3. Here is another story, taken from The Daily Mirror. Some of the words have been removed. Here they are:

hit-and-run killed murder charged crossing ran over magistrates

Fill the spaces with the appropriate words:

Man on 3 death rap

Three friends were _______ in a suspected _______ as they walked to a barbecue yesterday.

John Gibbings, 37, Martin Connop, 31, and Emma Procter, 25, were _______ the road.

Barbecue coals and cans of drinks they were carrying were left in the road after they were _______ by a Ford Maverick in Cwmbran, South Wales.

A man of 29 will appear before _______ today _______ with _______.

Part III. Family

Text 1

Look at the headline of the article below. Does it give you any idea of what the story is going to be about?

Read the article. Explain the meaning of the headline.

My April shower

For one family, a costly month – when all six children have their birthdays

By Lucy Laing

WHEN Susan Organ’s doctor told her she was pregnant again and worked out her dates, he could not keep a straight face.

With five April-born children at home, the news that yet another was due seemed a coincidence too far.

The odds of having six babies in a row in the same month is put at three million to one.

But last night, as the birthday season got into full swing in her household, Miss Organ, from Coney Hill, Gloucester, insisted she didn’t plan that way.

She and her partner, builder Clint Hiam, 41, were just happy to have fulfilled their dream of having six children, she said.

And, their family complete, they named the baby April.

Miss Organ, 36, said: ‘It’s a joke going around the village now that I should lock my bedroom door in the month of July, when they were all conceived.’

The couple’s eldest child, Terri Anne, was born on April Fool’s Day, 1986. Her second, Steven, turns 13 on April 19.

She discovered both pregnancies on her own birthday, August 16.

‘With my third child, I also discovered on my birthday that I was expecting, which meant this one too would be an April baby. That’s when it started to become a joke. The GP couldn’t keep a straight face when he worked out my dates.’

Lisa Marie, now 12, was born on April 7, 1992, and Tamara two years later, on April 6.

Miss Organ said: ‘Tamara gave us a bit of a scare as she had to be resuscitated straight after her birth. Luckily she recovered quickly.’

The next to arrive was Darren, now seven. Miss Organ then became pregnant in July 1999 and was due in April, but lost the son she was expecting at five months. ‘I was so devastated when I lost my son that I nearly gave up my dream of having a family of six,’ she said.

‘I didn’t want to go through so much heartache again. When I fell pregnant again in July 2002 I was thrilled, but I was terrified of losing another baby.

‘Luckily she was fine and she was born on April 10, 2003.

‘I knew I just had to name her April. After her birth, I couldn’t wait to get home as it was Darren’s sixth birthday the next day. I was discharged from hospital at 2pm and an hour later I was hosting a party for all his friends.’

Miss Organ is not planning to have any more children.

‘April is an expensive month, with six lots of presents and birthday parties. I’m exhausted by the end of it.

‘I didn’t plan any of my babies to be born in April – it was just an amazing coincidence.’

(from The Daily Mail)

Notes

GP – general practitioner: a doctor who provides general medical treatment for people who live in a particular area