The Celebrated Pedestrian - Unit 2

B2 First · Word Formation · Ready for B2 First 4th Edition, Macmillan Education Limited

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning.

SPECTATE

DISTANT

PARTICIPATE

WALK

ORDINARY

PERFORM

LIKELY

PHYSICAL

Pedestrianism, an early form of racewalking, was an (0) ___ popular sport in 18th- and 19th-century Britain, attracting huge crowds of (1) ___ . Individuals would either aim to walk a certain (2) ___ within a specified period of time or else compete against other pedestrians. Cash prizes were offered but (3) ___ could also earn substantial amounts from the money gambled on events. Perhaps the most famous (4) ___ was Captain Robert Barclay Allardice, whose (5) ___ achievements earned him the title of ‘The Celebrated Pedestrian’. The Scotsman’s most memorable (6) ___ took place in 1809, when he walked 1000 miles (1609 kilometres) in 1000 hours for a bet of 1000 guineas. Many considered it (7) ___ that he would complete the challenge, which required him to walk a mile an hour, every hour, for forty-two days and nights. He proved them wrong, though the task was so (8) ___ demanding that by the end of the walk he had lost nearly fifteen kilos in weight.

The Celebrated Pedestrian

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Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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