I. Choose the correct answer.

1. It was the ........ warning from the seismologists that helped save the lives of the island inhabitants
before the volcano erupted.
a) preliminary b) hasty c) cursory d) advance
2. My grandfather bought this ......... of land here and set up a ranch which was later turned into a huge
plantation by my father.
a) ground b) space c) plot d) terrain
3. I advise you to stop giving support to the venture. To me, it looks like a lost .............................. with
little hope of making any advance at all.
a) idea b) cause c) point d) goal
4. She said she was disturbed by the shadow of somebody.............................. behind the trees.
a) luring b) lurking c) lurching d) launching
5. This quiet village is .............. of the one I grew up in.
a) reminiscent b) similar c) remnant d) identical
6. Bob was in terrible pain, but none of us knew how to ...................... his suffering until the ambulance
arrived.
a) dissolve b) exclude c) cease d) relieve
7. Don't worry, you are as safe as houses here as long as you are in my good .............................. .
a) graces b) feelings c) likes d) regards
8. Your daughter may not do her best at mathematics or chemistry, but she definitely .............. at
English literature.
a) improves b) accomplishes c) excels d) masters
9. This wonderful sports centre ................. for almost all disciplines.
a) devises b) affords c) supplies d) caters
10. You shouldn't have ...... in so much ice cream first thing last evening. This is probably why your
stomach is aching.
a) indulged b) consumed c) enjoyed d) feasted
11. It's apparent now that the domestic customers have lost their ............ in the imported goods.
a) confidence b) assurance c) reliability d) credibility
12. Samuel couldn't find any reasonable arguments to .............................. his claims in the court.
a) assure b) enforce c) persist d) uphold
13. Do you think they are going to ............... any pressure on us to pay the damages for the broken gate?
a) administer b) implement c) exert d) deploy
14. They say that when you turn 40, you are over the .............................. .
a) cloud b) threshold c) hill d) line
15. The expectations are that most of these derelict buildings will be renovated in the ..............................
of this year.
a) run b) term c) course d) time
16. When everything is said and ...................... ,we can't deny Muriel is a hardworking woman.
a) done b) assumed c) claimed d) mentioned
17. It is good that Anthony's birthday.......... with our anniversary otherwise we'd have to go to the
trouble of launching two parties.
a) corresponds b) identifies c) harmonizes d) coincides
18. He's a mysterious character, indeed. It's only anybody's ................... whether his intentions are good
or bad.
a) thought b) guess c) clue d) suspicion
19. The expedition cost us a lot and still we didn't succeed in ........... our eyes on the Yeti.
a) fixing b) laying c) placing d) staring
20. This new model of the spectrometre constructed by the Japanese designers is even more precise than
its English............ .
a) double b) type c) pattern d) counterpart

II. Choose the words that best complete the sentences in the text.
Stressful situations that .............................. (1) almost everyday in life seem to be unavoidable.
However, we can do little sometimes to .............................. (2) a misfortune or an unpleasant occurrence
which may.............................. (3) us unexpectedly as only it can. At such a moment, one may hit
the .............................. (4), give in to the helplessness of the situation or, ideally, put a
brave .............................. (5) on it trying to .............................. (6) the burden.
Can you .............................. (7) in your mind an hour spent in a traffic jam, say, this morning? Do
you light one cigarette after another? Do you sound the horn every few seconds like the other neurotics?
Or do you take a different .............................. (8) and make good use of the time drawing up a schedule
for the days to come?
To .............................. (9) the stressful moment you can also do a crossword puzzle, listen to your
favourite music or even compose a menu for your Sunday dinner. In fact, whatever way you ..............
(10) to the annoying situation, you can exert no impact on it as the traffic jam will only reduce in
due .............................. (11). Nevertheless, your reaction might considerably influence
your .............................. (12) for the rest of the day.
The inability to confront a stressful occurrence like that with a deal of composure and sensibility
adds much more strain to your life and in this way puts your well-being in .............................. (13).
Surprisingly, it's the seemingly negligible hardships we .............................. (14) on daily that run double
the risk of developing serious health disorders rather than our isolated tragedies however painful they
may be.
.............................. (15) that so many of those wretched stress inducing troubles affect us in a day,
we should, at best, try to avoid them or possibly make radical alterations in the way we lead our daily
lifestyles.

