PATHWAY TO EXAMS 1

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................5

WORD FORMATION ................................................................7

COMPOUND WORDS ......................................................9
PREFIXED AND SUFFIXED WORDS ............................16

WORD USAGE ........................................................................29

COMPLEX VERBS ..........................................................31
IDIOMATIC PHRASES ....................................................37
PREPOSITIONS ..............................................................48
SYNONYMS ....................................................................56
COLLOCATIONS ............................................................66

ENGLISH IN USE ....................................................................81

SPELLING and PUNCTUATION ....................................83
EXTRA WORD ................................................................91
LEXICAL CLOZE PASSAGES ........................................98
STRUCTURAL CLOZE PASSAGES ............................103
DISCOURSE CLOZE PASSAGES ................................109
FORMAL vs. INFORMAL LANGUAGE ..........................113

ANSWER KEYS ....................................................................117

APPENDIX 1 – REGISTER TIPS ..................................137

APPENDIX 2 – COMPLEX VERBS TIPS......................139
APPENDIX 3 – COLLOCATIONS..................................142

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................143

2 Arina-Liana Susan

COMPOUND WORDS

III. Complete the following sentences with suitable compounds. Initial

letters are provided to help you.

1. Clark is usually avoided by his office mates for he is b…-h… and keeps
telling them how intelligent he is.
2. My team are using this new h…-l… equipment to make their work
easier and finish the construction sooner.
3. I never go shopping with Frank as I know he is l…-f… and I may end
up being wrongly accused of shoplifting.
4. The main office has received a number of complaints about inhuman
treatment from d…-t… workers all over the country.
5. Harry, our kind neighbour, asked us to give him n…-m… grass for his
stallions.
6. Bill encouraged Dana to remain optimistic as he had a feeling she would
be an u…-a…-c… pop singer and eventually his words became reality.
7. Given his figure he should wear only d…-b… suits.
8. My daughter’s math homework for tomorrow consists of two m…-b…
geometry problems.
9. His putting in a word for her was supposed to be a w…-m… intention
but unfortunately she interpreted it in the wrong way.
10. It was not the heavy traffic that prevented me from arriving on time but
the l…-l… mist.

PREFIXED AND SUFFIXED WORDS

I. Fill in the gaps with words made from the ones in capitals.

1. The questions in the test were not so ... as they were supposed to be.
ELEMENT
2. The policy of not becoming involved in the affairs of other countries is
called … ISOLATE
3. This contemporary author is quite famous for his … style. NOVEL
4. Conditions for participation in the contest are enumerated … LEAF
5. The newcomers were kindly invited to … in the social life of the
community. TAKE
6. Students usually rely too much on their … memory and don’t study as
much as they should. PHOTO
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 3

7. This knife is of poor quality as it is not made of … steel. STAIN

8. We all know that his deed can be qualified as … offence. TREASON
9. The baby’s … kept his parents awake all night. WAIL
10. The person who plays the timpani is called a … TIMPANI

COMPLEX VERBS
VI. Rewrite the following sentences replacing the underlined words
with a phrasal verb. Certain sentences allow more than one variant.

1. He is usually very secretive about everything he does; you can never

make him tell you anything.
2. At the carnival all the guests came dressed in clothes similar to those
worn by the characters in the book.
3. The young man was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland without
even being asked when he was fourteen.
4. It was conspicuous that Greg was the most intelligent member of his
team.
5. The detective’s intention was to find whatever information he could in
the victim’s office outside office hours.
6. The preconceived idea according to which girls do not make as much
progress as boys do no longer stands.
7. It is hoped that a new computer lab in our school will make our
students more enthusiastic and motivated.
8. You do not need to give me a lift; I’ll just make a taxi stop by waving
at its driver.
9. The paint on the walls is so old that it has started to break away from
them in small pieces.
10. The movie had not finished when I noticed Harry falling asleep.

