We (1) ... along this mountain road, miles from anywhere, when we (2) ... across a trail of tins of food and bottles of water along the road. I looked out of the car window and noticed this camper van about ten metres below us in a field, with its back door hanging off. It (3) ... off the road. We stopped the car. A young man (4) ... back up towards the road. He (5) ... in blood, so we offered to take him to hospital. As we drove off, with him lying on the back seat, he (6) ... asking about his girlfriend  — was she all right? When we (7) ... the hospital we found that she (8) ... up and taken to casualty by someone else. Luckily, she was okay  — and so was he, eventually.

The idea of World Music Day or Fête de la Musique (1) ... in France in the 1980s but (2) ... across the globe. Today the event (3) ... on 21st June in over 120 countries. An American musician, Joel Cohen, who (4) ... for a French radio station, first came up with the idea for a music festival that everyone could enjoy and take part in. He suggested an all-night music festival to celebrate the summer solstice (the longest day). The French minister for culture liked the idea and it first (5) ... reality in June 1982. The main idea behind the festival is that music is a great way to bring people together regardless of their nationality, ethnic and cultural background. The day (6) ... individual musicians but also orchestras, cultural organisations, and schools. The best thing about the festival is that musicians (7) ... to perform outside the usual music venues and concert halls. And every kind of music is on offer.

In the early 19th century an amazing thing happened in America. Nearly half a million people left their homes and headed West along what was called 'the Oregon Trail', a path across the country to California and Oregon. The men and women (1) ... from poverty and hardship in the East. How did they find out about the opportunities that existed in the West? It seems that travellers who (2) ... there on trading expeditions brought back stories of warmer winters and of good farming land that was being given away by the government. Then, in 1849, news (3) ... that men (4) ... gold in California. In the early 1850s, people (5) ... to reach the West. On the journey, they met many dangers. Many settlers didn't reach the West alive. But change (6) ... to the American West. By 1870, a new railway (7) ... and the Oregon Trail had become a part of history.

Have you ever visited the doctor with an earache or a sore throat? Chances are, you (1) ... antibiotics to treat the problem. Alexander Fleming (2) ... across the first antibiotic, penicillin, by accident in 1928. The medicine was then developed and became widely available in the 1940s. It (3) ... against anything from blood poisoning to tonsillitis. In fact, since then, antibiotics (4) ... so easy to obtain that they are being overused. They are really for treating serious bacterial infections. Some people believe that antibiotics can be used to cure the common cold or flu but, as these are both viruses, antibiotics (5) ... no effect on them whatsoever. The overuse of antibiotics (6) ... infections known as superbugs to develop. These superbugs are too tough {устой­чи­вый) for antibiotics to fight and may be a big problem for future generations. So what can we do? Well, only take antibiotics when necessary and, if your doctor (7) ... them to you, be sure to follow the instructions and finish the course.

The idea of World Music Day or Fête de la Musique (1) ... in France in the 1980s but (2) ... across the globe. Today the event (3) ... on 21st June in over 120 countries. An American musician, Joel Cohen, who (4) ... for a French radio station, first came up with the idea for a music festival that everyone could enjoy and take part in. He suggested an all-night music festival to celebrate the summer solstice (the longest day). The French minister for culture liked the idea and it first (5) ... reality in June 1982. The main idea behind the festival is that music is a great way to bring people together regardless of their nationality, ethnic and cultural background. The day (6) ... individual musicians but also orchestras, cultural organisations, and schools. The best thing about the festival is that musicians (7) ... to perform outside the usual music venues and concert halls. And every kind of music is on offer.

In the early 19th century an amazing thing happened in America. Nearly half a million people left their homes and headed West along what was called 'the Oregon Trail', a path across the country to California and Oregon. The men and women (1) ... from poverty and hardship in the East. How did they find out about the opportunities that existed in the West? It seems that travellers who (2) ... there on trading expeditions brought back stories of warmer winters and of good farming land that was being given away by the government. Then, in 1849, news (3) ... that men (4) ... gold in California. In the early 1850s, people (5) ... to reach the West. On the journey, they met many dangers. Many settlers didn't reach the West alive. But change (6) ... to the American West. By 1870, a new railway (7) ... and the Oregon Trail had become a part of history.

The American bald eagle (1) ... off the endangered register in the next two years. More than 1,130 animals and plants (2) ... by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered or threatened, making it illegal to kill or harm them. Until now, few species had been removed from the register and when they were it was usually because they (3) ... extinct. As America's national bird, the bald eagle has been protected in various ways since 1940. The eagle, that is not really bald but looks it because of the white feathers on its head, (4) ... only in North America. It (5) ... the centre of attention in the argument about the best way to protect endangered species. Most environmentalists agree that if the use of pesticides isn't reduced, it (6) ... the reproductive system of rare species. But fortunately, there are now more than 5,000 nesting pairs of the bald eagle in the continental US and the numbers (7) ... at 10 per cent a year.

Albert Einstein's work has enormously broadened our understanding of (1) ... universe and has had a considerable impact (2) ... all our lives. Thanks (3) ... his equation E = mc², we now know that energy and mass are directly related (4) ... each other. To (5) ... very great extent, it is Einstein who is responsible (6) ... our knowing that space and time are actually one thing. Additionally, without E = mc², we would not have nuclear power  — and nuclear weapons  — today. Einstein did not become famous because of E = mc², which was first published in 1905. At (7) ... time, his paper was largely ignored, even (8) ... most scientists. Indeed, it was 14 years later that Einstein first made headlines round the world, when scientific evidence began to show that his Theory of General Relativity was correct.

