Vocabulary & Grammar

A. Complete with the correct form of the words in capitals.

1. Every Friday at the office we’re allowed to wear informal clothes instead of our usual
suits and ties. FORMAL
2. It was unfortunate that Liz fell ill during her summer holidays. FORTUNATE
3. What you are saying doesn’t make sense; it’s completely irrational . RATIONAL
4. The points you are making are totally irrelevant to the topic and are not helping us reach
a decision. RELEVANT
5. Justin picked up the small, defenceless kitten with the broken leg which lay on the ground. DEFENCE
6. I can’t find my glasses anywhere. I must have someplace them. PLACE
7. I am dissatisfied with the service in this restaurant and I won’t be coming here again. SATISFY
8. I have tried to get him to change his mind but it’s hopelessness ; he is stubborn and insists on
doing things his own way. HOPE
9. Susanne’s behaviour has been unusual recently; she just hasn’t been acting herself. USUAL
10. Even though Julianne was inexperience and had never worked in a similar position, the
company decided to hire her because they thought she showed potential. EXPERIENCE

B. Choose a, b, c or d.
1. Being able to speak foreign languages is a highly 5. Their plans to go on a cruise in the Mediterranean
quality in the job market. because of some financial issues they had to deal with.
a. economical c. outrageous a. went off c. went against
b. desirable d. convincing b. fell through d. fell apart
2. The chef had barely used any spices and the meal was 6. What I said was completely by the reporter and what
tasteless and . he wrote in his article did not resemble the truth at all.
a. bland c. mushy a. misinformed c. misspelt
b. greasy d. savoury b. misled d. misinterpreted
3. She set very high standards and demanded from 7. A lot of people were fooled the salesman who sold
all of her team members. used cars that were in poor condition.
a. reputation c. self-acceptance a. by c. out of
b. necessity d. perfection b. into d. to
4. We hadn’t realised the of the problem.
a. extent c. exposure
b. amount d. case

C. Choose a, b, c or d.

LO OK AGA I N
You and your friend look at a picture. M.C. Escher is an artist who is famous for 1. a. interrupt c. disconnect
You see the shadows of two heads creating very 5 optical illusions. b. protest d. alter
facing each other. Your friend sees The techniques he used for some of his 2. a. display c. fade
a c an dl estic k. You pictures are not always easy b. portray d. erase
immediately 1 , to 6 . 3. a. error c. imperfection
but decide to look In some of Escher’s pictures b. confusion d. instinct
at the picture again. it is not even immediately 4. a. go through c. acknowledge
This time the faces 7 that what you b. fall for d. notice
5. a. underdeveloped c. spicy
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2 into the are looking at is logically

background and the b. sophisticated d. fake
impossible.
image of a candlestick 6. a. question c. interpret
Drawing Hands, one of his
stands out. You hadn’t made a(n) 3 ; b. underestimate d. comprehend
most famous works, shows an image
it was just an optical illusion. When 7. a. legible c. direct
of two hands holding a pencil, each
b. apparent d. eye-catching
someone first looks at an optical illusion, drawing the other. It’s a good example
they usually only 4 one scene and 8. a. trick c. joke
of an image that makes the viewer think
b. prank d. deception
the alternative one needs to be pointed his eyes are playing a 8 on him.
out to them.

28 – PIONEER lEVEl B2
D. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the box. There are two extra words that you
will not need to use.
consumerism enclose depression nutritious appetite
drop campaign flawless artificial reject

1. Tracy’s skin is flawless . I wonder what she does to achieve that healthy glow.
2. I always lose my appetite whenever I’m ill and have a fever.
3. The campaign focused on raising people’s awareness of the need to recycle.
4. I have enclose a cheque along with my application form.
5. It’s important to start your day with a(n) nutritious breakfast so that you have the energy you need to
keep you going throughout the day.
6. I have decided to drop that extra class because I don’t have time for so much studying.
7. They reject his job application because he didn’t have any working experience for the position.
8. Sue fell into depression after failing her exams but she soon got over it and decided to take them again
the following year.

E. Complete the dialogues with who, which, that, whose or where. If they can be omitted, put them in brackets.
1. A: Is that the man 1 who was impolite to you? 2. A: It was pouring when I left for work this morning and

B: Yes. But he’s an important client and I have been I couldn’t find my umbrella anywhere. It wasn’t
trained to keep calm when in such situations. behind the door 5 where I’d left it.

A: I don’t know how you do it; rudeness is something B: No. I put it in the cupboard in 6 which we
2 (that) I can’t handle. keep our shoes.

B: The office is a place 3 where you cannot A: You should have told me. All I know is that the

lose your temper, especially when dealing with a platform 7 where I was waiting for the train
client 4 which company has just made a had no shelter and I really wished that I had it with
huge investment. Shh, he’s coming towards us. me. Luckily, I met an old friend 8 whose
I hadn’t seen for years, and we shared his umbrella.

F. Join the sentences using who, which, that, whose, whom or where.
1. That’s the new client. I spoke to him yesterday.
That’s the new client who I spoke to him yesterday.

