PRACTICE EXERCISES (With answers)

Read the selection and answer the questions.

1. The post-it notes not only keep information right where we want it, it may also
be the best thing ever to come out of a dull sermon. Art Fry, a chemical
engineer for 3M who was active in his church choir, was suffering through just
such a sermon one back in 1974 when he got thinking about a problem he’d
been having with improvised bookmarks falling out of his hymnal. “I realized
what I really needed was a bookmark that would attach and detach lightly,
wouldn’t fall off and wouldn’t hurt the hymnal,” recalls Fry, now 66 and
retired from 3M. fry called to mind a weak adhesive developed by his
colleague, Spencer Silver. Fry slathered a little of the adhesive on the edge of
the piece of paper, and voila! He wrote a report about his invention and
forwarded it to his boss, also jotting a question on one of his new bookmarks
and pressing it down in the middle of the page. His boss scribbled an answer
on the note and sent it back to Fry, attached to some other paper work. Later,
over coffee, the two men realized Fry had invented a new communications
tool. Today, post- its are ubiquitous- available in 18 colors, 27 sizes and 56
shapes. Some even contain fragrances that smell like pizza, pickles or
chocolate. Soon, perhaps, we’ll have our notes and eat them too.
1. Post-it notes came about because Art Fry wanted a
a. better bookmark on his hymnal
b. new hymnal
c. more interesting sermon
2.Post –its are usually for
a. marking places in books without harming them.
b. attaching notes or questions to office work
c. both a and b
3.Post –it’s are now
a. everywhere
b.good to eat
c.both a and b
7. Some theorize that the world is held together by Scotch tape. If that’s not true, it
could be : 3M, the company behind the brand, makes enough tape each to circle the
earth three times. This was certainly not foreseen by a young 3M engineer named
Richard Drew when he invented the tape in 1930. drew, who had come up with the
first masking tape overhearing a burst of frustrated invective in an auto-body painting
shop, sought to create a product to seal the cellophane that food producers were
starting to use to wrap everything from bread to candy. Why not coat strips of
cellophane itself with adhesive, Drew wondered, and Scotch tape was born. It was
also soon rendered obsolete for its original purpose, as a process to heat-seal
cellophane packaging debuted. Ironically, the Great Depression came to the rescue:
consumers took to the tape as dollar-stretcher, to keep worn items in service. Ever
since, its just kind of stuck .
1. Scotch tape came about when Richard Drew had the idea to
a. aid the Depression with an inexpensive new product.
b. use cellophane to cover food.
c. attach adhesive to cellophane
Choose the correct suffix of the word that best fits the blank.
1. The physician was conducting a ________ research
a. Scientism c. scientist
b. Scientific d. scientology
2. The liquor is strong. It has high ______
a. Potential c. potency
b. Potentate d. potentious
3. The body cannot be identified. It is at the state of _______
a. Decomposition c. decomposer
b. Decomposable d. decompose
4. Mr. Santos worked in favor of population control. He is an ____ of slavery.
a. Advocacy c. advocation
b. Advocate d. advocacious

5. After a year’s stay abroad, the scholar was glad to turn ____
a. Homely c.homelessness
b. Homeless d. homeward
6. The general manager gave Ms. Reyes a duty to perform. Ms. Reyes was the
____
a. Employer c. employment
b. Employee d.employ
7. The criminal was very sorry for the crime he committed. He was ___
a. Repenter c. repentance
b. Repentant d. repentor
8. The doctor announced that his sickness was not serious it was _____
a. Remedy c. remediable
b. Remedial d. remediate

9. The professor used terms that were too general. His students wished he would
be more _____
a. Specific c. specification
b. Specify d. speciation
10. The senator is engaged in the production, distribution and consumption of
wealth and the means of supplying the material needs of his constituents. He is
well known ___
a. Economist c. economy
b. Economics d. econo

Identify the figures of speech or rhetorical devices used in the sentences below.
1. The dragonfly huge like a blue thread loomed form the sky. hyperbole
2. Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines. metonymy
3. She sells sea sells in the seashore. alliteration
4. Each flower has wept and bowed toward the east. personification
5. Ten thousand daffodils saw I at a glance. hyperbole
6. Mighty Hades, why the power hovers! allusion
7. I did not realize I had a Hamlet for a husband. metaphor
8. There is emptiness in wholeness. paradox
9. Her speech is a nearly sharpened scythe. metaphor
10. Address that question to the chair. metonymy
11. The poor need roofs over their heads. metonymy
 12. The night has a thousand eyes. hyperbole
13. Oh, Liberty! apostrophe
14. The United Nations Forum is a tower of Babel. metaphor
15. Sad storms whose tears are in vain. personification

Distinguish between Transitive and Intransitive verbs

1. The bird cage swung from a golden chair. I
2. Margaret angrily crumpled her letter in her fist.T
3. Someone answered that question . T
4. He shuddered with fright during the scary movie. T
5. The rats chewed their way into the old house. T
6. Acorns drop from the trees every fall. I
7. Charlie combed his hair before the dance. T
8. We made lemonade for the picnic. T
9. Zelda smiled gleefully at the thought of a parade. I
10. Fish and potatoes sizzled in pan. I

Recognizing Verbs Used as Adjectives

1. The frightened mouse was scurrying around the room.
2. The milk was spilled by the hurrying water.
3. The meeting room will be available on Tuesday.
4. We handed Mrs. Sta Maria our completed assignments.
5. Are you planning to take swimming lessons?
6. The cheering crowd inspired the team.
7. Did you find the gardening tools?
8. The exhausted baby finally fell asleep.
9. Our grandfather met us in the waiting room.
10. I found the lost keys under the bed.

Distinguishing between Adjectives and Adverbs

1. The mounted moose head looked real. adv
2. I really believed the weather forecast. adv
3. Bert walks to the office daily. adv
4. Our office runs ads in the daily newspaper. adj
5. Matilda spoke darkly of her husband’s past. adv
6. No light filtered into the dark cell. adj
7. Immigrants worked hard to build railroads. adv
8. Sandstone is not a hard rock. adj
9. Donna is an early riser. adj
10. Mildred starts the day early. adv
11. I will gladly finish the dishes. adv
12. We are glad to have you as a friend. adj
13. When his aunt died, he was suddenly rich. adj
14. The musketeer was richly dressed in velvet. adv
15. After scrubbing the floor, his hands were rough. adj
16. He roughly stroked the German shepherd. adv
17. He stared dismally at the destruction. adv
18. Her outlook on life is dismal. adj
19. Today’s high cost of living causes people to be thrifty. adj
20. His past employer spoke highly of him.