(1) ... young woman was taken to safety (2) ... a helicopter yesterday after getting stuck on a freezing Swiss mountain. She and her climbing partner spent two nights under a simple shelter on a rock 9,800 feet up one of Switzerland's most difficult mountains. The rescued woman, Rachel de Kelsey, admitted yesterday that they would have died if they had had to spend another night there. Their only chance of (3) ... survival was to dig themselves a hole (4) ... the snow behind the rock and hope that they would be found. Miss Kelsey said that she had sent messages (5) ... five friends who she thought might be able to get (6) ... touch with the mountain rescue team. The alarm was eventually raised by a friend in London after he received her text. He contacted (7) ... rescuers who found (8) ... pair but were unable to rescue them immediately because of the storm.

Every October I like to go to France (1) ... my holidays. Last year I visited the Loire Valley and I had the best two weeks of my life. I had such (2) ... good fun I cried when it was time to leave. When I arrived (3) ... Calais, the sun was shining and I was glad I had decided to go (4) ... camping. There are lots of campsites in the Loire, and I found a small one near a beautiful castle. King Louis XIV had (5) ... castle built in order to impress a princess he wanted to marry, but she rejected him for an English Duke. I fell in love with (6) ... place at once. Although October is late (7) ... camping, there were quite a lot of people staying there. It was highly recommended in my guidebook and a friend of mine had also suggested to go to that particular site. Most of the other campers were around (8) ... my age and I made friends with several of them. Six of us have agreed to meet there again next year for another great holiday.

(1) ... young woman was taken to safety (2) ... a helicopter yesterday after getting stuck on a freezing Swiss mountain. She and her climbing partner spent two nights under a simple shelter on a rock 9,800 feet up one of Switzerland's most difficult mountains. The rescued woman, Rachel de Kelsey, admitted yesterday that they would have died if they had had to spend another night there. Their only chance of (3) ... survival was to dig themselves a hole (4) ... the snow behind the rock and hope that they would be found. Miss Kelsey said that she had sent messages (5) ... five friends who she thought might be able to get (6) ... touch with the mountain rescue team. The alarm was eventually raised by a friend in London after he received her text. He contacted (7) ... rescuers who found (8) ... pair but were unable to rescue them immediately because of the storm.

(1) ... young woman was taken to safety (2) ... a helicopter yesterday after getting stuck on a freezing Swiss mountain. She and her climbing partner spent two nights under a simple shelter on a rock 9,800 feet up one of Switzerland's most difficult mountains. The rescued woman, Rachel de Kelsey, admitted yesterday that they would have died if they had had to spend another night there. Their only chance of (3) ... survival was to dig themselves a hole (4) ... the snow behind the rock and hope that they would be found. Miss Kelsey said that she had sent messages (5) ... five friends who she thought might be able to get (6) ... touch with the mountain rescue team. The alarm was eventually raised by a friend in London after he received her text. He contacted (7) ... rescuers who found (8) ... pair but were unable to rescue them immediately because of the storm.

Personal space is the term that refers (1) ... the distance we like to keep between ourselves and other people. When someone we do not know well gets too close we usually begin to feel uncomfortable. Living in cities has made people develop new skills for dealing (2) ... situations where they are very close to strangers. Most people (3) ... crowded trains try not to look at strangers, they avoid (4) ... skin contact, and we apologise (5) ... people if our hands touch by (6) ... mistake. People use newspapers as (7) ... barrier between themselves and other people and if they still do not have a newspaper, they stare (8) ... the distance, making sure they are not looking into anyone‟s eyes.

At (1) ... early age Robert Burns, Scotland's greatest poet, had to help his father on his farm. When he was twenty-two, he went to Irvine, where he began to learn about making cloth. Shortly after his arrival, the factory in which he was training was destroyed (2) ... fire so he started (3) ... farm with his younger brother. While he was living on the farm, he concentrated (4) ... writing poems and fell for a local girl, Jean Armour. Robert wanted to marry her but her father would not allow him to do so, probably because he thought Burns was not wealthy enough. Her father's refusal took Robert (5) ... surprise and he decided to leave (6) ... country. Robert had to obtain the fare for the voyage by selling some poems. Just as he was about to leave he was given some advice  — to publish a new edition of the poems he had written. He received a large sum of money for the poetry and was able to get married (7) ... Jean Armour. During his marriage he continued to write the expressive poetry he became famous (8) ... .

How much sleep do we really need? This can vary quite a lot between individuals. However, it is widely believed that between
6—8 hours is healthy. What is particularly important is that this sleep happens (1) ... the right time; that it fits in with our body's natural rhythm. If you suffer (2) ... sleepiness during (3) ... day then you are probably not getting enough sleep when you most need it. Typical symptoms of a lack of sleep are (4) ... low concentration, poor memory and feeling irritable. Getting the right amount of sleep is not only important (5) ... terms of being able to function properly on a day to day basis but it also has (6) ... impact on your overall health. Research suggests that people who sleep between 6 to 7 hours per night are likely to live longer than those who sleep less than 6 or more than 8 hours per night. One reason (7) ... this is because of the effect sleep has (8) ... our immune system.

Medical Science has (1) ... good progress in the twenty-first century. A (2) ... for most of the great killer' diseases has been found, and almost every day a new drug appears on the market. But according to the survey (3) ... by the British Medical Association, less than 40% of people really trust their family doctor. People are (4) ... away from conventional medicine to look for alternative forms of treatment.

The main (5) ... for this is that conventional medicine has (6) ... to satisfy the needs of the majority of people, who are actually less healthy than their parents or grandparents.

Medical students are taught that diseases are (7) ... by viruses. Therefore treatment must (8) ... on attacking them. The mind and the emotions are not thought to play any part in the disease process. But people who practise "natural' medicine (9) ... with this principle, and try to treat the whole person. They believe that personality and lifestyle are important when considering a patient's general health.

