Catching a Yawn

B2 First · Word Formation · Cambridge Ready original exercise

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 (0).

SIMPLE

EXPLAIN

RESEARCH

BORE

EQUAL

ABLE

LIKE

INTEREST

Few things spread as easily as a yawn. Just seeing someone else yawn, or even reading about it, is often enough to start you off, and you may begin yawning (0) ___ before you even realise what is happening. Despite its (1) ___ , the yawn remains something of a mystery. For a long time, the most widely accepted (2) ___ was that we yawn to take in more oxygen, but (3) ___ have found little evidence for this. Many scientists now believe that yawning helps to cool the brain, which may be why we often yawn when we feel tired or (4) ___ . Why yawns pass from person to person is (5) ___ puzzling. One idea is that it is connected with our (6) ___ to understand how other people feel, since we are more (7) ___ to catch a yawn from a close friend than from a stranger. (8) ___ , pet dogs sometimes catch yawns from their owners, too.

Catching a Yawn

CONSCIOUS

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

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