Vocabulary Practise 10: Opposites (Adjectives)

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Vocabulary Practise: Opposites (Adjectives)

*Note: If you need the answer keys, please comment below to let us know and we will send it to you. If you have any concerns, please comment below!

Exercise 1: Replace the adjectives in bold in sentences 1 – 28 with a word or expression from the box which has an opposite meaning in the same context.

  • approximate
  • archaic artificial
  • clear
  • common place
  • compulsory
  • considerable
  • crude
  • delicate
  • detrimental
  • dim
  • easy
  • even
  • feasible
  • flexible
  • graceful
  • innocent
  • intricate
  • negligible
  • problematic
  • scarce
  • smooth
  • reluctant
  • spontaneous
  • tedious
  • vibrant
  • worthless
  • worthwhile
    1. The meaning of his words was very ambiguous.
    2. According to his colleagues, he’s a very awkward person to deal with.
    3. When she first started dancing, she was very awkward.
    4. His policies were beneficial to the economy as a whole.
    5. We need exact figures before we embark on a new venture.
    6. The jury decided he was guilty of the crime.
    7. Add up all the odd numbers between 1 and 20 to get a result.
    8. Despite the weather, supplies of food after the harvest were plentiful.
    9. The laws restricting pollution in the city are very rigid.
    10. There is a slight difference in the way the company is run these days compared with a few years ago.
    11. The device is very sophisticated and should only be operated by someone who is familiar with it.
    12. The spices used in the production of some international dishes have a very strong flavor.
    13. The bright light from the flashlight picked out details on the walls of the cave.
    14. Attendance at afternoon classes should be voluntary.
    15. A lot of students are willing to attend classes on Saturday morning.
    16. Newspapers are saying a lot about the country’s modern licensing laws.
    17. Many students believe that doing voluntary work for charities is a pointless cause.
    18. The country displayed all the features of a stagnant economy.
    19. Her lectures are extremely interesting.
    20. Planned demonstrations and strikes took place all over the city.
    21. The plans they presented were simple and well written.
    22. A close study of the painting by experts revealed it to be priceless.
    23. The new rules had a profound impact on everyone’s behavior.
    24. What you are asking me to do is quite impossible.
    25. Contrary to what many people think, this is a very rare event.
    26. Organizing a fundraising event can be surprisingly simple.
    27. From a distance, the surface of the planet appears to be very rough.
    28. The confectionery contained several flavors, all of them natural.

Exercise 2:A lot of adjectives can be made into their opposite form by adding a prefix (un-, in-, dis-, il-, etc.) to the beginning of the word.
Task 1: Decide which of the prefixes from the first box can be used to make opposites of the words in the second box.
Task 2: Without looking at your answers to Task 1, look at the following sentences and paragraphs. In each one there is one word which has been given the wrong prefix. Decide which word is wrong and correct it.

is-              il-              im-                  in-                          ir-                              un-
  • acceptable
  • accurate
  • adequate
  • advantaged
  • agreeable
  • attractive
  • authorized
  • avoidable
  • believable
  • certain
  • comfortable
  • competent
  • complete
  • conscious
  • contented
  • convincing
  • correct
  • curable
  • even
  • fair
  • fashionable
  • honest
  • inclined
  • legal
  • limited
  • literate
  • logical
  • married
  • mature
  • moral
  • mortal
  • obedient
  • organized
  • patient
  • perfect
  • personal
  • possible
  • proper
  • pure
  • qualified
  • rational
  • regular
  • relevant
  • replaceable
  • resistible
  • resolute
  • responsible
  • satisfactory
  • satisfied
  • sufficient
  • welcome
    1. He is a very (A) disagreeable man and he makes visitors feel very (B) unwelcome, but the management think he’s (C) irreplaceable and are (D) uninclined to fire him.
    2. Insider dealing is not only (A) immoral and (B) inhonest, but also (C) illegal: companies are legally bound to take the strongest possible action against such (D) unacceptable behavior by their employees.
    3. It is an (A) unavoidable fact, but in a competitive job market, those who are (B) unqualified or who have (C) insufficient work experience will find themselves seriously (D) disadvantaged.
    4. She was described by her boss as being (A) unresponsible, (B) incompetent, and (C) immature, which she considered extremely (D) unfair.
    5. In return for an increased investment, the company offered (A) unlimited returns for their investors. While many found such an offer (B) irresistible, some thought the promises were (C) inconvincing and were (D) uncomfortable about parting with so much money.
    6. He had clearly given his presentation (A) disadequate preparation, and many in the audience challenged the points he made, saying they were (B) inaccurate and (C) illogical. Despite this, he remained (D) irresolute in his views, although the only person he managed to convince was himself.
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Vocabulary practise 9: Opposites (Verbs)

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Vocabulary practise 9: Opposites (Verbs)

*Note: If you need the answer keys, please comment below to let us know and we will send it to you. If you have any concerns, please comment below!

