general vocabulary

Changes 1
1 Look at the gra ph , and com plete the sentences w ith the correct form of the w o rd s and phrases in
the box. In m ost cases, m ore than one o ption is possible.

decline decrease drop fall fluctuate go down

go up increase peak at reach a peak of remain constant
remain steady rise

English school student numbers: May - August.

□ Briarwood School of English Speakeasy School of Languages

[= □ W indsor Language Centre Harefield College

May June July August

Between M ay and A ug ust...

1. ...student numbers at the Briarwood School of English increa sed / .................... / .......................

2. ...student numbers at the W indsor Language C e n t r e ....................... / .................. / .................... /

.................... / ......................

3. ...student numbers at the Speakeasy School of L a n g u a g e s .................... / ...............................................

4. ...student numbers at Harefield C o l le g e .......................... T h e y .................. / .................... 120 in June.

2 Look at this table, and com plete the sentences on the next page w ith w o rd s and phrases from
the box. In som e cases, m ore tha n one a n s w e r is possible. Th e re is one w o rd o r phrase th a t yo u do
n o t need.

Petrol prices
January £1.10/ litre June £ 1 .5 5 /litre
February £ 1 .1 2 /litre July £ 1 .5 2 /litre
March £1.15/litre August £ 1 .5 3 /litre
April £1.18/litre September £1.58 /litre
M ay £1.16/litre October £1.60 /litre

downward trend dramatically gradually sharply slightly steadily

upward trend
3
general vocabulary
Changes 1
1. Between January and April, petrol prices incre as ed ............. ...... / ......................

2. In May, petrol prices fell —

3. In June, petrol prices rose .. ................. / ........................

4. Overall, there has been an . ................... in petrol prices

3 Look at the task in the box, the n com plete the sam ple a nsw e r w ith w o rd s and phrases from
Exercises 1 and 2. In som e cases, m ore than one a nsw e r m a y be possible.

The graph b e lo w shows the n u m b e r o f visitors to three seaside tow ns over a five-m onth period.

Summ arise the in fo rm a tio n b y selecting a n d re p o rtin g the m ain features, a n d m ake
com parisons w here relevant.

MB Seahaven Bridgeport W e stha m pto n

16
15
14
13
o 12
o
o 11
X
l/l 10
<D 9
_Q
E 8
d
c
L_ 7
o
'i/i 6
> 5
4
3
2
1
April May August

Sample answer

T h e graph shows h o w m a ny people visited three seaside to w ns betw een April and August.

T h e n u m b e r of visitors to Seahaven (1) .increased ( 2 ) .................... betw een April and June, then

( 3 ) .................... ( 4 ) .................... in July, and continued to ( 5 ) .................... in August. For the first four

months, visitor numbers to B ridgeport ( 6 ) .................... .. but then ( 7 ) .................... ( 8 ) ....................

in the final m onth. W e stha m pto n visitor numbers ( 9 ) .................... from April to June, then

( 1 0 ) .................... ( 1 1 ) .................... in July and finally ( 1 2 ) .................... 11,000 in August.

Overall, there was an ( 1 3 ) .................... in the n u m b e r of visitors to Seahaven and W e stham pton,

but a ( 1 4 ) .................... in the n u m b e r of people visiting Bridgeport.

4
 general vocabulary
Changes 2
1 C o m p lete these sentences w ith the correct form of one of the verbs in th e box. Both sentences
in each sentence pair should use the same ve rb . In som e cases, the m e an in g of the ve rb m ay
change slightly.

adjust aftef deteriorate exchange fade reduce renovate

swell switch vary

1. M o vin g to the countryside radically altered Some people choose to 3Iter their
our lifestyle. appearance w ith surgery.

2. B y .................... to a different provider, it can I chose drama as an extra-curricular activity,

be possible to pay much less for yo u r mobile b u t .................... to p h o to grap hy a f e w weeks
phone bills. later.

3. It can take time to to living in a Prices seem low, but w h e n y o u ....................

different country. them to allow for tax, they are considerably
higher.

4. Th e noise built up rapidly, and then just as As the applause ., the speaker
quickly i t .................... into the distance. started talking.

5. Th e a m o u n t of tax you pay on a car People's reactions to the medicine

.................... according to the a m o u n t of .................... a lot, w ith some people
carbon dioxide it emits. complaining it has no effect at all.

6. Everyone should try t o .................... the M a n y companies were forced t o .......

a m o u n t of fat in their diet. their workforce during the recession.

7. Economic crises often into social Th e w e a t h e r ......................rapidly w h e n it

unrest. started raining and the winds picked up.

