PRACTICE 1

Ex 1. Choose the correct letter to complete the following sentences.

1. This is _____ the most difficult job I’ve ever had to do.
A. by heart B. by chance C. by far D. by myself
2. A trial medication _____ to treat common viral infections has proved to be somewhat
effective.
A. is used B. used C. using D. that used
3. The vice director is supposed to ________ when her boss is gone away on business.
She will be responsible for solving all the company’s affairs during this period.
A. go with the flow B. call the shots C. face the music D. get the picture
4. She could sleep well ______ the loud music the neighbor played last night.
A. although B. despite C. regardless D. but
5. Due to the political situation, the President must _____ your invitation to tour your
country.
A. decline B. renounce C. snub D. reject
6. I would rather that it ________ not summer now.
A. be B. is C. were D. being

Ex 2. Choose the word (phrase) that has the OPPOSITE meaning to the underlined
word (phrase).

7. Although they did not have the money, the company went ahead with the project.
A. approved B. postponed C. launched D. continued
8. Just blow off his comments. He’s just joking.
A. disregard B. pay attention to C. ignore D. take note of
9. I regretted not purchasing those trendy shoes due to a lack of funds.
A. insufficiency B. abundance C. scarcity D. inadequency
10. Lane has won several professional tournaments off of the European Tour, most
lucratively the 1995 Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf.
A. gainfully B. advantageously C. boomingly D. unprofitably
11. Tougher prison sentences may serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
A. incentive B. impediment C. curtailment D. constraint
12. A celebrated psychologist who expanded our knowledge of what our children think
and develop was a Swiss named Jean Piaget.
A. obscure B. renowned C. conservative D. prominent
13. The university committed to a dynamic, multidisciplinary research environment in
addition to cutting-edge research topics.
A. oft-studied B. tedious C. seminal D. antiquated

Ex 3. Choose the sentence that has the CLOSEST meaning to the provided sentence.

14. I succeeded through hard work, clever decisions and, finally but still importantly,
luck.
A. Hard work, clever decisions and, last but not least, luck helped me succeed.
B. Luck is the final component which helped me gain success in the hard work.
C. I went through hard work and succeeded thanks to clever decisions and luck.
D. It is luck, rather than clever decisions, that was vital to my career success.
15. In some ways, walking is healthier than travelling by car, but it can be just as
unhealthy because cities are much more polluted than they used to be.
A. Walking is better for your health to some extent than driving a car particularly when
people walk in a clean environment.
B. Both walking and travelling by car are no longer healthy because of the increasingly
high level of pollution in cities.
C. Walking is not always better for your health than driving a car, such as in heavily
polluted areas.
D. Walking is even less healthy than driving in a car especially in cities as the
environment there is much more polluted now.
16. He was successful because he was determined to pursue personal goals. He was not
talented.
A. His success lay in his natural ability, not in his determination to pursue personal goals.
B. It was his determination to pursue personal goals, not talent, that contributed to his
success.
C. In addition to his determination, his talent ensured his success in pursuing his goals.
D. His determination to pursue personal goals made him successful despite being
talented.
17. Students don’t have the professor’s signature to use the materials. They can’t take
them out of the library.
A. Once the professor signs the materials, students can take them home after borrowing
them from the library.
B. The professor’s signature can be found on the materials when students borrow them
from the library.
C. The library can lend the material to students who have the professor’s signature on the
materials.
D. If students had the professor’s signature to use the materials, they could take them out
of the library.
18. He can’t have read much about the subject before giving his speech because he was
completely uninformed.
A. Since not informed of the subject, he clearly hadn’t researched it well before
speaking.
B. In the end, he didn’t have to give his speech anyway, so he needn’t have read so much
about this topic.
C. Not having read much about the subject before his speech, he wasn’t surprised at
being considered uninformed.
D. He had to read a lot about the topic before speaking because he knows nothing at all
about it.
19. I didn’t know that you were at home. I didn’t drop in.
A. Had I not known that you were at home, I wouldn’t have dropped in.
B. Not knowing that you were at home, I didn’t drop in.
C. If I had known that you were not at home, I wouldn’t have dropped in.
D. Not having known that you were at home, I didn’t drop in.
20. “You should have finished the report by now,” John told his secretary.
A. John reproached his secretary for not having finished the report.
B. John pleaded with his secretary to have finished the report.
C. John reminded his secretary of finishing the report on time.
D. John complimented his secretary on having finished the report.
21. Overeating is a cause of several deadly diseases. Physical inactivity is another cause
of several deadly diseases.
A. Not only overeating but also physical inactivity may lead to several deadly diseases.
B. Apart from physical activities, eating too much also contributes to several deadly
diseases.
C. Both overeating and physical inactivity result from several deadly diseases.
D. Overeating and physical inactivity are caused by several deadly diseases.
22. I don’t think we’ll see Simon as he is leaving for New York 2 hours earlier than
planned.
A. That he plans to leave for New York 2 hours earlier makes it possible for us to see
Simon.
B. Without his leaving for New York 2 hours earlier than planned, we would have seen
Simon.
C. If Simon hadn’t left for New York 2 hours earlier than planned, we would all see him
now.
D. There’s little likelihood of our seeing Simon since he is leaving for New York 2 hours
earlier than planned.
23. “You are the only child in your family, aren’t you?” she asked me.
A. She asked me whether I was the only child in my family.
B. She did not know that I was the only child in my family.
C. She wanted to know why I did not have brothers or sisters.
D. She was suspicious of me being the only child in the family.
24. It’s no use expecting someone else to find you a career, you must do something about
it.
A. You shouldn’t take anyone else to accept a career you aren’t willing to take on
yourself.
B. You shouldn’t expect others to give up their careers for you.
C. If you don’t want to have a career yourself, you might as well let someone else have
this one.
D. You will never get a career unless you set about getting one yourself.
25. He was such a wet blanket at the party tonight!
A. He was wet through after the party.
 B. He brought a wet blanket to the party.
C. He spoiled other people’s pleasure.
D. He made people at the party wet through.
26. My father encouraged me in my choice of career. That’s why I become a chef now.
A. It was my father who encouraged me to become a chef otherwise I had chosen another
career.
B. Hadn’t my father encouraged me in my choice of career, I would become a chef now.
C. If my father hadn’t been courageous, I would never have become a chef now.
D. If it hadn’t been for my father’s encouragement, I wouldn’t become a chef now.
27. She left the apartment complex. Her husband gave her a call right afterwards.
A. She left the apartment complex just as her husband called.
B. Her husband has called her before she left the apartment building.
C. She was leaving the apartment complex when her husband gave a call.
D. No sooner had she left the apartment building than her husband called.
28. Most scientists know him well. However, very few ordinary people have heard of
him.
A. Many ordinary people know him better than most scientists do.
B. Although he is well-known to scientists, he is little known to the general public.
C. He is the only scientist that is not known to the general public.
D. Not only scientists but also the general public know him as a big name.
29. Nam defeated the former champion in three sets. He finally won the inter-school table
tennis championship.
A. Being defeated bythe former champion, Nam lost the chance to play the final game of
inter-school table tennis championship.
B. Having defeated the former champion in theinter-school table tennis, Nam did not
hold the title of champion.
C. Having defeated the former champion in three sets, Nam won the inter-school table
tennis championship.
D. Although Nam defeated the former champion in three sets, he did not win the title of
inter-school table tennis champion.
30. My sister had an obsession about her boyfriend’s faithfulness.
A. My sister takes her boyfriend’s faithfulness for granted.
B. My sister has a bee in her bonnet about her boyfriend’s faithfulness.
C. My sister makes an inquiry into her boyfriend’s faithfulness.
D. My sister makes a fuss about her boyfriend’s faithfulness.