It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you have to be (1) ... of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is full of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you've (2) ... up your (3) ... to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, don't let the negative criticism of others (4) ... you from reaching your target, and let constructive criticism have a positive (5) ... on your work. If someone says you're totally (6) ... in talent, ignore them. That's negative criticism. If, however, someone (7) ... you to revise your work and gives you good reasons for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars who were once out of work. There are many famous novelists who made a complete mess of their first novel  — or who didn't, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers before they could get it published. Being successful does (8) ... on luck, to a certain extent. But things are more likely to (9) ... well if you keep trying and stay positive.

Attitudes towards shopping have changed dramatically over the last decade or so. Some people argue that we have (1) ... a society of consumers, and that nothing but spending money (2) ... us happy. On the other (3) ... , anyone who has worked hard to (4) ... money surely has the right to spend it on whatever they wish. Provided that we are prepared to save enough of our money for a rainy day, there seems little wrong with using the rest to (5) ... for things that (6) ... us pleasure. The delights of shopping are all too obvious. Attractive displays of food on supermarket shelves, and clothes which look fantastic on shop window models, tempt customers to part with their money, even if they do not actually need the goods they are buying. The real question is: would we all be happier if we were (7) ...? The answer is probably that we can be just as happy with money as we can without it. ERRA, what we should do is (8) ... an effort to return to the things that really (9) ... in life and share what we have worked so (10) ... to get with others less fortunate than ourselves.

There's no (1) ... to settle for an unhealthy lunch from home or the mysterious unhealthy food in the cafeteria. Why not eat a lunch that is delicious and good for you? Did you know that the types of foods you choose (2) ... your mood and energy levels? According to dietician Andrea Garen, a healthy lunch 'needs to combine nutrient-rich foods from several food groups to (3) ... energy and concentration for several (4) ... .' And, since teenagers are growing and (5) ... through changes, the need for nutrients is (6) ... more significant. 'Because of development, calcium needs are greater during adolescence than at any other time,' says Mary Choate, a food and nutrition educator. "Good sources of calcium (7) ... dairy products and calcium-fortified cereals.' And, that's just the beginning. A balanced meal has a (8) ... variety of colours and flavours, so you'll never get bored. Basically, any lunch should contain (9) ... three ounces of protein, plus some good sources of carbohydrates. Lots of nutritious fruits and vegetables are also (10) ... .

Attitudes towards shopping have changed dramatically over the last decade or so. Some people argue that we have (1) ... a society of consumers, and that nothing but spending money (2) ... us happy. On the other (3) ... , anyone who has worked hard to (4) ... money surely has the right to spend it on whatever they wish. Provided that we are prepared to save enough of our money for a rainy day, there seems little wrong with using the rest to (5) ... for things that (6) ... us pleasure. The delights of shopping are all too obvious. Attractive displays of food on supermarket shelves, and clothes which look fantastic on shop window models, tempt customers to part with their money, even if they do not actually need the goods they are buying. The real question is: would we all be happier if we were (7) ...? The answer is probably that we can be just as happy with money as we can without it. ERRA, what we should do is (8) ... an effort to return to the things that really (9) ... in life and share what we have worked so (10) ... to get with others less fortunate than ourselves.

Until recently, vegetarianism was fairly uncommon in Britain, and it is still (1) ... strange by some. But since the 1960s its popularity has (2) ... greatly, to the extent that high street stores stock a huge (3) ... of products for vegetarians. The reasons people (4) ... for not eating meat are numerous. Perhaps most vegetarians do it for moral reasons, arguing that it is wrong to kill. The opposing point of (5) ... is that it is (6) ... for us to kill for food. Still, there are societies where eating meat is not allowed because it is against their religion. There are other good reasons to (7) ... up meat, one of which is the inefficiency of livestock farming. Although it is, in (8) ... cheaper to eat only vegetables, in practice vegetarianism is most popular in richer countries such as Germany and Britain, where many people exclude meat for health reasons. In these countries, at least, it (9) ... out to be a matter of (10) ... rather than necessity.

It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however talented you are. One thing you have to be (1) ... of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is full of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you've (2) ... up your (3) ... to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, don't let the negative criticism of others (4) ... you from reaching your target, and let constructive criticism have a positive (5) ... on your work. If someone says you're totally (6) ... in talent, ignore them. That's negative criticism. If, however, someone (7) ... you to revise your work and gives you good reasons for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars who were once out of work. There are many famous novelists who made a complete mess of their first novel  — or who didn't, but had to keep on approaching hundreds of publishers before they could get it published. Being successful does (8) ... on luck, to a certain extent. But things are more likely to (9) ... well if you keep trying and stay positive.

We offer an amazing theme park holiday  — the most (1) ... experience in holidays. Our holidays (2) ... two weeks and during that time you will fly between several (3) ..., visiting various famous theme parks for one day each. Our group comes from all over the world so you will be travelling with new and interesting people. We start our tour in LA, where over three days we visit Universal Studios where you can (4) ... the effects of white-water rafting (сплав­лять­ся на плоту). Then it's off to Disneyland in LA to meet some famous friends. On the last day we (5) ... a trip to the breathtaking Magic Mountain theme park, where you can go on the most fantastic roller coaster rides (аме­ри­кан­ские горки). Next we (6) ... out to Miami where the programme includes a day at Disneyworld and another at Cape Canaveral to see where Homer Simpson (7) ... to be an astronaut. This will be the end of the tour  — you will be exhausted but happy. Five days of theme parks Can you (8) ... a better holiday?

A soda drink with a turkey and gravy flavour that is (1) ... as undrinkable by its manufacturers is selling extraordinarily well. Unexpectedly large quantities of bottles have been sold in the United States where they are preparing to (2) ... Thanksgiving later this week. A company in Seattle which (3) ... in unusual flavours put 6,000 bottles on (4) ... last week at 99 cents each. They sold out within hours. Yesterday bidding (став­ки) on the eBay online auction site (5) ... more than 60 dollars a bottle. The nastiness of Turkey and Gravy Soda appears to be its biggest selling point. It (6) ... the perfect joke gift to take home to Mum or a younger brother or sister. At Thanksgiving families traditionally (7) ... a long weekend together. One newspaper reporter who (8) ... the drink said that, at first sip, it tasted of sweet caramel and savoury butter and it got worse from there. Curiously, the drink is (9) ... for vegetarians. Peter Van Stolk who (10) ... the company which makes the drink called his product 'gross'.

