For years now, the world's fastest trains, _____ in Japan and France, have been stuck at a maximum operating speed of around three hundred kilometers an hour - in fact the latest Japanese bullet trains travel a bit slower than their predecessors, the emphasis of the designers being more on smoothness and economy. Now JR East, the country's largest railway company, has unveiled a _____ faster train, capable of sustained speeds of around three hundred and sixty kilometers an hour.

The new train, _____ has been displayed in a dazzling teal colour, looks very similar to the streamlined models already running on Japan's high-speed railways, except _____ one unusual feature - extra emergency brakes in the form of cat's ears that rise from the roof of the carriages - this, a response to the derailment of a bullet train after an earthquake last year.

The testing will be extensive - the new train won't go into service for six years. Strictly speaking it isn't the world's fastest - that honour goes to magnetically-levitated trains which literally float above the track on an enormous magnetic field - and yes, the fastest of those is also Japanese, an experimental model that has hit speeds of close to six hundred kilometers an hour.

But only one maglev network is in operation today - a German system, built in Shanghai - and it only covers the thirty kilometers from the airport to the city. The technology is _____ prohibitively expensive that conventional railways are likely to dominate inter-city travel for many more years.
Jonathan Head, BBC News, Tokyo

1.
A) to have operated  B) operating C) being operated D) having been operated
2.
A) much  B) far  C) more  D) too
3.
A) that   B) where C) which  D) ----
4.
A) from   B) through C) in   D) for
5)
A) such   B) so  C) as   D) enough

Fill in the blanks using words from the text
1. We couldn’t understand why he hadn’t taken such an _____ opportunity.
2. Even though the plane is smaller than its _____, it is much more comfortable.
3. His _____ to the administration’s demand as to the decline in overall performance showed that  nothing was his fault.
4. Most of the first year students are _____ to be awarded a scholarship due to their academic accomplishments.
5. Their persevarance is _____ the one which should be admired.