TEST PAPER 9

TEST PAPER 9

Complete with the correct form of the verbs: past tense, present perfect, past perfect (simple or continuous):

Four men once_______________DWELL in a foreign country. They _______________DEAL in cotton, which they_____________ SELL to Europeans who_____________WEAVE it into cloth. People _____________KNOW them as Peter, James, Terence and Archibald. One day an idea ______________STRIKE Peter, and he ____________TELL it to the others. As a result of the idea which Peter________________BEGET they all ______________PUT their capital together and _____________GO into partnership. First they_____________BUY a site. Then they_______________BUILD a warehouse near the docks on part of it. Some time after they ____________DO this, Peter_______________SPEAK to the others:

I_______________THINK it over, he _____________SAY, and my meditations_____________BRING it home to me that though up to now we______________BEAR the responsibilities of the firm jointly, the mistakes that one man______________ KEEP making________________ COST us a lot.Archibalds carelessness ______________ DRIVE me to desperation.

After he ______________EXPLAIN his idea further, the others ______________ CATCH what he ___________MEAN but_______________SHRINK from the solution he____________SEEK to impose. But he____________WIN them round, and they________________FALL in with his idea. So they________________TEAR UP the old deed of partenership, and they _____________DRAW UP a new one. They __________________SPLIT UP their responsibilities equally and each ______________ STRIVE to make the new business pay and the firm _________________THRIVE for a while. But soon they ________________ BEGIN to have trouble with rats, which _______________EAT the bales of cotton that the workmen _______________SEW UP ready for export. So they ______________BUY a cat, ______________TAKE it to the warehouse, __________________SHUT it and ________________LEAVE it there. When it _____________TRY to escape, they _______________THRUST it back. Each partner ________________HOLD shares in the cat, one leg to each partner; and they _______________FEED it by turns. Luckily it _____________EAT very little. One day they ______________SEE that the cat _____________BE lame. A dog ________________ BITE it or somebody ______________TREAD on it and its leg _______________BLEED and ________________SWELL. On consulting their books the partners ________________FIND that the leg which the cat _______________HURT _______________ BE Terences. when Terence _________________LEARN this, he ________________TAKE the cat into the office, _______________ PUT it on the floor, ________________KNELL down, _________________WIND a rag soaked in oil round the leg, and ______________BIND it carefully. The cat _________________FEEL cold; so it _________________GO by the fire, where it ______________LIE down and ________________SLEEP. But it _______________CREEP to close, and the bandage soaked in oil ______________CATCH fire. The cat ________________AWAKE terror-stricken,________________SIT UP, _______________ FLY into a panic, _________________SPIN round, ________________RUN into the warehouse, and _________________SET the cotton bales on fire with its blazing leg. A strong wind _______________BLOW at the time so that the fire __________________ SPREAD and the whole warehouse _________________BURST into flames. The fire-brigade ________________SPEED to the scene and _______________HACK and _______________HEW to get into the burning building. But to no purpose. The building _______________BURN too fast. Numberless rats ________________FLEE from it, _________________SLIDE into the water, and _______________SWIM away. The partners ________________LOOK ON helplessly; and their blood almost ________________ FREEZE in their veins, as they think what their fate ______________MAY _______________BE, if they _________________ CAUGHT inside. The cat ______________BURST through the flames, ________________SPRING into the street, _______________ SHAKE OFF the burning bandage, and _______________RID itself of the trouble. The partners ________________CATCH and ________________SMITE the cat, which _______________DIG its claws into them, and________________BREAK loose. They _________________FLING stones at it. It ________________STEAL off and ________________HIDE. They _________________ SEEK it out, ________________FIND it and _______________SLAY it. After they _______________SLAY the cat, the partners ________________REMEMBER again what they ______________LOSE. They ______________TEAR their hair, ______________ REND their garments, _________________BEAT their breasts, __________________WRING their hands and _________________ SHED tears of rage. Gradually, the first effects of the disaster ________________WEAR OFF, and they ________________ BEGIN to think what to do. Suddenly Peter _______________HIT ON the solution of the problem of damages. He _________________SEND for Terence. They _______________MEET at their club. I _______________FORGET, _____________SAY Peter, that it ____________BE your leg which ______________DO the damage. You must therefore pay us damages. At this Terence ____________GROW pale. Then he ______________KNIT his brows, ________________GRIND his teeth, and ________________ SWING his stick menacingly. When Peter _______________SEE the reception he _______________GET he _______________ BE afraid to say any more and _______________RETIRE hastily. He, James and Archie _______________MEET and _______________ MAKE their decision. They _______________RING UP a lawyer for legal advice. Then they _______________CLOTHE themselves in their Sunday best and _______________BRING Terence before a judge. The judge _______________LEND their lawyer attention for a while, but the latter_______________SPIN out the argument to such a length, that in the end the judge ______________ CUT him short and __________________CHIDE him for wasting the time of the court. Then he _______________LAY down the law. Everybody _________________HANG on his words. Poor Terence _______________CLING to the hope of success like a drowning man to a straw and he ______________BE justified, for the judge _________________OVERRIDE the plaintiffs charms. He _______________HEAR the arguments which the plaintiffs lawyer _____________STRING out to such inordinate length, he ______________SAY:

It _________________BE true that Terences leg ______________BE on fire, he_____________GO ON. but it ____________BE also true that the other three legs ______________TAKE the flaming leg to the inflammable cotton-bales. Those three legs and their owners _________________BEAR the burden of responsibility for the damage. He therefore ______________ BID the three reimburse Terence for his loss. When Terence _______________HEAR this, his spirits _____________RISE. His face ________________LIGHT up, and his heart_________________LEAP with joy, as he __________________DRINK IN the judges words. The plaintiffs ________________FLY into a rage and __________________PROTEST angrily, for the decision ____________ SPELL ruin to them. But the judge ________________SWEEP their protests aside, and ________________BESEECH them to obey the law. After Terences former associates ________________PAY him off, they________________GIVE UP the cotton trade, and _______________SHOE horses for a living instead.

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