Practicing Vocabulary

1 Translate from English into Russian paying attention to the underlined parts.

1) Charles has receding hair. I think he’ll be bald in a few years.

2) Is Jane that obese auburn-haired woman?

3) Cathy is a very smart and elegant woman, always well-dressed; her husband is tall and muscular, but untidy-looking.

4) Is your sister still in her teens? When does she come of age?

5) The doctor smiled: ‘You know, Paris is full of odd people.

6) Ron is not likely to lend you money; he is so greedy.

7) Margaret is intelligent, determined and ambitious; it’ll help her make a good business career.

8) Sally doesn’t get on well with her parents, she is aggressive and argumentative.

9) ‘Oh, young men are so wild these days!’ remarked Mrs. Dobson.

10) Mark was a bright boy, and it did not take him long to do his homework.

11) Annette was a smart and thrifty housewife; she knew very well what she had to do.

12) You should not be so straightforward; try to be more of a diplomat.

13) How can you like Larry? He seems to be double-minded, selfish and money-oriented.

14) Oh, Willie, be a sensible boy and stop talking nonsense!

15) You’d better choose your words carefully, as Marion is rather touchy.

2 Choose the most suitable word or phrase to complete each sentence.

1) You can’t tell what someone is like just from their ................... .

A) character B) appearance C) personality D) looking

2) I was born in Scotland but I ........................ in Northern Ireland.

A) grew up B) raised C) brought up D) rose

3) Edward was named after one of his father’s distant .................. .

A) family B) brothers C) members D) relations

4) Jane and Brian got married a year after they got ....................... .

A) divorced B) proposed C) engaged D) separated

5) Graham works well in class, but his ………...... could be better.

A) rudeness B) behaviour C) politeness D) acting

6) Julie had a terrible …………............ with her parents last night.

A) row B) discussion C) argue D) dispute

7) I got to ….......... Steve well last year when we worked together.

A) introduce B)know C)meet D) sympathise

8) Is Brenda married or …………...........? I don’t like to ask her.

A) spinster B) alone C) bachelor D) single

9) Parents and teachers have to try hard to understand the younger .... .

A) generation B) people C) adolescents D) teenagers

10) My father likes to be called a ‘senior citizen’, not an old age …... .

A) person B) relative C) gentleman D) pensioner

3 Complete each sentence with a noun formed from a verb in the list.

acquaint bear behave celebrate die

engage greet marry relate resemble

1) All Sue’s friends and ...relations/relatives... came to her party.

2) I occasionally meet Terry, but he is more a/an ...... than a friend.

3) Mary received many cards congratulating her on the ..................... of her baby.

4) When Paul arrived, he received a warm and friendly ................ .

5) Six months after their ................, Michael and Lisa got married.

6) There was a great .......................... in the village when their team won the cup.

7) In an ideal ..........................., husband and wife share each other’s problems.

8) Diana and her mother look alike. There is a strong ......................... between them.

9) There was no trouble, and the ...................... of the football fans was excellent.

10) Tim cried when he heard about the .................... of his old dog.

4 The adjectives on the left are the opposites of the ones on the right. Match them up.

1. clever 6. prejudiced 2. generous 7. relaxed 3. kind 8. sensible 4. modest 9. narrow-minded 5. shy 10. sophisticated

a. conceited f. open-minded b. cruel g. self-confident c. mean/stingy h. silly/foolish d. naive i. stupid e. nervous j. tolerant

5 Decide which of the adjectives on the left have a similar meaning to the ones on the right.

1. clever 8. two-faced 2. cunning 9. level-headed 3. sceptical 10. tense 4. air 11. self-confident 5. forgetful 12. snobbish 6. frank 13. reliable 7. jolly 14. good-natured

a. sensible i. insincere b. bright j. kind c. cheerful k. nervous d. self-assured l. crafty e. absent-minded m. open f. just n. stuck-up g. trustworthy o. doubtful

6 Use a suitable prefix or suffix to form the opposite of each of the adjectives below. Here are some examples:

un- unhappy, unpleasant in- insincere, incredible

dis- dishonest, dissatisfied im- impolite, impossible

il- illegible, illegal -less careless, harmless

agreeable discreet kind predictable

approachable efficient likeable reasonable

articulate enthusiastic logical reliable

biased flexible loyal respectful

competent friendly mature sensitive

considerate helpful obedient sociable

contented hospitable organised tactful

decisive imaginative patient thoughtful

dependable intelligent practical tolerant

7 Choose the correct word underlined in each sentence.

1) Children are not allowed to see this film. It’s for adults/old only.

