grammar 11

House-sitting

One of the easiest ways of ____ a living must be house-sitting.This is where people who are away from their home for a period of time employ others to look after their house and any pets they have

Many house-sitters over the years have been ____older people who liked the idea of earning some extra money. They won’t get a fixed monthly ____, but they live rent free and don’t have much to do. Having the opportunity of moving around and living in different places is another ____ of the job.

Of course you need people you can trust living in your house. You don’t want anyone ____, so many people use a house-sitting employment agency which fully checks house-sitters’ application ____ and makes sure they are ____.

What might get me ____ if I was a house-sitter would be having to go back to my own little place once the job was over. But maybe as a writer who works from ____, I could travel the world, live in luxury and have an income. I haven’t applied yet, but now I’ve learned a bit about how it works and I certainly wouldn’t ____ down a housesitting job if one were offered to me.

Slow Food

Slow Food is an international organization that was founded in 1989 in Italy. The movement’s main aim is to preserve regional cuisines and fight against the globalization of food products. As the name of the organization ____, it strives to be in opposition to fast food restaurants and products. 

Since it was founded, the organization ____ more than 100,000 members.

It all began in Rome in 1986, when a group of activists protested ____ the opening of a new McDonalds next to the Spanish Steps – one of the most famous landmarks in the city.

 Three years later, the founding manifesto of the international Slow Food movement was signed in Paris. ____the last 30 years the organization has grown so much that it now has offices in 150 countries.

Clearly, although we live in times when everyone is in a constant hurry, the idea of high quality food products, served in a nice and quiet atmosphere, appeals to many people. And it is attracting more and more restaurants, retailers and vendors. Let’s hope that by the time we grow old, Slow Food ____ at least as popular as fast food is today.

I’m keen _____ deep sea fishing. Last week I was on my dad’s boat with my friend Tom, and I caught a huge shark.

. I wasn’t strong enough to pull the fish onto the boat, and I couldn’t let it _____ because I didn’t want to lose the fishing rod.

I’d _____ not say what happened next, but I will, though it’s a bit embarrassing. The shark was stronger than me, and it pulled me over the side of the boat! If Tom hadn’t been so interested in videoing the whole thing, he could have helped me. So there I was in the sea, being pulled along by the shark. Eventually, I had to allow the fish to swim off.