26. You say you need new clothes but your wardrobe is full to A. fight shy of me B. get even with me ________ with dresses. C. lie heavy on me D. run afoul of me A. overflowing B. overfilling
37. As a celebrity he was rather unusual in that he preferred to C. overlaying D. overstepping
________ the limelight in as much as was possible.
27. The economic situation makes many people unwilling to take the A. gorge B. renege C. milk D. shun
________ and open their own businesses.
38. ________, the diners settled the bill and left the restaurant. A. initiative B. bull A. Having hunger satisfied B. Their hunger satisfied C. plunge D. opportunity C. Hunger been satisfied D. Satisfying their hunger
28. Looking after a house, four children, a lazy husband and two dogs
39. I don’t like the way that Jack is always trying to ________ trouble is real ________. between us. A. labour B. drudgery C. toil D. grind A. dish out B. rub up C. stir up D. spark out
29. Serena is still _______ ignorant of the fact that she is about to be
26. I'm about to start my long-planned swimming regime. But I've got made redundant.
really terrible cellulite, which makes me feel rather ______ .
A. blissfully B. decorously C. jubilantly D. ecstatically A. self-assured B. self-centred
30. I'm afraid we got our _______ crossed — I thought my husband C. self-conscious D. self-evident
would be picking up the children and he thought I was doing it.
27. ______ , we cleared the table and washed the dishes. A. minds B. purposes C. wires D. fingers A. Having the food eaten B. Eating the food
31. Marlene is quite _______ - I don't know she manages to fit C. Eaten the food D. The food eaten everything in.
28. I am putting my job ______ by giving you this information. A. inexhaustible B. tiresome A. on the point B. on the trot C. inexorable D. indefatigable C. on the line D. on the verge
32. The princess's nanny's autobiography really gives the _______ on
29. This horror film is not for people who are ______ and can not life among the royals. stand the sight of blood. A. show-down B. know-how A. sullen B. discreet C. low-down D. look-out C. squeamish D. callous
33. Anyone who lies under oath will be charged with _______ the
30. Our teacher tends to ______ certain subjects which she finds course of justice. difficult to talk about A. perverting B. inverting A. boil down B. string along C. converting D. diverting C. skate over D. track down
34. You can try reformatting your computer, but once you open that
31. The return on your investment will come in ________ at first, but
________, you'll probably be working on it for days,
you'll see a more steady flow of income later. A. apple of discord B. can of worms A. bits and bobs B. dribs and drabs C. load of cobblers D. spot of bother C. fingers and thumbs D. bibs and tuckers
35. I've searched ________ for that old photo album, but I can't find it
32. There is a big investigation ________, but I don't know when. anywhere. A. in the offing B. off the peg A. high and low B. long and short C. on the blink D. over the hill C. straight and narrow D. thick and thin
33. As I said before, the report will be released in the ________ of
36. Sheila swore that she would ________ after she figured out that I
time. I can't estimate when that will be.
had started the rumor about her. A. rightness B. fullness
30. Keeping a journal is an excellent way to give ______ to your C. greatness D. correctness feelings.
34. These fanatics are in ________ earnest when they say they want to A. voice B. rise C. way D. pause
destroy all forms of government.
31. You ‘ll need a(n) ______ dictionary if you want to find the A. mortally B. fatally
meaning of such a technical word. C. deadly D. gravely A. unabridged B. lengthy
35. That car accident seems to have scared Janet out of her ________ - she's still shaken by it. C. elongated D. expanded A. powers B. senses C. wits D. moods
32. Despite its ______ majority of 122 out of 182 seats in the
36. At the end of her speech, she ________ a note of warning about
legislature, the party found governing more difficult than getting
the risks involved in the project. elected. A. hit B. punched C. struck D. beat A. overwhelming B. unanimous
37. Tickets are hard to come by but I'll do my ________ best to get C. domineering D. superior you one.
33. I’m not surprised their marriage is on ______. They’re the most A. utmost B. level C. regular D. extreme incompatible couple I know.
38. He is the ________ favourite to win the tournament of champions A. a razor edge B. the rocks next week. C. broken wings D. a roll A. all-out B. far-fetched C. odds-on D. well-earned
39. I hope the fact that Louise isn't coming won't ________ your
34. I have to ______. I wasn’t sure he could do it, but he’s really done enjoyment of the evening. a great job. A. scrap B. mar C. oust D. flout A. lend him a hand B. hand it to him
26. He went to great lengths to ______ the details of the intricate plan C. wash my hands of him D. put my life in to his co-workers. his hands
A. tell out B. speak out C. spoon out D. spell out
35. Things got off to a ______ when the team leader resigned from the
27. Having lost her mother at an early age, Mary felt she had become a project almost immediately.
mere _______, having to do absolutely everything for her five brothers A. false dawn B. false alarm and sisters. C. false start D. false move A. taskmaster B. workmate
36. The extensive winds that have been ________ Florida will move C. slavedriver D. workhorse
away as the weekend draws to a close.
