I think the modern
fountain or ballpoint pen is one of the greatest contributions ever made to __16__
happiness.
Can you imagine what
it was like in the past? When _ 17_ wanted to write a letter, you had to go and
find a bird’s _18_, cut it into a point, then keep _19_ it into a small jar of
ink. You had to keep on sharpening the point too because it soon got blunt,
writing a simple _20_ you letter must have been a main operation, _21__ most of
the morning and afternoon.
Even __22_, however,
was better than cutting words on stone with a chisel, or _23__ them on clay
with a stick.
Of course, some
people enjoy the typewriter these days, __24_ is all right if you know how to
type quickly. If you don’t , you spend_25__ correcting mistakes and your letter
__26_ a terrible mess. It’s not very easy to carry a typewriter around with you
_27__, and you certainly can’t put one in your pocket.
Perhaps we’ll soon
all have pocket tape recorders and give up writing altogether. We’ll just send
_28__ to each other. But __19_ the moment I think I’ll keep my ballpoint pens
and fountain pens. What surprises me, though, is that they’re so convenient to
use, but somehow I never _30__ to get around to writing all the letters I ought
to write.
16. a. man’s
b. men’s c. a man’s d. the men’s
17. a. one
b. you c. he d. we
18. a. hair
b. feather c. wing d.
tail
19. a. putting b. drawing c. dipping d. staying
20. a. thank b. send
c. tell d. ask
21. a. bringing
b. doing c. spending d. taking
22. a. this
b. it
c. for this d. for that
23. a. using b.
making c.
cutting d. marking
24. a. in which
b. on which
c. which d.
that
25. a. times b.
periods c.
lots
d. ages
26. a. gives b.
looks
c. smells d. reads
27. a. neither b. too
c. either d. also
28. a. boxes b.
recorders c.
materials d.
tapes
29. a. in
b. for
c. during
d. within
30. a. appear b. look
c. come d. seem