Use of English · Test 18

Planes can make it rain

For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer ( A, B, C or D ) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning ( 0 ).

Example:

Living next to an airport has always meant having to 0 _____ the noise of planes landing and taking off. Now it seems that 1 (1) ____ residents also have bad weather, according to a 2 (2) ____ published study.

The scientists looked at satellite 3 (3) ____ of clouds above airports, and also studied computer models of the way clouds behave. What they found was that as a plane flies through a very cold cloud, the air behind it expands and then cools 4 (4) ____ rapidly. This sudden drop in temperature, 5 (5) ____ with the hole formed in the cloud where the plane has passed through, can increase the 6 (6) ____ of rain or snow on the ground.

In the case of major airports, with hundreds of flights every day, this can have a significant 7 (7) ____ on weather patterns up to 100 kilometres away. The researchers point out, however, that aircraft passing through clouds are 8 (8) ____ to affect the global climate.

Cycling makes financial sense

For questions 9-16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning ( 0 ). In the exam, write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: OF

These days, most people are aware 0 _____ the environmental impact of motor vehicles, and they realise that cars are responsible 9 9 many of the problems facing their cities. Not 10 10 people, however, ever stop 11 11 think about how much money they would save by switching from driving to cycling.

Cars cost a lot to buy, and 12 12 other major investments such as houses, they quickly lose their value. On 13 13 of that, there are running costs such as repair bills, tax and insurance, all of 14 14 seem to go up every year.

Bicycles, by contrast, are far 15 15 expensive to purchase and maintain, do not require petrol and are easy to park. And if a lot more people took up cycling, the government could spend less of the nation’s resources on roads, which at present their taxes help pay for 16 16 they drive on them or not.

Some years ago, there were 0 _____ that email would soon be replaced as the most common means of online communication by social 17 17 sites. Since then, however, the number of emails sent has increased 18 18, to the point that the volume received on a daily basis has become 19 19 for many people. For some users, the situation has become so 20 20 that they regularly delete all the emails they receive without even bothering to read them, which is rather 21 21, to say the least. A less extreme measure is to install software that sorts incoming mail into different categories. By doing this, promotions from 22 22 organisations, for instance, go into a separate folder from messages arriving from friends or employers, 23 23 us to see which emails are more important than others. Not all of us, though, may be so keen to let software make such 24 24 for us. 0.PREDICT