Read the passage and choose the correct word for each blank.
An American, Charles D. Seeberger, produced the first commercial moving staircase to transport people in the 1890s. He called this an ʻescalatorʼ, taking the name from the Latin word ʻscalaʼ, which means ʻladderʼ. Escalators move people up and down short . Lifts do the same, but only move a small of people. Escalators have the capacity to move a lot of people at the same time, and they can be placed in the same space as one install a staircase.
A non-functioning escalator can be used as a normal staircase, whereas many other conveyances become when they break down.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, cities were becoming more crowded and the first escalators were at railway stations and in big department stores so that people could move about more quickly. Today we see escalators everywhere.
Read the conversation and choose the correct answer to each question.
Timothy: Hello, Hisa! How are you?
Hisa: Fine thanks, and you?
Timothy: Good. Hisa, you told me that you had a concern about Japan. What is it?
Hisa: It's all the vending machines. Every day you come across many of them on the street. I don't think we need that many. They're all consuming energy, which really worries me.
Timothy: OK, so what would you like to happen with the vending machines? Would you like more laws against them, or...?
Hisa: Well, they really make the scenery uglier. If we all brought drinks and snacks from home, we could remove many of the machines. Then we would have more space for roads. At the moment our roads in Japan are so narrow. It's dangerous!
Timothy: You said that you could see vending machines in strange places in Japan like remote places in the countryside or in the mountains?
Hisa: Yes. For example, there's one on the summit of Mt. Fuji. It's a shame.
Timothy: All the way on the top of Mt. Fuji?
Hisa: Yes. The mountain climbers don't like that. They don't want us to put vending machines on other mountains, either.
Timothy: Yeah, that's crazy.
What does Hisa say about vending machines?
What do vending machines consume?
According to Hisa, the _____ looks worse with the vending machines.
How does she describe the roads in Japan?
Hisa says it is a shame to have _____.
Read the text and choose one word/ phrase from the list to fill each gap.
It is estimated that about three billion people use the Internet around the world. Most people use the Internet to or for entertainment. A new study, however, shows us that almost ten per cent of Internet users are using it so often that it is seriously harming their lives. The study that these people may find it difficult to stop using the Internet because they have become addicted. Someone who is addicted finds it extremely difficult to stop doing . According to a psychologist in , thirty per cent of Internet users claim that they use the Internet to escape from their problems. The study also shows that having a chat, or discussion, with strangers on the Internet is one of the most activities.