28. He felt his heart _______ as his bride-to-be began her walk down A. battering B. punching the aisle. C. cracking D. thumping A. fasten B. quicken
37. I am sorry to have bothered you. I was under the ________ that C. expedite D. heighten you wanted me to call you.
29. The day their first child was born, the new parents were ______ A. mistake B. miscalculation with joy. C. misconception D. misapprehension A. overpowered B. overtaken
38. Rescuers cast a ________ to the drowning man and hauled him out C. overthrown D. overcome of the sea. A. lifeguard B. lifeboat
A. doom and gloom B. life and death C. lifeline D. lifesaver C. rack and ruin D. tooth and nail
39. You can no more swim than I can fly. The sentence means:
35. The Government is trying to ________when it says it will spend ________.
more on the health service without raising taxes.
A. Both of us can’t swim or fly A. chew the fat B. wave the flag C. square the circle D. put the lid
B. You can never swim, which I am sure of
36. He managed to ________ the flow of blood by tightly bandaging C. Either you or I can fly the wound. D. You can swim as I can fly A. restrain B. curb C. check D. inhibit
26. John’s report was thorough and insightful. He deserves a real
37. It was a(n) ________ move to buy your house just before property ________. prices started to rise. A. slap on the wrist B. pat on the back A. astute B. crafty C. shrewd D. wily C. peck on the cheek D. pain in the neck
38. Sometimes, we don't appreciate the ________ pleasures of life
27. It’s natural for students to worry about whether they will ________
such as a beautiful sky, a cup of coffee with a friend or seeing a good or not at a new school. film at the cinema.
A. measure up B. sprout up C. show up D. stand up A. sheer B. simple C. normal D. plain
28. Your theory is just that – a theory unsupported by facts. It just
39. Her parents died when she was a baby, so I ________ family she doesn’t ________. ever had. A. make waves B. hold water A. was all the B. was the whole C. keep pace D. stay afloat C. was nothing but the D. was everything of the
29. It would be nice if we could ________, but he has a bad habit of
26. I don’t believe you really met Jack Nicholson; you are really stretching the truth. ________ me on! A. take him down a peg or two B. take him up on it A. having B. putting C. taking D. giving C. take him at his word D. take him for granted
27. Mr John ________ a lot of weight with the owner of the store, so
30. My friend Michael eats so much that you ‘d think he was a
he’s the one you should try to persuade. ________ pit! A. carries B. takes C. pulls D. measures A. buoyant B. overflowing
28. That ear infection won’t clear ________ on its own; you’ll need C. bottomless D. irrepressible antibiotics.
31. I heard on the news this morning that the dictator was ________ by A. up B. away C. off D. out a military coup.
29. Discussions on the issue of expansion of the company have been in A. receded B. toppled C. inundated D. scorched
________ since the outbreak of disease in the area.
32. The children looked forward to their upcoming vacation with great A. hitch B. limbo C. feud D. core ________.
30. Peter was too ________ to dare to stand up and speak in front of A. valour B. conduct C. virtue D. ardour all those people.
33. I don't mind helping, but I ________ at doing everything myself. A. self-aware B. self-righteous A. toe the line B. draw the line C. self-indulgent D. self-conscious C. take a firm line D. tread a fine line
31. For a successful actor he lives very quietly; life in the fast
34. I know my brother has fought ________ to be re-elected, so his ________ doesn’t suit him.
victory tonight is certainly well earned. A. track B. road C. way D. lane
32. The former leader of the organization has expressed a wish to A. rabble B. rubble C. ramble D. rumble ________ for his past sins.
29. To say it is the best novel written in the last twenty years is going A. atone B. annex C. adore D. abridge far _______.
33. They are unlikely to find any new evidence because so much time A. a long way B. over the top has ________ since the crime. C. through a bad patch D. to great lengths A. spanned B. postponed C. lapsed D. elapsed
30. This week’s programme is given _______ a profile of an eminent
34. Many diseases that used to be considered ________ of mankind scientist.
are now easily treatable with antibiotics A. down on B. in to C. over to D. up on A. scourges B. tortures C. blights D. thorns
31. He gave speeches all over the world to _______ support for his
35. Leili said she found learning languages as easy as _________. She
“Help the Homeless” Campaign. had a gift for it. A. trot out B. turn to C. weigh up D. whip up A. sliding off a branch B. falling off a log
32. The new professor is way ahead of the _______with his research C. diving off a climb D. branching off a bough into genetics.
36. You are going to need her help. If I were you, I’d _________ a bit. A. twist B. circle C. spin D. curve
I’d try to get her on my side, you know what I mean.