§ 1. I want to tell you about my old friend Bobbie Cardew. If you're a recent acquaintance of Bobbie's, you'll probably be surprised to hear that there was a time when he was known for having a weak memory. In the days when first knew him Bobbie Cardew was the most unreliable person you could ever imagine. If I invited him to come and have dinner with me, I had to go to all sorts of trouble. I used to post him a letter at the beginning of the week, and then the day before send him a telegram, and a phone call on the day itself.

§ 2. One day Bobbie did something I would never have expected. He fell in love, got married  — full of excitement, as if it were the greatest fun in the world  — and then began to find out things.

§ 3. Her name was Mary Anthony. She was a hospital nurse. When Bobbie Smashed himself up playing polo she was there in the hospital taking care of him. No sooner was he up and about again than they were busy making wedding plans. A real case of love at first sight They took a flat and settled down. I was in and out of the place a good deal. Everything appeared to be running along as Smoothly as you could want. Mary seemed to think Bobbie the greatest thing on earth and Bobbie seemed to think the same about her.

§ 4. But now we come to the incident of the Quiet Dinner, which is when things began to happen. I met Bobbie in the street one day and he asked me to come back to dinner at his flat. When we got there I was amazed at how lovely Mary looked. She had her red-gold hair piled up on her head with a diamond tiara in it and was wearing a really beautiful dress. No wonder, I thought, that Bobbie liked married life. "Hello, dear," he said. "I've brought Reggie home for a bit of dinner." Mary stared at him as if she had never seen him before. Then she turned scarlet. Then she turned white as a sheet of paper. Then she gave a little laugh, before finally recovering herself. After that she was all right. She talked a lot at dinner, teased Bobbie and played tunes for us on the piano afterwards, as if she hadn't a care in the world. But I had seen her face at the beginning, and I knew that she was working hard to keep herself in hand and not scream. At the very earliest moment I made my excuses and got away.

§ 5. When I met Bobbie at the club next day he seemed glad to have someone to talk to."Do you know how long I've been married?" he said "About a year, isn't it?" "Not about a year," he said sadly. "Yesterday was the anniversary of the wedding. I'd arranged to take Mary to the theatre. She particularly wanted to hear Caruso sing. I had a ticket for the box in my pocket. You know, all through dinner I had some vague idea that there was something I'd forgotten, but I couldn't think what."

§ 1. Cruising over the pack-ice with our heavy snowmobiles, my guide, Arne, and I looked out across the dazzling expanse of snow. We had come to the tiny, remote island of Svalbard northeast of Greenland, to photograph polar bears, but now we were exhausted with searching. The day had been particularly frustrating, as every bear we'd slowly approached had run away from us. Fed up and hungry, we decided to abandon our search for the afternoon and stop for a snack beside one of the many tall, blue icebergs.

§ 2. As always, a good meal was followed by an intense desire to sleep, and we decided to give in to it, even though the temperature was down to −30 °C. Sleeping at the same time would be unwise with our furry friends around, so we decided to take it in turns. As Arne slept, I scanned the Snow with my binoculars, looking for anything moving. An hour passed. I was just about to wake my companion, when I noticed a dot on the horizon. I wiped the lens, but it was still there. I began to make out the typical mayonnaise colour and the striding walk  — it was a polar bear and it was heading in our direction. I awoke Arne instantly. For the next thirty minutes, the bear continued on its direct course towards us, which was strange because the wind was blowing our scent straight towards him, so he must have been aware of our presence.

§ 3. When he was a couple of hundred metres away, I decided to lie down in the snow so as to get a better photograph. "You realise you look like seal like that, don't you?" warned Arne, for once sounding a bit worried. ave for dinner. Onwards the bear came, and by now I could hear the crunching Seals are what polar bears like to sound of his feet on the ice. It struck me that this was a big bear, travelling at some speed. I turned to speak to Arne, and saw him pulling a gun from his bag. Polar bears are incredibly unpredictable animals, and to be in their environment without protection is foolish. But Arne had strict instructions from me only to use the gun to frighten the bear away, and then only if necessary.

§ 4. By now the animal was only 25 metres away and the atmosphere had changed. Arne sat up on the snowmobile calmly awaiting the bear's next move, while struggled to change the film in my camera with my cold, shaking hands. Then, just as I was thinking that there was no escape, as I tensed myself for the inevitable attack, the bear veered off (из­ме­нил на­прав­ле­ние) to one side and then went straight past us. "Look!" whispered Arne. "Behind us!" I turned and saw a second creamy head with two black eyes peering around the corner of an iceberg a few hundred metres behind us. A female bear. Our friend's goal had clearly been in his sight the whole time, and we were the only thing between him and his beloved.

§ 1. Imagine an entire town made up of spectacular buildings of multi-coloured ice. A town devoted to pleasure where you can ride in a horse-drawn carriage, go down ice slides (горки) and watch swimming events by an icy river. It sounds like a setting for a work of children's fiction, but this magical scene appears every January on an island just outside the Chinese city of Harbin.

§ 2. Winter in Harbin would be very boring indeed without its annual month-long Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. Harbin has average temperatures of −16 °C at the time of the festival. So what better way to brighten up winter than with a colourful winter wonderland that recreates some of the world's most impressive architectural landmarks? It's possible to reproduce them using blocks of ice at Harbin because its winters, though freezing cold, are dry. There is a tradition of ice sculpture in the region that goes back hundreds of years and began with ice lantern (фо­нарь) artworks lit by candles.

