VII. Use Present Perfect or Present Indefinite: 1. Helen (to be) sick since last week. She (to miss) her grammar test. 2. He (to read) a lot - вопрос №2340908

VII. Use Present Perfect or Present Indefinite:
1. Helen (has been) sick since last week. She (has missed) her grammar test.

2. He (reads) a lot and (knows) a lot.

3. Bob’s parents usually (stay) in the country the whole summer.

4. We (have stayed) here for a month, and it (rains) almost every day.
 
5.  (Are) you at home in the evening? -In this way we can ask someone in the morning or in the afternoon, i.e. before the evening of the same day.

Have you been at home in the evening? We can ask in the midnight of the same day.

6. I (have been) here ever since morning.

7. He (receives) letters from her every week.

8. He (has received) letters from her since last year.

9. Is it the first time he (sees) a tiger?

10. That’s the third time I (phone) her today.

11. How long  (have you known) each other?

12. I've hardly (heard) anything from her since that time.

13. It long (has been) my dream to visit Canada.

14. She (dreams) of becoming an actress.

15. Normally I (have) breakfast at 8 in the morning.

16. I've just ( had)  my breakfast.

1. has been, has missed
2 reads, knows
3 stay
4 have stayed, has rained (the best ishas been raining)
5.are 
6 have been
7 receives
8 hasn't received

9 has seen
10. have phoned

11 have known
12 have hardly heard
13 has been
14 dreams
15 have
16 have just had

4. it (rains) almost every day.-a repititive event. I think if we change «every day» with «all the time» then we can use present perfect.
    it has rained almost all the time. 
  
9. Is it the first time he (sees) a tiger? — in this way we can say  when being in the Zoo now and standing near the cage with a tiger.
    Is it the first time he (has seen) a tiger?-after visiting a Zoo.
 I think two variants are possible.

10.That’s the third time I (phone) her today.- I think we can say in this way during dialing (at the moment of dialing) of a telephone number, we describe a repetitive event (the event repeats three times).
That’s the third time I (have phoned) her today.-the moment after making a call. Two variants are possible.

4) I agree, but i will still use has rained

9) и 10) у многих действительно возникают затруднения, и именно на таких примерах ловят на тестах, Владимир правильно рассуждает, по смыслу вещей, так, как говорит Владимир. Но есть конкретное правило по поводу: it's the first time ...., it's the third time,…  Просто запомнить, как должное. Не зная правило, интуицией я бы поставила симпл, но, если подумать, то It's the FIRST time he has seen a tiger (here we consider the period of time He has never seen a tiger in his WHOLE life).The sentence implies that over the entire span of his life this is the first time.

10) Present Perfect only