НМТ Reading. Use of English 10-11

Majestic Oak

More than 100 feet tall, the majestic white oak in the church cemetery in New Jersey is thought to be more than 600 years old. It is believed to be             [old, older, the eldest, the oldest]white oak in the country, and perhaps the world. The tree               [survive, has survived, had survived, survives] war and natural disasters, including Hurricane Sandy. George Washington is said                    [picnicked, to be picnicking, to have picnicked, was picnicking] under its branches and rested there with his troops on several occasions. Wedding parties often pose for photos by the tree. Visitors stroll through the cemetery grounds,             [shading, shaded, is shaded, has shaded]by the oak’s branches, which               [spread, spreads, is spreading, was spread]more than 150 feet side to side.

21st Century Learning

When politicians fail to get their             [message, news, notice, facts] across on TV debates, they face "the worm". Now teachers and pupils at a Melbourne primary school are being evaluated in            [absolute, live, original, real] time. Students are testing hand-held gadgets that fire feedback to their teacher. The electronic programme is            [stated, called, declared, announced] the 'Student Response System'.

"The kids                    [are opening, are establishing, are demonstrating, are determining] their understanding, or misunderstanding, immediately," the school's curriculum and innovations coordinator said. Teachers can then address any issues at the         [spot, point, place, mark]of need, rather than taking home 30 pieces of paper to mark. They can             [lonely, quietly, privately, secretly] assess students' responses, or they can be displayed on one of the school's 35 interactive boards, and discussed by the          [full, complete, total, entire] class.

"The hi-tech focus is about helping kids learn in the 21st century," the coordinator says, "It's very engaging for the students and we've really seen a big change in the           [form, way, process, means] teachers are teaching." The school, one of the smartest in the state, also allows students to         [watch, carry, take, make] several live broadcasts a week on their own radio frequency. They use "green screen" technology               [to revise, to exceed, to enlarge, to improve] their video and multimedia skills.

LA Bans Plastic Bags

Los Angeles has become               [largest, large, the largest, a larger] city in the US to ban plastic bags, after the city council voted                [banish, to banish, banished, to be banished]them from supermarkets and thousands of smaller shops. San Francisco was the first US city to ban plastic bags in 2007.

The phase-out will begin following completion of a               [four month's, four months, four months', four month] environmental review. Larger stores will then have six months to get rid of the plastic bags,        [while, unless, until, since] smaller stores will be allowed 12 months to phase them out. Shops will be able to offer customers paper bags for 10c each.

Environmental activists had argued that the millions of plastic bags           [using, used, be used, were used] in the city were a major blight in landfills, waterways and the ocean.