§ 3. People who have been to the festival say the sculptures are most impressive at night, when they are lit by floodlights or from inside by clever use of LED (све­то­ди­од­ный) bulbs that change colour periodically. You can also appreciate the amazing detail of the snow sculptures better when there's no sunshine. If you want to see as many sculptures as possible, you should plan your trip for a few weeks into the festival. That's because by then the international snow-sculpting competition that is held during every festival is over and you can admire the creations in all their beauty.

§ 4. If you are more interested in physical activities than art, you'll still find plenty to amuse you at the festival. The event is well-known for the long snow slides that are incorporated into the designs of the ice buildings.

§ 5. Perhaps the most extreme event at the festival is the river swimming. Even setting up the event is a challenge. The organisers have to remove enough ice from the surface of the River Songhua to make a pool for the friendly competitions. The brave participants jump into the water wearing nothing but swimming costumes and caps, surrounded by spectators in winter hats, coats and gloves! Although the festival has become well-known enough to attract visitors from outside China, it's rare to see a non-local swimmer in the competitions. In northern China, however, there is a strong tradition of winter outdoor swimming, especially among the middle-aged and the elderly.

§ 1. Believe it or not, I used to read Flight International every week from the age of eight onwards  — my father, an aviation engineer, encouraged my early passion for planes but I never thought that one day I would be working on it as a journalist.

§ 2. Flight International is read by anyone with an interest in aviation. From pilots to manufacturers, technicians to air vice marshals, all are readers looking for the latest news in this sector. As news editor, I'm responsible for deciding what appears on the 20 news pages we produce each week. Aviation is one of the few truly global industries and we have a team of reporters around the world. When I left school, my original plan was to become an engineer. I studied aeronautical engineering at university but found the course rather unsatisfactory. At the time there was a huge recession on with few jobs going, and I was forced to look round for other options. I actually wrote to Flight and asked for a job. The then deputy editor advised me to do a course in journalism which had just been set up, which is what I did.

§ 3. I found the course useful not so much because it gave me a pretty good basic grounding in journalism, but mainly because it focused on several workplacements, which I was able to do at Flight. I wrote a few pieces and got my face known at the magazine. When the course finished there were no jobs available on Flight so I went off and worked for an aviation newsletter. After a year or so the technical reporter at Flight moved to another job and I was in. The great thing for me about working here has been the chance to ask people questions about something I'm genuinely interested in, and to combine it with my other passion, travel. After a couple of years I was offered a job in Munich in Germany,

§ 4. It was fantastic timing as the aviation industry in eastern Europe was just opening up and I got to report on it and see the region. From there I went to Singapore, which again was an extraordinary experience. I got to fly over the Far East, visiting factories, meeting fascinating people and doing interviews, and to be honest I would have been happy to stay there a bit longer.

§ 5. However, jobs like this don't come up very often  — the last news editor stayed ten years - and so when I was offered it, I couldn't really say no. Although I'm much more office-based now, I still go to the big air shows. In some ways I was getting a bit tired of living out of a suitcase, although I still get a thrill when I take my seat on a new plane for the first time. A37. Why did the writer read Flight International when he was a child?

§ 1. I crept to the door and listened; they were snoring, so I tiptoed along and got down the stairs safely. I couldn’t hear a sound. I looked through a crack in the dining room door and saw that the men who were watching the body were all asleep in their chairs. The door of the parlour, where the corpse was lying, was open, and there was a candle in each room. I went past, but the front door was locked and the key was missing.

§ 2. Just then I heard footsteps on the stairs behind me. I silently ran into the parlour and cast my eyes about the room. The only place I could see to hide the bag was in the coffin. The lid was pushed along, showing the dead man’s face with a wet cloth over it. 1 tucked the money-bag in under the lid, just below where his hands were crossed. That sent a shiver down my spine; his hands were so cold. Then I ran back across the room and hid behind the door.

§ 3. The person coming was Mary Jane. She went to the coffin, knelt down and looked in. Then she put her handkerchief to her face and I sensed that she had started crying, although I couldn’t hear her and her back was turned. I slipped out. Looking back into the dining room, I saw that the watchers were still all asleep and I hadn’t been seen.

§ 4. As I climbed back into bed, I was a little shaken after all the risks I had just taken. I thought to myself it would be alright if it stayed where it was because when we had gone another hundred miles or two down the river I could write to Mary Jane and she c6uld dig him up and get it. But that’s not going to happen because they’ll find the money when they screw the lid on. The king will get it back and nobody else will get their hands on it again. Of course, I wanted to sneak back down and get it, but 1 didn’t dare to try. Every minute it was getting later now. Soon some of the watchers would start waking up and I might get caught  — caught with six thousand dollars in my hands. How could I explain that?

§ 1. While having lunch in an expensive restaurant, I tasted the wine I had ordered. I thought it might be spoiled, so I called the wine waiter. He was most unpleasant at the mere suggestion that something might be wrong. Unwillingly he tasted the wine  — and immediately apologized and brought another bottle. That's what I call power!' said my guest, but it helped that I knew I was right. As the customer, you have considerable rights.

§ 2. If a restaurant fails to provide a table you have booked, they will have broken their contract with you and you can politely threaten to take them to court for the cost of a spoiled evening. They will then usually find you a table. On the other hand, if you let them down, they can take you to court for lost business. In one case, a company booked a table for one o'clock for five people at a popular restaurant, then called to cancel at 1.35 p.m. on the day, saying their client did not want to eat. When the company refused to pay up, the restaurant owner took them to court and won: the judge decided that, since it was too late to re-book the table, the company should pay for the loss of profit on the meal.

