Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Victorian music-hall, the crowded animation of Edwardian Variety, the wordy populism of the wireless, the
spectacular imp act of the movies and, finally, the more intimate pervasiveness of television. When that career
was all over, it was sorely missed.They were simply irreplaceable.
34 The writer implies in the first paragraph that one reason why the show on 25 December 1977 was
extraordinary was that
A light entertainment programmes had been the targets of criticism before then.
B no one had thought that a British television programme could appeal to all classes.
C its audience included people who might not have been expected to watch it.
The writer says that the audience for the programme was a broad (containing a wide range of people) one and that none of the usual rigid divisions and omissions (the fact that some kinds of
people didn’t watch certain programmes and were therefore ‘missing’ from the audience) were apparent in it. He says that audiences for programmes usually had stark (very clear) class bias
(the majority of an audience belonged to a particuar social class), gender imbalance (far more men than women in the audience or far more women than men), obvious age asymmetry (not an
equal number of people from all age groups but more people belonging to one age group than another) or generalized demographic slant (general tendency for an audience to consist of more
people fitting into certain categories than people fitting into other categories). This audience had none of these factors. His point is that different types of programme usually appealed to
different types of person but that this programme was watched by all types. The implication is that some types of people would not have been expected to watch a programme of this kind but
in fact they did, because all types of person watched it.
D people tuning into it knew that they were taking part in a phenomenal event.
35 In the second paragraph, the writer implies that Morecambe and Wise
A would probably not have been successful had they been solo performers.
The writer says that they were a double-act (a pair of entertainers who perform together), that each of them was half a star and that as a couple they were a whole star. He does not say that
they were both stars individually or that as a couple they were two stars, and so the implication is that they were highly successful as a couple but that they would not have been stars if they
had been individual performers.
B had a different relationship in real life from the one they had on television.
C were keen for audiences to realize how professional they were.
D probably did not know how popular they were.
36 The writer says in the third paragraph that one reason why The Morecambe & Wise Show remained so
popular was that
A it adapted to changes in audience attitudes to what constituted good entertainment.
B it appealed to people who normally preferred other kinds of programme.
C the people who made it knew that its popularity was guaranteed.
D the contribution of people other than its stars was a key element in it.
The writer says that the programme came to stand for (be a symbol of, represent) excellence in broadcasting not only because of two gifted performers but also because of a richly proficient
(highly skilled) and supremely committed (caring enormously) production team (group of people responsible for making a programme). These people therefore made a very significant
contribution in his view to the programme becoming one that stood for something greater, something far more precious than mere (simply) first- rate (excellent) but evanescent (soon
disappearing from the memory) entertainment and they were an important factor in it having been popular for the previous nine years or so.
37 The writer suspects that The Morecambe & Wise Show will in the future be regarded as
A something which might only catch on with certain audiences.
B something which has acquired an exaggerated reputation.
The writer says that he fears that the programme is fast assuming the aura of a fairy tale (quickly beginning to have the quality of a story told to children about people and things that never
really existed) and that it is destined to be (it cannot be prevented from being) passed on with bemused (confused) fascination from one doubtful generation to its even more disbelieving
successor. His point is that in future people (in this case, he probably means programme-makers) will think that it wasn’t really as popular or as good as they are told it was.
C the kind of programme that programme-makers will aspire to.
D the kind of programme that illustrates the disadvantages of technological advances.
38 According to the writer, one feature of The Morecambe & Wise Show was
A the way in which it reflected developments in British society.
B its inclusion of jokes that only certain people would understand.
C the consistent way in which other stars were treated on it. D its careful choice of other stars to appear on it.
The writer-says that no celebrated (famous and respected) guest was ever allowed to challenge this comic democracy (treatment of people as equals), according to which Morecambe & Wise
never looked down on (considered themselves superior to), or up at (considered themselves inferior to), anyone. These guests were therefore never treated with special respect and in the
show, they went unrecognized and frequently unpaid - this was a running gag (a joke that continued and was repeated throughout the show). Guests who were venerable (old and highly
respected) actors were mocked (made fun of, made to look foolish) routinely by Eric’s sotto voce (in a low voice, quiet or whispered) comments. The writer is therefore saying that all guests
appearing on the show, however famous they were, were made fun of on the show.
39 In the sixth paragraph, the writer implies that
A other comedians have attempted to appeal to only a particular group of people.