33. If there happened to be both rich and poor people, as there happen A. soap her down B. oil her over
to be both black and white ones, then the advantages of the _______ C. butter her up D. grease her out
might well spread in time to the hard-up.
37. Going to the unemployment office and having to wait there for A. well-heeled B. big-hearted
hours is a _________ experience. C. open-handed D. tight-fisted A. soul-destroying B. heart-stopping
34. As much as the candidate tried to convince people of his honesty, C. power-sharing D. thought-provoking
he could not shake off his _______ past.
38. Although we now believe this to be impossible, early scientists A. serene B. tranquil C. shady D. frigid
tried to produce __________ motion machines, that is, machines
35. The greedy man wouldn’t hesitate to _______ away his valued which would never stop.
assets if he thought it would bring him more money. A. perpetual B. everlasting A. wager B. bet C. gamble D. stake C. undying D. forever
36. His talent meant he could create wondrous things, but his _______
39. There weren’t many vegetarian dishes __________, although there
meant he hardly ever felt like working.
were several different kinds of cheese. A. adversity B. lethargy A. like that B. as such C. ineptitude D. tactlessness C. such that D. such like
37. The founder of the company decided to take a back _______ and
26. If you need help, please don’t hesitate to call me. I can be there
let the board members run the business. _______. A. stage B. seat C. row D. door A. in a fix B. in a flash
38. The local authorities annually ______ between £50 million and C. in a daze D. in the bag £100 million on art projects.
27. My car broke down and I had to _______ a huge sum of money to A. disperse B. disband C. disburse D. dispose have it towed and serviced.
39. Everyone was living off tens of thousands of years of accumulated A. splash out B. fork out C. put aside D. pay off
groundwater, like a ______ heir squandering his wealth.
28. After the hurricane, all that was left of our house was a pile of A. stingy B. miserly C. spendthrift D. penny- pincher _______.
26. I am not surprised that your brother is angry; you spent half an
37. Our English teacher had a high opinion of herself and would
hour _______ him up about an issue he cares about deeply.
always ______ into class as if she were a queen. A. spinning B. turning A. sprint B. skip C. strut D. stride C. winding D. twirling
38. After testing positive on a doping test, the renowned athlete was
27. That he was using unscrupulous research methods only came out
advised to lay low and avoid the press like the ______.
because his assistant _______ on him to the press. A. plague B. hawk C. wildfire D. wind A. ratted B. hounded C. fished D. bugged
39 Apart from one or two ______ of brilliance from Owen, England
28. The phrase ‘money doesn't buy happiness’ is a cautionary cliché
put on a rather poor performance.
that keeps us from blindly lining your pockets with _______ in the A. flashes B. spells C. storms D. strokes
hope that we’ll feel happier.
26. Discussions on the issue of expansion of the company have been in A. stash B. hoard C. stock D. dosh
_______ since the outbreak of the disease in the area.
29. The government has agreed to _______ an additional £5 million to A. hitch B. limbo C. feud D. core
schools in underprivileged regions.
27. The greedy man wouldn’t hesitate to _______ away his valued A. dole out B. tip off
assets if he thought it would bring him more money. C. crack down D. toss off A. wager B. bet C. gamble D. stake
30. Let me know of any pertinent developments, keep me in the
28. Most people are _______ to believe that girls and boys like certain ______. toys when they are young. A. sphere B. ring C. circle D. loop A. hardened B. acclimated
31. Having lost her home, Lucy got ______ a gang of people who C. conditioned D. accustomed hang around causing trouble.
29. James kept trying to ______ his duties, but his manager told him if A. in with B. up to C. on with D. by on
he didn’t start taking responsibility for his work he would have to
32. Although usually quite compassionate, the receptionist made a leave the company.
______ remark that took her colleagues by surprise. A. beaver away B. weasel out of C. chicken A. crooked B. cautious C. corrupt D. callous out of D. clam up
33. Julie felt unfairly ______ when she spoke out against a company
30. The police believe Morgan strangled his girlfriend in a ______ of
proposal and the entire staff team turned against her. jealousy. A prosecuted B. persecuted C. oppressed A. burst B. fit C. flash D. spell D. suppressed
31. Normally, when he was late, he gave a pathetic excuse, but not this
34. My first impression of Vanessa was that she was very charming
time, what he said had a ______ of truth about it.
and ______; she seemed totally at ease with people. A. figment B. glimmer C. ring D. shred A. exuberant B. urbane C. aloof D. compassionate
32. Naturally, her parents were thrilled to ______ when they found out
35. Charlotte ______ the new girl immediately, within hours of
she had passed the exam with flying colours.