Ex 4. Choose the word that has a different stress to others.

31. A. challenging B. consultant C. purity D. wholesaler

32. A. relentless B. impartial C. accomplished D. reconcile
33. A. infamous B. susceptible C. vulnerable D. feverish
34. A. refugee B. committee C. referee D. chimpanzee
35. A. exhaustible B. bureaucracy C. millenium D. atmospheric
 36. A. imminent B. dilemma C. infamous D. speculate
37. A. conservative B. explanatory C. equidistant D. intimidate
38. A. redundancy B. infrastructure C. sensuousness D. literacy
39. A. occasion B. nonetheless C. compartment D. endanger
40. A. reversion B. suspicious C. destructive D. cultivate

Ex 5. Choose the word (phrase) that has the CLOSEST meaning to the underlined word
(phrase).

41. The piece of work is urgent and must be done without delay.
A. gradually B. immediately C. efficiency D. previously
42. Tony was so absorbed in his assignment that he forgot all about his dinner in the
oven.
A. busy with B. negligible C. distracted from D. obliged to
43. He had never experienced such discourtesy towards the president as it occurred at the
annual meeting in May.
A. politeness B. rudeness C. encouragement D. measurement
44. Roger’s Thesaurus, a collection of English words and phrases, was originally
arranged by the ideas they express rather than by alphabetical order.
A. unless B. instead of C. and D. as well as
45. According to Freud, dreams can be interpreted as the fulfillment of wishes.
A. attainment B. performance C. conclusion D. completion
46. My elder sister failed her final exam, which depressed my parents.
A. embarrassed B. disappointed C. pleased D. satisfied
47. The whole village was wiped out in the bombing raids, no more beautiful rustic
houses, no more green paddy fields.
A. changed B. cleaned well C. destroyed D. removed
48. A brieft outline of the course and bibliography were handed out to the students at the
first meeting.
A. discarded B. showed up C. distributed D. contributed
49. The girl didn’t bat an eyelid after she was given a bad mark for not finishing her
homework.
A. didn’t tell anyone C. didn’t sleep a wink
B. didn’t show any surprise D. didn’t talk to anyone
50. Within a week on display at the exhibition, the painting was hailed as a masterpiece
which attracts a lot of attention.
A. a down-to-earth work of art C. an expensive work of art
B. an excellent work of art D. a large work of art
51. He was one of the most outstanding performers at the live show last night and
received a standing ovation from the audience.
A. easy-looking B. important C. well-known D.
impression
52. The striker must go to great lengths if he wants to play in the finale.
A. try very hard C. run pretty far
B. ask for help D. get on with others