8. Ankles and other joints often T h e t o w n is home to 3,000 people, but this
w h e n people travel by air. f i g u r e .................... to 12,000 in the same
summer.

9. T h e tokens can be for food in the Shops will n o r m a l l y .................... damaged

student canteen. goods if you have a receipt.

10. Businesses in the city centre were offered In some cases it can be more expensive to
fun din g so they c o u l d .................... their .................... an old building than knock it
premises. d o w n and build a n e w one.

5
general vocabulary
Changes 2
2 N o w do the same w ith these.

adapt cut decline disappear expand improve promote

relax replace transform

1. Email has la rg e ly .................... the traditional T h e plan is t o .................... all the old desktop
letter as a means o f w ritte n business com puters in the library w ith netbooks.
com m unication.

2. Som e com panies are slow to to a Courses can b e ..........................to suit th e needs
cha n gin g m arket. o f individual students.

3. T h e sym ptom s o f illnesses like measles a re n't As the s u n ....................... behind th e clouds, the
usually serious, a n d .................... w ith in a fe w tem p e ra ture quickly d ro p p e d .
days.

4. A college course can help you to find a jo b Th e 'Peter Principle' is a th e o ry w h ich says
o r g e t .................... at w o rk . th a t in a big com pany, everyone eventually
g e t s .................... to a jo b th a t is beyond their
ability.

5. Som e people th in k th a t the go ve rn m e n t For the final part of the exercise, yo u need
s h o u ld ................... the rules regarding to repeatedly tig h te n , t h e n .................... yo u r
b uildin g on protected land. stomach muscles.

6. T h e go vern m en t's aim in the next five years T h e best w a y o f .................... y o u r English is to
is t o .................... educational standards. practise using it as m uch as possible.

7. W a te r freezes in th e pipes, forcing th e m to Britain's u n iversitie s.......... ..........at an

.................... and burst. unprecedented rate at the end o f th e
tw e n tie th century.

8. S u p e rm a rk e ts .................... prices on m any I believe th a t govern m en ts should increase

basic items to attract m ore customers. spending on the arts instead o f .................... it.

9. Email and social n e tw o rk in g websites have W h e n it was closed d o w n , the old fire
.................... the w a y people com m unicate. station w a s .................... into an art gallery.

10. House prices are so high th a t the n u m b e r o f Because so m any people are o u t o f w o rk ,
people b uyin g th e ir o w n hom e has living standards a r e .................... rapidly.
.................... in th e last five years.

6
general vocabulary How something works
1 Complete the descriptions of h o w these objects w o rk w ith the correct form of the words and
phrases in the boxes. In some cases, more than one answer m ay be possible.

1. A therm ostat

adjust bend connect contain contract cool down

disconnect expand heat up turn off

A the rm o stat contains a strip or coil of steel and a strip o r coil of copper, one on to p o f the other.
As the strip / c o i l.................... . th e m e ta ls .................... . b u t one does it faster th a n th e other. Th e strip
/ c o i l .................... a n d .....................w ith a switch, w h i c h .....................the p o w e r supply. W h e n the strip
/ c o il.................... , the m e ta ls .....................and the switch i s ....................... T h e the rm ostat i s ......................
using a dial o r o th e r control.

2. A disc player

convert decrease hear increase insert replace spin

strike view

A disc player (fo r exam ple, in a co m p u te r) has several co m p o n e n t parts. A disc i s .................... into
the player and begins t o ...................... A t the same tim e, a thin beam of light called a la ser.....................
th e disc a n d .................... digital signals into sounds o r images, w hich can b e ...................... th ro u g h
speakers o r .................... on a screen. V o lum e o r brightness can be .................... o r .................... by
means o f a b u tto n , kn o b or o th e r control. Now adays, discs are largely b e in g .................... by storage
devices like m e m o ry sticks, w hich have no m o ving parts.

3. A n aerosol

compress expand leave mix open push release

In an aerosol, liquid and gas are .................... in a metal and / o r hard plastic tu b e . This can be
.................... fro m the tu b e b y ......................a b utto n , w h i c h ...................... a valve. W h e n the liquid-gas
c o m b in a tio n .................... the tu b e a n d ...................... w ith oxygen, it r a p id ly ..........................

4. A n aircraft

accelerate create flow form made move pull produce

M ost aircraft a r e .................... o f a lum in ium , and require tw o forces to a llo w th e m to fly: thrust and
lift. As the a irc ra ft.................... fo rw a rd on the g ro u n d un d er the p o w e r o f its engines, a i r ......................
o ver th e w ings. As i t .................... fa s te r,...................... m ore thrust, a vacuum i s ...................... over the
w ings. T h i s .................... lift. T h e aircraft i s ...................... into the air by the force of this lift.

