USE OF ENGLISH – Word formation

1. The office as a playground

Having set up an IT server company when he was only 19, entrepreneur
Daniel Foster’s next project was to create an environment which would
bring a feeling of (0) playfulness into the workplace and help PLAY
avoid stress. He believes that, for young people growing up with
technology, there is no real (1) ________________these days between DIVIDE
work and home. Although his company’s offices look dreary from the
outside, appearances can be (2)________________. Inside the building, DECEIVE
1 amongst the games consoles, football tables and floor cushions, workers
are barefoot and (3)________________dressed in shorts, rather than in FORMAL
more conventional suits and ties. Work still goes on though. Daniel’s
(4) ________________regard fun as a reward rather than an excuse not EMPLOY
to work and he justifies the (5) ________________ cost by pointing out ADD
that happy relaxed staff tend to be more (6) ________________ PRODUCE
in their work. He also believes that a pleasant atmosphere helps with
the (7) ________________ of staff. Workers from one of his main RECRUIT
(8) ________________ are often amongst the first to apply for any COMPETE
job vacancies.

2. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the word in capitals.
1 Pollution from the _________________of exhaust fumes leads to an increase in
allergies. EMIT
2 Over- _________________ of fast food is contributing to an increase in rubbish.
CONSUME
3 The _________________ of natural habitats in many parts of the world reduces
biodiversity. DESTROY
4 Local councils should be much more proactive in the _________________ of waste
products. DISPOSE
5 I believe that chemicals sprayed on our food could be _________________ in large
quantities. POISON
6 Some people are _________________ concerned about the dangers of global
warming. EXCESS

3. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in capitals.

1 Local residents will be offered _________________ if permission is granted for a third

runway. COMPENSATE
2 The local council is responsible for the _________________ of household waste.
DISPOSE
3 Toxic vehicle _________________ need to be reduced by half. EMIT
4 The debate about national _________________ is becoming ever more urgent.
SECURE
 5 The level of _________________ caused by the recent floods has been
underestimated. DESTROY
6 An increasing number of people are now realising the _________________ of the
economic downturn. IMPLICATE
7 Farmers should try to avoid _________________ use of chemicals. EXCESS
8 Border guards can be a useful _________________ to illegal immigrants. DETER

4. Use the word in CAPITALS to form a word that fits in the gap.

1 My friends were initially rather _________________ about my career change.

2 SCORN
2 There is no evidence our dog would ever be _________________ towards other
dogs. AGGRESSION
3 Bad working conditions often result in _________________ workers. AFFECT
4 Ben is not an ideal flatmate but he’s _________________ and fairly tidy. RELY
5 Lucy’s motivation comes from having very high _________________ for her
future. EXPERT
6 It’s very _________________ to hear the news coming out of the war zone.
DISTRESS
7 Most of my friends appear totally _________________ to what is going on in
the world. DIFFER
8 There is a lot of _________________ towards anyone not supporting the strike.
HOSTILE

5. The daily commute

At 7.30 on a weekday morning, Tokyo’s rush hour is at its peak.

(0) Countless commuters pour into the world’s largest city, via COUNT
an (1) _________________ network of bullet and overground EXTEND
trains, all of which operate with impeccable (2) _____________ RELY
As the trains pull into the station and the doors slide open, more
and more workers force themselves on board. To do this, they
need the (3) _________________ of the white-gloves ‘pushers’ ASSIST
who are employed to (4) _________________ that people get to SURE
work on time. This morning ritual is the downside of the rapid (5)
_________________ in Tokyo’s population. Seats have been GROW
removed from trains in an attempt to find a (6) ______________ SOLVE
to the problem, but this has not been a popular move with some
people, who complain about even more people being crammed
into the same limited space. A new subway system, which takes a
(7) _________________ route around the city, has helped a little CIRCLE
But, until more is done to ease (8) _________________, it seems CROWD
That commuters will just have to grin and bear it.
 6.
The main problem at the moment in my small town is the (1)
_________________ building, which is taking place. The normally EXTEND
(2) _________________ residents are now beginning to lose TOLERATE
patience as a dramatic (3) _________________ in housing starts GROW
to put a strain on the infrastructure, especially roads and schools.
At first, it seemed highly (4) _________________ that any form of LIKE
protest would go beyond (5) _________________ discussions HOT
around the dinner table and letters in local newspapers. However,
petitions, letters and even demonstrations mean that open (6)
3 _________________ cannot be ruled out, even in this sleepy town. CONFRONT
Opinions will doubtlessly (7) _________________ as a couple of STRONG
local celebrities and other (8) _________________ people have INFLUENCE
now thrown their weight behind the protest.

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16. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in capitals.
1 In our company, we do not __________________ between men and women in
terms of pay. DIFFER
 2 Transport problems are a common __________________ when you travel a lot.
OCCUR
3 Every society should protect the weak and __________________. DEFENCE
4 We used decorative lighting to make the room more __________________.
ATMOSPHERE
5 Ryan behaved __________________, which I find annoying. CHILD
6 I might be able to get you a cheaper flight but it’ll be __________________. TRICK
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7 I noticed that the __________________ didn’t really match the wallpaper.
FURNISH
8 Our hostel is heavily __________________ on charity. RELY

17. Amazon.com: a success story of our time

Amazon.com was (0) originally founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an ORIGIN

online bookstore. One of Amazon’s ideas was to give customers the
(1) __________________ of writing a review of any books they bought. OPT
These product reviews helped to build trust and (2) __________________ LOYAL
amongst customers, who appreciated the opportunity to get honest
opinions from other people, some of whom would write reviews every
week. It was a simple yet (3) __________________ popular idea. EXPECT
Amazon’s business plan was unusual in that the company didn’t
anticipate being (4) __________________ for several years. However, PROFIT
when a businessman invested $100,000 in the company, Bezos was
able to upgrade his website and (5) __________________ hosting FACILITY
opportunities, which was attractive to customers. Other items, such
as movies and CDs, were soon added to the (6) __________________ SELECT
of goods available and continued to (7) __________________ in books. SPECIAL
In 1999, Bezos was named the Person of the Year by Time magazine in
(8) __________________ of his success in promoting online shopping. RECOGNISE
 18. An instinct to invent

Inventor Delia Strand says it was (0) laziness that gave her the idea LAZY
For the Chargem, because she likes to find the quickest way of doing
things. She explains that without an electronic device, such as a laptop,
phone or MP3 player as a (1) __________________, she would have DISTRACT
found her daily train journey to work totally (2) __________________. BEAR
13 The problem was she could never find all her chargers when she needed
them.

In a moment of (3) __________________, Delia decided that she was INSPIRE

going to invent something which would be easy to (4) _______________ HAND
and yet could power six electronic devices at any one time,
(5) __________________ of where in the world you were. REGARD

Her idea finally got off the ground when she found an (6) ____________ INVEST
who agreed to put money into it Delia set up her own business
intending to come up with other (7) __________________ designed to PRODUCE
make people’s lives easier. She says her next gadget will be something
to help protect people’s personal (8) __________________. BELONG

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