Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from the others.
nootropic
oodles
kookiness
Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from the others.
eternal
enchanted
erratic
emerald
Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from the others.
fortunate
questionnaire
combustion
initiative
Choose the word which has the underlined part pronounced differently from the others.
adobe
finale
forte
facsimile
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Choose the word that differs from the rest in the position of the main stress.
Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s).
That comment could be construed in either of two ways.
Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s).
Her refusal to answer was tantamount to an admission of guilt.
Choose the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s).
Eventually, her efforts bore fruit and she got the job she wanted.
Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s).
Her hypothesis is really off the wall, but the facts seem to support it.
Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s).
The insomniac musician from Washington released an album under the moniker Sleepless in Seattle.
Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s).
The company saw a few bright spots early in the year, but overall demand for their products remained lackluster.
Many a candidate _____ unsuccessful in the oral test.
Becky runs the office and Sue is her apprentice, _____.
Mr. Smith ate his breakfast in great _____ so as not to miss the bus to Liverpool.
The handwriting is completely _____. This note must have been written a long time ago.
It's no wonder the children felt disappointed because first their parents promised to take them to Disneyland and then they _____ on their word.
Read the following passage and choose the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the blanks.
The symbol of Internet-era communications, the @ sign used in e-mail addresses to the word 'at', is actually a 500-year-old invention of Italian merchants, a Rome academic has revealed. Giorgio Stabile, a science professor at La Sapienza University, claims to have on the earliest known example of the symbol's use, as an indication of a measure of weight or volume. He says the sign represents an amphora, a measure of capacity based on the terracotta jars to transport grain and liquid in the ancient Mediterranean world.
The professor unearthed an ancient symbol in the of research for a visual history of the 20th century, to be published by the Treccani Encyclopedia. The first known instance of its use, he says, occurred in a letter written by a Florentine merchant on May 4, 1536. He says the sign made its along trade routes to northern Europe, where it came to represent 'at the price of’, its contemporary accountancy meaning.
Professor Stabile believes that Italian banks may possess even earlier documents the symbol lying forgotten in their archives. The oldest example could be great value. It could be used for publicity purposes and to enhance the prestige of the institution that owned it, he says. The race is on between the mercantile world and the banking world to see who has the oldest documentation of @.
- "What can I do for you, madam?"
- "_____."
- "_____"
- "For sure."
- "Is there anything good on?"
- "_____."
- "This purse is nice, isn't it?"
- "But _____."
- "It's freezing."
- "_____."
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
1. I wish I had a talent like that.
2. I see that you're pretty talented.
3. Thank you very much.
4. Oh, so you took an art class?
5. I'm sure you have a talent. It's just hidden.
6. Yeah, I loved that class.
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
1. So I'll see you next time.
2. We should hang out some time.
3. Is there anything you would like to do next time?
4. I'd like that.
5. I think that would be nice.
6. Do you want to go out to eat?
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
1. I have to do some things, and besides, it's not polite to be nosey.
2. I've enjoyed conversing with you.
3. I wasn't done talking to you.
4. I've got to go.
5. I'm not like that. I'm just asking.
6. Is there a reason why you're trying to get off the phone so fast?
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
1. That's the reason it was such a great game.
2. Our team won 101-98.
3. Sounds like it was a close game.
4. The next game, I will definitely be there.
5. It was a great game.
6. What was the score at the end of the game?
Choose the best way to rearrange the following sentences in order to make a meaningful conversation.
1. I'm throwing a party on Friday.
2. Hey, what's good with you?
3. I'm sorry. I'm already doing something this Friday.
4. Not a lot. What about you?
5. That sounds like fun.
6. Do you think you can come?
You are going to read an article about a man who makes works of art out of seashells. Choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.
THE SHELL ARTIST
At the age of 83 Peter Cooke has become a master of his art.
There are still many things that Peter Cooke would like to try his hand at - paper-making and feather-work are on his list. For the moment though, he will stick to the skill that he has delighted to perfect over the past ten years: making delicate and unusual objects out of shells.
"Tell me if I am boring you" he says, as he leads me round his apartment showing me his work. There is a fine line between being a bore and being an enthusiast but Cooke need not worry; he fits into the latter category, helped both by his and by the beauty of the things he makes.
He points to a pair of shell-covered ornaments above a fireplace. 'I shan't be at all bothered if people don't buy them because I have got so used to them, and to me, they're adorable. I never meant to sell my work commercially. Some friends came to see me about five years ago and said, "You must have an exhibition -people ought to see these. We'll talk to a man who owns an art gallery".' The result was an exhibition in London, at which 70 per cent of the objects were sold. His second exhibition opened at the gallery yesterday. Considering the enormous prices the pieces command - around $2,000 for the ornaments - an empty space above the fireplace would seem a small sacrifice for Cooke to make.
There are 86 pieces in the exhibition, with prices starting at $225 for a shell-flower in a crystal vase. Cooke insists that he has nothing to do with the prices and is cheerily open about their level: he claims there is nobody else in the world who produces work like his, and, as the gallery-owner told him, 'Well, you're going to stop one day and everybody will want your pieces because there won't be anymore.'
