Assessment 1

Prepositions and Reading Comprehension

A. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate words

1. How do you account ______ the differences between the two financial reports?

2. Dan accused Henry of stealing money ______ the company

3. I added some salt ______ the soup to give it more flavour.

4. After I got divorced, I had to adjust ______ life as a single man

5. I admire Joanne ______ her dedication

6. My teacher and I agree ______ the importance of listening practice

7. She agreed to make cookies ______ the party.

8. I agree ______ you.

9. Barbara apologized to her boss for being late to the meeting.

10. I applied to the top university in the country - but I didn't get in

11. Sandra applied ______ a marketing job at a multinational company.

12. My parents don't approve ______ my new friend

13. I argued ______ my business partner about how much to invest in advertising.

14. We'll arrange ______ a babysitter to take care of the kids

15. Pat was arrested ______ driving without a license.

16. By the time we arrived ______ the train station, our train had already left

17. I'll be arriving ______ Berlin on Thursday.

18. She asked them ______ their plans for the holiday

19. I'm from Ecuador, so I'm not accustomed ______ the cold weather!

20. At the conference, I got acquainted ______ various leaders in the industry.

21. I'm annoyed ______ my husband for forgetting to place the order.

22. Everyone in the class is anxious ______ the final exam

23. The spare room is cluttered ______ my sister's half-finished art projects.
24. The group is composed ______ doctors and lawyers.

25. Our organization is committed ______ improving education in the community.

26. The employees weren't content ______ the salary adjustments - they wanted a bigger raise.

27. The company is engaged in a legal battle ______ one of their competitors.

28. I'm envious ______ my sister's success.

29. This building is equipped ______ a solar power system

30. We're excited ______ our upcoming trip around the world.

31. My family didn't have health insurance, and we were faced ______ enormous medical bills

after my father got sick

32. I believe she's innocent ______ the charges - she doesn't seem like a criminal.

33. This scholarship is limited to applicants ______ low-income families

34. Many of the students are opposed ______ the new school policy.

35. He was charged ______ assault with a deadly weapon.

36. Eight people were injured when a bus collided ______a car.

37. Pepsi launched a new type of soda to compete ______ Coca-Cola.

38. Psychologists can help people cope ______ tragedies.

39. A drunk driver crashed ______ a tree near my house.

40. How do you deal ______ an annoying co-worker?

41. Difficulties with organic chemistry class deterred me ______ becoming a doctor.

42. She sat on the beach, gazing ______ the ocean.

43. My husband is grumbling ______ how early we need to get up to catch our 6 AM flight.

44. The salesman was harping ______ all the wonderful benefits of the product

45. The success of this project hinges ______ teamwork and collaboration

46. My car is insured ______theft.

47. The flight delay interfered ______ our travel plans.

48. I jotted ______ a few notes during the presentation

49. I prefer swimming ______ biking

50. Employees are prohibited ______ smoking inside the office.

51. That senator voted ______ a law proposing stricter measures for gun control.

52. I can vouch ______ him - he's an honest and dependable guy.

53. The poor children are yearning ______ a better life.

54. When I moved to a different country, it was hard for me to adapt ______ the new culture.

55. I confided ___ her because I thought I could trust her.

56. The course in African Studies at SOAS appeals ___ me the most.

57. I always turn_________ my father for advice. He's like a wise owl.

58. On the night before the exam, she was seen pouring ________ the books.

59. He felt no qualms ________ borrowing money from his friends.

60. Cyber-attacks are much easier to carry out than to defend ________

61. The man was blind ________ his left eye.

62. ________ being fined, he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

63. We opted ________ a reconciliation ________ the dispute.

64. _____________ your support, I don’t think I can finish the project so smoothly.

65. Who is that man walking __________ us?

66. The soccer player was dropped from the team because he had done something that was

________ the rules.

67. You shouldn't pick ________ him just because he's different.

68. Being a nurse is hard work, especially if you're ________ call all the time.

69. ________ our visit to Japan, we saw a lot of interesting places.

70. I keep in touch with all my friends ________________ email.

Read the following passage and answer the questions given

Bruno frowned. He looked up at the sky, and as he did so there was another loud sound, this

time the sound of thunder overhead, and just as quickly the sky seemed to grow even darker,

almost black, and rain poured down even more heavily than it had in the morning. Bruno

closed his eyes for a moment and felt it wash over him. When he opened them again he

wasn’t so much marching as being swept along by a group of people, and all he could feel

was the mud that was caked all over his body and his pyjamas clinging to his skin with all the

rain and he longed to be back in his house, watching all this from a distance and not wrapped

up in the centre of it.

‘That’s it,’ he said to Shmuel. ‘I’m going to catch a cold here. I have to go home.’

But just as he said this, his feet brought him up a set of steps, and as he marched on he found

that there was no more rain coming down anymore because they were all piling into a long

room that was surprisingly warm and must have been securely built because no rain was

getting in anywhere. In fact it felt completely airtight.

Well, that’s something,’ he said, glad to be out of the storm for a few minutes at least. ‘I expect

we’ll have to wait here till it eases off and then I’ll go home.’

Shmuel gathered himself very close to Bruno and looked up at him in fright.

I’m sorry we didn’t find your papa,’ said Bruno.

‘It’s alright,’ said Shmuel.

And I’m sorry we didn’t get to play, but when you come to Berlin, that’s what we’ll do. And I’ll

introduce you to…Oh, what were their names again?’ he asked himself, frustrated because

they were supposed to be his three best friends for life but they had all vanished from his

memory for now. He couldn’t remember any of their names and he couldn’t picture any of their

faces.
‘Actually,’ he said, looking down at Shmuel , it doesn’t matter whether I do or don’t. They’re

not my best friends anyway.’ He looked down and did something quite out of character for

him: he took hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly.

‘You’re my best friend, Shmuel,’ he said. ‘My best friend for life.’

Shmuel may well have opened his mouth to say something back, but Bruno never heard it

because at that moment there was a loud gasp from all the marchers who had filled the room,

as the door at the front was suddenly closed and a loud metallic sound rang through from the

outside.

Bruno raised an eyebrow, unable to understand the sense of all of this, but he assumed that it

had something to do with keeping the rain out and stopping people from catching colds.

And then the room went very dark somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found

that he was still holding Shmuel’s hand in his own and nothing in the world would have

persuaded him to let it go.

a) Give the meaning of each of the following as used in the passage: [3]

i. frowned

ii. Clinging

iii. vanished

b) Answer the following :

i. Why does Bruno want to go home[2]

ii. Why did he feel there was no more rain? [2]

iii. What does he plan to do when Shmuel would come to Berlin? [1]

iv. Why does he feel frustrated? [2]

v. Why could he not hear what Shmuel was saying? [2]

c) In not more than 50 words of your own, describe how Bruno felt about Shmuel.[8]