5521 bosses

BOSSES
There are very few people I really dislike but Mr
Mackenzie, (1) ______, is certainly one of them. I have
been working for Mardex since I left school five years
ago as secretary for Mr Norton, (2) ______, and our branch has always been – (3)
______ - a happy place. Mr Norton , (4) ______, always encouraged us and stood up
for us (5) ______. Then, one morning last April, (6) ______, Mr Mackenzie arrived.

I always arrive first, a minute or two after 9.30, (7) ______, and everyone else
turns up in the next quarter of an hour. That morning I was surprised to see a thin
man waiting outside, (8) ______, (9) ______, (10) ______. ‘Ah,’ he observed
sarcastically, ‘a sign of life! What do you do here? – (11) ______?’ I told him who I
was and showed him into Mr Norton’s office. Mr Norton arrived ten minutes later, (12)
______, (13) ______.

Since then Mr Mackenzie has visited us quite often. He calls us together and makes
a little speech, (14) ______. He tells us how idle and useless we all are. The first
time, he said we were ‘a lot of dilettantes’, (15) ___. He explains that when he arrived
in Dundee, (16) ______, everything was a shambles. Now it is the most efficient
branch in Britain, (17) ______.

The whole atmosphere in the office is different now. Mr
Norton, (18) ______, shouts at me irritably and smokes
three packets a day. The worst of it is that we never know
when Mr Mackenzie is coming, (19) ______. Our only hope
is that he is so ambitious that he is bound to be promoted
to Head Office in London, (20) ______.


A number of phrases have been omitted from each of the paragraphs. Choose the
most appropriate phrase from the list given to complete the description.

Paragraph 1
A - the Branch manager in Fairley
B - the Area manager for my firm
C - who is a kindly, good-humoured man of about 50
D - that is to say, it was until recently
E - when no one expected it
F – when there were problems with the head office

Paragraph 2
A – which disappeared from his face as soon as he saw Mr Mackenzie
B – which the official opening time
C – who was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground
D – with his usual cheerful smile
E – with a wispy beard and fierce, penetrating grey eyes
F – if, in fact, you do anything
G – dressed in a dark blue suit

Paragraph 3
A – which is all due to him, no doubt
B – which sounded bad but did not upset us much because we did not know what
he meant.
C – which is always the same
D – where he was Branch Manager before his present appointment

Paragraph 4
A – which makes it difficult to put on a show of efficiency
B – who used to be so pleasant and gave up smoking because of his bronchitis
C – where he can make other people’s lives miserable and leave us alone

PARAGRAPH 1
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. C
5. F
6. E
PARAGRAPH 2
7. B
8. E
9. G
10. C
11. F
12. D
13. A
PARAGRAPH 3
14. C
15. B
16. D
17. A
PARAGRAPH 4
18. B
19. A
20. C