'I do wish, though,' says Cooke, 'that I'd taken this up a lot earlier, because then I would have been able to produce really wonderful things - at least the potential would have been there. Although the ideas are still there and I'm doing the best I can now, I'm more limited physically than I was when I started.' Still, the work that he has managed to produce is a long way from the common shell constructions that can be found in seaside shops. 'I have a miniature mind,' he says, and this has resulted in boxes covered in thousands of tiny shells, little shaded pictures made from shells and baskets of astonishingly realistic flowers.
Cooke has created his own method and uses materials as and when he finds them. He uses the cardboard sent back with laundered shirts for his flower bases, a nameless glue bought in bulk from a sail-maker ('If it runs out, I don't know what I will do!') and washing-up liquid to wash the shells. 'I have an idea of what I want to do, and it just does itself,' he says of his working method, yet the attention to detail, color gradations and symmetry he achieves look far from accidental.
Cooke's quest for beautiful, and especially tiny, shells has taken him further than his Norfolk shore: to France, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines, to name but a few of the beaches where he has lain on his stomach and looked for beauties to bring home. He is insistent that he only collects dead shells and defends himself against people who write him letters accusing him of stripping the world's beaches. 'When I am collecting shells, I hear people's great fat feet crunching them up far faster than I can collect them; and the ones that are left, the sea breaks up. I would not dream of collecting shells with living creatures in them or diving for them, but once their occupants have left, why should I not collect them?' If one bases this argument on the amount of luggage that can be carried home by one man, the sum beauty of whose work is often greater than its natural parts, it becomes very convincing indeed.
What does the reader learn about Peter Cooke in the first paragraph?
When looking round his apartment, the writer _____
The 'small sacrifice' refers to _____
When the writer enquires about the cost of his shell objects, Cooke _____.
What does Cooke regret about his work?
When talking about the artist's working method, the writer suspects that Cooke _____
What does the reader learn about Cooke's shell-collecting activities?
What does 'it' in the last paragraph refer to?
Choose the sentence that is closest in meaning to the following question.
As there was a great deal of rain in the spring we are expecting a good fruit harvest this year.
Choose the sentence that is closest in meaning to the following question.
I've been out of the country for nearly a year, so I'm out of touch with everything.
Choose the sentence that is closest in meaning to the following question.
Both dogs and cats have been domestic animals for millennia, yet in general, cats have retained their independent nature much more than dogs.
Choose the sentence that is closest in meaning to the following question.
As I understand it, the advantages of the scheme and the disadvantages just about balance each other out.
Choose the sentence that is closest in meaning to the following question.
She never lets her daughter participate in an activity unless it is under the supervision of an adult.
Choose the sentence that best combines this pair of sentences.
He fulfilled his dream of traveling the world. He made up his mind to gain employment and put down roots.
Choose the sentence that best combines this pair of sentences.
Wealthy investors are willing to pour money into African startups. It is their poor understanding of this market that restrains the development of startups.
Choose the sentence that best combines this pair of sentences.
She prepared so thoroughly for a talk show about the solution to the crisis. Unfortunately, it has not been widely spread by the public.
Choose the sentence that best combines this pair of sentences.
There is no need to worry about the sales drop. Just wait and hope the situation will be improved.
Choose the sentence that best combines this pair of sentences.
There are many criticisms around his personal life. All he does is keep silent and brush them off.
Read the passage and choose the correct answer.
(1) _____, one usually associated with tailpipe exhaust and factory and power plant smokestacks. Now new research shows that 16,000 U.S. deaths are the result of air polluted by growing and raising food—and 80 percent of those result from producing animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs.
Additional deaths are attributable to products we don’t eat, including ethanol, leather, or wool. (2) _____.
(3) _____. But the new study is the first to identify which individual foods and diets have the biggest effect on the air pollution that causes asthma, heart attacks, and strokes.
“The long-term effects of climate change are daunting and quite frightening, but this is killing people now, too,” says Jason Hill, a University of Minnesota biosystems engineer and senior author. “These are emissions that happen every year, that affect people, that lead to a poor quality of life.”
(4) _____. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, an industry trade group that reviewed the findings, dismissed the study as “based on faulty assumptions and riddled with data gaps.” The association characterized the study as a “misleading” contributor to “a false narrative around animal agriculture.” The American Farm Bureau Federation made similar claims saying it stretched “the definition of cause and effect.”
(5) _____, Hill explained that their data came from peer-reviewed and public government data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “All the models have been extensively peer-reviewed and have been widely used by our group and by many others,” says Hill.
Choose the correct answer for (1)
Choose the correct answer for (2)
Choose the correct answer for (3)
Choose the correct answer for (4)
Choose the correct answer for (5)
Write an academic essay of about 250 words on the following topic.
Schools should focus on academic success and passing examinations. Skills such as cookery, dressmaking and woodwork should not be taught at school as it is better to learn these from family and friends. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.