IDIOMATIC PHRASES
COLOURS

IV. Rewrite the following sentences replacing the underlined words with
an idiom containing the word in capitals.

1. Ever since the company lost a big deal because of his incompetence, he
is not in his boss’s favour any longer. BLACK
2. I was told to wait until they gave me permission to start. GREEN
4 Arina-Liana Susan

3. She is definitely not the type of woman who would accept a low paid
job in an office or a restaurant. PINK
4. The manager of the new department was accused of stealing money
from the company. WHITE
5. Our athlete has most chances to win the gold medal in the Olympics
this year. RED
6. You can argue about this hot issue all you want but it will be in vain
because she will stick to her own opinion. BLUE
7. She always says other people’s jobs are better than hers or that others
have more money than she does. GREENER
8. After retirement, older people resort to the money specially saved for
this period. GREY
9. When the explosion was heard, all the children in the classroom
screamed very loudly. BLUE
10. Put your request in writing and we’ll see about that later. BLACK

PREPOSITIONS
II. Complete the sentences with ABOVE or OVER.

1. The beauty center is located in the same building but … the

supermarket.
2. Last night temperatures were not … freezing level.
3. Mother asked Sean to spread a white cloth … the table.
4. His behavior has always been … reproach.
5. The bodyguard was holding a huge umbrella … the actress’s head.
6. Please look … the hedge and tell us what you see.
7. The wrong doer is thought to have escaped … the border some time
ago.
8. Will you please sprinkle some salt … the salad for me?
9. The man was sad and disappointed as he hadn’t been able to rise… the
rank of sergeant.
10. The little boy was afraid to jump … the stream and started crying.
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 5

SYNONYMS
A. ADJECTIVES

I. LOUD

Complete the sentences with one of the synonyms in the box below.

rowdy, booming, deafening, loud, noisy, raucous,

piercing, thunderous, ear-splitting

1. The noise was … as bomb shells exploded all over the town.
2. Two of the boys were thrown out of the concert hall for … behaviour.
3. Mother was woken up by a … bang she heard outside.
4. A … silence followed after the terrible news was broadcast.
5. The man just sat there and sipped his drink ignoring the … voices
around him.
6. The announcement that she will run for Congress was greeted with …
applause.
7. The speaker made himself heard by everyone in the conference room
thanks to his … voice.
8. Our grandparents would rather live in the country rather than in a city
as they totally dislike … places.
9. A … scream came from the next room so we went to check it out.

COLLOCATIONS

I. Find one word only which can be used appropriately in all three
sentences making up a set. Its form may change in some cases.

1. a) We truly hope our representatives will sign the contract today as

hundred jobs are at …
b) Please drive another … into the ground so that our tent will be better
supported.
c) In the past, suspected witches used to be burnt at the …

2. a) Please don’t write anything in the … . Our teacher will make notes
there.
b) The British voted by a large … to keep their own currency.
6 Arina-Liana Susan

c) We would like to know the … of error in this case.

3. a) We would have liked to have this photo …

b) Doris’s mother is a small- … woman always dressed up smartly.
c) Jerry is going to buy a pair of silver-… glasses for his brother today.

4. a) This young actress will play the … of Juliet at the National Theatre
the next season.
b) You don’t have a straight … in your hair.
c) Her not coming back since Christmas is only … of the problem.

5. a) Losing weight is a … of motivation and ambition.

b) The police are going to … him about the crime.
c) Sean raised a delicate … at last night’s meeting.

6. a) The children were promised to be taken to a game …

b) They state they condemn our actions without …
c) I’ve just remembered I haven’t made a hotel … so far.

7. a) Which … do you usually work?

b) Lately there has been a marked … in attitudes towards the HIV
infected people.
c) I was about to … into the third gear when I heard a loud bang at the
rear of my car.

