English Language and Comprehension

(b) anticipates

"Neither of them" is singular in formal English, so it takes the singular verb anticipates: Neither of them anticipates a problem.

(a) an

“Obedient” begins with a vowel sound (/ə/ or /oʊ/), so the indefinite article an is used before it: She is an obedient student.

(d) rejected

'Accepted' means agreed to or received as satisfactory; its opposite is 'rejected', meaning refused or not accepted.

(a) otherwise

"We must be early, otherwise we won't get a seat" means if we are not early, we will not get a seat. "Otherwise" expresses the consequence of not doing the first action. The other options — yet, however, but — are contrast conjunctions and do not carry this conditional meaning.

(c) has

The blank is followed by “not to be taken lightly”, so we need a verb that can take a to-infinitive. “Has to” means “must”, and with a singular subject “The danger”, the correct form is has: “The danger of volcanoes has not to be taken lightly.”

(c) has worked

"For the last seven years" marks a period that began in the past and continues up to now, so the present perfect is the natural tense here. "Worked" is simple past and implies the work is finished, and "works" is simple present, which does not suit a stated duration. "Is working" is not the best fit because "for the last seven years" is a duration phrase that points to the present perfect (or present perfect continuous, "has been working"), which is what this test frame expects.

(a) shall we?

When "Let us" (Let's) is used to make a suggestion, the question tag is shall we? — Let us go, shall we? (The tag will you? would be used only when "Let us go" means "allow us to go", i.e. a request for permission.)

(c) their

The possessive pronoun must agree with its antecedent "Two ladies", which is plural, so the plural possessive "their" is required.

(a) we

In the comparison "as lucky as ...", the pronoun after as is the subject of the understood verb are ("as lucky as we are"), so the subject pronoun we is correct. Our is possessive and ourselves is reflexive, neither of which fits here.

(a) by

The phrasal verb "abide by" means to obey or keep to something (a promise, rule, or decision). So the correct sentence is: "Sincere people abide by their promise."

(c) take over

"Take over" means to assume control of or begin to hold a position. The new manager will assume his position on August 30. The other options mean: "take off" (remove/leave the ground), "take out" (remove/extract), "take after" (resemble).

(c) for

For is used as a conjunction meaning "because", so it correctly gives the reason: there must be someone in the room, because I heard a great noise.

(a) Democracy Day is celebrated on Falgun seven by us.

The active sentence is in the simple present tense (celebrate), so the passive must use is/are + past participle — "is celebrated". The other options change the tense to past (b), present perfect (c) or past perfect (d), which the original sentence does not carry.

(a) will

"I don't think I will be able to go" is the natural future expression. Can/could cannot be followed by be able to (double modal idea), and should changes the meaning to obligation or expectation.

(b) indivisible — “Indivisible” means that which cannot be divided or split. The prefix in- means “not” and divisible means “able to be divided.”

(b) fear

An abstract noun names an idea, quality or feeling that cannot be seen or touched. Fear is an emotion, while desk, class and needle are concrete nouns.

(d) courage

Helpless, goodness, and fearless all contain suffixes (-less, -ness, -less), while courage is a root word with no suffix.

(b) integration

'Segregation' means the act of separating or keeping apart. Its opposite is 'integration', which means bringing together or uniting.

(d) Here is a hammer and two wrenches.

The compound subject “a hammer and two wrenches” is plural, so it requires the plural verb are: “Here are a hammer and two wrenches.”

(b) set out

“Set out on” means to begin a journey or a stage of it. The sentence asks when you began the last stage of your journey, so set out is the correct phrasal verb here.

(a) showed up

"Showed up" means arrived or appeared. The sentence says she appeared at times when nobody was expecting her, so "showed up" fits the meaning. "Shut up" (stopped talking), "showed off" (boasted/displayed), and "shut down" (closed) do not match the idea of arriving unexpectedly.

(a) catch up on

"To catch up on" means to do something that you have not been able to do recently. A long flight gives you a chance to catch up on your reading.

(c) do over — “do over” means to redecorate or renovate. The sentence means Mrs. MacDonald is having the old cottage renovated.
(Note: in full causative form, it would be “having the old cottage done over.”)

(b) gets across

Get across means to be communicated or understood successfully. A new commercial (advertisement) is meant to put its message over to the audience, so "The new commercial gets across very well" means its message is well received and understood. Get away = escape; get about = move about/spread; get along = have a friendly relationship — none of these fits an advertisement.

(b) work up

The phrasal verb "work up" means to develop or produce something gradually, and "work up an appetite" is a fixed idiom meaning to make oneself hungry (especially through exercise). A brisk walk is a typical way to do this.

(c) improve

"Ameliorate" means to make something better or improve it.

(b) sacred

“Hallowed” means holy or greatly revered, so its exact synonym is sacred.

(b) friendly

"Cynical" means distrustful of people's motives and expecting the worst; its opposite is trusting, warm or well-disposed, i.e. "friendly." "Hostile" is closer in meaning, while "rustic" and "simple" are unrelated.

(b) skinny

"Corpulent" means fat or obese, so its opposite is "skinny". The other options — bulky, obese and fat — are all synonyms or near-synonyms of corpulent.

(c) sororicide

Sororicide is the killing of one's sister (Latin soror, sister). For comparison: regicide is the killing of a king, genocide the killing of a whole people or race, and suicide the killing of oneself.

(c) herpeticide

Herpeton is Greek for a creeping animal (snake/reptile), so herpeticide means the killing of snakes. The other options are wrong: apicide is the killing of bees (apis = bee), avicide is the killing of birds (avis = bird), and filicide is the killing of one's own child (filius = son).