The writer says that instead of settling- as so many of their supposed successors would do with unseeemly haste - for the easy security of a ‘cult following' (instead of accepting that the best
they could hope for was to be popular with a small group of enthusiasts, which is what comedians who came after and were considered to have filled the places of Morecambe and Wise did,
quickly and wrongly), Morecambe and Wise always wanted to entertain the whole nation. He is therefore saying that comedians who it has been claimed have been their successors have
preferred to gain a cult following quickly, because that is easier to do than to do what Morecambe and Wise did and try to appeal to the whole country.
B Morecambe and Wise usually disregarded what critics said about them.
C other comedians have not accorded Morecambe and Wise the respect they deserve.
D Morecambe and Wise realized that there were some people who would never like them.
40 In the last paragraph, the writer implies that one remarkable feature of the show was that
A it exceeded even the expectations of its audience.
B it contained elements that could have been regarded as old-fashioned.
The writer says that what people saw in the show was the happy summation (collection) of Morecambe and Wise’s career, a career that had traversed (moved through) all the most important
developments in mass entertainment in Britain. He says that their show included elements of such things as Victorian music- hall (entertainment involving singing, dancing and comedy,
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popular in Britain in the 19th century), Edwardian Variety (a similar kind of entertainment popular in Britain in the early part of the 20th century) and the wireless (an old-fashioned word for
‘radio’, used when radio was new), all of which he uses as examples of kinds of entertainment from the past. In the case of the former, he says that there were faint but still discernible
(noticeable with difficulty) traces (signs) of it in the show. Since these elements belonged to older times, the implication is that they could have been regarded as old-fashioned, but the writer
clearly sees the presence of them as one of the reasons why the show was so good.
C it showed the similarities between earlier forms of entertainment.
D it contained a hint of sadness despite being so entertaining
Exercise 7: Use only one word to fill in each of the numbered blanks.
The 1990s has been hailed (1) as the environmental decade; the world and the environment are now firmly (2)
on the political agenda. The citizens of planet Earth are waking (3) up to the knowledge that action is (4)
required/needed not only by governments but also by all mankind, to preserve the world as we know it.
The ozone layer, environmental pollution, global warming, the rainforests are topics discussed (5) world-wide
from the newsroom to the café. Environmental pollution is an area which is of direct (6) concern to all of us,
from the chemical waste (7) poured/put out by factories to the rubbish we throw (8) out/away every day.
Industrial pollution is being emitted continually (9) from/by the world’s cities, clogging up the atmosphere,
poisoning the rivers and destroying nature’s balance.
New environmental awareness is already evident: young children are (10) being educated about recycling
household waste, housewives are becoming green-shoppers, concerned (11) with/about the contents and
packaging in their shopping baskets, and governments are at (12) last beginning to take serious and effective
(13) action/measures. Although this environmental awareness is laudable, it could be (14) argued that
perhaps it has all come a bit too (15) late. Man has been polluting the environment in (16) various/many
damaging ways for the past 150 years. The methods and processes which cause so (17) much of the pollution
form the core of “civilised” living. In trying to cope(18) with the problems which the Earth faces, we must
also (19) look at the causes and re-evaluate our way of living, turning to natural, environmental ways of
producing energy, and living our (20) life/lives closer to nature.
Exercise 8: Fill in one of the prepositions or adverbs from the box below, then give a synonym for each
phrasal verb.
Phrasal Verbs 1
round, off, across, through, down to, to, into, out, up, up with, by, up to, forward, on, over, in, round to, out in
1. I’m not sure how the accident came about= happen but I suspect somebody was being careless.
2. He came across= find by chance a collection of valuable old coins in the attic.
3. How did you come by= obtain this painting? It’s a Picasso, you know.
4. This diamond came down to= be inherited me from my great-grandmother.
5. After she hit her head, it took her several minutes to come round/to= regain consciousness
6. How much did the food bill come to= amount to this week?
7. Did the new play come up to= equal your expectations?
8. Those seeds I planted haven’t come up= begin to grow yet.
9. He came into= inherit several thousands when his grandfather died.
10. The party came off= succeed rather well. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
11. The students are coming on= progress very well in Maths this term.
12. It came out= be made known that Sue’s husband had been arrested for theft.
13. I don’t know what’s come over= be wrong with him; he’s acting very oddly.
14. He came out in= develop (rash, spots) a rash an area of red spots on a person’s skin after eating a kilo of strawberries.
