Word Building - Exercise
St Patrick's Day
March 17th is the day of the (0) celebration (celebrate) of St Patrick. St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and the occasion is celebrated (1) ............................. (enthusiastic) by Irish people all over the world.
In American cities with a large Irish (2) ............................... (populate), the day begins with a parade through the city centre. The most (3) ............................... (spectacle) sight is the colour green, as it is the (4) ............................... (nation) colour of Ireland. Bands play (5) ............................... (tradition) Irish songs, and people stream into restaurants afterwards where they eat corned beef sandwiches and drink Irish stouts and ales.
The main (6) ............................... (decorate) of St Patrick's Day is the shamrock, which is also the national symbol of Ireland. It was made (7) ............................... (fame) by St Patrick when he used its three leaves as a (8) ............................... (represent) of the Holy Trinity.
St Patrick is known for bringing Christianity to Ireland, and March 17th gives the Irish an (9) ............................... (opportune) to display their (10) ............................... (proud) in their country.
ANSWERS:
- enthusiastically
- population
- spectacular
- national
- traditional
- decoration
- famous
- representation
- opportunity
- pride
Britain's railway network has (0) recently (recent) been experiencing a new kind of problem. It is neither technical nor (1) ............................... (mechanic) but could, nevertheless, lead to (2) ............................... (injure) unless it receives immediate (3) ............................... (attend). It appears that rabbits have been digging their holes underneath railway tracks, which (4) ............................... (fortunate) means that the tracks are at risk of collapsing. The (5) ............................... (soft) of the earth under the tracks makes it a (6) ............................... (suit) place for rabbits to dig their holes. However, the railbed becomes (7) ............................... (stable) when it is undermined by holes, (8) ............................... (special) in heavy rain. Numerous areas have already experienced problems, causing delays to rail services. The number of rabbits in Britain has increased over the past forty years because of their (9) ............................... (resist) to myxomatosis, the disease responsible for thousands of deaths in the 1950's. Rabbits are now considered to be (10) ............................... (destroy) nuisances, instead of the cuddly, friendly animals everyone would like to think they are.
ANSWERS:
- mechanical
- injuries
- attention
- unfortunately
- softness
- suitable
- unstable
- especially
- resistance
- destructive