§ 3. The menu is a vital legal document. The price should be included, together with the tax (налог), and the restaurant can be fined for not displaying it outside or immediately inside the door, so that customers know in advance what they are committing themselves to. It is illegal for any establishment to give a false description of their food. Everything must be what it claims to be: fresh fruit salad must consist only of fresh, not tinned, fruit; Welsh lamb must be an animal born or raised in Wales.

§ 4. You cannot rely on getting bread and butter free. A restaurant is allowed to make a cover charge  — which relates to linen, tableware, salt and pepper, Sauces and items like bread or olives  — provided it appears on the menu by the door.

§ 5. If the food is not cooked to your satisfaction, you can insist on the restaurant taking it back and supplying what you ordered. If it gives you food poisoning, the restaurant is obliged to pay for the suffering and inconvenience provided you have been to your doctor. If the food is not up to a reasonable standard for the money, you can either send it back or pay less than the bill demands. If you do not pay the full price, give your name, address and proof of identity so that you cannot be arrested for leaving without paying.

§ 1. Though he is, in many ways, unremarkable and we have never met before, and he hasn't given me any particular clues to help me pick him out, it's not hard to spot Steve Sires in the lobby of his hotel, simply because he's the only man here who looks exactly like Bill Gates, the computer millionaire and head of Microsoft. "I figured you'd recognise me," he says, rising from his chair to shake my hand, in his Bill Gates glasses, with his Bill Gates hair, Smiling his Bill Gates smile. Steve Sires is a civil engineering consultant who runs his own business and, twice a month or so, gets paid to jet across the continent and look like Bill Gates. He's hired for business functions mostly - product launches, industry seminars and conferences. He isn't the only professional Bill Gates lookalike in the world, but he is, by most accounts, the best.

§ 2. We walk over to a business-district restaurant. I'd made a reservation for two, under 'Gates'. I'm worried this might annoy Sires, but he just laughs and admits that it's something he's never tried himself. The hostess doesn't even blink when I drop the name. As she leads us to our table I imagine a few glances sent our way, but they're likely just that, my imagination. Sires assures me that he causes much more talk back in Seattle, where the real Gates is occasionally known to walk among the masses. "People have reported spotting Bill at Burger King or eating popcorn at a movie, Sires says. "I wonder how many times people see me and think "Why in the world would Bill Gates be shopping in a cheap supermarket?"'

§ 3. When Sires moved to the Seattle area he had no idea why people kept stopping him on the street or asking him for stockmarket tips in the checkout line. "I didn't know who this Gates guy was," he says. "Turns out I lived 20 minutes from his house.' Sires initially ignored the much-remarked-on resemblance. Then, his wife cut out a newspaper ad placed by a local agent who handles lookalikes. She'd called the agent. He got me a job at the grand opening of a performing arts centre. I did it for free. But my picture was picked up by Associated Press." Soon, Sires was travelling to events, his appearance fee running to several thousand dollars.

§ 4. So Steve Sires is famous. Actually, what he has is better than fame  — it's celebrity, without any of the complications of actually being Bill Gates. "I've got a great deal," he admits. "I get a little attention. It's fun to get a little attention. But at the end of the day, I can always go home to my real life."

1.  Primary-school teacher Anisha Kapoor went to the Green Magic Nature Resort in Kerala, south-west India. "It wasn't my first experience of tree-house living," she says, but it was certainly the best. The houses are entirely built and maintained by workers from the area, using traditional techniques and local materials. For instance, the lifts up to the front doors are made of cane (трост­ник) grown in nearby fields. They work fine, by the way, and I was glad there were no stairs to climb  — the houses are 25 metres up! That's good, though, because at that height there's often a cool breeze blowing through the branches."

2.  Ever since TV researcher Whitney Martin worked on a programme about tree houses, she'd dreamt about staying in one. So when her neighbours happened to mention they had just such a place in Alaska, and asked whether she'd like to spend a fortnight there in July, she said 'yes' without a moment's hesitation. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it," she says, "it had everything: even hot running water and cable TV. The only disadvantage of being there at that time of the year was the huge number of mosquitoes. I must have been bitten a hundred times."

3.  Australian technician Richie O'Hara was a guest at the Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge, on an island off the north coast of tropical Queensland. "The wooden tree house was quite comfortable," he says, "and they had all the advertised facilities such as running water and a fridge. Actually, I hadn't fully read the brochure, so when I arrived, I was surprised to find an internet connection in the house. I found plenty of healthy things to do, like canoeing and diving. That was great. After a week or so, though, I was a little tired of the climb to and from the house, so I doubt whether I'd repeat the tree-top experience. But I'm sure kids would love it  — it's just a pity I didn't go there when I was about ten!'

4.  Medical student Kirsty Hammond spent a week in Tanzania's Lake Manyara National park, at the Lake Manyara Tree Lodge. As we approached it," she says, "we glimpsed the buildings up among the branches, with the Great Rift Valley in the background. It was a wonderful sight. The houses were comfortable, too, with running water, a well-equipped bathroom and, fortunately, large mosquito nets above the beds  — I'm very aware of the dangers if they bite you. I also liked the fact that almost everything was above ground, even the restaurant. The only problem there was the high night-time temperature: although my bedroom had an overhead fan, I didn't sleep very well. But generally I had a great time."

John McGregor talks to four performers who have made a career out of entertaining others.

1. The Illusionist

Who would expect to find England's answer to Harry Houdini in the sleepy Lancashire village of Mawdsley? Well, Matthew Tate has built up an impressive range of illusions and spectacular magic tricks to shock and thrill his audience, but many attribute his success to the way he manages to involve and excite his audience. They watch as he frees himself after being submerged handcuffed in a water-filled tank. He reminds his audience that failure would mean certain death and even asks them to hold their breath with him, just as Houdini did I ask him if he can tell me just one of his secrets. My question is met with a cheeky grin and, of course, complete silence!