5. A digital camera

adjust consist control download enter hit open press

record store

A digital c a m e ra .................... of tw o m ain parts: a b o d y and a lens. W h e n a b u tto n i s ......................on

the body, a w in d o w in the lens called a s h u tte r .................... and l i g h t ...................... the camera. T h e
a m o u n t o f light g o in g into the camera is .................... by both the speed of this shutter, and a
smaller w in d o w called an aperture. Both the shutter speed and the size o f the aperture can be
.................... by th e person using th e camera. T h e light .................... a sensor in the b o dy o f the
cam era, w h i c h .................... the light as a digital im age. T h e im age i s ...................... on a m e m ory card
in the cam era, and this can later b e .................... on to a com puter.
 general vocabulary
Location & direction
1 Look at the m ap and to w n guide, and com plete the sentences w ith the w o rd s and phrases in the box.

D
E
H
I
K

o Arroort (8km) M

N
<=■ W + E >=>
S
£

T o w n guide

A W e llin gto n Road F Shops K Museum P A rt gallery

B Shopping centre G Market L Green Street Q Cafe
C Swan Street H Mill Road M Western Avenue R T o w n Hall
D Library I Police station N Chestnut Park S Elm Square
E Health club J Lincoln Street O College T Station

at right angles to to the east of on the north side of

diagonally opposite in the middle of on the south side of
directly opposite on parallel to
halfway along on the corner of surrounded by
halfway between on the left-hand side of to the west of

1. Th e library i s ........................ the police station.

2. Th e airport is 8 k m .............. ...................the to w n .
3. Th e station i s ........................ ........ Elm Square.
4. Chestnut Park i s ................... .............. the to w n .
5. Th e T o w n Hall i s ................... .............. Elm Square.
6. T h e cafe i s .............................. ... Chestnut Park.
7. T h e museum i s ..................... ........... Lincoln Street.
8. W ellington Road i s ............. ....................Mill Road.
9. Swan Street i s ....................... ..........Lincoln Street.
10. Th e shopping centre is ........................... Swan Street.
11. Western Avenue i s ............. .................. Elm Square and Mill Road
12. Th e college i s ....................... ........ the museum.
13. Th e market i s ....................... ........ shops.
14. Th e health club i s ................ ................. Green Street.
15. Th e art gallery i s ................. .............. Western Avenue and Green Street.
27
general vocabulary Location & direction
2 N o w look at this m ap and guide. Find w h e re y o u are on it, the n fo llo w the directions to find o u t
w h e re yo u are go in g .

You are here 1>

T o w n guide

A Hotel K Coffee shop

B Internet cafe L Restaurant

C Post office M Cinema

D Bank N Language school

E Supermarket 0 Surgery

F Theatre P Book shop

G Hairdresser Q M obile phone store

H Electrical store R Library

1 Bakery S Furniture store

J Travel agency T De pa rtm e n t store

Directions: G o along the High Street, and turn left at the crossroads. Carry on and turn right at the
end of the road. Go past the cinema and take the second road on yo u r left. T h e place you w a n t is
the third building on yo u r right.

You are go in g t o ....................................

28
 general vocabulary
Location & direction
3 Com plete these directions using the w o rd s and phrases in the box. In each case, begin from the
place labelled 'You are here'. You w ill need to use some w o rd s / phrases m ore than once.

crossroads on your right

first second
go along take the first
go past take the second
go to the end the end
last turn left
on your left turn right

Directions to the supermarket

( 1 ) .................................. of the High Street and (2) .....................................Go along this road and

( 3 ) .................................. road ( 4 ) .................................... .The supermarket is the ( 5 ) ..................................

building ( 6 ) .....................................

Directions to the lanauaae school

( 7 ) .................................. the High Street, and (8) ... .............................. at the ( 9 ) ........................................

( 1 0 ) .................................. road ( 1 1 ) ............................... .., and the language school is the

( 1 2 ) .................................. building ( 1 3 ) .......................

Directions to the book shop

( 1 4 ) .................................. the High Street and (15) .................................at the ( 1 6 ) ......................................

Go to ( 1 7 ) .................................. of this road and ( 1 8 ) .................................... again, then

( 1 9 ) .................................. road ( 2 0 ) .............................. ... . ( 2 1 ) .................................. the library.

and the book shop is the ( 2 2 ) .................................. building ( 2 3 ) ..................................

4 Choose three o ther places on the m ap and w rite y o u r o w n directions.

1.

2.

3.

29