sábado, 5 de abril de 2014

Reading test: I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge

I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge is The Guardian article from the series  Experience for our reading test.

Today we are going to practise the covert grammar and vocabulary type of task, which is very much favoured in the EOI exam.

The sentences below have been taken out of I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge. Choose the option a, b or c which best completes each sentence.

1 It was early November, and it had been raining hard the previous day and night. As we drove along the M6, it was ................. raining solidly.
a) already b) yet c) still

2 Three and a half hours into the journey we ........................ Haydock, Merseyside.
a) arrived to b) reached c) got at

3 The car then continued sliding and spinning, as the front and sides sheared off the vertical posts. Then it swivelled until my wife's side impacted on one of the posts. I shut my eyes and then realised we ......................... .   "Thank God that's over," I thought. 
a) have stopped  b) stopped c) had stopped

4 I checked Olivia. She said she was OK but ................. sleepy. 
a) sounded b) sounded like c) sounded as if

5 A guy ran towards the car and started pushing down on the bonnet. I thought that was strange: why wasn't he trying ......................  us out?
a) to get b) getting c) get

6 We could feel the vibrations created by the lorries .................... they drove over the flyover.
a) since b) as  c) because

7 There were strong winds and I worried that something big ................ drive past while the wind blew and buffet us backwards off the bridge.
a) will b) would c) was going to

8 ........................ the way the car had impacted, they couldn't just drag us forwards on to the road,
a) Because b) Because of c) Given

9  About an hour later they cut me out, using hydraulic cutters that ......................... huge lobster claws.
a) looked b) looked like c) looked as if

10 I was desperate to walk around, but the ambulance crew wanted ................... on a stretcher quickly
a) that I lay b) me lying c) me to lie

11 I wasn't aware of any pain, ..................... it turned out I'd shattered my collarbone. 
a) despite b) even though c) in spite of

12 I realised that ......................  had been spent creating the illusion of security and safety.
a) the most of my life b) most of my life c) most my life

Photo credit: Mark Chilvers for the Guardian

You can check your answers by reading I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge.