Exercise 1: Choose the best answer to complete each of the sentences

1. He's incapable of seeing anyone's point of view but his own..........what you say, he just stubbornly
refuses to listen.
a) Regardless b) Whereas c) No matter d) Even though
2. 10% pay increase is quite out of the .......... We can barely afford the 2% we're offering you now.
a) blue b) matter c) affair d) question
3. Following the success of his last two films, .........that Cameron's latest blockbuster is another box-office
winner.
a) it's no surprise b) it isn't to surprise c) it's no astonishment d) it isn't to amaze
3. I bought a computer game which had very advanced graphics.........., I soon became bored with it.
a) Even though b) So even c) Even so d) Hence
31. The sky is already dark. It must be..................for 8 o'clock.
a) closing on b) getting up c) getting on d) closing up
4. The plane is late. It.........by now.
a) had to land b) could land c) must have landed d) should have landed
5. He admitted.........seriously ill and would need an operation.
a) to me that he was b) me that he was c) to me being d) me being
6. My ex-wife carried on talking to my boss, without even.........in my direction.
a) blinking b) squinting c) glimpsing d) glancing
7. Not until my secretary phoned me.........out about the merger.
a) had I found b) I found c) I had found d) did I find
8. Next January, I.........in this company for 4 years.
a) am working b) 'II work c) have worked d) 'II have been working
8. Tom's mother forbade.........in bed.
a) that he smoked b) him to smoke c) him smoking d) that he would smoke
9. I was having difficulty reading, so I decided to go to an optician and.........
a) make my eyes tested b) test my eyes c) get my eyes tested d) test the eyes for me
10. Do me this favour and I'll not forget it. You scratch my back and ........yours.
a) rub b) scratch c) scrape d) scrub
11. We're not doing anything.........the weekend. Why don't you come and see us?
a)over b) during c) throughout d) by
12. The building had been extremely well constructed.........was very difficult to demolish.
a) and alternatively b) and consequently c) but nevertheless d) but however
13. Michael acts as if he.........all the answers, but what can he possibly know?
a) was knowing b) know c) knew d) had known
14. It was such a funny sight that I couldn't .........face.
a) keep a straight b) maintain a straight c) keep a smooth d) maintain a serious
15. I never though I.........my holidays in hospital, but here I am.
a) will spend b) was spending c) would be spending d) had spent
15. —Did you repair the car yourself?
— No, I.........at the garage.
a) had it made b) made it done c) got it made d) had it done
16 ..........surprise that Montgomery won the battle. He was the better general and he was commanding
seasoned troops.
a) It's no b) It's not the c) There's no d) There isn't a
17. The concert had to be.........when the lead guitarist fell ill the day before.
a) called out b) shut down c) shut off d) called off
18. I must.........now. I think I can smell something burning in the kitchen.
a) ring up b) hang about c) ring off d) cut off

19. The government has decided to.........smoking in public places.

a) crack up on b) back down with c) back up with d) crack down on
20. As the robbers drove off, the bank manager shouted, "You'll never.........with this. The police will catch
you in the end!"
a) get away b) get off c) be away d) make off
Exercise 2: Prepositional Phrases
A Complete the blanks with prepositions.
regardless according owing but due as
because instead contrary except apart thanks
B Complete the blanks with prepositions.
________ spite___________ ________charge______ ______________far________________
________ comparison__________ ______________control_________ __________________honour
________ favour_________ ________behalf______ ______________well_______________
C Read the sentences and complete them with the prepositions in, on, at, by, under or to.
1. You’ll find a fairly detailed map of the town_______________page 40 of this guide.
2. ___________________my parents'surprise I passed all my examinations.
3. ___________________the circumstances, the police officer had no other choice but to arrest them.
4. What's___________________yourmind,Geoffrey?Youlookratherworried.
5. I promise to be ___________________your side no matter what happens.
6. You look so calm and_________________ease with yourself.
7. ___________________sum up, this book is a good read and I definitely recommend It.
8. I made several attempts to convince her, but_______________vain.
9 . l w a s _ ________________ theimpression you knew how to operate the video camera.
10. Their willingness to employ me immediately without another Interview took me__________surprise.
11. ____________________________________________a certain extent, your anger Is understandable.
Exercise 3: Phrasal Verbs. Read the sentences on the left and match the phrasal verbs with their
definitions on the right by writing the correct number in the box next to each definition.
A BREAK BURN
1. I'm buying a new car because my old one keeps _______ breaking.
2. As soon as the government announced the harsh economic measures, riots _________ broke
throughout the country.
3. The thief _________broke the house and stole the jewels.
4. She couldn’t handle being under so much stress so she _________broke and started crying.
5. I started describing what had happened to the police officer but my sister _________broke to tell him
something I had forgotten.
6. They _________broke after having been together for three years.
7. If Peter doesn't stop working so hard, he'll _________burn before his time.
8. By the time the fire brigade arrived, the building had already _________burnt.
CUT
1. These pictures of film stars were cut _________of different magazines.
2. The doctor told me to cut _________ _________junk food.
3. The speaker was cut _________by protesters many times during her speech.
4. Always cut _________ the meat for the dog, otherwise it will choke on it.
5. During the winter the island is cut _________from the rest of the world.
6. The boys are shouting upstairs. Tell them to cut it _________!
TURN
. Turn ______ the heater. It's very hot in here.
2. John has turned ______ a reliable and efficient worker much to my surprise.
3. It turned ______ to be a great party.
4. More people turned ______ at the meeting than I had expected.
5. Can you please turn ______ the music? I can't hear you.
6. My application for a visa was turned ______ again.
7. Don't forget to turn ______ the alarm when you leave home.
8. I want you to know that you can turn ______ me for help any time.
9. When Jessica heard her favourite song, she turned ______ the radio full blast and started dancing.
Exercise 4:
A Complete the blanks with prepositions.
Adjectives Nouns Verbs

ashamed jealous an example believe

busy mean sb an exception comment
conscious relevant an opinion contrast
friendlv short a question decide
sth
good (=competent) useful sb a reaction dedicate sth sb
good sb (=kind) useful sth Introduce sb sb/sth
good sb/sth mean
(=beneflcial) relate

think

B Read the following sentences and complete them with prepositions.

