For questions 1-9, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Space junk
The Space Age began (1)…………… over half a century ago, and ever since then the area just (2)…………… the Earth’s atmosphere has been filling up with all kinds of man-made objects that have become (3)…………… as ‘space junk’. The items up there (4)…………… from old satellites and parts of rockets to hundreds of thousands of pieces smaller than one centimetre, all of them travelling at extremely (5)…………… speed. Over the last five years, the number of such objects in space is (6)…………… to have risen by 50 per cent, and this has (7)…………… increased the risk of damage to working satellites or space vehicles with crews on board.
International agreement has therefore now been (8)…………… on limiting the amount of new space junk. Scientists have also (9)…………… some interesting suggestions for tidying up space. These include using laser beams, giant nets and even an enormous umbrella-like device to collect tiny bits of junk.
1 A well B much C lots D far
2 A along B away C out D beyond
3 A referred B known C called D named
4 A include B enclose C cover D range
5 A high B rapid C light D fast
6 A assessed B supposed C estimated D regarded
7 A largely B greatly C importantly D absolutely
8 A arrived B reached C finished D closed
9 A caught up with B put up with C come up with D kept up with
Answer
1 A
2 D: only ‘along’ and ‘beyond’ can be used directly before a noun phrase, and ‘beyond’ has the correct meaning of ‘outside’ or ‘on the other side of’.
3 B: ‘known as’ means ‘called by that name’, in this case ‘space junk’.
4 D: ‘range’ completes the structure ‘from…to…’.
5 A: ‘high’ completes the common collocation ‘high speed’.
6 C: both ‘supposed’ and ‘estimated’ can be followed by the perfect infinitive, but ‘supposed to’ is for something that should have happened but did not.
7 B: none of the others collocate with ‘increased’.
8 B: the only one of these verbs that collocates with ‘agreement’ and ‘on’ is ‘reached’.
9 C: only ‘come up with’ collocates with ‘suggestion’.
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