PRACTICE TEST 2

1. The designer was given free _____ to produce any design he wanted.

A rein B range C ride D rope

2. They were _____ over by his kindness and didn’t know what to say.

A turned B knocked C hooked D bowled

3. The office was closed for a week for refurbishment and now the staff have to deal with
the _____ that built up during their absence.

A backstage B backlash C backlog D backdrop

4. Even though there have been setbacks, because of their determination I’m sure they’ll
achieve their goals, _____ .

A suffice to say B be that as it may C so be it D come what may

5. John and Sarah lived in the back of _____ and it always took us a whole day to drive
there.

A the country B isolation C nowhere D beyond

6. My parents looked back with _____ on the days when all of us lived at home and
which, they said, were the best years of their lives.

A nostalgia B reminiscence C homesickness D recollection

7. I don’t trust him and it really goes against the ________to give him the money.
A. cloak B. grain C. rice D. grapevine

8. It’s time we had a ________talk with each other in an effort to clear the air.

A. heart to heart B. eye to eye C. face to face D. cheek to cheek

9. As she didn’t understand the teacher’s question, she merely gave him a _______ look.

A. clear B. dim C. blank D. hopeless

10. Sister Morrison might take _______ with me on that matter.

A. words B. discussion C. issue D. matter

11. I don't think that revealing your past to your boyfriend scared him _______.
A. back B. down C. off D. through

12. There were probably moments when you wondered if anyone spoke the truth or was
______

A. spolit for choice B. below par C. off the beg D. on the level

13. Substantial members of the ______members ignored the union advice.

A. all and sundry B. flesh and blood

C. head and shoulders. D. rank and file

14. Many victims of the earthquake pay ______ to the ones who took them out of rubble.

A. respects B. homage C. tributes D. deference

15. The movie takes considerable liberties ______the novel that it is based on.

A. to B. out of C. at D. with

16. Don’t believe Samuel. He just ______an act that he is the most miserable person in
the world.

A. puts on B. puts into C. settles up D. settles in

put on an act: giả vờ

17. Diagnosed with tumor in the brain, she refused to meet her ______but turned to
religion for help.

A. paleontologist B. oncologist C. entomologist D. seismologist

18. Their father was a hero in World War II, whose account has awakened
______memories of the old days.

A. down-in-the-dumps B. disconsolate

C. poignant D. grief-stricken

19. I don't like intellectual novels, serious music or films; my tastes are quite ______

A. flat-topped B. lowbrow C. shamefaced D. slow-witted

20. The sixth time he called me at night was the _________.

A. lost cause B. last straw C. touch and go D. hot air

21. There’s no doubt about the outcome of the trial. The man is a ______ criminal.

A. self-conscious B. self-contained C. self-confessed D. self-centered

22. Rebecca ______on our conversation to tell us that James had just been rushed to
hospital.

A. cut in B. faced up C. got ahead D. broke up

23______ her job, her sons and the housework, she doesn’t have a minute for herself.

A. What with B. If it weren’t for C. Barring D. Given

24. It’s ______that he never mentioned our argument; I wonder why he didn’t.

A. special B. rare C. curious D. eccentric

25. He praised his wife for her dignity under the ______of the tabloid press.

A. onslaught B. assault C. onset D. offensive

26. Brain cancer requires ______ treatment such as surgery.

A. aggressive B. confrontational C. malignant D. rigorous

27. The government has been forced into a ________ after the revelation of a cover-up.

A. climbdown B. getaway C. outbreak D. breakout

28. I don’t know if Ash would be right for the job; he’s a bit of an unknown ________.

A. quality B. qualification C. quantity D. identity

29. Searching for one man in this city is like looking for a _________.

A. salt of the earth B. sand in the desert

C. needle in a haystack D. drop in the ocean

30. The Conservatives declared their intention of______the whole Act once they came
into power.

A. repulsing B. repelling C. impelling D. repealing

31. The growth of psychobiology owes ______to major conceptual advances in the way
people think about the brain.

A. much B. as much as C. much which D. there is so much

32. The class went to see the performance of Macbeth because it ______ in well with the
project they were doing on Scottish history.

