Lingua Inglese 2 – Grammar test – Maggio 2014
A)
For more than half a century, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) (1) has worked/has been
working towards the conservation, research and restoration of the environment. It is the world’s largest
independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide and works in more
than 100 countries around the globe. Since 1961, when the WWF (2) began, their mission (3) has
remained the same: “to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future
in which humans live in harmony with nature.” In the early 2000s, its work (4) was focused/focused
on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world’s biodiversity and a subset of these
eco-regions. Recently, the WWF has highlighted issues concerned with pollution, climate change and
the thousands of endangered species that (5) may/might/could face extinction. Concurrently, it is
promoting the use of renewable natural resources. Thanks to its conservation efforts, many animals (6)
have already been brought back from the edge of extinction. Regardless of all these actions, the
WWF’s work is far from (7) being complete.
For centuries, destructive human activities (8) have led to the current rate of species extinction,
which is several hundred times higher than the expected natural rate. It (9) is predicted that this rate of
extinction (10) will increase dramatically over the next few years, impacting far beyond the potential
loss of iconic species and ecological footprints. Today, the WWF (11) is undertaking a large number
of public campaigns to influence decision makers and educate people on how (12) to live in a more
environmentally friendly manner. These campaigns involve action at both the local and the global
levels. All these efforts, the WWF notes, will help ensure the delivery of solutions that (13) can/should
meet the needs of both people and nature. Moreover, all species and the ecosystems they are a part of
provide essential ‘services’ that make human life possible, i.e. breathable air, clear water, food,
building materials, medicines, climate regulation and so forth. It is a simple fact that if these species
and ecosystems (14) should disappear, then human life (15) will come to an end as well.
B)
Every time someone buys a new phone, they usually end (1) up throwing out the old plug adapter. The
EU politicians have decided (2) on a new law that would help the environment (3) in/by cutting down
on electronic waste. At present there is a real proliferation of incompatibility (4) of chargers for mobile
phones, smart phones, tablets, digital cameras and music players. This presents a real inconvenience to
the consumer. Manufacturers must make the adapters compatible and have (5) up to/until 2017 to
comply with the new directive.
C)
1. Had you consulted the advisor at the outset, she could have given you the right advice.
2. Little did she realize how much she was committing herself to the project.
3. The weather may/might have affected her performance.
4. She told me that, to begin with, I had to/should write down a list of my ideas.
5. Unlikely as it may sound, it’s true.
