Exam practice

People of different colors in bright clothes holding up five linked rings, with a flame burning in a large bowl above them: the Olympic rings and the Olympic flame.

They are the symbols of the Olympic Games. The five rings stand for the five inhabited continents of the world (the Americas counted as one) joined together; their colors, with the white background, appear in the flags of nations all over the world. The flame links today’s Games with the ancient Games of Greece.

a. stew b. underworld c. embroidered d. furious e. exquisite f. inherited g. rejoicing h. mounted i. decreed j. lush

Tantalus was a man of ancient Greece, half man and half god, the son of Zeus, the king of the gods.

Because he killed his own son, Pelops, and served him to them as a stew. The gods hated human sacrifice.

They sent him down to the underworld, where he had to stand in water up to his neck forever.

Pelops’s snow-white horses, a gift from the gods, could run faster than the wind. The king’s horses were magic, a gift from Ares, the god of war, and could run faster than lightning.

A suitor had to race the king in a chariot, and if he lost, his head was chopped off. Twelve men had already lost their lives this way.

He secretly took out the bronze pins that held the wheels on the king’s chariot and replaced them with pins of candle wax. During the race the wax melted, the wheels flew off, and the king was thrown out.

His chariot’s wheels flew off when the wax pins melted, and he was thrown from the chariot to his death.

To honor the dead king. They were sad that he had died, since he had not really been a bad king, only one who loved his daughter too much to let her marry; so they held a great funeral feast in his memory before their wedding.

At the funeral feast, heroes from all over Greece took part in athletic games and races in memory of the king’s chariot race. Pelops decreed that such games should be held every four years, and since they were held on the fields of Olympia, they came to be called the Olympic Games.

It is lit from the rays of the sun at Olympia in Greece (with a curved mirror that focuses the sunlight onto the torch), and then kept burning in the stadium until the Games end.

The Olympic Games are the world’s biggest sporting event, and they matter far beyond sport.

• Peace and friendship: athletes from more than 200 countries live together in one village and compete under the same rules, in the spirit the five linked rings stand for.
• Inspiration: young people everywhere watch the best athletes and start a sport themselves; a medal can make a whole nation proud.
• Equality: the Games now include women in every sport and the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities.
• Health: they encourage people to stay active.
• Development: host cities build stadiums, roads and transport that people use for years.

They also face problems: very high costs for the host, and athletes who cheat with drugs. Still, for two weeks every four years, the world watches people from every country compete fairly and shake hands afterwards.

• a.What has Shovan recently done? He has painted his house.
• b.What has Sarmistha done this evening? She has watched a movie.
• c.Which mountain has Lakpa recently climbed? He has scaled Mt. Annapurna.
• d.What has Srijana planted in her field? She has planted potatoes.
• e.What has Swikriti recently released? She has released a new song.
• f.What has Nandita just done? She has taken her driving test.
• g.Whom has Ashok recently visited? He has visited his grandparents.

I asked three friends what they had been doing.
Aayush has recently joined a futsal club in Suryabinayak. He has already played two matches, and his team has won both.
Pema has just finished reading a novel by Buddhisagar. She has lent it to her cousin.
Ritika has started learning to play the guitar. She has learned four chords so far, but she hasn’t played a whole song yet.

• a.have been (be is a state verb: no -ing)
• b.have been staying (still staying; since we arrived)
• c.have already visited (a list of finished visits)
• d.haven’t been (with yet)
• e.have always wished (wish here is a state, a long-held wish)
• f.have been convincing (she is still trying; if her parents have already agreed, have convinced)
• g.have you been spending (the holidays are still going on)
• h.have been visiting (still at the grandparents’ house)

• a.has learned (or has learnt): a finished result
• b.has been raining: going on all summer, with its effects now
• c.have been reading; haven’t finished
• d.have you been cooking: for so long
• e.have promised: many times
• f.have been preparing
• g.Have you watched: with yet
• h.has been painting; hasn’t finished
• i.have fixed: finally, the job is done
• j.have been working: it explains why I am tired now

The first: English footballer David Beckham became a popular player in the late 1990s. Everything after it explains how he became popular and why.

Yes. Each supporting sentence gives a reason for or a stage of his popularity: his clubs in England and Spain, his skills, his leadership as captain, and his fans.

The last: He is still loved by many even after his retirement.

They are similar in idea, both about his popularity, but different in words and time: the topic sentence says he became popular in the 1990s; the concluding sentence says he is still loved today. A good concluding sentence repeats the idea without repeating the words.

(Topic) Paras Khadka is one of the cricketers who made Nepal’s team known around the world. (Supporting) He first played for Nepal in 2004 and was its captain from 2008 to 2019. Under his captaincy, Nepal won several World Cricket League tournaments, played in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2014 and gained Twenty20 International status. In 2018 he played in Nepal’s first ever One Day International, against the Netherlands. A year later, in January 2019, he became the first Nepali batsman to score a century in an ODI, against the United Arab Emirates. He was an all-rounder who could bat, bowl medium-fast and bowl spin, and he led calmly under pressure. (Concluding) For a generation of young Nepalis, he showed that a small cricketing nation could stand with the big ones.