A. crammed B. stood C. tied D. booked

33. I have tried every product on the market and still I can't rid these curtains of the
______of cigarette smoke.

A. fumes B. fragrance C. stench D. aroma

34. Her condition seems to be ______. We’ll have to take her to intensive care.
A. ameliorating B. deteriorating C. amputating D. imitating

35. Not only is little Jonny’s grammar incoherent and his spelling atrocious but also his
pronunciation______.
A. slothful B. sluggish C. hazard D. haphazard

36. I need to ______ your offer very carefully before I make a decision.

A. look over B. see out C. figure out D. mull over

37. There’s nothing to ______ as it’s a general knowledge quiz.

A. come round to B. face up to C. swot up on D. come up with

38. The account of their journey has been ______ together from personal letters and
diaries.

A. pieced B. set C. pulled D. got

39. The noise from the unruly fans celebrating their team’s victory didn’t _____ until
early in the morning.

A. shut off B. give away C. let up D. fall over

40. Following years of intense training, the accomplished athlete ______ the medal
triumphantly.

A. took off B. went off C. ran off D. carried off

41. We’d been working hard for a month and so decided to go out and ______.

A. paint the town red B. face the music

C. read between the lines D. steal the show

42. The country is an economic ______ with chronic unemployment and rampant crime.

A. lost cause B. basket case C. false dawn D. dark horse

43. You’ve got to ______ to succeed in advertising.

A. go to your head B. have your wits about you

C. have your head in the clouds D. gather your wits

44. The Prime Minister will decide whether to release the prisoner or not; that’s his
______.
A. prerogative B. derogatory C. abdication D. humanity

45. The Secretary of State handled the matter ______ and prevented a war.
A. adroitly B. intensely C. abjectly D. slightly

46. The robbery was carried out in ______ daylight and with hundreds of witnesses
present.

A. open B. wide C. broad D. clear

47. Most of the examination is written but there is also a(n) ______ part which I am
really worried about.

A. vocal B. verbal C. oral D. wordy

48. ______ with anger, Mr. Jensson stormed into the local tax office and demanded to see
someone about his case which had dragged on for nearly three years.

A. Brimming B. Pouring C. Stewing D. Seething

49. When I say I want you to be here at six o'clock, I mean six o'clock ______.You
cannot be late under any circumstances!

A. on the edge B. at the moment C. on the dot D. in detail

50. The opposition protests against the government now threaten to get out of ______ and
the security forces are likely to make arrests around the country today.
A. reach B. kilter C. hand D. the ordinary

51. Fingerprints are the most ______ types of evidence used in criminal cases because
it’s one of the most reliable forms of identification

A. culpable B. incriminating C. liable D.offending

52. The inconsiderate driver was ______ for parking his vehicle in the wrong place.

A. inflicted B. harassed C. condemned D. confined

53. Another, perhaps inspired by the nursery rhyme, is that a(n) ______ for sweet things
during pregnancy makes you more likely to be having a girl, while a boy will make you
crave savoury, salty foods, meat and cheese in particular.

A. inspiration B. affinity C. predilection D. propensity

54. Most of the old road has been ______ by the great interstate highways

A. overdone B. superseded C. excelled D. overwhelmed

55. She got very ______working such long hours

A. tumble-down B. downcast C. run-down D. down - and – out

56. Just because we’ve had a good year, this does not mean that we cannot do better: we
must not ______

A. have our head in the clouds B. bury our heads in the sand

C. count our blessings D. rest on our laurels

57. As soon as the problem at work blew up, he instantly thought about how he could
come out of it looking good. He is such a ______person.

A. self-evident B. self-conscious C. self-centred D. selfless

58. We carried on down the path, ______of the notice warning of avalanche risk.

A. careless B. carefree C. heedless D. blind

59. The judge declared a ______today due to unfair media coverage and the trial will be
restarted again early next year.

A. postponement B. annulment C. cancellation D. mistrial

60. His performance was so spectacular that he was ______out for praise by the team
manager at the end of the game.

A. singled B. filtered C. distinguished D. selected

61. He's just getting up my ______ so much at the moment.

A. feet B. chest C. nose D. mind

62. Something's wrong with this room, but I can't quite ______what it is.

A. put my finger on B. know off-hand

C. give my right arm to D. lay eyes on

63. Group E is now wide open with all four teams ______ a chance of qualifying for the
knock-out phase going into the final group matches.