2. The Living Statue

When people ask Maria Marks what she does for a living, she often tells them "nothing". Every day, she makes her living by dressing in an antique wedding dress, covering her skin in white clown paint and standing absolutely motionless on a pedestal in London's Covent Garden until a coin is thrown into her hat. So, what exactly draws the crowd when Maria "performs"? "Well, people want me to prove that I'm human." I ask Maria if she gets bored just standing there day after day. "No," she says. "I enter an almost trance-like state and an hour passes like a minute."

3. The Actor

Michael Webster has been an actor in London for almost fifteen years. Michael tells me all about the ups and downs of a typical actor's life. "You constantly strive to deliver a perfect performance, often under imperfect or unpleasant conditions."

I ask Michael how he feels when he's performing. "One of the most amazing feelings I have," he tells me, "is standing in front of an audience knowing that they expressly came to see me perform. It fills me with two overwhelming sensations: joy and extreme gratitude!"

4. The Circus Performer

Zhao Jian explains to me how she came to be touring the world as a hand balancer with a circus troupe. "As a young girl I was always jumping around," she tells me, "so one day my mum suggested that I enrol in one of the many acrobatic schools in Wuqiao county. We followed an exceptionally harsh programme, waking at five thirty in the morning each day to begin eight hours of tough physical exercises." And now that she has a job in the circus? "I practise an acrobatic move over and over again before I'm ready to perform it." I ask her if she has any regrets. She answers me without the least hesitation: "No, I was made for this life."

It was back in 1995, when my husband Eric was working as a rubbish collector for the local town council, that I first got the idea of recycling clothes. He would frequently find bags of perfectly good clothes just thrown into the rubbish. I wondered if I would be able to do something with them which would make money for me and perhaps even help the community at the same time. I decided to give it a try.

The first thing I did was to place an advertisement in the newspaper inviting people in the neighbourhood to bring me their second-hand clothing, shoes and bedding instead of throwing them away. Within a week, our garage was bursting with black plastic bags. (1)___ This kept me busy for weeks.

At the same time, I was also looking for a shop to rent where I could sell these items. (2)___ But it wasn't until I contacted Adventure, an organisation which helps people to set up their own businesses, that I finally got the assistance I needed. They helped me find the right shop and gave me advice about getting a business loan to get me started. That's how Second Best was born.

For my idea to work, I was going to need a steady supply of clothes. The town council already had recycling bins for paper, glass and the like. (3)___ I was able to make arrangements to have the clothes collected and brought to my shop, where I had installed laundry facilities to cope with all the washloads I needed to do!

It wasn't only making money in the shop that interested me, though. I was still eager for the community to benefit from my idea, too, so I started to find ways that the large quantities of very old or damaged clothing that I couldn't sell in the shop could be put to use. (4)___ Some of the old clothing is now turned into bandages for hospitals, for example, while one school in the area asks for old jeans to make into lunch bags.

Adventure believes in encouraging people by giving an annual Special Merit Award to the most successful new business they have helped. (5)___ Not only had I helped so many others, they said, but I had also had to overcome a difficulty. In 2000, my shop had been destroyed by fire and I had had to start the business all over again from Scratch.

Getting back on track wasn't easy. Not only did I have to search for another shop to rent, but I also had to spend time building up new stocks of clothes, as nearly all of the original stock had been destroyed. (6)___ Otherwise, I would have been forced to call it a day.

Today, twelve years after I first started up, Second Best is a very successful small business.

A few years ago, a company called Space Marketing came up with a plan to send a mile-long advertisement into space. Using light reflected from the sun, it would beam out a message as large as the moon that could be seen by every single person on the planet as it orbited the Earth.

This would have been one advert that couldn't have been thrown out with the junk mail or switched off by remote control. (1)___ Advertising standards agencies eventually decided not to allow Space Marketing to go ahead with their plans and they were forced to abandon them, but not before several major companies had made serious enquiries about launching their logos into space.

Space may indeed be the final frontier for advertisers, because on Earth we are already surrounded by advertising wherever we are and whatever we are doing. (2)___ There are the promises of health and vitality on the cereal packet weate from this morning, for example, and the ad that we saw on the side of the bus we caught to work. Most of the time, we are probably not even aware of these less obvious advertising tactics, but that doesn't mean that they aren't effective. (3)___ You are in a packed cinema, watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster. There are adverts before the film or during a break in the film, but are there any during the film? Well, look carefully at the make of car your favourite actor is driving. And what about his watch? Can you see what brand it is? Chances are, you can, and the company that owns the brand is likely to have paid thousands for it to appear in the film.

Whilst products are most often placed' in this way in movies and TV series, they also sometimes appear in music videos, video games, plays and even books. (4)___ You may not realise you are being influenced by a technique that sounds so simple, but advertisers consider product placement to be a highly effective form of advertising. After all, they would not be willing to spend as much money as they do on it if they didn't truly believe it worked.

In fact, associating products with cool, exciting lives seems to be one of the most common forms of advertising. (5)___

And let's not forget the power of pure entertainment (6)___ If the consumers are looking forward to the next 'episode' of an ad, once again the product has become associated with something 'cool" and is therefore likely to See a considerable rise in popularity.

So, whether Space Marketing eventually succeeds in launching ads into space or not is perhaps a less important issue than it might seem.

A few years ago, a company called Space Marketing came up with a plan to send a mile-long advertisement into space. Using light reflected from the sun, it would beam out a message as large as the moon that could be seen by every single person on the planet as it orbited the Earth.

This would have been one advert that couldn't have been thrown out with the junk mail or switched off by remote control. (1)___ Advertising standards agencies eventually decided not to allow Space Marketing to go ahead with their plans and they were forced to abandon them, but not before several major companies had made serious enquiries about launching their logos into space.