(c) ring

Badminton is played on a court, while boxing takes place in a ring — a raised square platform enclosed by ropes.

(b) convent, hermitage

A nun lives in a convent (also called a nunnery), while a hermit — a person who lives alone for religious reasons — lives in a hermitage. The other options pair the wrong dwellings with these persons.

(a) tolls

A bell tolls (rings slowly and solemnly), while bracelets jingle (make a light ringing sound). The other options do not collocate with "bell": whistle is done by a person or a kettle, and rattle describes a hard, clattering sound.

(a) humble

"Pompous" means showing excessive self-importance or arrogance, so its opposite is "humble," which means modest and unassuming.

(c) of

The fixed collocation is "die of a disease" — Johnson died of cancer. ("Die from" is also possible in some contexts, especially when the cause is an accident or injury, but "die of" is the standard choice with diseases like cancer.)

(c) with

"Agree with" is used before a person (agree with someone), while "agree to" is used before a proposal or plan and "agree on" before a point both sides settle. Here the object is a person (you), so "agree with me" is correct.

(a) at, with

We are angry at a thing or behaviour (your rude manner) but angry with a person (you).

(a) for

The phrasal verb "look for" means to search or try to find something. "I know you are looking for a job" = I know you are searching for a job. The other prepositions do not form this meaning: "look at" means to direct your eyes towards something, "look with" and "look by" are not phrasal verbs used in this sense.

(a) to

The correct collocation is useful to somebody when talking about a person: This magazine is not useful to me. We use useful for before a purpose or activity, e.g. useful for learning English.

(a) for

The preposition for is used after fine to show the reason or cause of the penalty — she was fined for parking her car in a no-parking area.

(c) at

The adjective "good" takes the preposition at before a noun or gerund (good at cricket, good at maths). The word interested earlier in the sentence also needs a preposition, but that one is already supplied — interested in — so the blank must go with good: "I'm interested in cricket but I'm not very good at it."

(d) for the time being

"Ad interim" is a Latin phrase meaning "in the meantime" or "for the time being" — it refers to something temporary or provisional, such as an ad interim government or an ad interim order.

(c) plutocracy

Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy — the rich control the government. Oligarchy is rule by a small group (not necessarily the rich), aristocracy is rule by a privileged noble class, and democracy is rule by the people.

(b) Because of the similarity with which one should use both

The author draws the comparison to show that just as a business must live off the interest of its capital without depleting the principal, we should use nature's resources only within their regenerative limits and not exhaust the natural capital itself.

(b) Not pumping some money out of profits into the business

The "folly" the author refers to is consuming or distributing all the gains of the present instead of reinvesting a portion to build future capacity. In business terms, this means taking all profits out as drawings or dividends and not ploughing any part of them back into the business. Such a firm loses its ability to grow, replace assets and compete, so future generations bear the cost of today's short-sightedness.

(b) Scientists know the usefulness of most plant species.

This is the false statement. The passage stresses that only a small fraction of plant species has been studied for food or medicine, so most species' uses are still unknown. Statements (a), (c) and (d) match what the passage says about the importance of plant diversity, plant-derived cancer drugs, and the large number of undiscovered species.

(d) Increase the potential of the uncultivated edible plants

The author argues that hunger can be reduced by making use of the many edible plant species that are not yet cultivated, rather than relying on the few species already grown. Option (a) only asks for more cultivated plants in general, (b) keeps to the 150 species already under cultivation, and (c) concerns medicinal rather than food plants.

(b) Destruction of habitat

Habitat destruction is the immediate cause for the destruction of plant species. When forests, wetlands and other natural habitats are cleared or degraded, plants lose the place they live in and the conditions they need to survive, so species are destroyed directly. Soil erosion, cultivation and agricultural practices are contributing or indirect causes.

(b) greater share of a thing

The idiom "lion's share" means the largest or greatest portion of something. So "He got a lion's share of the profits" means he received the biggest part of the profits. The other options (no share, a very small part, little profit) mean the opposite.

(a) Imitate

To emulate means to try to equal or match someone, especially by copying their behaviour or achievements — that is, to imitate them. The other options are unrelated: "derry" is not a standard English word, while "discuss" and "reject" carry entirely different meanings.

(c) gifted

A versatile person has many abilities and can do many different things well, so “gifted” is the closest synonym.

(b) is

The subject is the price (singular), so it takes the singular verb is. The phrase of consumer goods is only a modifier and does not change the number of the subject. Hence: The price of consumer goods is increasing.

(a) June 27, 2018, is a day I will never forget.

In a date written as month + day + year, the year is set off by commas when the sentence continues after it. In (b), the comma wrongly separates the subject from its verb; no comma is needed there.

(a) shake off

"Shake off" means to get rid of something (an illness, a habit, a pursuer). So the sentence reads: "I'm still trying to shake off common cold." The other options do not fit — "shake up" means to shock or reorganise, and "show off" means to boast.

(d) shabby

"Squalor" means a state of being dirty, filthy, or poverty-stricken. "Shabby" describes something worn, dirty, or in poor condition, so it is the closest synonym here.

(a) apostate

An apostate is a person who abandons or renounces their religious faith. An atheist simply does not believe in God (they may never have had a faith to abandon), secular means being non-religious or separate from religion (an adjective, not a person who leaves a faith), and credulous means too ready to believe things.

(d) verbatim

Verbatim means repeating or copying something exactly word for word.

(a) That which cannot be overcome or taken by force.

"Impregnable" describes a fortress or position that is unconquerable and cannot be captured by force.

(d) Walked where the dividing line between danger and safety.

The idiom "the feather edge of danger" means the very thin boundary between danger and safety. So to walk it is to go through a risky situation.