in the changing room. MIGHT might have fallen out of my bag in the My phone …………… changing room.

My friend said I could borrow his bike if I took care of it. AS long as I looked My friend said I could borrow his bike as …………. after it.

Peter managed to fix the bike on his own. SUCCEEDED succeeded in fixing Peter ……………… the bike on his own.

Her parents were travelling in the desert so they couldn’t follow the news. KEEP Her parents were travelling in the desert so they weren’t able to keep up with ………………… the news.

What do you think I should do? ADVISE would you advise me to do you advise me to What ……………… do?