10. Language Use. Gap-filling.

 

     Envelopes made of brown, unbleached paper (0) are  described as manila envelopes. The manila envelope is (1)   envelope designed for transporting documents. It is made of thick, durable paper and sized so that full sheets of paper can fit inside without (2) folded.

     For a few years now, I (3)   wondered why they (4)  called Manila (or manila) ones. Initially I thought manila envelopes had to be made in Manila. Instead, Manila envelopes were made from a fibre (5)  came from the ‘abaca’, a relative of the banana, of which the Philippines is the world’s largest grower. (And, just in (6)  you did not know, Manila is the capital of the country.)

     The manila envelope (7)  traditionally brownish-yellow. It often has a mechanism on the closing flap which allows you to open the envelope without damaging it, and the envelope can (8)  used again.