Exercise 1: Replace the verbs in bold in sentences 1 – 26 with a word or expression from the box which has an opposite meaning in the same context. In many cases you will need to change the form of the word (for example, to its past simple form). 

  • abandon
  • abolish
  • attack
  • conceal
  • decline
  • demolish
  • deny
  • deteriorate
  • exaggerate
  • extend fall
  • forbid
  • gain
  • hire
  • lend
  • loosen
  • lower
  • postpone
  • refuse
  • reject
  • replenish
  • reward
  • set
  • simplify
  • succeed
  • withdraw

1. They accepted the offer of a ceasefire.

2. He admitted telling lies in his original statement.

3. They agreed to meet to discuss the future of the organization.

4. The senator defended his opponent’s policies in a televised speech.

5. The apartments blocks they built were the ugliest in the city.

6. He complicated matters by rewriting the original proposal.

7. They continued their plans to assassinate the king when he opened Parliament.

8. He deposited $10,000 – half his college fees for the forthcoming year.

9. Relations between the two countries have improved considerably in the last year.

10. He permitted us to present our petition directly to the President.

11. The members of the commune were punished for their part in the revolution.

12. He raised the overall standards of the company within two months of his appointment. 13. As soon as the sun rose, the demonstrators began to appear on the streets.

14. Prices rose sharply in the first three months of the financial year.

15. As soon as he had tightened the knots, he pushed the boat out.

16. To everyone’s surprise, she failed.

17. Tomorrow’s meeting has been brought forward. 18. The management said that they would be happy to borrow the money.

19. Several flaws in the design of the new model were revealed.

20. The course has been shortened to 12 weeks.

21. I don’t want to underestimate his role in the club.

22. Attendance has increased since the new professor took over the course.

23. Fuel supplies have been exhausted.

24. Despite having a bigger and cheaper choice of healthy foods, many Americans have lost a lot of weight.

25. Following the revolution, the monarchy was restored.

26. The company started seeing some success once they dismissed several employees.

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VOCABULARY ON TOPIC FOR TOEFL IBT 11: ENVIRONMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

  1. Environmental problems

Green (issues): A very common synonym for “environmental”

Global warming : An example of man’s effect on the environment The greenhouse effect: Connected to global warming The natural world Deforestation: Cutting down forests

Rainforests : A useful example when discussing environmental problems

  1. The Environment

An ecosystem: The system where plants and animals support one another (Endangered) species: Examples include the Giant Panda Biodiversity: Variety of plant and animal file in a region A habitat: The natural habitat of an animal is where it lives The planet: A synonym for the Earth The Earth: Note the capital letter and “the”

The natural world: Includes both animal and plant life

  1. Pollution

Dump waste : If factories dump waste, they illegally deposit (normally dangerous) waste

Acid rain: rain that is “poisonous” because of the poor air quality

Factories and power stations: Two examples of sources of pollution

Carbon Monoxide and carbon dioxide: Names of two gases useful of discussing acid rain and the green house effect

Fumes/Emissions: These are the gases that are produced by cars and factories that cause pollution

Chemicals and fertilisers: Useful examples of products that cause water pollution

(Industrial) waste: We also talk about waste products Air/Water quality: This can be affected by pollution

Smog : An extreme form of air pollution almost like fog

Pollution: Remember “air and water pollution”: other forms of the word include “pollute” and “pollutants”.

I would have said that one of the most serious environmental problems today is of course pollution. It’s a very pressing green issue and if you travel to any of the large cities in China, for example, you’ll find that there is very bad air pollution and there is a layer of smog hanging over the cities. It’s just air pollution, there is also water pollution. in many parts of the world, the quality of the water is not good because rivers have been contaminated by all sorts of industrial waste, by chemicals and fertilisers. And what we need to do is to recycle our waste and take care of the planet and try use renewable resources where we possibly can.

  1. Our effect on the natural world

When we’re the discussing the environment, it’s important not to forget that our actions have an impact not only on us but on the natural world and other species. So, for example, certain species are now endangered because of our actions. it’s not just because of hunting, but because we have destroyed their natural habitats: they do not enough food or anywhere to live. If we carry on in this way, the biodiversity of the planet is under threat.

  1. Global warming

What’s the greatest threat to the Earth today? I’d have to say it’s probably a combination of global warming and the greenhouse effect. I don’t understand all the science behind it, but I understand it’s to do with the build up of gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which means that the planet is slowly but steadily getting warmer. and one of the results of this is that the polar icecap is melting and the levels of the oceans are rising. And it’s caused I understand by deforestation, particularly of rainforests and particularly in the Amazonian Basin. And what this means is that we may be doing irreparable harm to the planet and the future of the planet for our children and our children’s children looks really rather bleak.

