Exercise 1 Exercise based on the opening text in Thanks a Million Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the/0 (no article) in the underlined spaces where appropriate. Change capital letters to lower case letters at the beginning of a sentence if necessary. Ms Parrot, (1) ___ most famous lady detective of (2) ___ twenty-first century, was born in (3) ___ United Kingdom in (4) ___ 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5) ___ Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) ___ northern hemisphere and (7) ___ southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) ___ equator. She has never been to (9) ___ Philippines or (10) ___ United States, but she speaks (11) English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes, (12) ___ famous detective, she plays (13) ___ violin, and sometimes practises up to five times (14) ___ day. She is also (15) ___ only person in (16) ___ world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture [a long piece of music] in one breath on (17) ___ recorder. She has been (18) ___ detective for thirty years and claims that although many people think that being (19) ___ detective is (20) ___ piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard and it’s not all fun and games. (21) ___ detective is someone who solves mysteries, and (22) ___ people who contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual problems. Little information is available about some of (23) ___ cases she has solved, but quite (24) ___ few of her most famous cases have attracted worldwide attention and she has been offered up to (25) ___ thousand dollars (26) ___ hour to help solve mysteries such as (27) ___ case of (28) ___ Australian owl in (29) ___ uniform. (30) ___ bird laid (31) ___ egg in (32) ___ European nest in less than (33) ___ hour after its arrival. What (34) ___ strange problem! With great (35) ___ modesty, she has either declined such (36) ___ fee or donated (37) ___ money to (38) ___ poor, or to (39) ___ Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (40) ___ detective should use their skills for (41) ___ common good.Answers to Articles Exercise 1 – Passage with correct articles inserted Ms Parrot, (1) the most famous lady detective of (2) the twenty-first century, was born in (3) the United Kingdom in (4) the 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5) 0 Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) the northern hemisphere and (7) the southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) the equator. She has never been to (9) the Philippines or (10) the United States, but she speaks (11) 0 English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes, (12) the famous detective, she plays (13) the violin, and sometimes practises up to five times (14) a day. She is also (15) the only person in (16) the world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture in one breath on (17) the recorder. She has been (18) a detective for thirty years and claims that although many people think that being (19) a detective is (20) a piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard and it’s not all fun and games. (21) A detective is someone who solves mysteries, and (22) the people who contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual problems. Little information is available about some of (23) the cases she has solved, but quite (24) a few of her most famous cases have attracted worldwide attention and she has been offered up to (25) a thousand dollars (26) an hour to help solve mysteries such as (27) the case of (28) an Australian owl in (29) a uniform. (30) The bird laid (31) an egg in (32) a European nest in less than (33) an hour after its arrival. What (34) a strange problem! With great (35) 0 modesty, she has either declined such (36) a fee or donated (37) the money to (38) the poor, or to (39) the Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (40) the detective should use their skills for (41) the common good.