2. The company dinner was prepared by the chef Mary Knowles. Her restaurant only serves organic food.
The company dinner was prepared by the chef Mary Knowles which restaurant only serves organic
food.
3. This is the venue. The company event will take place here.
This is the venue where the company event will take place.

4. Michelle is a very close friend. I trust her completely.

Michelle is a very close friend whom I trust completely.
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5. Ken bought me a book. It was a very interesting read.

Ken bought me a book whose was a very interesting read.

6. My brother passed all his exams. That was a pleasant surprise.

My brother passed all his exams, that was a pleasant surprise.

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 G. Complete the sentences using the present, past or perfect participle of the verbs in brackets.
1. Jeans made (make) by well-known designers are very expensive.
2. Having overcooked (overcook) the food, I decided to order out.
3. There were many people talking (talk) about the product because of the funny commercial on TV.
4. Having been tempted (tempt) by the delicious pastry, I decided to break my diet for a day.
5. Not known (know) where we were, we stopped at a shop and asked for directions.
6. Having been damaged (damage) by the hurricane, the roof of the house needed to be repaired.
7. Climbing (climb) up the stairs, I stumbled and fell.

Speaking
Work in pairs.
Student A: Read the situation, look at the pictures, ask the questions and offer advice.
Situation
I am your friend and I have a problem. Find out what my problem is and offer me some good
advice so that I can decide what to do.

First
You should look at the pictures and ask:
• What is the problem?
• What are the options/solutions?
• What are the disadvantages of each option/solution?

Solution 1 Solution 2

Then
When you have all the information you need, you should offer some advice to help solve
the problem. You can choose one of the options or create your own solution to the problem.
Remember to use information you learn from asking questions to explain your final choice.

Student B: Read the information and answer Student A’s questions.

My cousin is coming to stay for a week but he hates home-cooked meals and is used to eating
What the problem is:
out, usually junk food, which I hardly ever eat, as I’m on a diet.
Solution 1: Solution 2:
What the options/
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Have healthy, home-cooked meals while my cousin is
solutions are:
staying with me.
• I risk him feeling uncomfortable and thinking that
I don’t care about the fact that he isn’t used to
What the
eating healthy food and hurt his feelings in this way.
disadvantages are:
• This might affect his holiday and he might wish that
he hadn’t come.
Eat the food my cousin likes while he is
staying in order to please him.
• Eating an increased amount of junk
food can cause weight gain, which will
ruin my diet.
• Eating out is costly.

30 – PIONEER lEvEl B2
Reading
Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b, c or d.
The passage is about the moon illusion.
Have you ever gazed at a huge moon appearing over the
horizon on a clear night? Its size makes you wonder if it's
closer than usual, but as it slowly rises into the dark sky,
it begins to look smaller. You rub your eyes: is the moon
shrinking or simply moving further away from the earth?
By holding up your thumb and comparing it to the size of
the moon, you'll realise that it has the same size in both
positions. So, how is this optical illusion explained?
1. In paragraph one, why does the writer mention the use
of one’s thumb?
a. to describe how the optical illusion works
b. to suggest ways to measure the moon’s distance
c. to indicate how small a moon is during the moon
illusion
d. to show that the moon’s size remains unchanged
2. What is the main point of the second paragraph?
a. The moon illusion has caused debate between
philosophers and scientists.
b. Ancient theories about the moon illusion have been
proven wrong.
c. There is no definite explanation for the moon illusion.
d. Modern day theories about the moon illusion explain
this phenomenon more correctly.
3. In the first sentence of paragraph three, what does the
word ‘juxtaposition’ mean?
a. representation
b. description
c. explanation
d. comparison
The moon illusion is one that has astonished philosophers
and scientists since ancient times. Aristotle, Ptolemy,
Leonardo da Vinci and Descartes, along with modern day
scientists have attempted to explain this phenomenon.
Various theories and possible explanations have emerged
giving insight into the problem which to this day remains
unsolved.
One theory which explains the moon illusion is the
Ebbinghaus illusion, an optical illusion which portrays
the juxtaposition of two circles of the same size. The first
is surrounded by larger circles and the second by smaller
circles. This gives us the impression that the first one is
smaller and the second is larger than they actually are.
According to this theory, the moon might appear larger
when over the horizon because it's next to trees and
buildings that appear to be small. Objects like these in
the distance look tiny, making the moon appear larger in
comparison to them, but much smaller when it rises into
the huge night sky. That's why the moon, like the circles,
appears larger or smaller, depending on the objects
around it.
Ebbinghaus
illusion
4. In the second sentence of paragraph four,
what does ‘them’ refer to?
a. large objects
b. the circles
c. trees and buildings
d. illusions
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5. What is the purpose of this article?
a. to give insight into a possible theory about the moon
illusion
b. to compare the most important theories regarding
the illusion
c. to report scientific findings about the moon illusion
d. to increase understanding of different optical
illusions
PIONEER lEvEl B2 – 31