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VOCABULARY ON TOPIC FOR TOEFL IBT 8: FAMILY

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FAMILY

  1. Types of family

Close-knit family: We’re a pretty close-knit family, we tend to talk to each other every day.

Immediate/extended family: While my immediate family is quite small, my more extended family is huge – I think I have over 15(first) cousins.

Cousins/ relates: I get on especially well with my (first) cousin. We re only a year apart in age and have grown up together.

Only/middle child: I’ m an only child an`d I think because of that I have a closer relationship with my mother than some other children do.

Separated/divorced: In fact, my parents are divorced and I was brought up by my mother.

Step-brother/half-brother: I guess I’m closest to my step-mother just because we’re almost the same age.

In-laws: Strangely enough, I think I have a closer relationship with my mother- in-law than my biological mother.

In British English, your first cousin is the son/daughter of your uncle/aunt.

Relatives is a useful word to describe your extended family.

A half-brother/sister is when you share a parent, while a step-brother/sister is when neither parent is in common, for instance when your parent marries someone else who already had children.

Your mother/father-in-law is the mother/father of your husband/wife.

  1. Family resemblances

These words are useful for describing things that you may have in common with other members of your family.

(Resemble is mostly used to describe physical similarities (look like), while take after can also be used to describe other personal characteristics (you both like reading). If you quarrel or squabble with someone, it is normally a fairly minor disagreement. Sibling rivalry is when brothers and sisters compete with each other.)

Run in the family: A love of the outdoors runs in the family.

Take after/resemble: People always say I take after my father, though I think I’ much more like my mum really.

Family trait: One of our family traits is that we all talk all the time. Our family gatherings tend to be noisy affairs!

Have things in common: I think one reason why we have grown apart is that we just don’t have that much in common.

Quarrel/squabble with: I used to quarrel with my sister all the time when we were kids, but we get on just fine now. It was just the normal sibling rivalry.

Get together: Although we live in different towns now, we still try to get together whenever we can.

  1. Family relationships

Be close to: Actually, I’m closer to my father than my mother- there’s a special bond between us.

Get on/along with: Although I get along well enough with my sister, I wouldn’t describe our relationship as being particularly close.

Admire/ look up: I really admire my mum- she really has two jobs but you’d never know it. The one in the office and another one at home.

Rely on/depend on: I suppose her best quality is that I can always depend on her to be there for me. She’s never let me down yet.

Look after/ take care of: My older sister was a big influence too, she really looked after me when I was younger.

Bring up / raise: My mum and dad really shared the responsibility of bringing us up- they shared it between themselves.

Age difference: I get on best with my oldest brother despite the age difference between us.

 

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VOCABULARY ON TOPIC FOR TOEFL IBT 6: ADVERTISING

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ADVERTISING

1.Advert, advertisement or ad?

All these forms of the words are correct but ad is mostly used in spoken English only. You should also be aware of a common pronunciation problem:

  • advert
  • advertise
  • advertisement

This means that you make an “iss” sound when say advertisement. This is a very common mistake and one way to avoid it is to say and write advert.

2.Different forms of advertising

Television commercial: The BBC is perhaps unique for not carrying any commercials.

Radio spot: Radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime in the form of radio spots.

Billboard: Most major highways now have billboards by the roadside advertising everything from soap to gas.

Flyer: It can be very effective to hand out flyers.

Small ads/ personal ads: Not all advertising is commercial, many newspapers carry small ads for personal services.

Trailer: The trailer, as often as not, is actually better than the film itself.

Product placement: We are not always aware that we are being “sold” a product; for instance, when products are placed in films.

Promotion: The two for the price of one promotion can often be very misleading.

Endorsement: Many sports stars earn the majority of their income from endorsing various products.

Sponsorship: It is unarguable that tobacco firms should not be allowed to sponsor sports events.

3.Adjectives to describe advertising

Witty/ humorous: The idea is that if you can make someone laugh with a witty advert, then they will be more likely to buy the product.

Memorable: Almost all the best adverts are memorable in some way.

Persuasive: Some ads are extremely persuasive and we find we buy products we do not really need.

Misleading: Although there are regulations against this, many adverts are still misleading.

word-of-mouth: It is frequently said that the most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth advertising.

4.Other related words

Regulation: Most people would accept that the advertising industry needs some form of regulation.

Advertising agency: Advertising agencies frequently do extensive market research to discover what attracts consumers.

Target: The difficulty comes when adverts target young children who are too easily influenced by them.

Consumers: It can also be argued that consumers are able to decide for themselves what to buy.

Brand awareness: Advertising is essential for companies that need to build their brand awareness.

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