1. a) devise b) create c) originate d) emerge

2. a) ward off b) boil down c) stamp out d) dawn on
3. a) arise b) happen c) befall d) occur
4. a) post b) roof c) bottom d) wall
5. a) face b) neck c) forehead d) fist
6. a) subsist b) remain c) cope d) bear
7. a) envision b) observe c) picture d) conclude
8. a) manner b) stance c) practice d) mode
9. a) withhold b) withdraw c) wither d) withstand
10. a) confront b) deal c) respond d) challenge
11. a) term b) course c) timing d) period
12. a) disposition b) disposal c) disposure d) dispossession
13. a) risk b) weakness c) insecurity d) jeopardy
14. a) stumble b) stagger c) stutter d) stump
15. a) Providing b) Given c) Hence d) Albeit

III. Replace each italicized verb or phrase with the correct form of a synonymous phrasal verb.

bring to hang on see about call on do in drop out give in lay in

make off put in round up spring up take up turn in wait on

1. How big are the profits we can expect the London branch to produce this year?
2. I suggest we store more coal in case the forecasts of a long and heavy winter should come true. lay in
3. The police arrived right after they had been notified of the robbery. However, the thieves had escaped
with their loot by that time.
4. I don't remember this boy at all. I suppose he stopped attending my lectures right at the beginning of
the course. drop out
5. Why don't we appeal to the management to have a serious debate with the Unions?
6. 'Do you recognize the man at the opposite table?' 'You mean the one who is being attended by the
waitress?'
7. The autopsy revealed the man was killed with a knife.
8. Please keep waiting. You'll be connected as soon as the line is free. hang on
9. Peter is a hard bargainer by nature. But, if you push him a little he should surrender to your demands.
give in
10. Suddenly, the question of half a million dollars missing from the safe appeared leaving the cashiers
speechless for a while. spend up
11. How about gathering a few friends and helping Lucy organize the charity collection? round up
12. I'm having these trousers shortened as they are a bit too long for my size. take up
13. Has Danny made all the arrangements for the New Year's reception yet? see about
14. Will you accept me right away or do I have to submit an application form? put in
15. It was so stuffy in the hall that a few people lost their consciousness and the medical staff had a hard
time of reviving them. bring to

V. Replace each italicized phrase or adjective with a synonymous one.

abundant elaborate amiable formidable arduous conspicuous inexorable crucial ingenious
irrevocable mercenary indignant outrageous preposterous prevalent
1. I admire her firmness. Once she makes a decision it's unchangeable. ..irrevocable........
2. It was a very frightful experience when we stumbled across the native tribesmen in the middle of the
jungle. ...formidable..
3. He couldn't have had any knowledge of the subject seeing that his statements were so
unreasonable. ...preposterous........
4. Unless the company is privatized, it will be heading for an unavoidable collapse. ..inexorable..... ..
5. Your great success was most evident, but tell us Jack: how did you cope with your damaged
tendon? .....conspicuous........
6. Brian was filled with anger when he learnt that he had lost his assets on the Stock Exchange.
..indignant.. .......
7. I wouldn't say David was very friendly. Yet, he wasn't unkind, either. .. ...amiable... .......
8. It's hard to define the reason for his shocking behaviour. He might have got nervous on account of the
gossips that were being told about his private life. ....outrageous.........
9. Hopefully, the discovery of so rich resources of oil in the area may contribute to lowering the petrol
prices. …abundant…
10. I'd rather we waited for Bill before we make any resolutions. He is usually full of brilliant ideas and
he will definitely add something important to our plans. ….ingenious…
11. Practicing the occult with its ceremonies so full of mysticism and magic is still widespread among
certain African tribes. .. ... .. prevalent.. .... .. ... ....
12. Why is it so important for you that the plaque be fixed on the left? ...crucial.............
13. He says he wants to be paid more for his well-worked out designs. ....elaborate............. ..
14. Who do you think she takes after with her greedy character? ...mercenary...........
15. I believe he's been warned pretty strongly that the assignment he is taking up is going to be very
exhausting. ....arduous.....

V. Rewrite the sentences using the given forms so that they retain their original meaning.
1. I tried really hard but I failed to solve the puzzle.
Try as ........hard as I might, I... ............................................................
2. I didn't understand much of what the man said to me. (scarcely)
.......scarcely understood................................
3. All the inhabitants of the island know this place very well. (familiar)
This place is familiar to... ......... ......
4. The minister claims that another rise in food prices is possible.
............... ...... ..... .... ............................ ............ ...........is on the cards.
5. Her role in the plot was of secondary importance. (second fiddle)
She played second fiđle in the plot
6. It's not our concern what they do after lessons.
It is of .......no/little concern to us what they.....................
7. You may have serious problems if you don't have any health insurance. (bound)
............are bound to have serious...............................,.............................................................................
8. There was poor attendance at the concert.
. The concert was poorly......... ................ ..... ...... attended.
9. The farmers are in a desperate need of financial backing.
.........................need financial backing................ . badly.
10. I suddenly realized I had strayed from the main route. (dawned)
It .......suddenly dawned on me (that)ả......................