meeting each other they were best of friends. A. shreds B. heaven A. took issue with B. took heart from C. goodness D. bits C. took a shine to D. took his hat off to
33. I know she is a bit miserable at the moment, but she’ll soon
36. Parents often have to ______ large amounts of money so their
______ up when she finds out that I have booked us a two-week
children can take part in extracurricular sports activities. holiday in Barbados. A. mark down B. rung up A. perk B. look C. pump D. joy C. shell out D. stock up
34. There is no need to get so ______ about being turned down. There
31. Regional parliaments allow ________ for remote parts of the
are other advertising agencies out there, you know.
country or islands far from the capital. A. destitute B. descendant A. self-government B. self-sufficiency C. despondent D. despicable C. self-regulation D. self-support
35. He likes nothing better than to spend his Sunday mornings ______
32 In Britain major decisions are made in the ________ of power in in the gardens. Westminster. A. pottering about B. hanging around A. aisles B. corridors C. hallways D. landings C. whiling away D. winding down
33. The children are ________ by this new app; they can’t stop using
36. Kitchell says the city was a _______ of all American culture it. during the '60s. A. revitalised B. hypnotised A. microclimate B. microcopy C. mesmerised D. capitalised C. microcosm D. microscope
34. Her ________ behaviour made her the life of the party; everyone
37. I don't like intellectual novels, serious music or films; my tastes are loved talking to her. quite ______ A exhaustive B fragrant A. flat-topped B. lowbrow C exuberant D. aromatic C. shamefaced D. slow-witted
35. The clinic experienced an ________ of support from the
38. The floral bouquets we entered into the competition were a
community when they were threatened with closure.
_______ of colour, but unfortunately, we did not win first prize. A. outbreak B. overflowing A. wham B. riot C. drop D. buzz C. outbursting D. outpouring
39. Don’t forget to _______ your sources; you don’t want to get
36. The points raised about the exercise technique are not ________ to
accused of stealing information. this presentation. A. quote B. cite D. name D. refer A. pertinent B. opportune C. admissible D. acceptable
26. He must have been hungry; he _______ that burger in record time
37. Uncle Tom’s a ________ who prefers his own company to anyone and ordered another. else’s. A. whipped up B. tucked in
A. drowned rat B. lone wolf C. lame duck D. top dog C. chopped up D. bolted down
38. We were just ________ in the sitting area and somehow the
27. This conservative, evangelical megachurch, just outside San window got broken.
Diego, is a _______ of activity on a Sunday morning. A. beetling about B. haring off A. nest B. home C. seat D. hive C. horsing around D. wolfing down
28. She had an unclear ________ of him in her mind, although she
39. Her ________ treatment by her employers finally forced her to knew he would be old. look for a better job. A. sight B. picture C. vision D. figure A. shabby B. messy C. grungy D. tardy
29. She marched into the shops, as bold as ________, and demanded
26. Unfortunately, Jamie’s plans to tour around Australia didn’t for her money back.
_______ due to a lack of finances. A. bass B. grass C.brass D. glass A. pan out B. pull off C. knuckle down D. waltz through
30. The high levels of air pollution is ________ a result of local
27. If you are given a ________ anaesthetic during an operation, you factory emissions.
are still aware of what is going on around you. A. plainly B. abruptly C. distinctly D. markedly A. local B. tropical C. varied D. released
28. Insurance companies had to ________ ￡ 10 million in storm A. indifferent B. inimitable damage claims. C. indisposed D. incongruous A. dip in B. rip off C. bail out D. cough up
39. The only room available was, to say the least, _______. There was
29. The well-known ________ clash between the President and the
no carpet, no curtains, and the only furniture was a bed and a small
rebel leader is not making things easier. beside table. A. character B. mood C. enemy D. personality A. snug B. dreary C. stark D. cushy
30. Their ________ religious beliefs were of great comfort in troubled times. A. age-long B. long-gone C. strongly-held D. time-honoured
31. They are a real ________ organisation; they are only interested in making a profit. A. devil-may-care B. fly-by-night C. open-handed D. down-to-earth
32. Although he came to work the day before his retirement, everyone knew he was just ________. A. going with the flow B. going through the motions C. going against the grain D. going along with them
33. She was ________ away from the company with promises of better
terms and conditions from a rival firm. A. enhanced B. enticed C. manipulated D. raided
34. Lawrence suggested ________ ourselves at the beginning of the
long project in order to avoid exhaustion. A. pacing B. rushing C. plodding D. racing
35. All three siblings agreed to ________ their resources in order to
start their new business venture. A. fuse B. blend C. mingle D. pool
36. Although citizen-centred schemes involve residents in debates, full
political ________ is kept by local councillors and MPs. A. autonomy B. autarchy C.autocracy D. authority
37. Our guests are from a _______ of society and so should reflect most point of views. A. cross-section B. cross-fire C. cross-purpose D. cross-reference
38. Mr Jones is _______, unfortunately, so you’ll have to call again tomorrow.