8. a) With all due …, madam, I believe you are wrong.

b) With … to the issue we talked about yesterday, it remains to be seen.
c) Today’s youth don’t treat the old with …

9. a) At first our small business was quite … but in time it became very
profitable.
b) What is the time? My watch seems to be a few minutes …
c) If you don’t speed up you should drive on the … lane.

10. a) If you had used a fishing …, you wouldn’t go home empty-handed.

b) We have bought only jars of mustard weighting 250 grams …
c) They have cast their … wide to get the appropriate location for the
exhibition.
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 7

SPELLING and PUNCTUATION

I. Underline the correct homograph in each sentence.

1. He booked a birth/berth on the train from Cluj to Bucharest last week.

2. Have you ever tasted place/plaice?
3. The man was coming down the street with a slow, stiff gait/gate.
4. It is a fact that wars and disaster have provided a rich seam/seem of
drama for writers.
5. The bride insisted that her cake should have five tears/tiers.
6. Hordes/Hoards of children on rollers made crossing the street difficult.
7. The peasant’s mules brayed/braid when they saw him approaching.
8. Terry answered the waiter he would like to have row/roe.
9. Sunlight seemed to gild/guild the baby’s face.
10. The captain said somebody must have seen the boy/buoy and swerved
just in time.

III. Read carefully the text below. Some of the lines are correct but
others contain a spelling or a punctuation error. Find the error and
write it next to the numbers provided. For the lines which are
9). The lines (0) and (00) are done
correct indicate this with a tick (9
as examples.

Airline food reaching new heights

Examples: 0 . With
00 9
0 At a high altitude, taste buds lose sensitivity with a traveler's
00 ability to taste 33% gone, airline meals must be more robustly
1 seasoned on the ground and wines more agressive on the palate.
2 Since no one consumes more airline food then business travelers,
3 menu planning for repeat pasengers is a constant challenge
4 for airlines with long-haul routes we are treating in-flight dining
5 like in-flight entertainment, because the food has to work hard to keep
6 passengers entertained said Ben Boyd, spokesman for Singapore Airlines.
7 "We need to satisfy a number of objectives. Its also a vehicle for creating
8 a point of contact. The way a meal is presented creates an oportunity to
9 interact with passengers. "To meet the taste challenge carriers conduct
10 costly and labor-intensive tests, some in kitchens that have a sealed room
 8 Arina-Liana Susan

11 to replicate in flight pressure and humidity conditions. On long-distance

12 flights, menus are changed regularlly and tailored to ethnic preferences
13 on given routes which requires considerable research and attention
14 to very specific guidelines. "Meals must taste like this look like this ...,
15 acording to detailed instructions," said the vice president of
16 aircraft catering for Emirates.

EXTRA WORD

Read carefully each of the texts below. Some of the lines are correct but
others contain an unnecessary word. Find the extra word and then write
it next to the numbers provided. For the lines which are correct indicate
9) in the box. The lines (0) and (00) are done as examples.
this with a tick (9

A. Athens

Examples: 0 9
00 the

0 Bathed in the light of Attica, Athens is a crossroads: a place where

00 mountain meets the sea, East meets West, a turbulent history meets
1 the contemporary business world. Against this background, it is not hardly
2 surprising that the city should have its own vital rhythms, which never to
3 fail to astonish other Europeans. Athenians pour very the same intense
4 energy into their entertainment as into their work, and they have
5 developed the temperament characteristic to of the citizens of any great
6 modern Mediterranean metropolis. A city so like Athens - chaotic,
7 non-conformist, free - is not an easy place to come to go grips with. A city
8 where an ancient sense of measure co-exists with the chaos of the modern
9 world, and the relaxed Mediterranean temperament with the more inhuman
10 rhythms of international business. Why this should be so, of course, it is
11 obvious: Athens is and has always been a busy crossroads. Since its first
12 settlement it has never, despite of myriad historical adventures and
13 tremendous population fluctuations over a span of one more than five
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 9

14 thousand years, ceased to be a city. Perhaps it and all begins with this
15 magical situation: the centre of Attica, a whole cosmos wherein
16 everything exists and everything intersects with, to create at their
epicentre a basin protected by mountains.

