Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Vocabulary Practice I

1. Match the following words with their opposites

1. bright a. to appear
2. smooth b. cowardice
3. faint c. powerful
4. to vanish d. to fall back
5. to blur e. rough
6. to advance f. freedom
7. a limitation g. strong
8. to reverse h. to clear up
9. courage i. dark
10. feeble j. to maintain

2. Complete the following sentences by making use of the words listed in the box

empowered – gradually – proud – dazzled – scorn – for the sake of – meaningless –

victory – awe – embarrassment – in spite of – adept at – faltered – harsh – stumbled

1. ………………………. the fact that Suzanne learned to swim at an early age, and
is ………………………. the breaststroke, she still fears the water.
2. Barack Obama’s ………………………. in the 2008 presidential election inspired
a sense of …………………….. in many American citizens. They are particularly
…………………. that an African-American is now the leader of a country which
has forever struggled with racism and discrimination.
3. The …………………….. treatment of political prisoners at Guantánamo Bay is
one of the issues which President Obama will now have to confront.
4. ………………………….. argument, let’s say people could read each other’s
minds: wouldn’t that make talking to each other entirely ……………………….?
5. …………………………. by her many Grand Slam victories, Serena Williams
…………………… the audience at Wimbledon when she defeated her sister
Serena in a thrilling three-set match.
6. It’s getting a bit warmer every day now; …………………., spring is replacing
winter.
7. When I walked into class today, I ……………………. over my shoe laces and
fell down in front of the whole classroom. Can you imagine the
………………………?
8. Later on, I earned the ………………………. of my history teacher, when I
……………………. in the middle of my presentation on the Cold War and
couldn’t name any of the conflict’s major events.