1. The detective story is sometimes called 'whodunit' because the reader has to work ......... who did it, who committed the crime.

in

out

off

over

2. The skill of course of the writing is how many times a reader can be sent up ......... alleys.

short

twisted

blind

long

3. Another way of putting this is how many red ......... the author can throw in the reader's path.

fish

sharks

cod

herrings

4. The idea is to keep the readers in a permanent state of ......... so that they never know what's going to happen next.

suspense

suspension

suspending

suspenders

5. As the plot ........., you find yourself agreeing with one character's solution and then another's.

undoes

unfolds

unties

unfurls

6. As a result you feel as if you are walking in a ......... since at each turning you come to a block end.

muddle

mess

maze

mist

7. One of the best known detectives is Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot who uses what he calls his little grey ......... — his brains.

molecules

cells

particles

atoms

8. Invariably Poirots calls all the ......... together in the last part of the story.

suspicions

suspecting

suspected

suspects

9. One by one he ......... the innocent until finally the murderer is unmasked.

extinguishes

excludes

eliminates

exerts

10. The thing that always surprises me is the fact that the murderer bothers to take ......... in the final meeting.

partition

part

parting

parted

11. Anyone seeking ......... of life on Mars is likely to be disappointed.

clarity

evidence

witness

index

12. Scientists have been ......... through data from an orbiting satellite.

combing

scratching

brushing

scaling

13. It seems that Mars has always been cold and icy and that it's not true that oceans have ......... on the planet in its early history.

shaped

figured

contoured

formed

14. This ......... in the life on Mars argument comes just when it is closest to Earth in 60.000 years.

turn

twist

corner

angle

15. Because it is coming so close observers are hoping to settle the argument about life on the planet once and for ..........

everything

every

all

altogether

16. A spacecraft is heading for the planet with a device that will ......... into the soil to sniff for proof of any life.

hole

swim

burrow

turn

17. Researchers are also looking into the possibility of one day launching a manned ......... to Mars.

sending

mission

destination

explore

18. As the planet gets nearer to the Sun, enormous dust storms can be whipped ..........

over

on

in

up

19. Unfortunately the dust storms tend to ......... the view of the planet.

fog

obscure

confuse

darken

20. Everyone hopes that Mars will remain dust free otherwise people will only be able to see an orange ..........

blot

block

blob

blab