LEXICAL CLOZE PASSAGES

I. Read the text below and decide which word best fits each numbered
space by circling it.

Long-Term Impact of Toxins

Toxic pollution in the Great Lakes usually (1) … few immediate health risks.
But (2) … experts say swimming and drinking are safe, they admit that the
long-term impact of many of the toxins (3) … into the lakes still isn’t understood.
Among the substances dumped most into the Great Lakes watershed are lead
and nickel, both of (4) … are suspected of causing cancer and other health
problems. Others, such as barium, have been (5) … to threats such as increased
blood pressure and brain swelling. But while (6) … of harmful chemicals are
present in the lakes, they generally are so (7) … that people face very little risk
of being sickened by them. Industrial polluters are required by the government
to dilute the chemicals before they are released, so even water near waste pipes
isn’t supposed to pose a danger.
But what happens once those toxics get into the water is harder to (8) … .
Some, such as nitrates and ammonia, (9) … away and break down within days.
Others, such as lead, can (10) … up in lake bed (11) … and don’t easily break
down. Environmentalists say that creates a risk of new toxic hot (12) … in the
lakes. Still others, such as PCBs and mercury, build up in animals, which means
the levels people are exposed to when eating fish are concentrated and more
harmful. Mercury is linked to immune (13) … and brain damage. PCBs are
thought to cause cancer.
Yet researchers don’t fully understand the risks of many pollutants. Among
them are manganese and copper, two of the toxins dumped most often into the
Great Lakes. The government (14) … it hasn’t been able to (15) … a conclusion
about whether they cause cancer.

1. A puts B poses C lays D lies

2. A when B until C while D how
3. A draining B moving C toiling D existing
4. A which B who C what D whose
 10 Arina-Liana Susan

5. A launched B lingered C garbled D linked

6. A galore B sufficient C plenty D profuse
7. A dilated B dipped C diffused D diluted
8. A measure B rectify C survey D tune
9. A dig B drift C dupe D dodge
10. A mould B pile C plan D pole
11. A dregs B lees C lice D sediments
12. A spots B spades C spoons D spiders
13. A conditions B failures C disorders D illnesses
14. A recognises B faces C admits D fears
15. A arrive B reach C ride D drive

STRUCTURAL CLOZE PASSAGES

I. Read the text below and fill in the numbered blanks with the missing
word. Use only one word for each space.

Under a Spell
Most people credit Noah Webster, the American lexicographer, (1) … the
differences in spelling between American and British English. He published The
American Spelling Book in 1788 – later to be called The Elementary Spelling
Book – and (2) … the following 40 years the book went (3) … about 300
editions. It sold more than 60 million copies by the end of the 19th century. In
1828, he published the American Dictionary of the English Language, (4) …
cemented his reputation (5) … the foremost lexicographer of his day.
Webster’s success has led many (6) … believe he had a major influence on
spelling norms in America. However, many characteristics of American English
spelling were already (7) … established. „Center“ and „theater“, for example,
were not new when Webster put (8) … in his dictionary. Webster also
recommended some pretty radical spellings, (9) … as „soop“, „fantom“, „tuf“,
„hed“, „medecin“ and „tung“. Most Americans ignored Webster’s more screwy
ideas. (10) … in the best linguistic traditions, common sense and everyday usage
had (11) … impact on the American spelling system than Webster’s preaching
about „correct“ spellings.
The final irony is that after Webster’s death in 1843, Charles and George
Merriam bought the rights (12) … his dictionaries and published the first
Merriam-Webster dictionary in 1847. It (13) … this dictionary, not Webster’s
original, that became a runaway success (14) … over America, and it left (15) …
all of Webster’s wackier spellings – thank goodness.
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 11

