Unit 1

Complete the sentences with the words below.

1. Among all great Italian ________, Galileo has a special place for having started modern science.
2. Alexander Graham Bell is famous for inventing the ________.
3. The invention of the moveable-type printing ________ dates back to 1439.
4. People use ________ to cure serious infections.
5. Incandescent ________ bulbs are often replaced by other types of electric light, such as fluorescent lamps.

Choose the correct ending to complete the sentences.

1. Women used ________.
2. Please, switch ________.
3. When I was ironing, ________.
4. While I am cleaning the carpet, ________.
5. My sister normally goes to work every day but ________.

Read the text and complete the sentences with the missing information (one word only).

Few people know that Scotland can boast many famous inventors. Scottish inventors come from all fields: they were engineers, doctors, surgeons, ministers and scientists. It is amazing that a small country such as Scotland has produced some of the most important discoveries and inventions. They have had an extraordinary impact on our lives – often we don't even know about them. We know that Alexander Fleming was the inventor of penicillin, for example, but did you know that he was born in Scotland in 1881? He was a scientist and he was working on a flu virus when he accidentally discovered antibiotic penicillin. The inventor of the television set was Scottish too, and the telephone was the product of another brilliant Scottish mind. In this case there has been much controversy, as Antonio Meucci had the initial idea for the telephone – but apparently not enough money to make it.

1. Not many people ________ that Scotland is the native country of many inventors.
2. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. He was ________ in Scotland in 1881.
3. Bell didn't have the original idea for the ________. Antonio Meucci did, but he didn't have the ________ to support his invention. Therefore, there is some ________ about the name of the inventor.

Choose the correct alternative to complete the sentences.

1. We ________ running every evening but this evening we ________ at home because it ________.
2. I usually ________ television in the evenings but today I ________ TV much because I have to study hard for my exams.
3. My mum ________ my lunch in the morning and when I come home from school, I ________ it in the microwave to heat it up. We ________ with a microwave oven, we only ________ it to heat food.

Tick the correct sentences.

Choose from the list of appliances the ones that Sue is going to buy to equip her new house in Bristol.

Here is the department of electrical appliances. Let's see what I need. I like tea in the morning and in the afternoon, so I need an ________. I am not going to buy a ________ for the moment as it is quite expensive and I can do my washing-up. But I certainly need a ________ to wash my clothes, or I will have to go to a laundrette. I also need a ________ to clean my carpets. I don't like ironing, but I have to do it. So let's get a new ________.

Listen to the radio programme and match the sentence halves.

1. Richard Drew was ________.
2. First he invented ________.
3. Painters and decorators needed tape ________.
4. Drew made an improved tape ________.
5. Drew's improved tape ________.
6. Adhesive tape is ________.

Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs in brackets using used to.

Do you remember when we ________ (to spend) hours and hours on the phone talking to our friends? Now communication is much faster and young people can communicate with more than one friend at a time. For us, organising a party, for example, ________ (to be) quite complicated. We ________ (to call) the guests one by one, or send the invitations by mail well in advance – I said mail not email! Then we ________ (to get) confirmation and after that we could start buying food and drink. Nevertheless, it was also fun to get together and plan things. And we ________ (to spend) entire weekends planning our parties!

Turn the sentences into the interrogative form.

1. Scotland used to be the native country of many scientists and researchers. ________
2. There used to be many inventors. ________
3. There used to be a time when people wrote letters to each other. ________
4. People used to send postcards to their friends when they were on holiday. ________
5. Household chores used to be hard work. ________

Choose the correct alternative to complete the text.

Yesterday was Saturday, a typical day for doing ________. My mum and dad, my twin sister and I started by sharing the ________. While I ________ the washing-up after breakfast, my sister was cleaning the sitting-room using our new ________. Mum changed the beds and Dad ________ the dishwasher. He put the plates and cutlery back into the cupboards. Then my mum ________ the washing machine on. Finally Theresa, my sister, ________ the kettle on and made some tea. We ________ biscuits with our mid-morning tea but not any more as we are all on a diet!