Advanced Dictionary Skills Quiz

This quiz is for you to test your dictionary skills. The objective is for you to find any weak areas in your skills so that you can study and improve.

Question 1: Where can you look for normal dictionary information? (More than one may be correct) a. In standard book form b. On the Internet c. In an encyclopedia d. On CD-ROM e. The Virtual Language Centre (VLC)

Question 2: What kind of information can you find in a dictionary? (More than one may be correct) a. Word definitions b. Grammatical information c. Word usage d. Pictures e. Pronunciation information

Question 3: A THESAURUS is... a. ..a prehistoric animal. b. ..a dictionary that translates between varieties of the same language, e.g Shanghainese and Cantonese. c. ..a dictionary that lists synonyms together. d. ..a dictionary that tells you slang or colloquial expressions. e. ..an antique wooden chest designed to contain important books or manuscripts.

Question 4: A HEADWORD is... a. The first syllable with semantic meaning in a word, e.g un-, dis- reb. The 'main' word in a phrasal verb. c. A word connected with the brain and its functions. d. The root word, or first word in a dictionary entry. e. The most important word in a book title or newspaper headline.

Question 5: REGISTER, in the context of language, means... a. ..the degree of formality or politeness of a word. b. ..that a word is officially listed as part of a language. c. ..that people are paying attention to what you are saying. d. ..a personalised vocabulary book made by an individual. Question 6: Dictionaries use codes or abbreviations to indicate the grammar and usage of a word. How many of these are correct? i) V = verb = informal ii) N = normal iii) Adj = adjacent vi) vt = transitive verb iv) pl = please v)Infml

a. None of these b. 1-2 of these c. 3 of these d. 4-5 of these e. All of these

Question 7: CURRENCY, in the context of language, means.. a. ..that a sentence 'flows' poetically, like a current of water or electricity. b. ..how up-to-date, or current, a word is.

c. ..a word that has come from another language, as in 'foreign currency'. d. ..the original source and history of a word or phrase. Question 8: Of the following spellings, how many are correct? i) committee vi)separate ii) recommend iii) necessary iv) offerred v) fourty

a. None of these b. 1-2 of these c. 3 of these d. 4-5 of these e. All of these

Question 9: When a word has more than one meaning given in a dictionary, how do you decide which meaning you want? More than one way may be effective. a. By thinking about the context/ situation and possible meaning of the word in the sentence and choosing the best fit. b. By looking at the sentence structure (grammar). What part of speech is the word in the sentence? How is it related to other words? Match with grammar informaton in dictionary. c. By choosing the first meaning because it's the most common. d. By picking one at random. Question 10: Alphabetical order sometimes needs practice. This is a timed question: spend no more than 2 minutes on it! How many of these statements are true? In alphabetical order, i) QUIZ comes before QUITE and QUIET ii) DEDICATED comes before DEDICATION iii) MAINSTREAM comes before MAINSTAY iv)STABILIZE comes before STABLE

v)UNOCCUPIED comes before UNOFFICIAL vi)BROWSE comes before BRUISE a. b. c. d. e. None of these 1-2 of these 3 of these 4-5 of these All of these

Question 11: Dictionaries can help you in ways you may not have thought of. How many of these statements are true? i) Dictionaries can help you proofread your written work. ii) Dictionaries can help you find out the origins of a word. iii) Dictionaries can help you improve your posture. iv) Dictionaries can help you to learn and practice the phonemic alphabet. v) Dictionaries can help you to understand grammar and structure. vi) Dictionaries can help you to enlarge your vocabulary . a. None of these b. 1-2 of these c. 3 of these d. 4-5 of these e. All of these

Question 12: An IDIOM is ... a. ..a group of stupid people. b. ..an expression used to insult someone. c. ..an expression used to give emphasis or dramatic power.

d. ..an expression with a different overall meaning to that of the actual words. e. ..a vulgar or offensive expression.

Question 13: TABOO, in a language context, means.. a. ..a picture on somebody's skin b. ..a particular linguistic rhythm or intonation c. ..something not normally talked about directly, e.g death, or something potentially embarrassing e.g sex d. ..a spell or incantation used in some kind of ritual. e. ..the pitch or tone (level) in spoken language.

Question 14: How many of these grammar questions are true? i) THAN is only used to compare or contrast things. ii) STRICT is a noun and STRICTNESS is an adjective. iii) FOR and SINCE are normally used with the present perfect tense. iv) AGO is normally used with past forms of a verb. v) Some verbs can be transitive (followed by an object) or intransitive (can stand alone). vi) The PROGRESSIVE form of a verb ends in 'ed'. a. None of these b. 1-2 of these c. 3 of these d. 4-5 of these e. All of these