Senses Worksheet

A Complete the gaps with a word made from the word in brackets.

1 The ear has two very important functions – it __________ us to hear and it functions as… (ABLE)

2 The middle ear contains three tiny bones __________ as the auditory ossicles. (KNOW)

3 The _________ structures of the inner ear are the vestibule, cochlea and semicircular canals.
(BONE)

4 The eyes are housed in orbits located within the ___________ bones at the front of the skull.
(FACE)

5 The sclera is the white portion of the eye which serves as a __________ covering for the eye.
(PROTECTION)

6 The conjunctiva is _____________, but appears white because it covers the sclera. (COLOUR)


B Is university damaging eyesight?

Students experience a marked decline ___(1) eyesight while at university, with too much "intensive"
reading ___(2) blame, a study suggests. Researchers at Spain's Complutense University found 31.3%
of first-years ___(3) short-sighted. Among those four to six years older, in their final year, the
rate was 49%. Research author Dr Rafaela Garrido said many ___(4) the 270 students tested spent
___(5) to 10 hours at a time reading ___(6) poor light. She told BBC News Online: "Some students
are spending ___(7) long in intensive near work with their eyes. It is also a problem with people
__(8) spend too long on a computer or using a microscope. It's difficult to ask students to do less
reading, ___(9) it is essential to passing courses, but we have to find ways to deal with the
stress on the eyes." Research is ____(10) carried out into lenses to prevent myopia among those
involved in intensive reading or screen-viewing.

D Video – Ear

1 The ___________, the visible part of the ear, collects sound waves and directs them to the
_________ canal, which is lined with ____________ and ceruminous ______________

2 The outer ear is separated from the middle ear by __________________.

3 The three tiny bones of the middle ear are the _________ or malleus, ________ or incus, and
stapes or _________.

4 The Eustachian tube of the middle ear opens into the ____________ and permits ________________to
equalize between the ear and the outside air.

5 The inner ear is ___________-like, consisting of bony and membranous structures surrounded by
fluid. The semi-circular canals are fluid-filled bony ____________ that help maintain our body’s
balance.

6 The organ of Corti is situated in the cochlea which is a fluid-filled, ___________-shaped
structure. The organ of Corti changes the vibrations into nerve ______________ that are picked up
by the ______________ nerve.

7 The auditory or ______________nerve sends these to the temporal lobe of the brain for
interpretation.

E Grammar point – Indirect speech