I am ...................................................................

EXAM PREPARATION
By NQH English Team

SKILLS FOCUS 3
Part 1 Read the text and supply the correct forms of the words in the parentheses.

IRONING
conveniently (CONVENIENCE) do not crease,
Many people hate ironing and seek out modern fabrics that 0...........................
but is it really such a tedious and 1........................... (AGREE) chore? When done in the 2........................... (PRIVATE)
and warmth of a cosy kitchen with the radio on, it can be a fairly pleasant way of spending your time. And
when it’s finished, there’s always something rather 3........................... (SATISFY) about a pile of neatly ironed
clothes. Anyway, love it or loathe it, here are a few guidelines:

• Before you start, 4........................... (SURE) you have enough wardrobe

space to allow your clothes to hang 5........................... (FREE) once
they have been ironed.
• Plug the iron in close to the ironing board. A length of cord stretched
across a room represents a serious 6........................... (SAFE) hazard.
Also keep cords beyond the reach of children, whose natural
7........................... (CURIOUS) may led them to pull the cord – and the
iron – onto themselves.
• Read the care label on each garment for the recommended ironing
8........................... (PROCEED) and the appropriate temperature
9........................... (SET). If in doubt, start with a cool iron. If this proves
to be 10........................... (EFFECT) and the clothes remain creased,
increase the temperature as necessary.
• Iron clothes while they are still slightly damp.

Part 2 Fill in each blank with a part of your body to make meaningful idioms.

1 Don’t worry, I won’t tell your parents how much you spent on girls. My ........................ are sealed.

2 The old ........................ are always critical of the newcomers simply because they do things clumsily.

3 My daughter wants to date two boys at the same time. I told her she’d get to do it over my dead
........................

4 Ben was pulling Eddie’s ........................ when he told him that he was deeply in love with him.

5 I often need three spoonsful of sugar in my tea. I think I have a sweet ........................ .

6 We are planning to go to the beach to let our ........................ down this weekend.

7 Just give me a minute to finish my work and then I’ll be all ........................ to hear what you have to say.

8 I really need to get the problem off my ........................, so could you stay over tonight?

9 Anytime you’re in trouble, you can turn to me. I’ll give you a ........................ .

10 Keep your ........................ up. I’m sure you’ll get another girlfriend soon.

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11 The rule of the ........................ is that the students wear black pants and white shirts.

12 When Sarah came over to apologise to Lucy, she was so moved that she cried her ........................ out.

Part 3 Choose from A, B, C or D the most suitable answer for each question.

1 I’d like to get him a special birthday present, but nothing .............. to mind.
A jump B springs C rushes D come
2 I was going to ring her to wish her happy birthday, but it completely .............. my mind.
A skidded B snuck C slipped D split
3 When I looked at the exam questions, my mind went ..............; I did not remember a thing!
A bananas B to the beach C shopping D blank
4 Her name is on the tip of my .............., but I can’t remember it. What is it again?
A nose B toe C tongue D lips
5 He was so focused on his .............. of thought that he did not hear me shouting his name.
A train B bus C plane D boat
6 I .............. my brains, but I couldn’t think where I’d left the book.
A washed B racked C polished D burned
7 The thought of you breaking the window never even crossed my ..............
A house B bridge C mind D eyes
8 It’s only a .............. of time before we start to colonise other planets.
A matter B problem C issue D thing
9 I believe in you. .............. times out of .............., you can fix it.
A Three – four B Six – seven C Nine – ten D Ten – ten
10 The deputy manager got the sack for incompetence and Jacob stepped into his .............., inheriting all
those problems to be dealt with.
A life B bedroom C house D shoes
11 My brother pulled out .............. and managed to meet the deadline.
A all the stops B his hair C the grass D all-nighter
12 The car chase at the end of the film was .............. .
A a 2020 Civic Sedan B in my rich brother’s collection
C fast and furious D what that I like about this film

Part 4 Supply the correct form of the verbs in the parentheses.

1 Supposing eight million people suddenly ...................................... (fly) from London to New York, imagine
how much CO2 ...................................... (release) into the atmosphere as a result of the burning of so much
fossil fuel.

