General Vocabulary

Fill in exercises

1. Read the text about directions. Think of ONE word that best fits in each space.

Directions To My House
Here are the directions for how to (1) ____________ to my house – print out this email and
bring it with you. It’s not difficult to find, as you’re coming (2) ______ train. Come out of (3)
____________ station and turn right. You’ll see (4) ____________ bank at (5) ____________ corner.
Carry on down the road (6) ____________ you come to a church called St Paul’s. You can’t (7)
____________ it – it’s one of the biggest churches in Brighton and (8) ____________ knows it. Just
after the church turn left. Be careful - it’s (9) ____________ very small street and people often
go past (10) ____________ noticing it. You’ll see my house at the end of the street – it’s got (11)
____________ red door. Try and get here in time (12) ____________ lunch. You can (13) ____________
me a call on your mobile if you get lost. I’ll (14) _________ waiting for you! After lunch there’s
a couple of things we could do. (15) ____________ we can look around Brighton, or we can go
for a walk in the country. We don’t need to decide (16) ____________ – we’ll just see how we’re
feeling (17) ____________ the time. It’s great that you’re coming down to stay for a (18)
____________ days. I’m really (19) ____________ forward to it. Give my best (20) ____________ to
your mother.

2. Read the text about a holiday in London. Think of ONE word that best fits in
each space.

A Holiday in London
My friend and I had a great holiday in London. We arrived at (1) ____________ airport late (2)
____________ Sunday evening, and we decided to take a taxi, even (3) ________ it was very
expensive. The taxi took us to our hotel, (4) ____________ was very nice, although the rooms
were quite small. The next day we woke up early and (5) ____________ an enormous
breakfast. I don’t know how people can eat (6) ____________ much in the morning! But it was
good (7) ____________ us because eating out in London is expensive, and with (8) ____________ a
big breakfast we didn’t need to have lunch. After breakfast we went to (9) ____________ art
gallery. I can’t remember the name, but it was (10) ____________ of famous paintings and (11)
____________ my friend and I really enjoyed it. (12) ____________ the afternoon we went (13)
____________ boat down the river to Greenwich. I didn’t realize there was so (14) ____________
to see in Greenwich! As well (15) _________ the Maritime Museum and the Observatory, (16)
________ is a beautiful park. From the top of the hill you get a view of the (17) ____________ of
London. We must (18) ____________ walked around the park for at (19) ________ two hours
because it was getting dark (20) __________ we left.

3. Read the text about time travel. Think of ONE word that best fits in each space.

Time Travel
The film that I saw (1) ____________ night wasn’t very good. It was all (2) ____________ a man (3)
____________ built a time machine so he (4) _____________ travel back in time. It took him ages
and ages (5) ____________ build the machine. (6) ____________ first he didn’t succeed, and there
were various disasters because he hadn’t been (7) ____________ to solve all the scientific
problems. As time (8) ______________ on he finally managed to build the machine. He wanted
to travel to the Stone Age, and in (9) ____________ to get there he had to pass through a black
hole (10) ____________ space. (11) ____________ his journey there were some good special
effects, (12) ____________ they weren’t (13) ____________ good as the effects in Star Pilot 4.
Anyway, his machine didn’t have (14) ____________ power to get all the way back to the Stone
Age. He only got to the last century,(15) __________ was a bit ridiculous after all the trouble
he’d (16) ___________ to.

4. Insert the correct adjective from the list below. You need to use each adjective
only once:

common tight solid proper exotic stiff

utter regular abrupt smooth clever awful
extraordinary weak

1. The waitress here knows exactly how I like my steak because I'm a _______________
customer.
2. She's a _______________ little girl who learns very quickly.
3. Water becomes a _______________ at 0 degrees centigrade.
4. His hockey career came to an _______________ end because of knee problems.
5. Johnny has made _______________ progress in reading this past year, and is now one of the
top students in the class.
6. There was an _______________ smell of cat waste in the old woman's house.
7. He was sick, and felt too _______________ to even get out of bed.
8. The skin of a snake is not rough or slimy; in fact, it is quite dry and _______________.
9. These pants are too _______________; I think I need something a little larger.
10. The pattern on the wallpaper in the kids' room is of a tropical jungle with _______________
birds, plants and animals.
11. The child's mittens were frozen _______________ by the time the snowball fight ended.
12. Make sure you wear the _______________ clothing when you go for your job interview.
13. He was an _______________ failure as a used car salesman because he was not aggressive
enough.
14. Last year, the most _______________ first names for boys in this country were Matthew and
Joshua.

5. Fill in the correct form of MAKE, DO, HAVE or GET

1. ____________ a seat. I'll ____________ you a cup of coffee.

2. I wasn't able to sleep because someone was ____________ noise in the basement.
3. I offered to ____________ the dishes, but she didn't let me.
4. I told her that she had to ____________ more exercise.
5. I must go now because I have to ____________ some work ____________.
6. I ____________ lost on my way here, so that's why I'm late.
7. It's no use ____________ angry. You must learn to control your temper.
8. I must ____________ my car repaired. It's got a flat tire.
9. The teacher ____________ us write 300 lines as punishment.
10. I couldn't ____________ any business with him because he isn't trustworthy.
11. After I ____________ up at 6.15, I ____________ a shower and then ____________ some breakfast
for my husband and me.
12. It's late and she isn't home yet. I'm starting to ____________ worried.
13. I told her it was her turn to ____________ the shopping this week.
14. What are we ____________ for dinner tonight?
15. I'm sorry. You didn't pass. You ____________ too many mistakes.
16. My mother was very ill last week, but she is ____________ better.
17. I have to ____________ my hair ____________ today. There's a ball tonight and I want to look
my best.
18. It's ____________ rather cold. Don't you think we should head back to the house?
19.I usually ____________ along rather well with my sisters. They don't ____________ any trouble
when they're here.
20. We're ____________ married next August.
 6. Fill in the correct form of MAKE or DO.

1. I always try to ____________ my best whenever I play. I never want to lose on purpose.
2. The workers ____________ some new suggestions, but the managers didn’t accept them.
3. After the children are out of the house, I always ____________ the housework.
4. It’s not easy to always ____________ the right decision.
5. My dad’s a lawyer. What does your dad ____________ for a living?
6. The mountaineers ____________ an attempt to climb the mountains but didn’t succeed.
7. The man knocked down the old lady and ____________ off with her handbag.
8. The doctor told me that I’ll have to ____________ more exercise if I want to stay healthy.
9. A diet that is unhealthy ____________ harm to your health.
10. I tried to paint the ceiling, but I ____________ a complete mess out of it.
11. It’s Saturday. I must ____________ the shopping or else we won’t have anything to eat for
the weekend.
12. How did you learn to ____________ your own clothes?
13. You’ll have to ____________ it without breakfast if you want to catch the earlier train.
14. Boys ____________ up over 80% of the students at our school.
15. He went to America and ____________ a fortune out of selling sportswear.
16. He was ____________ so well at school that the teacher said he could skip a grade.
17. If you want us to help you, you’ll have to ____________ an appointment with the secretary.
18. Could you ____________ me a favour and pass along the sugar?
19. There is no point in ____________ any excuses. I know where you have been!
20. After father had died, we all got together to ____________ arrangements for the funeral.