Drill #13

"I was awakened from a sound ___1___ by clouds of suffocating smoke filling my ___2___. At almost the same time, someone banged and hammered at my cabin door, shouting ___3___ quite unintelligible. The sudden awakening confused me and the dense ___4___ in the cabin made it difficult ___5___ me to find the door. I choked and gasped for breath, groping frantically for the ___6___ knob. Just in time, I felt and saw a porthole. I crawled ___7___ it and dropped to the deck outside. There was no apparent panic. The captain was giving out ___8___ for the safe evacuation of the ___9___. The crew was making frantic efforts to launch the lifeboats. All the time, the ___ 10___ were creeping nearer. Suddenly, someone gave me a violent ___11___. I stumbled and fell into a lifeboat. There was ___12___ in getting it moving. After what seemed ___13___ an eternity, we were pulling away from the ___14___. By that time, the front of the ship was a pillar of flames. Kathy had looked ___15___ to the cruise, a time to relax and recharge her store of energy. It was the first time that she was on a holiday ___16___. Her family members and friends were unable to obtain leave from their jobs. She remembered their farewell kisses as they bid her goodbye at Collyer Quay where she had ___17___ the passenger liner. She had been greatly impressed. The ship was a beauty to ___ 18___ ! There were many facilities to keep holiday-makers entertained and actively occupied. The swimming pool, the gymnasium, the billiard and ___19___ games rooms as well as the theatre on board were very well managed. Activities were ___20___ up for the next three days. It was a pity that Kathy's holiday ended that way.

Drill #14 Dance, like drama, is a performing art. As such, dance offers people an outlet ___1___ their emotions. A dancer is able to transmit to his ___2___ his feelings. Dance involves our sense of rhythm. We have an innate sense of rhythm in ___3___. From the time we are in our mother's womb, the rhythmic rocking we ___4___ as she walks awakens our instinct ___5___ movement. As babies, we are rocked ___6___ sleep. As children, we ___7___ nursery rhymes and clap or dance ___8___ to them. We have already begun dancing. In many countries, dance is indulged ___9___ to cultivate discipline ___10___ appreciation for one's native culture. For ___11___, in Africa, many tribes initiate their children ___12___ adulthood through dance. Young children imitate ___13___ parents' steps. Perfection of these steps signals their transition ___14___ adulthood. ___15___ ungainly, unsure first steps emerge refined steps. From there, an African is ___16___ to modify the steps to convey the message he wants to tell. When we have mastered walking, we ___17___ the rudimentary steps of dance, be ___18___ ballet, jazz or disco-dancing. From there, we are able to choreograph other steps ___19___ to the message we wish to convey. Ironically, we are able to be spontaneous ___20___ the midst of discipline.

Drill #15
Ryan was very excited. He had been selected to ___1___ his school in the National Inter-School Decathlon Meet. A decathlon is a sport competition that ___2___ of ten individual events. On the ___3___ of the competition. Ryan was at the competition grounds early. There were five other participants ___4___ himself. The first ___5___ was the one hundred meters dash. When the gun ___6___, Ryan ran as fast as his legs could ___7___ him. To his disappointment, he only ___8___ in second. As the day wore ___9___, Ryan became more and more discouraged. He had obtained number of second and third ___10___ but he had not won a ___11___ event. During the tenth event, the 1500 meters run, Ryan did his best, ___12___ only managed to come in third. With a heavy ___13___, he walked away, feeling that he had let his school ___14___. To his astonishment, he saw his schoolmates rushing to congratulate ___15___. "You did it, Ryan ! You won !" they shouted. Ryan ___16___ dumbfounded. "How ___17___ I have won ? I did not ___18___ win a single event !" he exclaimed. His coach ___19___ was standing nearby, explained: "In a decathlon, you get a ___20___ of points for each event. So what is important ___21___ not just to win but to do consistently well ___22___ all the events. ___23___ will enable you to score many points. You won because you scored the ___24___ points overall. Congratulations, Ryan. The whole school is ___25___ of you."

Drill #16
Is there life on Mars? Many people have wondered ___1___ this question. Some ___2___ of sciencefiction think of people from Mars as little green creatures. Others ___3___ Martians as monsters with many eyes. In studying this ___4___, astronomers have found that life may be possible on Mars. The first indication of ___5___ is that Mars has seasons, ___6___ like Earth. In ___7___ words, Earth's seasons, ___8___ as spring or summer, occur on Mars too. Because these seasons exist, it may be possible ___9___ vegetation and other higher life forms to be ___10___ on Mars. Astronomers also think that perhaps a small ___11___ of water vapor could be found on Mars. In 1887, an Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelli, ___12___ markings on the surface of Mars. These markings ___13___ like canals. This finding led astronomers to believe ___14___ since water exists on Mars, life forms could ___15___ as well. However, there are others ___16___ feel that life on Mars is not possible. This is because there is little or no ___17___ of oxygen on the planet. In 1965, the Mariner IV capsule managed to ___18___ photographs of the planet. It discovered that the only forms of life found are vegetation like fungi ___19___ mosses. Nevertheless, people remain fascinated ___20___ the idea that one day, there could be life on Mars.