15. Her latest novel is coming out= be published soon.
16. Long hair for men is coming in= become fashionable again. More and more wear their hair long.
17. After the flood, hundreds of volunteers came forward= volunteer with offers of assistance.
18. We don’t know yet how we’ll solve the problem but I’m sure someone will come up with= find a solution a solution soon.
19. Most of the companies which came through= survive a period of difficulty the economic crisis are now operating
very successfully.
20. They’ve come round to= be convinced completely sure about sth our way of thinking at last.
Phrasal Verbs 2
deal in: trade in sth Fill in the correct phrasal verb.
deal with: tackle a problem, cope with 1. Can you do up my dress please?
do away with: abolish 2. The death penalty should have been done away with long before it was.
do down: criticise 3. I can’t deal with his indifference any more.
be done for: be in serious trouble 4. What were you driving at when you said you might not see Mark for some time?
do out of: deprive of to take sth away from 5. He deals in antique furniture and paintings.
6. The old man was done out of his life’s savings by a confidence trickster.
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do up: fasten (a coat etc) 7. Surely you can do without sugar in your coffee for once?
do with: tolerate 8. How do you deal with an unrulydifficult to control or manage class when they are
do without: manage in spite of lack of disobedientfailing or refusing to obey?
sth (Opp.: do with) 9. You shouldn’t do down your classmates just because they’re not as quick as you.
drive at: imply 10. We’re done for now - here come the police!
What’s the difference between care about and care for
care about: be interested in E.g. He really cares about his job
care for: 1) like E.g. I don’t care for that dress you’re wearing, but the shoes are nice.
2) take care of E.g. Every mother cares for her children.
Exercise 9
Idioms 1
Match the idioms with the definitions.
1. keep an eye on sth A. have a feeling that sb is talking about one 1. F
2. take it easy B. within the rules 2J
3. feel one’s ears burning C. manage to look serious 3A
4. (keep) a straight face D. be inexperienced 4C
5. be flat out E. very quickly 5H
6. one’s flesh and blood F. guard sth 6I
7. fair and square G. insist 7B
8. in a flash H. be very tired 8E
9. put one’s foot down I. family member 9G
10. be green J. calm down 10 D
Idioms 2. Explain the meaning of the idioms in bold italics
1. There were so many gate crashers uninvited people at parties, events etc at the party that I didn’t even recognise the people I
invited.
2. Don’t take your mother for granted rely on sb to do things for you all the time without appreciating them ; she does a lot of work for
you.
3. She cooked my goose to end one’s plans abruptly in a sudden, unexpected way when she refused to provide an alibi evidence that
proves that a person was in another place at the time of a crime and so could not have committed it for me.
4. Most politicians have the gift of the gab the art of persuasion. / ability to talk well.
5. It’s all Greek to me," sth new or foreign / not easily understood she said as the professor was explaining the new
maths problem.
6. In politics, there is always a little give and take compromise; exchanging sth for sth else.
7. I heard it through the grapevine find out information indirectly or via a third person that we are going to get a rise next month.
8. He met Jennifer and fell head over heels in love fall in love quickly.
9. He put his foot in it make an embarrassing / indiscreet not careful about what you say or do, especially when you reveal something secret or something that
could be embarrassing or offensive comment when he mentioned Sally’s ex-boyfriend to her new one.
10. I was asked to make a speech but I couldn’t because I had a frog in my throat inability to speak due to a sore throat etc.
11. After our break-up, I was comforted by the fact that there are plenty more fish in the sea there are many
opportunities in life for love, etc.
12. My teacher and I got off on the wrong foot have a bad first impression of sb / to argue or disagree at the beginning of a
relationship, but now we are good friends
Exercise 10
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition.
1. My cousin has a flair for a natural ability to do something well languages and can speak more than six.
2. All the animals in the forest fled from to run away (from danger) the fire.
3. If you have a grievance againsta cause or reason for complaint the company, please lodge to make (an objection,
an appeal etc) formally or officially a formal written complaint.
4. My car is guaranteed against to certify that something bad will not happen rust for eight years.
5. The teacher told me to stop fiddling around/aboutto spend your time doing things that are not important: chơi rong and to sit still and
concentrate.
6. My brother is always gibing at me about my weight.
7. I was furious=very angry with my sister about her continual lies to our mother.
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8. His glee a feeling of happiness at the news of his success was a joy to see.