2 People ...................................... (not support) us now if they ...................................... (not see) that video.

3 By the time the man ...................................... (admit) to the hospital, his heart ...................................... (stop)
beating. There was nothing the doctors could do.

4 The spokesperson announced that the President ...................................... (just, return) from England and
...................................... (visit) our country the following month.

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5 He advised that this cake ...................................... (keep) in a freezer, but I completely forgot about it.

6 But for his contributions, we couldn’t ...................................... (be able to) seal the deal so easily.

7 I wish my friends ...................................... (help) me with the project, then I ...................................... (get) a
higher score.

8 After the terms ...................................... (change) several times, it ...................................... (finally, agree) upon.

Part 5 Read the text and choose from A, B, C or D the most suitable word or phrase to fill in each blank.

Hidden messages in animated films

Who doesn’t love animated films? Sure, people may claim that they are only for children, but 1............
down everyone has a soft spot for at least one animated film. It’s understandable; animation technology
has 2............ on by leaps and bounds in recent years. But, have you ever noticed that a lot of animated
films present similar messages? The characters may change but they always inhabit the human world.
Although we have to give 3............ imagination a little to believe that non-humans can talk, we are still
firmly based in our reality. Secondly, while the characters always come up 4............ some kind of problem,
there is often no magic wand to provide a solution. 5............, problems are shared and solved by the
forming of a 6............ between characters with different abilities. There’s often a more intelligent
character in the steering wheel, but the less intelligent one also ends up playing a vital role. This 7............
mirroring of real life promotes the idea of 8............ together to defend what is right.

1 A far B deep C somewhere D low

2 A developed B increased C moved D come
3 A in to B up C off D out
4 A for B with C against D opposite
5 A Even B Although C Whereas D Instead
6 A partnership B group C relationship D cooperation
7 A clear B subtle C open D complicated
8 A being B putting C working D talking

Part 6 Supply the correct forms of the words in BOLD.

1 They were given food and shelter in ......................... for work. CHANGE

2 The regulations state that all equipment must be ......................... before use. STERILE

3 They were discussing the best way to foster democracy and ......................... in the former communist
countries. PROSPER

4 He harbours a deep ......................... against his parents for his miserable childhood. RESENT
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5 The tragic accident has done ......................... brain damage to the poor man and he is spending the rest
of his life in a wheelchair. REVERSE

6 In a surprising break with ........................., she wore a red wedding dress. CONVENTIONAL

7 My art teacher taught me that too much background detail tends to ......................... the impact of the
central image. LITTLE

8 The investigation focused on the ......................... causes of the fire. LIE

9 The company hoped to profit from the ......................... communications industry. BURGEON

10 We all know that what he did is ........................., but it may not be illegal. SIN

11 High petrol prices could be having a ......................... effect among manufacturers. KNOCK

12 With his blond, blue-eyed athletic looks, he ......................... the all-American boy next door.
TYPE

13 The recording deal is not necessarily ......................... . The band can record material for other companies
as well. EXCLUDE

14 Though the total cost was ........................., the project required a great deal of effort. NEGLECT

15 The Queen stepped straight into the car, trying to avoid hogging the ......................... . LIGHT

Part 7 Read the text and fill in each blank with ONE suitable word only.

The benefits of a good cry

The act of crying usually involves the shedding of tears and a change
in our facial expressions, similar 1....................... that of laughing. Our
breathing is shorter and the shallower our breathing, the 2.......................
we gulp for breath. Tears can be provoked 3....................... a whole
variety of reasons and the cause is most commonly due to sadness,
but 4....................... always so. Our reasons for a good weep could be for
a whole host of reasons. Having said 5......................., the most common
reason for crying is grief. Crying can be seen as a cry for help, in
6....................... to draw attention to ourselves as babies do; a away of
communicating when words fail us; or it could be as a way of relieving
stress or anxiety. Most people claim to feel better after a good cry and
some studies claim that crying at a film can 7....................... a genuine
mood booster. So, don’t be embarrassed by your tears, let
8....................... flow.

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