D. Complete the sentences below by using prepositions to complete the prepositional phrases.

1. I work                          walking distance from my house so I save a heap on daily transportation expenses.

2. This quaint little village is quite literally                          the middle of nowhere, so make sure you take plenty of
supplies with you.

3. Living                          the outer suburbs means I get the best of both worlds because I can enjoy the wide
open spaces but still live close enough to commute to the city centre on a daily basis.

4. Make sure that you are in top form before going on a bicycle vacation that takes you                          the
beaten track. 

5. I love visiting my grandmother who lives in a picturesque, little cottage situated                          the outskirts of
town.

6. Just                          the coast of the peninsula one could see the battered bow of what had once been a
majestic ship jutting out of the water.

7.                          my way to work yesterday I bumped into an old friend of mine, whom I hadn’t seen since
graduating from college five years ago.

8. Legend has it that he buried the treasure                          the foot of a mountain under a crooked, little olive
tree.

Grammar

A. Choose the word or phrase that produces a grammatically correct sentence.

1. When I was young my grandfather                  a lot of time with me and he often took me fishing at the
weekend.
a. was spending                b. had spent               c. would spend          d. did spend

2. I was about to start cooking but then the phone rang and I spent the next forty minutes telling Sally about the
splendid wedding reception I                  the night before.
a. was attending                b. had attended          c. was going to attend d. did attend

3. The friend to                  I entrusted my secret betrayed my confidence by telling everyone what I had told her.
a. whom                           b. who                        c. that                       d. which

4. My husband                  so bad tempered but now he tends to fly off the handle about small and seemingly
insignificant things.
a. was not used to being   b. had never been       c. didn’t used to be   d. never used to be 

5. The hotel at                  we stayed is considered to be one of the most luxurious in the vicinity.
a. where                            b. which                      c. that                       d. whom

6. The paintings,                  depictions of still life, contained allegorical symbolism.
a. most of them were        b. they were mostly    c. most of which were d. the most were

7. Last night, I                  ready to go to bed when, suddenly, I heard a noise coming from the basement.
a. got                               b. had got                 c. was getting            d. had been getting 

8. We decided to take a break because we                  non-stop for more than six hours and we were having
difficulty concentrating on the task.
a. had been working       b. were working        c. had worked d. worked

B. Rewrite the sentences using a participle clause.

1. I didn’t have her telephone number so I was unable to call her to invite her over.

2. The politician was in a state of shock after seeing the election results and he refused to make any comment.

3. I was ready to leave once I had finished my work.

4. The location of the hotel on a beautiful beach makes it a perfect holiday choice.

READING