1. 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.
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2. 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.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

3. 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.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

4. 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.
___________________________________________________________
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

5. 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.
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6. 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 light
1 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.
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7. 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.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010