2) By the time the vet arrived, the injured cat was already dead/died.

3) Unfortunately it rained on Nick and Helen’s wedding/marriage day.

4) David and Diana have two sons and one daughter/girl.

5) I think we should try to understand the problems of aged/old people.

6) There should be more facilities for youth/young people in this town.

7) Julie is very popular and has a wide company/circle of friends.

8) More than fifty relatives/parents were invited to Jack’s party.

9) Old Mrs Turner now lives in an old people’s home/house.

10) It’s my anniversary/birthday today. I’m eighteen years old.

8 Choose the correct word underlined in each sentence.

1) When her bicycle was stolen, Jill became extremely angry/

nervous.

2) Peter felt ashamed/embarrassed when he had to make a speech.

3) I always write thank-you letters, just to be gentle/polite.

4) You never do anything to help me! You’re so lazy/tired.

5) Sue never does anything silly. She’s very sensible/sensitive.

6) The children had to stay in the house all day and felt bored/tired.

7) Tina doesn’t worry about anything and is always cheerful/

sympathetic.

8) Mr Jackson is very annoyed/bad-tempered and often shouts at people.

9) When he heard about the accident, Alan was very damaged/

upset.

10) I’ve got an important exam tomorrow and I’m a bit jealous/

nervous.

9 Choose the most suitable word or phrase underlined in each sentence.

1) Please don’t push. It’s very bad-tempered/rude/unsympathetic.

2) Jack hates spending money. He’s rather frank/greedy/mean.

3) Our teacher is very proud/strict/tolerant and won’t let us talk in class.

4) Helen never does her homework. She is rather gentle/lazy/reliable.

5) I didn’t talk to anyone at the party because I felt ambitious/

lonely/shy.

6) When Harry saw his girlfriend dancing with Paul he felt jealous/selfish/ sentimental.

7) I don’t like people who are noisy and aggressive/courageous/

sociable.

8) Thank you for bringing us a present. It was very adorable/

grateful/thoughtful of you.

9) Teresa never gets angry with the children. She is very brave/

patient/pleasant.

10) Tom always pays for everyone when we go out. He’s so cheerful/generous/honest.

10 Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

1) She’s a very ….. person – always smiling and in a good mood.

A) cheerful B) delighted C) glad D) pleased

2) He’s a very ……. person – I wish he was a bit more easy-going.

A) bad-tempered B) furious C) mad D) wild

3) Don’t tell her off – she’s very …..…. and she may start to cry.

A) responsive B) sensible C) sensitive D) sympathetic

4) People enjoy his company because he’s extremely ………….. .

A) adorable B) likeable C) lovable D) sympathetic

5) If you’ve got a problem, go and talk to her – I’m sure she’ll be …. .

A) patient B) sympathetic C) tolerant D) warm-hearted

6) He has excellent taste in clothes and always dresses ….….…... .

A) cleanly B) healthily . C) smartly D) tastily

7) When his wife started seeing more of the tennis coach, he

became very ………………..... .

A) arrogant B) envious C) jealous D) selfish

8) The twins keep pretending to be each other – they’re such

..................................... children!

A) evil B) miserable C) naughty D) wicked

9) Thank you for my beautiful present. It was very …................. of

you to buy it for me.

A) charitable B) generous C) loyal D) reliable

10) If you give him a message make sure he writes it down

because he’s very …........................ .

A) absent B) forgetful C) mindless D) preoccupied

11) You have to be quite …..... to stand up in front of an audience.

A) self-confident B) self-conscious

C) selfish D) self-satisfied

12) She’s a very …......................... little girl – her parents give her

everything she asks for.

A) consented B) discriminating C) generous D) spoilt

13) He’s a dreadful person – I can’t ....................................…. him.

A) stand B) suffer C) support D) swallow

14) Everyone agrees that he’s a very .................................…. man.

A) beautiful B) gorgeous C) handsome D) pretty]

15) When she first went to work in another city, she felt very ...... .

A) abandoned B) alone C) lonely D) single

16) Most people feel …............................... before an examination.

A) absent-minded B) anxious C) eager D) nervy

11 Use the word in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.