II. Read through the following text and then choose from list A-G the best phrase to fill each of the blanks.

Aruba? Where is Aruba, you may ask. It is a Caribbean island, seventeen miles off the coast of Venezuela. It used to be part of the Dutch West Indies...1... Aruba is an ancient Indian tribal word meaning buried gold...2... But the mines are now closed, as are the chemical works and the oil refinery and tourism offers the best hope of the economic recovery.

Aruba is an island where all that is beautiful is being preserved in the hope of attracting visitors. And it certainly is beautiful white beaches, nodding coconut palms, a turquoise sea, reefs of coral and splendid rocks...3.... It is a genuinely happy island. In a week we did not hear an argument or see a display of bad temper...4.... The number of plates on all the cars say it all One happy island.

"There is no one day in the year without sunshine," boasts the Aruban Tourist Authority...5... But the main reason for the friendliness of Arubans is their mixed racial and social background and the fact that, for 350 years, they have never really felt under political pressure. Arubans are easy-going, but not lazy. They believe in providing efficient service, but are not servile. They respect tradition.....6.....

And above all, they believe in keeping their island spotlessly clean. Aruba is trying hard to provide everything a visitor might want water sports, good walks and drives, a mass of land sports, casinos and more than 100 restaurants, offering French, Dutch, Italian or Aruban cuisine. But the island's greatest attraction is the good humour of its people....7.....

A. and it is true that less than 20 inches of rainfall in a whole year

B. but it is not a cheap place to visit

C. and nature has given Aruba many curiosities

D. but their lifestyle makes use of the very latest technology

E. and the fact that the visitor is not pressurised

F. and you have no problem being understood on this island

G. and that, anywhere these days, is rare

H. and it was this that provided most of the island's wealth in the past

J. but it is much more than a beautiful island

K. until it gained semi-independence in 1986