Passage 1
Passage 2
Passage 3
100
There has been much debate in recent times about when young people should take up a second language. This has been especially fuelled in recent times by the increasing ________________ (IMPORTANT) placed on the English language.
importance
100
Ever since television first came into people’s lives, it has proved _______ (ADDICT). Even in the 1950s, when there was only one channel and the entertainment value was very limited, people were still glued to their sets, ___________ (PRESUME) due to its novelty value.
addictive
presumably
100
In 2000 and 2001, California was exposed to a series of rolling blackouts. Electric utilities in the state had been __________ (REGULATE) in the 1990s.
deregulated
200
It is now commonplace to see parents providing a substantial amount of ____________ (FUNDING) 
on additional tuition on language lessons to give their children every _________ (COMPETITION) edge.
funds
competitive
200
Back then, programmes started mid-morning. Before that, the screen showed test cards which gave viewers time to make ________ (ADJUST) to their aerials to improve the ____________ (RECEIVE), which could be affected by anything from bad weather to car ignitions.
adjustments
reception
200
This led to higher __________ (WHOLE) energy costs. It also provoked _____________ (SEVERITY) financial problems for many of the state's electric utilities. By the time of the blackouts, California had not _______ (SIGNFICANT) invested in new power plants in a decade, and it had been forced to import a significant portion of its electricity from surrounding states.
wholesale
severe
significantly
300
In the past decade, language institutes have sprung up in numerous centres, all claiming to provide rapid ____________ (ADVANCED) in English. There has been a push by many parents to expose their children to English in their formative years. This, many claim, will make the language more ___________ (INSTINCT) and ensure that all pronunciation errors can be avoided.
advancement
instinctive
300
Broadcasters have always been aware of the habit-forming nature of television viewing. Until 1957, broadcasting ceased between 6 and 7pm, allowing parents to put their children to bed on the _______________ (PRETEND) that television had finished for the night. It stopped again at around eleven o’clock.
pretence
300
A drought in the Pacific Northwest _________ (DRAMA) reduced the amount of electricity available for import from hydroelectric power plants in the region. This drove up the price for electricity in the market, making electric companies in the other states __________ (RELUCTANCE) to sell to California.
dramatically
reluctant
400
There is some evidence which points to youngsters who have been raised in bilingual families, where the language spoken at home is different to the one that they _________ (CONVERSATION) with in their external environment.
converse
400
These days, of course, television is not so _____________ (PRESCRIPTION) as to tell viewers what time they should retire, but advertisers have long taken advantage of the hypnotic effect of the screen. However, now that some channels allow viewers to skip through advertisements, ____________ (COMMERCE) channels have had to come up with more cunning ways to prevent viewers from reaching for the remote control whenever the ads come on.
prescriptive
commercial
400
In addition, a hotter than usual summer led to _________ (PREDICT) spikes in demand that California's system could not handle. Rolling blackouts hit the Bay area first, then hit cities throughout northern and central California, and, by March 2001, the entire state.
unpredictable
500
While these children can switch between two languages with greater ________ (EASY), it remains to be seen whether this is _______ (ADVANTAGE) when learning additional languages.
ease
advantageous
500
Some channels, for instance, have cut out the ad break between programmes altogether, meaning viewers are taken ___________(EFFORT) into the next programme.
effortlessly
500
The _________ (FEDERATION) government intervened early to require electric companies to sell to California, but blackouts continued, and the situation has still not been resolved.
federal