9. You musn’t grieve to feel very sad, especially because somebody has died over one trivial not worth considering mistake.
10. He has a fixation a very strong interest in sb/sth on becoming the best doctor in the world.
11. She does nothing but fret over/about/at to be worried or unhappy and not able to relax her lack of money.
12. His fidelity/fɪˈdeləti/ the quality of being loyal to sb/sth to the firm has won him great respect.
13. He is always gloating to show that you are happy about your own success or sb else’s failure, in an unpleasant way about/over his sudden
success as an actor.
14. He is certainly good at maths, if not much else.
15. The factory owner is not in the habit of fraternising to behave in a friendly manner, especially towards sb that you are not supposed to be friendly
with with his workers.
16. Her sales methods are at oddsto be different from sth, when the two things should be the same with company policy.
17. I found the ring purely by luckhaply, by chance.
18. I didn’t go to see him for fear of catching his cold.
19. That house has been for sale for two years.
20. Come to the party, by all means= yes, of course
21. You shouldn’t take such a valuable employee for granted.
22. In all with everything added together to make a total, I spent £500 on holiday.
23. You will receive the listed items on demand at any time that sb wants or needs sth in a week’s time.
24. He went to the meeting in disguise to change your appearance so that people cannot recognize you so as not to be recognised.
25. There were a lot of problems, but in the endafter considering everything everything was all right.
26. He was so surprised that he was at a loss not knowing what to say or do for words.
27. Our teacher was in a bad mood today; he shouted at everyone.
28. Try to get the photograph in focus this time.
29. They were on the trail of the Yeti when the blizzard started.
30 In answer to your question, the meeting will take place next Tuesday.
31. Torturing the act of causing sb severe pain in order to punish them or make them say or do sth people is an offence against humanity.
Exercise 11. For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the
original sentence but using the word given. The word must not be altered in any way
1. “That meal would have satisfied a king!" he exclaimed. FIT
- “That meal was fit for a king!” he exclaimed
2. You shouldn’t take delight in other people’s failures. GLOAT
- You shouldn’t gloat over / about other people’s failures
3. My grandmother can hardly hear at all. VIRTUALLY
- My grandmother is virtually deaf
4. Take care not to spill the milk. MIND
- Mind you don’t spill the milk
5. The war has caused emigration to increase. RESULTED
- The war has resulted in an increase in emigration
6. The board met secretly to discuss changes in company policy. DOORS
- The board met behind closed / locked doors to discuss changes in company policy.
7. I really want an ice-cream. DYING
- I’m dying for an ice-cream
8. Could someone answer my question? THERE
- Is there anyone who could answer my question?
9. She is likely to come before the end of next month. LIKELIHOOD
- In all likelihood/ There is every likelihood she’ll come before the end of next month.
10. It is usual for young children to ask a lot of questions. APT
- Young children are apt to likely or tending naturally to do something ask a lot of questions
Exercise 12. Find the mistake and correct it.
1. There are many underprivileged child in the world ………………children……….
having less money and fewer opportunities than most people in society
2. She did very good in the test. …………well ………..
3. He enjoys listening to the works of classic composers. …………classical ………..
4. Her eyes have the same colour as her mother’s. …………are …………..
5. The shape of the earth can be compared with an egg. …………to……………..
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6. As a conclusion, I’d like to say thank you for your help. …………In……………..
7. The committee is consisting of twelve members. …………consists ………..
8. There was a continual flow of traffic into the town centre. …………continuous ……..
9. The cooker in this restaurant is renowned for his excellent cuisine. …………chef/cook ………..
10. He purchased several items, which costed £200 all together. …………cost ……………..
11. You may have to bear the price of any damage. …………cost ………………..
12. All the passengers and crew were dead in the plane crash. …………died / were ……..
13. The departure of the flight was postponed because of the rain. …………delayed ………..
14. The employee was dismissed for denying to work overtime. …………refusing …………..
15. He was rushed to hospital because he had it difficult to breathe. …………found ……………..
16. They took a quiet, candlelit dinner together. …………had……………..
17. The tormented woman sees horrific nightmares every night. …………has……………..
18. No one of the accident victims pulled through. …………None……………..
19. As a team we must work well together and help each others. …………other……………..
20. Her parents’ attitude had a bad affect on her. …………effect……………..
21. She did three mistakes in one sentence. …………made…………..
22. She was considering to give up her career. …………giving…………..
23. Her parents would not let her to stay out late. …………allow……………..
24. Skiing is her best activity. …………favourite …………..
25. Each one of my uncles is a solicitor. …………Every …………..
26. He stopped tying his shoe-lace on the way up the steps. …………to tie …………..
27. I have written three letters from this morning. …………Since……………..
28. He refused that he had been there at the time of the robbery. …………denied ……………..
Exercise 13 Fill each of the numbered blanks with a suitable word or phrase
e.g. Take some warm clothes in case it gets cold.
