Progress Test 6

1 Rewrite the direct speech as reported speech.

1 ‘Our company is planning to move out of the city centre next month,’ they said.
They said that our company was planning to move out of the city
centre next month .
2 ‘I will always love you, Fred,’ said Sheila.
Sheila told Fred that she will always love him
.
3 ‘You can’t borrow my bike tonight,’ Steve said to Olivia last Monday.
Last Monday, Steve told Olivia that she can borrow his bike tonight
.
4 ‘We spent our holiday in Malta last month,’ Mr and Mrs Jones said.
Mr and Mrs Jones told us that they spent their holidays in Malta last
month .
5 ‘I’ve never encountered any aliens before,’ I told the reporter.
I told the reporter that I haven’t never encountered any aliens before
.
6 ‘Jake knows my password,’ Helen said.
Helen said that Jake knows her password .
.
7 ‘I’m making lunch for myself today,’ Christine said.
Christine said that she was making lunch for herself that day
.
8 ‘Our supermarket is closed on Sundays,’ the shop assistant told me.
The shop assistant told me that the supermarket is closed on Sundays
.
9 ‘My aunt is thinking of moving out of her old house,’ the nephew said.
The nephew said that his aunt was thinking of moving out of her old house
.
10 ‘I won’t be able to leave the office early,’ the manager told his wife.
The manager told his wife that he won ‘t be able to leave the office early home
.

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2 Rewrite the questions as reported questions.
1 ‘What will you do after you leave school?’ I asked Joe.
I asked Joe what will he do after he leaves school
‘Have you written the story about our alien encounter yet?’ the newspaper editor asked
her assistant.
That newspaper editor asked her assistant whether they had written the story
about their alien encounter yet
‘Are you going to Martha’s birthday party tonight?’ Frances asked Gillian.
Frances asked Gillian if he was going to Martha’s birthday party that night.
‘Are you going to write to me every day?’ Lisa asked her boyfriend.
Lisa asked her boyfriend if he was going to write to her every day
‘What can you tell me about what happened last night?’ the reporter asked the woman.
The reporter asked the woman if she can tell him about what happened last
night.
‘Did you see anyone climb out of the window at midnight?’ the policeman asked me.
The policeman asked me if I saw anyone climb out of the window at midnight
‘Does your boyfriend believe in UFOs?’ I asked Jessie.
I asked Jessie if her boyfriend believed in UFOs.
‘Were you in bed at the time of the robbery?’ the inspector asked Mr and Mrs Mitchell.
The inspector asked Mr and Mrs Mitchell if they were in bed at the time of the
robbery
‘When are you going to visit me again?’ Nick asked Alison.
Nick asked Alison when he‘s going to visit him again
‘Can you remember what time you went to bed last night?’ the detective asked the man.
The detective asked the man if he can remember what time he went to bed last
night.

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 3 Match the materials to the objects made from them. There is one material you do
not need.
china fabric glass leather marble silk
___Glass_______ : bottle, mirror
____Marble ______ : lamp, plate
____fabric______ : trousers, curtain
______china ____ : statue, steps
_____leather_____ : armchair, boots

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4 Choose the correct answers.

1 My friend Paul lives near here. Shall we call on / up / after him?
I had an accident last year. It took me several months to get out / from / over it.
What are you looking into / for / after? Perhaps I could help you find it.
Do you know Fiona? I’ve never come across / out / through a friendlier person.
The police are looking for / into / across the mystery of the house that disappeared.

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5 Complete the dialogue with the words below. There are two words that you do not
need.
floor glass leather oil paper place stool
A What’s your bedroom like?
B It’s got a big 1_____lether_______ armchair and a marble fire 2__place__________
– perfect for cosy winter evenings!
A Do you have any art on the walls, like pictures or photos?
B Yes, there are a couple of 3_oil___________ paintings I did myself.
A Have you just got 4___floor_________ boards or do you have a carpet?
B I’ve got an old carpet. But the room also has beautiful cream and gold wall
5
___paper_________ .

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6 Read the article. Match each paragraph 1–5 with the heading A–F that best fits. There
is one heading you do not need.
Mystery book
1 _____D_______
One of the most mysterious books in the world is the so-called Voynich manuscript. The name
refers to Wilfrid Voynich, a book collector who bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912. We do not
know who wrote the manuscript or why, but scientific analysis shows that it probably dates from
the fifteenth century and was written in northern Italy. Attempts to trace the history of the
manuscript have identified some of its previous keepers, but have opened up more questions than
they have answered.
2 ____A_________
The book is about 240 pages long and appears to have six main parts. It is richly illustrated with
pictures of plants, animals, people and stars. There are many theories about the subject matter of
the manuscript. The pictures suggest that the manuscript may be a handbook for doctors working
with herbs, but no one knows for sure. Why is that the case? Because no-one can read it!
3 ______B_______
The book was written in a language that nobody has been able to read, using letters that nobody
recognises. Many people think the book is written in code, but even the most experienced code-
breakers have been unable to translate it. Experts have identified about 30 recurring letters or
symbols that may correspond to an encoded alphabet; however, there are also a number of letters or
symbols that appear only once or twice in the whole book. There appear to be nearly 35,000
‘words’ in the manuscript.
4 _____E________
Experts usually agree that the first section is about plants, and that the first word on each page is
the name of a plant. This section follows the pattern of medieval herbal guides with descriptions
and careful illustrations. But this does not make it easier to understand the manuscript because
nobody recognises the plants. Some look familiar, but the pictures often show peculiar details that
don’t match any known plants, or they combine the roots of one plant with the flowers, fruit and
leaves of other species.
5 ______C_______
Some people suggest the book must have been a kind of trick or hoax and that the reason we cannot
understand it is that it doesn’t mean anything. Others argue that it can’t have been just a joke
because writing 240 pages and drawing the complex pictures must have taken months and been a
lot of hard work. One theory is that someone with a mental illness wrote the book, and that it is a
product of his or her imagination. We may never know, but the Voynich manuscript continues to be
one of the world’s greatest mysteries.

A An overview of the structure

B A challenging puzzle
C Just a load of nonsense?
D Origins and owners
E A magical garden?
F The author’s identity

Mark __/5