Junket For Robbers Was Police Trap: Grammar Multiple Choice Test

Level: C1

The (1) _________ sign in the front window of the charabanc read: 'Good Buy Charter'. It should have been spelt differently, for the coach party of 25, who had been expecting a jolly day's gambling and drinking at the casinos in Atlantic City, (2) _________ to prison. It was the culmination of another of those police undercover operations which cause such merriment when they are disclosed. Good Buy was the name the police gave to a shop they established five months ago in Manhattan's Diamond District, on West (3) _________ Avenue, for the purpose of buying stolen property. During that time, police say they bought goods worth $2.5m (4) _________ they paid only $8,000 for them. The discrepancy was caused by the fact that much of the property was stolen bonds which are hard (5) _________ and therefore command a low price on the undercover market.

After they(6) _________ the shop, describing themselves as 'buyers of gold and silver', the police said it was not long before word of their willingness to buy stolen property circulated in the underworld. They received a steady flow of offers and propositions, including one from a man who wanted their help in killing and robbing a Brooklyn couple.

Soon the operators of Good Buy informed their clients that, (7) _________ the imminence of spring, they would be organizing a gambling trip to Atlantic City to reward their loyal patrons. (8) _________ would be free champagne and $1,000 of stake money each. The day trippers were to meet yesterday morning at Sullivan's Bar, not far from the Diamond District. When the group of 25 had assembled they were all placed (9) _________ arrest. Then they were loaded on to the coach and driven, not to the seaside, but to the police station. There, 11 of the 25 were charged with possessing stolen goods and the remainder (10) _________ for questioning. Police are still looking for 18 of their customers who, with apparent foresight, did not go.

The Times (BrE)