1. Never before have I seen such a boring film
2. She doesn’t like crowded cities and neither does her husband
3. I don’t remember being asked (told)/ having been asked (told) to do something like that before.
4. Even if I had studied more, I would not have been able to pass such a difficult exam.
5. John was (going) to pick up the children from school today but he completely forgot.
6. Would you be so kind as to pour me another cup of coffee?
7. The teacher warned Billy that unless he stopped/if he didn’t stop/if he went on talking he would be sent
out of the classroom.
8. He finally succeeded in passing his driving test after six unsuccessful attempts.
9. It’s going to take him a long time to get over the death of his father.
10. A: “I really must be going. How about meeting me later?”
B: “Sure. That would be fine. What about 7.00?”
Exercise 14. Match the items from column A with those from column B and then fill In the blanks with the
correct idiom
Column A Column B Answers
1. as silent as A. a dog 1.G
2. as right as B. a rake 2. J
3. as sick as C. a sheet 3. A
4. as strong as D. old boots 4. I
5. as thin as E. a cucumber 5. B
6. as tough as F. a post 6. D
7. as white as G. the grave 7. C
8. as cool as H. chalk and cheese 8. E
9. as deaf as I. a horse 9. F
10. as different as J. rain 10. H
1. You couldn’t make her cry if you tried. She’s as tough as old boots very strong, and not easily made weaker.
2. She turned as white as a sheet when she realised there was a burglar in her house.
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3. Let him carry the trunk. He’s as strong as a horse
4. You may not feel well now, but you’ll be as right as rain to feel healthy or well again in a few days.
5. I promise to be as silent as the grave= completely silent about your secret.
6. Why is she dieting? She’s already as thin as a rake
7. After eating twelve chocolate bars he was as sick as a dog vomitingto bring food from the stomach back out through the mouth a lot
8. Although everyone else was shaking with nerves, Betsy was as cool as a cucumber very calm
9. John and his brother are not at all alike; they’re as different as chalk and cheese completely different
10. You’ll have to speak louder; he’s as deaf as a post completely deaf
Exercise 15. Choose from the sets of synonyms the word which is most appropriate in each case
1. I’m very sorry, but these goods are out of stock at the moment. (goods, wares, commodities, merchandise)
2. My father has decided to …a beard to cover a small scar he has on his chin. (rear, bring up, breed, grow)
3. The farmer makes money by ……. pedigree the parents, grandparents, etc. of an animal horses. (bringing up, rearing,
breeding, growing)
4. For months I sat with my binoculars watching a bird …… its young. (rear to feed and care for (a family, animals etc while
they grow up), breed, bring up, grow)
5. “E … me rubber, miss!” shouted the boy. (pilfered to steal things of little value or in small quantities, especially from the place where you work ,
ripped off to cheat sb by charging too much money, or to steal sth, pinched=steal sth, especially sth small and not very valuable, swiped)
6. As soon as I turned my back, somebody … my book. (ripped off, pilfered, swiped steal sth, pinched)
7. You were really … when you paid $100 for those shoes. They’re not even leather! (swiped, ripped off,
pinched, pilfered)
8. Many forest - …… animals were killed in the fire. (dwelling, residing, inhabiting, settling)
9. This city has four million …… (residents, dwellers, inhabitants, settlers)
10. Each …… of the house must pay his own tax. (dweller, resident, settler, inhabitant)
Notes
goods = things for sale wares = things for sale usu of a travelling salesman (old-fash.)
commodities = products exchanged in trade usu on an international basis, merchandise = thing for sale (slightly more formal than goods)
rear = to look after one’s young until fully-grown bring up = to look after and educate until fully-grown
breed = to keep animals for the purpose of producing young grow = to become or cause to become bigger
pinch = (infml) steal an object pilfer = steal usu small amounts usu from your place of work
rip off = (infml) steal from a person swipe = steal sth very quickly while sb is not looking
inhabitant = person who lives (permanently) in a region or town dweller - person or animal who lives in an environment (archaic)
settler = person who has come to live in a (previously uninhabited or developing) country or area.
resident = person who lives in a house, block of flats, area or country
Exercise 16. Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage. Use only one word in each space.
