PROFICIENCY GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY WORKSHEET I

I Choose the correct word in brackets for each of the following sentences:

1. The wind (scattered, dispersed) the leaves all around the street.
2. Due to the rain the crowd had no choice but to (scatter, disperse) and so the
demonstration was unable to have the impact it should have had.
3. As she was walking down the icy street, the old lady (slipped, slid) and fell breaking
her left leg and injuring her left elbow.
4. The children (cuddled, huddled) together in the corner of the room to keep warm.
5. The young girl had to (look after, tend) her sick grandmother during the hours when
her mother was at work.
6. He swore not to (divulge, disclose) the confidential information that had been given to
him.
7. The thief (shoved, thrust) the knife into the old man’s heart without giving it a second
thought.
8. This particular style of architecture (originated, stemmed) in the eighteenth century.
9. The present Italian language is (stemmed, derived) from Latin.
10.The two older ladies would often spend their afternoons in their back gardens sipping
tea and (chatting, chattering) about various issues they were interested in.
11.The whole office was (blabbing, gossiping) about the fact that the director was having
an affair with his secretary.
12. As I got up quickly in the middle of the night I (stumbled, staggered) over my son’s
toy car and fell down thereby fracturing my arm.

II Fill in the blanks with one of the verbs below in the correct tense:

fire monitor enact broaden vent waive

howl pamper meet issue

1. They put on a theatrical production during which they ____________ the arrival of
the pilgrims in America.
2. The wind _______________ through the trees and I curled up under my blanket in an
attempt to overcome my fear.

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3. Despite regulations we have decided to _______________ the normal requirements
in your situation.
4. The adventure story the old man was telling the children ____________ John’s
imagination.
5. During the experimental stages of the project all the equipment was very carefully
_____________ so as to become aware of any possible existing defects.
6. Unfortunately people tend to ______________ their frustration on those that are
closest and dearest to them.
7. After a long hard day of work I love to _______________ myself by taking a long, hot
bubble bath and sipping a glass of white wine.
8. Do you know when they intend to _______________ the new orders concerning what
plan of strategy we are to follow?
9. People should always try to involve themselves in something new so as to
_______________ their horizons and keep themselves interesting.
10. If they want us to sign the contract they will have to ______________ our
conditions.

III Write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original

sentence but using the given word:

1. If only you studied harder. (Rather)

2. I wish I hadn’t made such a mistake. (Pity)

3. If only I could take a vacation. (Love)

4. Why can’t you finally grow up and be responsible? (Time)

5. Now I’m sorry that I hadn’t made such an investment earlier. (Regret)

6. I would suggest getting your hair cut. (Better)

7. He prefers driving to flying on business trips. (Sooner)

8. By exercising on a daily basis I find an outlet for my frustrations. (Vent)

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9. He was allegedly a well-known home wrecker. (Claimed)

10.The demonstrators threw tomatoes and eggs at the politicians to show their
disrespect.(pelted)

11.The onset of glandular fever consists of swelling and a high temperature. (First)

12.If I had been in your position I would have reacted much more violently. (Shoes)

13.They claimed that the mix up for the reservations was the receptionist’s fault.
(Blame)

14.It is a well known fact that the cost of living in Greece is exceptionally high and bears
no relation to people’s income. (Common)

15. Microorganisms are too small to be seen by the naked eye. (Visible)

IV Fill in the correct preposition to complete the following phrasal verbs:

1. I’ll let you _________ on a secret; I’m getting married next month.
2. As she was getting on my nerves I told her to lay ___________ or else I wouldn’t be
responsible for what I would do.
3. If the wind lets ________ later perhaps we can go fishing.
4. I tried my best not to let _________ that I knew they were planning a surprise
birthday party.
5. Please try to let _________ on Julia since you know that she has gone through such a
difficult time lately.
6. It is advisable to lay _________ a certain amount of money every month so that you
can be prepared in case anything unexpected happens to you.
7. How could I possibly know what I was letting myself ___________ when I agreed to
help them with their marital problems.
8. Approximately how much do you feel we would have to lay __________ to start our
own little business ?

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9. they probably felt sorry for me and that is why they decided to let me
_____________.
10.At first I found it very difficult but I kept _________ it and finally I was able to get
the hang of it.
11.It was so hard to keep __________ my diet when I was surrounded by all that lovely
food.
12.The oppressive dictator used all kinds of violent force to keep ____________ the
people of his nation.
13.No matter how hard I tried I could not manage to keep ___________ with the rest of
the runners because they were in better shape.
14.The police suspected that he was keeping ____________ information and so they
kept him under surveillance.
15. I hate it when my mother constantly keeps ___________ about not neglecting my
studies.

V Please provide explanations for the following idioms or use them in a

sentence:

1. against all odds

2. get the sack in the offing
3. white elephant
4. out in the open
5. out and out
6. get the wrong end of the stick
7. take things to pieces
8. grease someone’s palm
9. past one’s prime
10.come to the point
11.off the point
12.out of the frying pan into the fire
13.a bitter pill to swallow
14. fall into place

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 VI Complete using the correct preposition:

1. Blood was oozing __________ the wound.

2. He was oblivious __________ any kind of criticism.
3. I have an obsession ________ chocolate and cannot resist eating it.
4. The enemy onslaught _______ the village resulted in many lives being lost.
5. Is it difficult for you to part ________ your money?
6. We must take precautions ________ having this happen again.
7. Smoking is definitely pernicious ________ your health.
8. I pleaded _________ him to reconsider his decision.
9. I always take pride ________ my children’s achievements.
10.We can’t live in the house yet because it is ____________ repair.
11.She mumbled something ________ answer to my question but I could not make out
what it was.
12.He was arrested when he was caught running around the streets of the city _______
the nude.
13.I can’t tell you all the details at the moment but I’ll give you a general idea _______
brief.
14.I find that I am very impatient _________ people who move very slowly.
15.Henry is always impatient __________ the summer holidays and then after a while
he can’t wait for school to start again.

VII Complete using the correct word:

packet package pack

1. This is the third ________ of cigarettes he has smoked today.

2. Get one _________ of cookies only.
3. The postman brought me a large ___________ in the post.

male masculine

4. Athletic and _________ looking men are appealing to many women.

5. There were more _________ born in the month of February apparently.

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 6. The __________ population apparently lives a shorter period of time according to
statistics.
7. Many Russian women athletes are very tall and muscular and they look rather
__________.

invaluable priceless valuable worthless

8. All the advice she gave us was absolutely ____________ because she had no
experience in the field.
9. My husband is trying to start a ___________ collection of paintings so he is slowly
investing in them.
10. I can’t express my appreciation enough because your help has been ____________
to me.
11. They claim that the Crown Jewels are absolutely _______________.

electric electrical

12. The invention of the _____________ light bulb was a definite turning point in the
history of technology.
13. What kind of guitar do you play, classical or _____________?
14. When I got married my parents bought me all ___________ appliances.
15. Because of the tension we were all living in an ___________ atmosphere.