Fill in the gaps with one of the words in its correct form and pronounce it correctly

1. Scotland _________ a lot of its food from other countries.

2. Its (Scotland’s) _________________ includes oil, beef, and whisky.

3. I'm very pleased with my English. I'm making a lot of ____

4. Ministers are worried. There has been an / a __________ in the number of unemployed.

5. But the number of crimes has _______, so that's good news.

6. Britain ___________ about 75% of its own oil.

7. Who is in charge of the____________of this cargo?

TASK IV. Tick the word or phase in each group that doesn't belong with the others. Explain why it is the odd one out.

1. artificial synthetic genuine false

2. replace construct manufacture produce

3. water oil gas coal

4. power energy fuel waste

PART II. LISTENING

TASK I. These words will appear in the text. Are you sure they are familiar to you?

- wares - small articles for sale, usually not in a shop.

- to anchor - to stop sailing and lower the anchor.

- to be tempted - to be persuaded or attracted to do sth that seems pleasant or advantageous but maybe unwise or immoral

- to bargain - to talk about the conditions of a sale

- to disembark - to go on shore from a ship

- to assail - to attack violently

- to conceal - to keep from being seen or known

- genuine - actually being what it seems to be; real

- outrageous - very offensive

- eventually - at last, in the end

TASK II. Listen and take notes under the following headings. Work in small groups and compare your information. What similarities and differences are there?

1. Loading in the harbour.

2. Bargaining with the tradesmen on the board of the ship.

3. 'Real' diamonds.

4. Reduction of the price.

5. A 'good' bargain.

TASK III. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases as they are used in the passage:

loaded; liner; rugs; hand-made; went to great lengths; impression; to get rid of.

TASK IV.Listen again and choose the best answer for each question, A, B or C.

1. Why was it difficult not to be tempted with the wares?

A. They were not expensive.

B. There was a great variety of them.

C. The goods were made by famous craftsmen.

2. Why was the writer assailed by a man the moment he got off the ship?

A. this man wanted to get him back to the ship.

B. this man wished to sell him a diamond ring.

C. this man was eager to promote rugs, silks, copper coffee pots.

3. What did the pen look like?

A. It seemed real indeed.

B. It looked strange.

C. It appeared to be gold.

4. Why did the pen turn out to be useless?

A. It had broken down.

B. The writer had a better one on the ship.

C. It wasn't possible to fill it with ink.

TASK V. Complete sentences with the exact phrases from the story to make up a summary of it.

Small boats loaded with wares sped to _____________1. as she was entering the harbour.

It was difficult not _____________2. but the author decided _____________3. until his ship had disembarked.

He was assailed by a man who wanted to sell him _______________4.

The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds ____________5.

It took the writer ____________6. to get rid of him.

The next man was selling _______________7.

The pen certainly looked _______________ 8.

The man said that the pen was worth _______9.

The man acted as if ________________ 10.

A moment later he ran after the writer _______________11.

He _______________12. the pound the writer gave him.

The author felt ______________13. with his wonderful bargain.

To this day it _________________14. a single word.

TASK VI. Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.

1. What happened as the great liner was entering the harbour?

2. What was the tourists' reaction?

3. Was the writer going to buy anything?

4. The writer was not amazed by the size of the diamonds, was he?

5. How did the tradesman try to prove authenticity of the diamonds?

6. What was inscribed on the cap of the pen?

7. What was the initial price of the pen?

8. How much was it reduced later?

9. Was the tradesman reluctant to accept so little for the pen?

10. Was the pen worth one pound?

TASK VII. In pairs dramatise the dialogue between the writer and the seller of expensive pens and watches.

TASK VIII. Listen one more time and do this task. Here are some lines from the text. Match a line in A with an expansion in B to make up a summary of the story.

A. B.

a. Boats loaded with wares sped to ¨ attracted

b. Then decks were soon covered with ¨ pay little

c. It was difficult not to be ¨ some jewellery

d. Many of the tourists began to ¨ purchase

e. He was assailed by a man who wanted to sell him ¨different goods

f. The next man was selling ¨ ship

g. He shook his head indicating he was only willing to ¨ costly pens

h. Gesticulating wildly the seller eventually agreed to ¨ buy the goods

i. He felt especially pleased with his wonderful ¨ a phrase

j. No matter how hard he tried it has never written ¨ lower the

price