Across: 1. IMMEMORIAL 5. ROUNDERS 6. ELONGATED 7. ACCESSIBLE 8. MOUND 9. VOLLEY
Down: 2. RECREATIONAL 3. PRO 4. AWED
(5 across is not cricket, which has 7 letters: the grid has 8 squares, and the R of PRO, 3 down, is its first letter.)
If your book’s grid numbers the clues differently, the answers by clue: professional PRO; very old IMMEMORIAL; possible to enter ACCESSIBLE; long and thin ELONGATED; a British game ROUNDERS; for pleasure RECREATIONAL; a hit before the ground VOLLEY; a small hill MOUND; respect and slight fear AWED.

1. rugby 2. golf 3. baseball 4. (field) hockey 5. tennis (doubles) 6. table tennis

People play sports to keep healthy and for recreation, fun in their free time. Many more love watching them, because people have always been inspired by those who can perform amazing feats.

The modern game began in England in the 19th century, but people played similar games as far back as two thousand years ago, beginning in China.

Cricket has a long rectangular pitch in the middle of the field, where the ball is bowled to a batsman; baseball has a mound in the middle of a diamond, from which the pitcher throws the ball to a batter at home plate.

Two teams, usually of six players, stand on either side of a high net and try to hit (volley) the ball over it so that it lands on the ground on the other team’s side, which scores a point.

James Naismith, a Canadian teaching at a school in the United States, invented it in the late 19th century (in 1891).

Rugby is a contact sport with a lot of tackling, and its players wear very little protection, unlike American football players with their pads and hard helmets, so they risk injury.

My order: 1. football 2. cricket 3. volleyball 4. basketball 5. table tennis 6. tennis 7. hockey 8. golf 9. baseball 10. rugby.
I put football first because I play it every evening and it needs only a ball. Cricket comes second because watching Nepal’s team is exciting. Rugby is last: I have never seen it played in Nepal, and it looks dangerous with so little protection.

• a.Football and cricket (volleyball, the national game, is a close third).
• b.I like cricket the most, because Nepal’s team has done well in international matches, and the matches are exciting to the last ball.

a. Three Nations Cup b. goalless draw c. the final d. own e. Bal Gopal Maharjan f. Dasharath Stadium (in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu)

• a.Not Given: the report says where the final will be played, but not who organized the tournament.
• b.False: Nepal did not lose. It drew 0–0 with Kyrgyzstan in its first match, and Saturday’s match was a goalless draw against Bangladesh.
• c.False: that first match was a goalless draw.
• d.True: its only goal was an own goal by a Kyrgyz player.
• e.True: the Three Nations Cup was played by Nepal, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan.

a. wanted b. arranged c. be allowed d. reached e. saw f. led g. handed h. was surprised i. have tested j. could see
The man is the doer in every case except two: (c), where the man is the one allowed (by the owner), and (h), where the owner is the one surprised. Surprised is a feeling done to you: ✓ He was surprised. ✗ He surprised to see him (that would mean he surprised someone).

• a.admire (people are the doers: active)
• b.hurt his leg
• c.Their children are very badly dressed.
• d.someone has broken two of my dinner plates (present perfect in both)
• e.will be forgotten
• f.must be answered
• g.the boys have eaten
• h.People built the bridge last year.
• i.are ploughing the field (present continuous in both)
• j.How do people trap a tiger?
• k.We will be helped (by the teacher).
• l.We should preserve the tiger.
• m.a nest has been built

• a.The noise of the explosion could be heard from a distance.
• b.The building ought to be broken down before it collapses.
• c.Has the book been translated into any other language by him?
• d.I like being driven to my home.
• e.Can this problem be solved (by anybody)?
• f.The tickets had to be booked in advance because of the festive season.
• g.By whom might your bicycle have been stolen? (or: Who might your bicycle have been stolen by?)
• h.I didn’t notice that the class was being recorded (by you).
• i.Are songs always sung by him at parties?
• j.The picture will be drawn beautifully by her.
• k.Let my bike be repaired by the mechanic.
• l.It is believed that the Mahabharata war was fought in the 10th century BCE. (or: The Mahabharata war is believed to have been fought in the 10th century BCE.)
• m.What are they being instructed (by you) now?

In each, only the first part (I didn’t notice, People believe) that has no object stays as it was.

Let the two speakers share the news naturally: one knows, the other asks. Each point from the task gets at least one question and one answer. Close with a plan to meet or practice.

b, e, c, a, d, f

a. has been practicing b. have played c. haven’t lost d. has been watching e. have improved f. has hurt g. has been training

• a.The players are being chosen by the coach.
• b.The trophy had been stolen before the final.
• c.The new stadium will be opened next month.
• d.Water should not be wasted.
• e.Was he shown a red card by the referee? (or: Was a red card shown to him by the referee?)
• f.Let the ground be cleaned by the students.
• g.It is said that the ground is haunted. (or: The ground is said to be haunted.)

• a.Since he was ten.
• b.He runs about four kilometers up the hill road to school, with his books on his back.
• c.Two gold medals in the 1,500 meters.
• d.He has been training in worn-out shoes.
• e.sponsor

(Topic) Games and sports are as important for a student as books. First, they keep the body healthy: a student who plays every day has a stronger heart, better sleep and fewer illnesses. Second, they refresh the mind; after an hour of football or volleyball, it is easier to concentrate on studies. Third, team games teach lessons that classrooms cannot, such as cooperation, leadership and respect for rules and opponents. Sports also teach us to accept defeat gracefully and to try again. Finally, a student who is good at a sport can represent the school, the district and even the country. (Concluding) A school that gives time to sports is not wasting it, but building healthier and more confident students.