1. Walter Is very good________thehighjump.
2. Why are you always so mean______Sarah?
3. My friend Giles introduced me - .- _ thefascinatingworldofclassicalmusic.
4. The travel book will be useful our trip to Paris at the end of the month.
 5. What exactly do you mean_______saying I'm arrogant and a snob?
6. Most nouns form their plural in -s, but there are a lot of exceptions___thisrule.
7. Mrs Ming is a very nice lady. She's always been good____me.
8. A glass of orange juice a day is good______you.
9. This brochure will be useful ___________all the tourists who visit the sights.
Exercise 5: Use the correct form of the words ỉn the boxes to complete the sentences in each group
A-H below. You may ase some of the words more than once. In some cases more than one word may
be correct.
A. think consider regard believe mean
1. Please___________________myoffer and call me if you decide to sell.
2. I have been___________________oftaking a holiday. I_________________I deserveit because I've worked
hard all year.
3. The death penalty Is__________________as a barbaric practice by most people.
4. I don't___________________hereally___________________what heissaying,because he’s usually joking.
5. I didn't to offend you. Please me
B realise understand recognise meet introduce present appreciate
1. One day I’d like to ________ my favourite film star and get his autograph.
2.That’s the journalist that ________ the evening news. Don't you her?
3.The teacher didn’t _________ that the students hadn’t understood what he was saying.
4. Aren’t you going to ________ me to your friend? I________ haven’t her before.
5. I _________ your help, but you must __________ that I want to do this on my own.
C. assume guess suppose estimate calculate predict
1. Since I hadn’t studied for the test, I had to ________ most of the answers.
2. We were to________ play football today, but we cancelled It.
3. It's almost impossible to________ what the future holds.
4. I _________ I'll be late for work, since there’s so much traffic.
5. We had ________ the value of the house to be around 60,000 dollars, but we hadn’t_______ the
cost of the renovation.
D. ideas view thought point aspect respect matter
1. She is very rude and has no __________ for anyone.
2. You should consider all _______ of his proposal, because he has made some interesting _______
3. In my _______, the education system should change.
4. I can’t bear the ______ of going back to work after such a great holiday.
5. There’s no _______ in talking to Clark about the problem, he has no _______ about it.
6. As a(n) ______ fact, I hired an interior decorator, who gave me some good ______
E queue line aside corridor hall row
1. the cornflakes are in the third _______, sir
2. Walk down the ________ and the toilet is the third door on your left.
3. The entrance _______ to my flat is too small that it’s a waste of space.
4. Please get in _______ and wait your turn, madam.
5. We were lucky enough to be given seats in the front ______ at the theatre
 6. There is such a long ______ in the bank that I couldn’t be bothered to go in.
F available spare free convenient handy usable
1.When I bought my car, I got the air conditioner _______ of charge. It really came in _______ during the
summer.
2. Every car must have a ______ tyre in the boost.
3.The Red Dog’s album is now _______ in music stores.
4. A laptop computer is very ________ because it is portable and _______ everywhere.
5. I’m _______ tomorrow evening. Would you like to go to the cinema?
6. A car is a very ________ means of transport compared to buses and trains.
G absence lack shortage loss
1. After the accident, my father suffered from _______ of memory.
2. Vicky's_______________from work was noticed, so the boss rang her at home.
3. The____________________of rain created severe________ ______of fresh fruit and vegetables.
4. There's a world shortage __of energy and scientists are looking for alternative sources.
5. Although I liked living with my family, I was annoyed by the__________ _________of privacy.
H short scarce rare inadequate insufficient
1. As a botanist he specialises in _________ rare__________ species of plants.
2. The book costs $ 21 and I'm __________ short________by one dollar. Could you lend me some
money?
3 A(n) inadequate_______supply of oxygen to the brain can prove lethal.
4. In many parts of the world water is_________ scarce________. insufficient/
5. Parking space in the city centre is scarce/inadequate due to the_______inadequate______ number of car
parks.
Exercise 6: Fill in the blanks
1 1Despite being a keen camper, I find the _ _______jn this forest _______ DARK, BEARABLE
2  In order to ________ ________ your shoulders, you have to do many push-ups at
BROAD
the gym.
3  She didn’t like the colour of her hair, so she decided to _________ __________it. DARK
ANXIETY
She was, however, rather ____about how dark it would become.
4  The suspect was released because of lack of ________ ________against him. EVIDENT,
5  Being unable to meet John, I rang to apologise for the ______| had caused him. CONVENIENT
6   ________ in at least two languages is essential if you want to become an
FLUENT
interpreter. SHORT
7  The town council placed restrictions on the water supply due to a ________
_________of water that year. ADEQUATE
8  There are many complaints about the ________ ______0f facilities for the VIOLENT
handicapped. DEEP
9  The government attempted to reduce__________ _______ by increasing police LONG, WIDE
patrols. STRONG
10  The__________ ______of that lake has never been measured. WEAK
 11  To calculate the area of a room, you multiply its _____ .by its _______ PATIENT
LITERATE
12  The doctor advised me to exercise in order t o ________ ______ my back
muscles.
13  Amanda is unlikely to lose any weight, as she has a ________ _______ for sweets
and junk food.
14  Many flights were delayed today, causing growing _ ______ among the
passengers.
15  In some countries, the percentage of ______ is still very high.

