# PTE RW FIB #15: University Language Studies...

Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks #15 - Level 2 - Feeds Reading

> Below is a text with blanks. Click on each blank, a list of choice will appear. Select the appropriate answer choice for each blank.

There were twenty-six freshmen ____ in English at Beijing Language Institute in the class of 1983. I was assigned to Group Two with another eleven boy and girls who had come from big cities in China. I was ____ that language study required smallness so that we would each get more attention from the skillful teachers. The better the school, the smaller the class. I realized that my classmates were ready all ____ in English, simple sentences tossed out to each other in their red-faced introductions and carefree chatting. Their intonations were curving and dramatic and their pronunciation refined and accurate. But as I stretched to catch the drips and drops of their humming dialogue, I couldn't ____ it all, only that it was English. Those words now flying before me sounded a little familiar. I had read them and tried to speak them, but I had never heard them ____ back to me in such a speedy, fluent manner. My big plan of beating the city folks was thawing before my eyes.

## Answer

There were twenty-six freshmen **majoring** in English at Beijing Language Institute in the class of 1983. I was assigned to Group Two with another eleven boy and girls who had come from big cities in China. I was **told** that language study required smallness so that we would each get more attention from the skillful teachers. The better the school, the smaller the class. I realized that my classmates were ready all **talking** in English, simple sentences tossed out to each other in their red-faced introductions and carefree chatting. Their intonations were curving and dramatic and their pronunciation refined and accurate. But as I stretched to catch the drips and drops of their humming dialogue, I couldn't **understand** it all, only that it was English. Those words now flying before me sounded a little familiar. I had read them and tried to speak them, but I had never heard them **spoken** back to me in such a speedy, fluent manner. My big plan of beating the city folks was thawing before my eyes.

## Explanation

Every blank here tests verb form. After "freshmen" in blank 1, you need an -ing word to describe them, so "majoring." Blank 2 follows "was" with a passive meaning, so "told" is right. In blank 5, "heard them" with a passive idea needs the past participle "spoken," not "spoke."

## Hints

- Look at the words immediately before and after the blank to determine if you need a past participle, a gerund, or a base verb form.
- Consider the overall tense of the passage, which is primarily in the past, and ensure your choices align with the surrounding narrative flow.

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