Write a or an in the spaces. Hint: Say the word out loud to hear if it starts with a vowel or consonant sound. NOTE: A vowel sound is preceded by 'an'; a consonant sound by 'a'.

1    an unpaid bill   

2    a U-turn   

3    an hourly rate

4    a useful device   

5    a European design

6    an intelligent interface

7    an F grade

8    a universal problem

9    an honourable person

10  an idea

11  a clever idea

12  a harmful drug

13  an equal opportunity

14  an x-ray

Complete the following tasks with a, an, or x (for no article needed).    

NOTE: No article (X) is needed if

• the noun is already identified by a unique name (e.g. Auckland University, Auckland Domain)
• the noun is an uncountable noun referring to a concept, entity, or quality (e.g. education, kindness, gold)
• the noun is plural, referring to a generic category or class in general statements (e.g.X Computers are X useful machines.)

Task 1:

1   An incident on X Symonds Street created a massive traffic jam that lasted for hours.

2   X cloth is a material made by weaving wool, silk, cotton or linen.

3   X Nescafe is an instant coffee which is drunk all over the world.

4   X rice is a food eaten as the staple diet in most Asian countries.

5   A university is an institution which provides X tertiary education.

6   X coffee is a drink which is made from the roasted and ground beans of the coffee shrub.

7   X steel is a material commonly used for building purposes.

8   X IR34 is a rice which is taller than other varieties, and is more resistant to X major insects and diseases.

9   X diamond is a precious stone of X pure carbon, harder than any other known substance.

10 X knowledge is X power.

11 A scientist in America has discovered a possible cure for X cancer.

Task 2: A report
   
The patient is an elderly woman. Mrs Dorothy Brown was admitted to A&E at 4.45 p.m. She had been in a road accident approximately forty minutes earlier. When she was admitted to x hospital, Mrs Brown was fully conscious and able to talk coherently. However, she was suffering from x shock and she was vague about what had happened. A policeman gave x staff a description of what he knew about the accident.   
   
Mrs Brown had been driving along Riverside Road when she hit a stationary tanker carrying x chlorine parked at the side of the road on a blind bend. The front of her car was seriously damaged, the steering wheel was pushed forward by the impact and came into contact with the lower part of Mrs Brown's face and chest. Chemicals did escape from the tanker but it was not clear on admission if Mrs Brown had come into contact with them.

Select the correct article from the options given to complete the following texts.

Text 1: Internet Issues  

The --- Internet is an --- amazing information resource. Ø --- Students,Ø --- teachers, and Ø --- researchers use it as an --- investigative tool.Ø --- Journalists use it to find Ø --- information for Ø --- stories. Ø --- Doctors use it to learn more about Ø --- unfamiliar diseases and the --- latest medical developments. Ø --- Ordinary people use it for Ø --- shopping, Ø --- banking, and communicating with Ø --- family and Ø --- friends. It is inevitable that Ø --- people all over the --- world use it to connect with Ø --- individuals from Ø --- other countries and cultures.

 Source: Brown, K., & Hood, S. (2002). Academic Encounters: Life in Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  (p. 129)

Text 2: Energy and Fuels 

1  Ø --- Coal is the --- least efficient, unhealthiest, and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel.

2  Today, it provides around 40% of the --- world's energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles.

3  The --- first wells were drilled 2400 years ago, but Ø --- modern industry was born in the --- 1850s.

4  The --- majority of oil comes from the --- Middle East.

5  Ø --- Natural gas, which is mostly methane, is the --- cleanest fossil fuel by weight.

6  In the --- next few decades, one way for the --- UK to meet greenhouse gas commitments, could be Ø --- increased nuclear power generation.

7  Ø --- Hydroelectric power is now the --- most common form of Ø --- renewable energy, supplying 20% of the --- world's electricity.

8  Ø --- Hydrogen fuel cells have Ø --- enormous potential if Ø --- technical problems can be solved.

9  Increasing Ø --- efficiency in energy production could also yield Ø --- massive savings, as it did during the --- oil crisis of the --- 1970s.