A. in with B. up for C. in for D. up with

64. There's so much good theatre and cinema in London, really one is ______for choice.

A. overcome B. ruined C. spoilt D. overwhelmed

65. The structure parameters of these chucks are ______ those of K11 3-jaw self-centring
chucks.

A. much the same as B. nearly as

C. nothing like as D. nowhere near as

66. There are ten prisoners on the ______.

A. loose B.run C. track D. go

67. Sometimes, we don't appreciate the ______ pleasures of life such as a beautiful sky, a
cup of coffee with a friend or seeing a good film at the cinema.

A. sheer B. simple C. normal D. plain

68. They dismissed him as "disrespectful, very arrogant and ______ rude".

A. totally B. downright C. outright D. heavily

69. The statement from the ministers contrasts ______ with comments by European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncke
A. sharply B. heavily C. utterly D. flatly

70. I know how to use computers, but I don't really understand the ______of how they
work.

A. ins and outs B. odds and ends C. dribs and drabs D. waifs and strays

71. The doctor says that it's ______whether Mary will be okay.

A. prim and proper B. spick and span C. touch and go D. up and coming

72. Our staff take pride in providing ______ service.

A. mundane B. atrocious C. impeccable D. lousy

73. It was a ______move to buy your house just before property prices started to rise.

A. astute B. crafty C. shrewd D. wily

74. They adopted a sensible, ______ policy on defence spending.

A. state-of-the-art B. trick-of-the-trade

C. run-of-the-mill D. middle-of-the-road

75. He'd be ______if he found out what you're doing

A. annoyed B. irritated C. livid D. cross

76. A lot of older people are ______ because they've been complaining all their lives

A. irate B. crotchety C. indignant D. infuriated

77. She had a ______ row with Eddie and stormed out of the house.

A. blazing B. heated C.firing D. smouldering

78. Intimate relationships were limited to a stack of old nudie magazines with ______
pages, which he kept on the floor beneath his cot.

A. head-on B. nail-biting C. narrow-minded D. well-thumbed

79. He awoke with a ______ heart, sweating with fear

A. plucking B. flexing C. gritting D. pounding

80. We reached ______in the meeting and failed to come to a solution

A. standstill B. gridlock C. standoff D. stalemate

81. He was ______aware of his lack of experience

A. widely B. painfully C. deeply D. heavily

82. As an average retail investor I consider myself ______ capable of understanding the
operation of crossing networks

A. perfectly B. bitterly C. widely D. highly

83. The littlest thing tends to anger my mother, so I feel like I have to walk on ______
whenever I'm at her house.

A. eggshells B. nutshells C. bombshells D. seashells

84. Students can be expelled at the ______ of the principal

A. disposition B. dispersal C. discretion D. disposal

85. He became emotionally ______from his friends and family after the illness.

A. distant B. faint C. secluded D. far-away

86. The sound of his footsteps gradually ______ away.

A. died B. passed C. vanished D. dwindled

87. He is disliked because of his sly and ______ways of getting what he wants.

A. calculating B. callous C. inquisitive D. meticulous

88. She dismissed him with a ______nod of the head.

A. blunt B. curt C. reckless D. ruthless

89. His performance is described in the paper as "a ______ display of physical agility".

A. breathtaking B. gripping C. harrowing D. piercing

90. The police are sometimes more ______with female offenders.

A. lax B. lenient C. easygoing D. withdrawn

91. Don’t be taken in by his lying, ______ words

A. slack B. scrupulous C. treacherous D. feeble

92. With the amount of traffic nowadays, even a trip across town is ______with dangers.

A. beset B. surrounded C. assaulted D. devoid

93. He was forced to ______ control of the company.

A. discard B. relinquish C. quit D. surrender

94. Getting up at 8 o’clock was early by her ______

A. reasons B. standards C. limits D. levels

95. The passion of Argentinian football fans ______no bounds

A. recognizes B. holds C. sees D. knows

96. My library books are a week ______

A. undue B. overdue C. unpunctual D. belated

97. Every shelf is ______with ornaments.

A. muddled B. bundled C. cluttered D. burdened

98. There was a danger of the country reverting to its ______ sin of complacency

A. redeeming B. overriding

C. besetting D. overwhelming

99. Police are investigating a(n) ______ of burglaries in the Kingsland Road area.

A. rate B. influx C. tide D. spate

100. He kept telling us about his operation, in the most ______ detail.

A. elaborate B. knotty C. graphic D. burning