Life (1) on a small island may look very (2) appealing/inviting/ attractive to the tourists who spend a few
weeks there in the summer, but the (3) realities of living on what is virtually a rock (4) surrounded by water
are quite different from what the casual visitor imagines. While in summer the island villages are (5) full of
people, life and activity, (6) once the tourist season is over many of the shop owners shut (7) up their business
and return to the mainland to spend the winter in (8) comfort/town. Those who remain on the island, (9)
whether by choice or necessity, face many (10) hardships/problems/difficulties. One of the worst of these is
isolation, with (11) its many attendant problems. When the weather is bad, which it often is in winter, the
island is (12) cut off entirely; this means not (13) only that people can not be (14) delivered/forwarded goods
but also that a medical emergency can be fatal to someone (15) confined to an island. At times (16) even/all
telephone communication is cut off, which (17) means that no word from the outside world can get (18)
through isolation and loneliness are the basic reasons (19) why so many people have left the islands for a
better and more (20) secure/ comfortable life in the mainland cities.
Exercise 17. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the
sentence printed before it.
Example: Her parents believe nothing she tells them.
Answer: Whatever she tells them, her parents don 't believe her.
a. He is proud of being such a good gardener.
- He prides himself on being such a good gardener
b. We only deliver after we have received the money.
- Only after the money has been received do we deliver
c. I’m sure he broke the vase by accident.
- I’m sure he didn’t mean to break the vase / break the vase on purpose
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d. He’ll get used to it. Then his work will improve.
- Once he’s got/gets used to it, his work will improve
e. Despite his huge muscles he is very gentle.
- Although he has huge muscles, he is very gentle
f. My request was ignored.
- Nobody paid attention to my request
g. "Please don’t kill me!" the woman begged her attacker.
- The woman pleaded with her attacker not to kill her.
h. You pay £60 a month for a period of two years.
- You pay in 24 successive following immediately one after the other monthly instalmentsone of a number of payments that are made regularly over a
period of time until sth has been paid for of £60.
Exercise 18. Fill each of the blanks with a suitable word or phrase.
Example: It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
1. We met in 1980. By this time next year we’ll have known each other for ten years.
2. If I’d known it was so dull, I wouldn’t have bothered to read it.
3. We would sooner go to the theatre/restaurant etc than to the cinema.
4. Stop talking so loud! If you get into trouble, it will serve you right.
5. You only started studying twenty minutes ago; you can’t (possibly) finished so soon.
6. We have got a fair amount of money in the bank.
Exercise 19. For each of the sentences below write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the
original sentence, but using the word given. This word must not be altered in any way.
Example: Were they allowed to go? PERMISSION
Answer: Were they given permission to go ?
1. I find his books hard to understand. DIFFICULTY
- I have difficulty (in) understanding his books
2. Some people accept that life is full of problems. RESIGNED
- Some people are resigned being willing to calmly accept sth unpleasant or difficult that you cannot change to the fact that life is full of problems
3. He makes too many mistakes to suit me. FREQUENT
- His mistakes are too frequent to suit me
4. The jewel box was completely empty. LEFT
- There was nothing left in the jewel box
5. He will not be put off taking that trip. DETER
- Nothing will deter to make somebody decide not to do something or continue doing something him from taking that trip
6. Neil frequently breaks his promises. GOES
- Neil frequently goes back on his promises
7. Virtue is of little value in a corrupt willing to use their power to do dishonest or illegal things in return for money or to get an advantage: thối nát
government. COUNTS
- Virtue counts for little in a corrupt government
8. Could you tell me where the lobby is? DIRECT
- Could you direct me to the lobby?
Exercise 20. Read the following passage, then answer the questions which follow it.
It doesn’t take us long to realise that everyday life involves risk, or more accurately speaking, that risk is part
and parcel of everyday life. From the moment we are found tottering on the table top trying to reach the cookie
jar and roughly bundled back into our playpens by our wide-eyed, white-faced mothers we understand.