DISCOURSE CLOZE PASSAGES

II. Instructions as above.

Youth Cheerleading Uniforms

Cheerleaders first began (1) … into their cheers at the University of
Minnesota. Flash cards were first used at Oregon State University. Both of these
events coincided with the great surge of women in the cheerleading game, during
the 1920s. Then, in the 1930s, both universities and high schools began (2) …
Pompons fast became a symbol of cheerleading and the most important part
of the youth cheerleading uniform. Later, in the 1940s, the men went off to war
and women began (3) …. Youth Cheerleading Uniforms began (4) … more like
that we would recognize today, but the evolution was far from complete and
would accelerate in the decades to follow.
Cheerleading workshops actually began in the 1950s as a way of raising the
standards of cheerleading, and making it more of an American institution. Then
the top ten teams began (5) …, making sure that a good cheerleading team would
be forever a part of American sport.
Cheerleading as a sport in its own right really took off in the 1970s, and it was
around then that youth cheerleading uniforms really began (6) … . Indeed, not
much has really changed since then, apart from the materials that youth
cheerleading uniforms are made from. Technology in fabrics has meant that
lightweight, colorful and resilient cheerleading uniforms now compliment this
distinctive sport.

A. to evolve
B. to increase women’s awareness
C. to incorporate pompons into their youth cheerleading uniforms
D. to count cheerleading as part of their work
E. to be different form men’s sports
F. to be ranked in 1967
G. to take on a shape and style
H. to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling acts
I. to become part of the American dream
 12 Arina-Liana Susan

FORMAL vs. INFORMAL LANGUAGE

III. For questions 1-13 read carefully text A - the informal note made by
the representative of a company about an unsatisfactory stay at a
hotel. Use the information in the note to complete the numbered gaps
in text B - the formal letter of complaint which follows. Use no more
than two words for each gap.

A. INFORMAL NOTE

Dear Kelly,
I was hugely disappointed by the arrangements for the
conference and the accommodation at the Savoy hotel last
week. Please write a letter to the manager of the hotel letting
him know how we feel about it.
These were the main problems:
z not enough chairs in the conference room; had to bring in
stools from the bar
z no overhead projector in the conference room. Forced to
buy one.
z a cleaning woman was not polite to one of the guests.
Can give her name.
z no warm water and had to heat cold water for washing
z too cold both in conference hall and in the guests’ rooms
z no room service though we expected to find one; it’s a
four-star hotel
z won’t recommend this hotel to anyone I know. Can we
get our money back?

Thanks,
Brenda

B. FORMAL LETTER OF COMPLAINT

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing (1) … of ‘Global Online’, the company whose last
conference was held at your hotel, to (2) … the poor service we received
last week.
(3) … with, the conference hall was not fully-equipped as it had been
advertised. On the contrary, the room in question was not appropriate at
all for holding conferences due to the (4) … number of chairs - we had to
(5) … stools for our guests from the hotel’s bar – and to the fact that there
was no overhead projector available, which forced us to (6) … one.
Furthermore, the accommodation did not meet the four-star standard
as well. Although we expected to enjoy the high quality of the room
PATHWAY TO EXAMS 13

service, we were informed that no such service was (7) …. Apart from
that, the warm water system being under repair at the moment, we saw
ourselves forced to heat cold water every day. I must also mention the
fact that the hotel’s central heating system did not function and my guests
complained about their rooms and the conference hall being too cold.
With reference to the quality of the service provided by your cleaning
staff, I must add that it was far beyond our expectations. Upon one of my
guest’s request of an extra blanket, one member of your (8) … refused to
assist him in a very rude manner. I will be happy to (9) … you with her
name.
All in all, our stay at your hotel was beyond our expectations and,
therefore, I will recommend it to none of my (10) ….
To conclude, I feel we (11) … to at least a partial (12) … and I look
forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours (13) … ,
Kelly Taylor