Exercise 7: Complete these texts with the appropriate form, active or passive, of the verb.
A
Acupuncture (1) has been practised _ (practise) in China for over 3000 years, and today it
(2).............................(widely use) alongside conventional medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, no
symptom (3).............................(view) in isolation. Instead, the body and the mind (4).............................
(evaluate) together. The goal of acupuncture (5).............................(be) to create harmony in the body by
restoring the flow of Qi (pronounced ‘chee’). This (6).............................(consider) to be the life force
involved in all body functions. Qi (7).............................(collect) in the organs and (8).............................
(travel) through energy channels in the body. Acupuncturists (9).............................(believe) that diseases
(10).............................(occur) when the circulation of Qi (11).............................(prevent), whether by
injuries, heat, cold or other factors. By redirecting the flow of Qi, acupuncture can (12).............................
(help) cure disease.
B
The first mobile phones (1).............................(construct) in Stockholm in the 1950s – but were not very
mobile! They could only (2).............................(use) in cars because the receiver and transmitter
(3).............................(weigh) over 40 kilos and had to (4).............................(carry) in the boot. But
technology (5).............................(advance) so quickly that by the 1990s mobiles could
(6).............................(hold) in the hand and people talking on their mobiles (7).............................(become)
a familiar sight everywhere from trains to restaurants. Of course, not everyone welcomed mobiles, and in
the mid-1990s their use (8).............................(ban) from many schools to prevent children using them in
classrooms. Even recent research which (9).............................(suggest) that prolonged exposure to
emissions from mobiles might be a health hazard (10).............................(not discourage) their use, and
analysts now (11 ).............................(predict) that by 2025, 95% of all electronic communication
(12).............................(conduct) by mobile phone.
Exercise 8: Write passive sentences with a similar meaning to the first. Start with the word(s) given
and use the verb in italics. In some cases, the passive is not possible.
1. They paid him a million dollars to appear in the film.
I was paid a million dollars to appear in the film
2 His name is Robin, but his friends call him Bobby.
His name is Robin, but....................................................................................................
3 Dr Davies demonstrated the procedure to us in the chemistry lab.
We.....................................................................................................................................
4 The managing director will announce the news to staff later today.
The news..........................................................................................................................
5 They have offered me a new job in Hungary.
I........................................................................................................................................
6 People saw him push the goalkeeper just before he scored.
He.....................................................................................................................................
7 The medical staff have declared the surgery a complete success.
The surgery......................................................................................................................
8 We watched the rescuers pull the man from the sea.
The rescuers.....................................................................................................................
9 My English teacher suggested the idea to me.
I........................................................................................................................................
10 My uncle bought me this necklace when he was in Zimbabwe.
This necklace....................................................................................................................
Exercise 9: Complete the conversations using the pairs of verbs in the box. Use be + past participle,
get + (object) + past participle, or have + (object) + past participle. Add the object in brackets where
this is supplied and give alternatives where possible.
own - break into rob - steal cut - clean catch - infect wake up - throw out
1. A: Did you hear about Natasha?
B: What happened?
A: She…………………….. on her way to college.
B: No! Is she okay?
A: Yes, she’s fine, but she …………………….. (her handbag)
2. A: You’re looking tired.
B: I …………………….. early by my neighbour’s dog.
A: Don’t they keep it inside at night?
B: Usually, yes, but I think it must…………………….. because it was barking so much.
3. A: James looked different somehow.
B: He’d ……………………... (his hair)
A: Yes, and I think he’d
4. A: What an amazing house!
It …………………….. by Jason Norman. You know, the rock singer.
A: I know him, yes.
B: The problem is, he’s never there, and it keeps
5. A: What happened to your coat?
B: I …………………….. on some barbed wire as I was climbing over a fence. I hurt my
arm, too. (it)
A: Ouch. That looks nasty. You ought to go to the doctor. It might
Exercise 10: Rewrite the underlined part of the sentence using a passive form where possible. If it is
not possible, write ‘No passive”.
1. When they invited Malcolm to give the main presentation at the conference he was delighted and wrote
immediately to accept.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. During our military training they made us run five kilometres before breakfast.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Sandra felt that the pay and conditions at Trimco were unsatisfactory, and many of her colleagues
seemed to support her.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. We wanted Barbara to come to the party.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. I still have only a very vague memory of the explosion. I remember someone asking me to leave the
building because there was a gas leak, but not much after that.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. She was really unhappy that they hadn’t picked her for the team.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. Although at first the children were frightened by Mr Jennings’ strictness, after a few weeks most of the
children in the class came to like him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. They caught him trying to break into an expensive sports car.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. More than anything else, our cat likes people tickling him behind the ears.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
10. My children impressed me yesterday. They did all the washing and ironing without anyone asking
them.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
11. Someone heard her remark that Nicholas was too old for the job.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
12. Henry performed badly in the last match, and we need him to play better this week.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
13. People expect over 100,000 demonstrators to march through the capital in protest against the
government’s decision to go to war.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..