Living becomes an even more dangerous business as we move into adulthood and out of the relative safety of
our own homes. Just getting to work this morning involved putting my life in the hands of two total strangers
(and for all I know, suicidal maniacs behaving in an extremely dangerous, wild or stupid way hell-bent determined to do something even though the results
may be bad on havoc) in the guise of London Transport employees. But this kind of risk is unavoidable; it is the
type that is rationalised by number-crunching insurance company personnel throughout the country, packaged
into neat statistics and proudly presented at board meetings. Those poor people with an “anti-social” fear of
buses, trains or the like are commonly regarded as freaksa person who is considered to be unusual because of the way they behave, look or think:
fringethe outer or less important part of an area, group, or activity elements of society. Their inability to take a risk interferes with their
normal social functioning and so we scorn or pity them according to our nature.
doituyenquocgia 22 afternoon-160122
There seems to be some kind of norm in operation. Look at the opposite extreme. Hang- gliders, racing drivers
and deep-sea divers (in action, as it were, above, on and below the level of everyday life) are often regarded
incredulously - especially if they risk their lives purely for recreational purposes - but there is always an air of
awesự kính sợ in the often repeated question, “Why on earth do you do it?” If the high-risk activity is the person’s
occupation, then forget the incredulity and you are left with out-and-out= in every way respect. But what of other
forms of risk-taking? Gamblers, for instance? Gambling is certainly frowned upon by that large and
“respectable” proportion of the British population despite its legalised status and huge popularity. Why should
this be so? The answer, I think, lies in the nature of the gambler’s risk in comparison to other types.
Firstly, the gambler’s risk is not the dare-devil, respect-commanding physical type of the racing-driver; “all”
that is at stake is money. Furthermore, there is an underlying feeling that the risk being taken is not strictly
personal. We wonder where the money has come from, what will happen when the gambler loses it all and
how friends and relatives feel about the habit. Even (or especially) if a large sweepstake is won, we know that
it was chiefly a matter of happening to have the right number at the right time, that was responsible for the
windfall and not the continuous practice and trained skill of the gliders, drivers and divers.
At the end of the day we are left with a multi-faceted concept, the nature of which cannot be defined in
isolation but only in terms of society and its norms. Look at those fear-filled individuals mentioned earlier.
Can you honestly assure them that getting into your car is perfectly safe and totally risk-free when clearly it is
not ?
1. What is it that we “understand” (line 3)?
- That risk/danger is a part of everyday life
2. What do the words “wide-eyed” and “white-faced” (lines 3) suggest?
- That the mothers are afraid/terrified
3. In what sense do we put ourselves at risk using public transport?
- In the sense that we entrust our lives to people we’ve never met and who could be crazy, who could easily be “maniacs”.
4. Why are the statistics described as being “proudly presented” (line 8)?
- Because risk/danger have been reduced to something neat and manageable
5. Why are those people with certain fears described as “fringe elements of society” (lines 10)?
- Because they are outside the mainstream in that they hesitate to take normal risks while others do not
6. What does the phrase “above, on and below the level of everyday life” (lines 13) suggest?
- That hang-gliders, drivers and divers practise in the air, on land and under the sea - also that they are in some way on a different level from
ordinary people
7. What word or phrase could be used instead of “an air of awe” (line 14-15)?
- An attitude/feeling of respect/being impressed
8. What is meant by the phrase “frowned upon” (line 17)?
- Disapproved of/looked down on
9. Why is the word “all” (line 20) in inverted commas?
- To show that the use is ironic, suggesting that money is not of little value or to be discounted as unimportant
10. In what sense is the gambler’s risk not strictly a personal one?
- Because the money put at risk may belong to family/friends, and its loss may affect others besides the person who gambles
11. According to the writer, what is the principal factor contributing to a gambler’s win?
- Chance/luck/circumstance
12. In what sense can you not “honestly assure” (line 28) the people who get into your car that they are not at
risk?
- No-one can be sure that their car will not be involved in an accident or mishap
13. In a paragraph of 70 - 90 words, summarise the various types of risk described and people’s attitudes
towards them.
There is risk of accident etc in everyday life which is only feared by those who are considered “anti-social” or odd. The risk taken by those
involved in dangerous sports is looked on as something admirable, because the participant risks her/his own life; if a person’s job is risky, he gains
respect. On the contrary, activities such as gambling are looked down on as putting the security of family/friends at risk