Never a crossed word

Thanks to a combination of computer graphics and clever mathematical short cuts, crossword puzzle fans can finally play the game in three dimensions – and on the Internet, too. A new Internet company called Horizon began releasing the puzzles at www.3dcrossword.com last month. Using a special browser plug-in, players can solve a cubelike crossword puzzle. Words run not only up and down, but also through the (1) ..... , which you rotate in 3D space as you solve each line. Horizon’s idea is to (2) ..... the puzzles as kooky content for other websites.

“I’ve been around crosswords for 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard a 3D crossword even rumoured to be in existence. Even a 2D crossword is (3) ….. to construct mathematically,” says Timothy Parker, who constructs crosswords for the Universal Press syndicate. Parker is (4) ..... with Horizon to edit its 3D crosswords.

Good human crossword constructors can create a newspaper crossword puzzle in a matter of hours. But add the third dimension, and the task is virtually (5) ..... . Horizon’s chief executive Dan Moran says he knows someone who hand-constructed a 3D crossword in a seven-by-seven-by-seven cube – (6) ..... it took five years.

Even a computer might find the problem beyond it, since the number of combinations is so large. Crunching through (7) ..... the combinations in a 10-space cube could take years, even for a fast computer. But Moran says the company created algorithms that allow the computer to (8) ..... when it’s labouring at a dead end, or to rearrange the spaces to make a puzzle (9) ..... to create. Using the algorithms, Horizon’s computer can spit out a new puzzle about every 15 minutes.

All Horizon has to do now is create the clues for the puzzles, which still have to be (10) ..... . Parker says he wants to make sure the puzzles conform to the same high standards as the 2D world, such as not having too many obscure words.

III. WRITING

Write a review about one of your favourite books (60–80 words). Use the prompts given below:

• the title and the author;

• what the book is about (the main characters/subjects);

• recommendations why you think other readers might read it.

EXAMINATION CARD № 26

II. USE OF ENGLISH

You are going to read a newspaper article about a work of art. Some words are missing from the text. Choose the most appropriate word from the list (A-M) for each gap (1-10) in the text. There are two extra words that you do not need to use.

Smuggled queen heads back to Egypt