Five-Minute Tests

I. If a line is correct, put a tick (V) next to the number. If there is an extra word in a line, write it next to the number.

Russia

1	It’s a huge country with a great variety of the landscapes. It covers
2	one-eighth of the earth’s surface. It spans from the Eastern Europe to
3	Nothern Asia. It is the world’s largest nation in terms of territory.
4	It is been divided into eleven different time zones. The state is bordered
5	by the Arctic Ocean in the North and the Pacific Ocean in the east.
6	It is a land of much geographical contrasts. Practically every climate in the
7	world except tropical is represented.

Key: 1. the; 2. the; 3. V; 4. been; 5. V; 6. much; 7. V

II. Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the gap.

In 1066, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, (1)______ (INVADE) and (2)______ (CONQUER) England and the Anglo-Saxons.After the (3)_______ (INVADE), the Norman kings and the (4)_______ (NOBLE) spoke a dialect of Old French (5)______ (KNOW) as Anglo-Norman, while English continued to be the language of the common people. This class (6)______ (DISTINCT) can still be seen in the English language today in words such as “beef” vs. “cow” and “pork” vs. “pig”. The aristocracy (7)______ (COMMON) ate beef and pork , which are (8)______ (DERIVE) of Anglo-Norman, while the Anglo-Saxons, who tended the cattle, retained the Germanic and ate cow and pig.

Key: 1. invaded; 2. conquered; 3. invasion; 4. nobility; 5. known; 6. distinction; 7. commonly; 8. derivatives

III. Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the gap.

The Renaissance brought with it widespread (1)_____________ (INNOVATE) in the English language. The (2)_____________ (INVENT) of the printing press marked the (3)__________ (DIVIDE) from Old English to Modern English as books became more widespread and literacy increased. Soon (4)____________ (PUBLISH) became a marketable occupation and books (5)____________ (WRITE) in English were often (6)____________ (MUCH) popular than books in Latin. The printing press also served to standardize English.

Key: 1. innovation; 2. invention; 3. division; 4. publishing; 5. written; 6. more

IV. Match the parts of speech (1–7) with the example words (a–g).

1. conjunctions

2. verb forms

3. articles

4. prepositions

5. pronouns

6. adjectives

7. question words

a) little, beautiful, pink

b) how, where, why

c) or, because, though

d) did, known, thinking

e) an, the

f) because of, at, in

g) anybody, themselves, its

Key: 1. c; 2. d; 3. e; 4. f; 5. g; 6. a; 7. b

to be continued