Space may indeed be the final frontier for advertisers, because on Earth we are already surrounded by advertising wherever we are and whatever we are doing. (2)___ There are the promises of health and vitality on the cereal packet weate from this morning, for example, and the ad that we saw on the side of the bus we caught to work. Most of the time, we are probably not even aware of these less obvious advertising tactics, but that doesn't mean that they aren't effective. (3)___ You are in a packed cinema, watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster. There are adverts before the film or during a break in the film, but are there any during the film? Well, look carefully at the make of car your favourite actor is driving. And what about his watch? Can you see what brand it is? Chances are, you can, and the company that owns the brand is likely to have paid thousands for it to appear in the film.

Whilst products are most often placed' in this way in movies and TV series, they also sometimes appear in music videos, video games, plays and even books. (4)___ You may not realise you are being influenced by a technique that sounds so simple, but advertisers consider product placement to be a highly effective form of advertising. After all, they would not be willing to spend as much money as they do on it if they didn't truly believe it worked.

In fact, associating products with cool, exciting lives seems to be one of the most common forms of advertising. (5)___

And let's not forget the power of pure entertainment (6)___ If the consumers are looking forward to the next 'episode' of an ad, once again the product has become associated with something 'cool" and is therefore likely to See a considerable rise in popularity.

So, whether Space Marketing eventually succeeds in launching ads into space or not is perhaps a less important issue than it might seem.

1.  Primary-school teacher Anisha Kapoor went to the Green Magic Nature Resort in Kerala, south-west India. "It wasn't my first experience of tree-house living," she says, but it was certainly the best. The houses are entirely built and maintained by workers from the area, using traditional techniques and local materials. For instance, the lifts up to the front doors are made of cane (трост­ник) grown in nearby fields. They work fine, by the way, and I was glad there were no stairs to climb  — the houses are 25 metres up! That's good, though, because at that height there's often a cool breeze blowing through the branches."

2.  Ever since TV researcher Whitney Martin worked on a programme about tree houses, she'd dreamt about staying in one. So when her neighbours happened to mention they had just such a place in Alaska, and asked whether she'd like to spend a fortnight there in July, she said 'yes' without a moment's hesitation. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it," she says, "it had everything: even hot running water and cable TV. The only disadvantage of being there at that time of the year was the huge number of mosquitoes. I must have been bitten a hundred times."

3.  Australian technician Richie O'Hara was a guest at the Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge, on an island off the north coast of tropical Queensland. "The wooden tree house was quite comfortable," he says, "and they had all the advertised facilities such as running water and a fridge. Actually, I hadn't fully read the brochure, so when I arrived, I was surprised to find an internet connection in the house. I found plenty of healthy things to do, like canoeing and diving. That was great. After a week or so, though, I was a little tired of the climb to and from the house, so I doubt whether I'd repeat the tree-top experience. But I'm sure kids would love it  — it's just a pity I didn't go there when I was about ten!'

4.  Medical student Kirsty Hammond spent a week in Tanzania's Lake Manyara National park, at the Lake Manyara Tree Lodge. As we approached it," she says, "we glimpsed the buildings up among the branches, with the Great Rift Valley in the background. It was a wonderful sight. The houses were comfortable, too, with running water, a well-equipped bathroom and, fortunately, large mosquito nets above the beds  — I'm very aware of the dangers if they bite you. I also liked the fact that almost everything was above ground, even the restaurant. The only problem there was the high night-time temperature: although my bedroom had an overhead fan, I didn't sleep very well. But generally I had a great time."

When you have accepted our offer of (1) ... you will be given a uniform which you have to wear while on duty. Our uniform has been designed after detailed (2) ... with members of staff and reflects the quality and style of our business. It helps to form the customers' first impression of us. Please note that male staff are not permitted to wear jewellery of any kind and female staff must not wear rings or earrings which are (3) ... in shape or design. Wristwatches must be (4) ... in size and appearance.

Since its invention in the late 1950s, the skateboard has become a standard item of sports equipment for teenage boys. By the early 1970s, bicycle manufacturers started producing quality skateboards which broke less (1) ... and had more (2) ... wheels that would not come off and cause injury. The (3) ... of the sport declined in the 1980s when some critics argued it was still too risky and (4) ... . However, skateboarding has made a comeback and is likely to remain a symbol of youthful energy for many years.

Resisting the (1) ... to buy is hard. Now guilty shoppers keen to get rid of (2) ... purchases have a new option  — simply give it away online. I find it (3) ... that everything advertised on Freecycle is free. The site is the creation of Deron Bcal, an (4) ... from Arizona. Bcal says his chief aim is to cut waste and help the environment reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites (свал­ка), through the promotion of giving things to people who want them.

Resisting the (1) ... to buy is hard. Now guilty shoppers keen to get rid of (2) ... purchases have a new option  — simply give it away online. I find it (3) ... that everything advertised on Freecycle is free. The site is the creation of Deron Bcal, an (4) ... from Arizona. Bcal says his chief aim is to cut waste and help the environment reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites (свал­ка), through the promotion of giving things to people who want them.

My friend and I had been (1) ... plans for this holiday for a long time. It was our dream to take a break from work for a couple of months, and have a holiday that (2) ... of us would ever forget. We (3) ... a lot of research and had a few arguments before we made our final decision, but at last we both agreed on Thailand.

The library profession attracts people (1) ... many different interests, because of the wide range of work that librarians do. For (2) ..., the profession may appeal to someone who wants to work with children in an elementary school library. A person interested in research may choose to work in a library which scholars use for their investigations. Some people become librarians to help libraries adapt (3) ... advanced technology, while people (4) ... have expert knowledge of a foreign language, computers, or a specific subject may choose this career to make use of their special skills.

While some people consider cooking to be boring, especially those who are occupied daily with the task of feeding a large family on a small budget, (1) ... find it a creative and fulfilling activity. Cooking for a family (2) ... members are not only choosy but (3) ... have limited tastes hardly gives the cook much creative opportunity.