Complete the text with the correct answer, A, B, C or D. 

In England, I’m used to driving on the left hand side and I’m familiar with English traffic signs and rules. So, when I hired a car in Spain I found out that some things were completely different. First of all, in order to drive, you (1) …………… be 18 years old. In England, it’s 17. Secondly, when you’re on the road, you (2) …………… drive on the right hand side. This was very confusing. It means that when you approach a roundabout, you (3) …………… turn right onto it whereas in England, it’s left. 

Finally, the parking is different too. In England a double yellow line at the side of the road means that you (4) …………… park there at any time, and a single yellow line means you (5) …………… park there at some times of the day. But in Spain they have ‘blue zones’ which means you must find a ticket machine and buy a ticket.

Part 1. Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to complete the text.

John was running late for the parents’ evening. He grabbed his notes, considered (1) …………. a coffee and then abandoned the idea. The first parent was due (2) …………. in one minute and he was feeling nervous. He told himself there was nothing to worry about, but this was his first teaching job and, just like his pupils, he was afraid of (3) …………. mistakes.

‘This is the mother of Laura Gonzalez,’ the monitor said as the first parent took a seat opposite him. This would be easy because Laura was one of his best students. He started (4) …………. why he was so pleased with Laura’s progress, saying how she always tried her best and had a great attitude in class. As he (5) …………. Laura’s good points, however, he noticed something strange. The woman in front of him seemed (6) …puzzled………. by his words, as if this really wasn’t what she’d been expecting to hear. When he’d finished talking, Mrs Gonzales thanked him repeatedly. (7) …………. asking a single question, the woman, who was by now smiling from ear to ear, rushed towards the exit, still looking as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

At that moment, the door opened. It was his colleague, Brian, bringing him a cup of coffee and he nearly bumped into Mrs Gonzalez as she made her exit. ‘Wow, what did you say to her?’ he laughed. ‘I’ve never seen her looking so happy!’ John was surprised. Had he made a huge (8) …gaffe………. and confused Laura Gonzales with someone else? ‘Er, I just told her the truth,’ he explained hesitantly, ‘That her daughter’s doing really well.’ Now it was Brian’s turn to be surprised. ‘Well, you must be doing something right,’ he said. ‘Last year when I was her teacher, she never listened. I just couldn’t (9) ………….through to her at all.’ At first John thought Brian was joking, but then realised he wasn’t. Alone again in the classroom, he took a sip of coffee and smiled to himself. Maybe Brian was right and he had done something (10) ………….proud of. This parents’ evening was turning out to be better than he had expected.

A bicycle you can fold up

Folding bicycles have been around for quite some time now. However, an amazing new Japanese version (9) be folded with a swiftness and efficiency never seen before. This bike is designed (10) that it is possible to fold it up quickly. Once folded, you pull the bike along (11) ease.
This remarkable bike has a half-folding frame with a hinge in the middle. And, although the basic idea is (12) original, its inventor has created an especially clever variation, combining compactness (13) convenience with smart design.
Recently, folding bicycles (14) become very popular in Japan, particularly in congested urban areas like Tokyo, a city (15) every square centimetre of space is in great demand. Japanese cyclists need to be able to store their bikes in tiny areas at home or the office. And (16) they should want to take their bicycle on the underground, a folding model is a big advantage.

Part 3 For questions 17-24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

Part 3.

Part 4. Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the word given. Use between two and six words. Do not change the word given