Part 1 · Multiple-choice cloze

Bees on the roof

Walk past certain office buildings in London on a summer morning and you might notice something unusual on the roof: rows of wooden beehives. Urban beekeeping has become increasingly popular in recent years, and many companies now (1) ______ hives as a way of showing that they care about the environment.

At first (2) ____, cities seem an unlikely home for bees. However, parks, gardens and tree-lined streets often provide a wider (3) ____ of flowers than farmland, where a single crop may cover huge areas.

Not everyone is enthusiastic, though. Some experts (4) ____ that the number of hives in certain areas has grown too quickly. They argue that there may not be enough food to go round, which could (5) ____ wild bees at a disadvantage.

For this reason, anyone thinking of becoming a beekeeper is advised to find out how many hives already exist nearby and to (6) ______ a course run by an experienced beekeeper before buying their own.

Those who do (7) ____ up the hobby say it is extremely rewarding. As one office worker put it, 'Spending ten minutes with the bees at lunchtime is the best way I know to (8) ____ off after a stressful morning.'

Libraries of seeds

In a corner of the public library in the small town of Ashford, there is a wooden cabinet that has nothing to do with books. Its drawers are (1) ____ of paper envelopes, each one containing seeds: tomatoes, beans, sunflowers and dozens of other plants. Anyone with a library card can (2) ____ a few packets, take them home and plant them, free of charge.

The only thing the library asks in (3) ____ is that, at the end of the season, borrowers let a few of their plants go to seed, collect the seeds and bring some of them back. In this way, the collection (4) ____ itself year after year.

The idea has (5) ____ on quickly. There are now seed libraries in hundreds of towns, and organisers say they are about more than just saving money. Many of the varieties they hold are old local types that are no longer sold in shops, and which might otherwise (6) ____ out altogether.

Not every borrower manages to return seeds, of course. 'Some people's plants fail, and that's fine,' says Maria Lowe, who runs the Ashford scheme. 'Gardening is about learning by (7) ____ and error. What matters is that people have a (8) ____ at growing something themselves.'

The accidental mapmaker

Growing up in a small village, Ellen Marsh spent most of her free time drawing maps of imaginary countries. She never (1) ______ out to turn her hobby into a career, but a chance meeting at university changed everything.

A lecturer who happened to see her sketches (2) ____ her to apply for a summer job with a company that produced maps for walkers. Ellen didn't think she (3) ____ a chance, as she had no formal training, but to her amazement she was offered the position the following week.

The work turned out to be far more demanding than she had expected. Every path had to be checked on foot, which meant walking up to twenty kilometres a day, whatever the weather. 'At first I was completely (4) ______ out by the end of each afternoon,' she admits, 'but I soon got used to it.'

Today, Ellen runs her own small business. Although most people now (5) ____ use of their phones to find their way, she says there is still a demand for printed maps. 'Batteries run out and signals disappear,' she explains, 'so experienced walkers always carry a paper copy, just in (6) ____.'

Customers often (7) ____ her on the beautiful hand-drawn illustrations that decorate her maps, and she still finds it hard to believe that her childhood (8) ____ has become a full-time job.