Read these extracts from newspaper and magazine articles. Choose one phrase from each of the pairs in the box to complete the sentences.
| could be facing / can be facing | could have been prevented / can have been prevented |
| ought to give / ought to have given | would not have been able to grow / will not be able to grow |
| might be working / might have been working | must get easier / must be getting easier |
1. An enquiry into last year’s explosion at the Amcon Refinery that killed 25 workers concluded that it _______________ if the refinery had installed a hazard warning system, as safety officers had recommended.
2. Mr Rosi will return to court on 31 January to hear his sentence, having been warned yesterday that he _______________ a long period in prison.
3. There is some evidence to suggest that Jon Ricci _______________ as a secret agent during the 1960s, although even after the end of the Cold War this was never confirmed.
4. Mateusz Weber, chief executive of the Schools Examination Authority, said: "The newspapers claim that the improving results show that exams _______________ . But we are absolutely certain that standards have remained the same."
5. Messi _______________ them the lead just before half time, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper, who made an easy save.
6. For centuries the flooding of the Nile was very important because, without it, the people _______________ crops in the dry desert. But global warming has changed the traditional patterns of agriculture in this part of the world.
1 could have been prevented
2 could be facing
3 might have been working
4 must be getting easier
5 ought to have given
6 would not have been able to grow
