Lexico - word form practice tests for NEC with key (4 pages)

Exercise 1: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences
101. The yard-long hawksbill turtle, with its hooked beak and scaly neck, is a living ______ of the dinosaur
age. (trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists) A. heirloom B. relic C. vestige D. artefact
102. The artist was so prolific in his youth that by the time he reached his forties, he was a living ______. (a
person who is both alive and either famous for doing something extremely well) A. icon B. fable C. myth D. legend
103. The unpopular prime minister was ______ in the press when she tripped while walking in a muddy
field. (criticize sb very strongly) A. slandered B. lampooned C. hounded D. stalked
104. The challenges Ann encountered while assisting the medical charity in Africa ______ the best in her
personality. (bring out the best in sb: cause someone to behave in the best manner) A. brought up B. brought out C. brought around D. brought about
105. The plane had moved onto the runway and the cabin crew were ______ take-off.
(be waiting and ready to do something or to help) A. standing by for B. standing in for C. standing up for D. standing up to
106. The meeting was so dull that James couldn’t help ________ part way though. ( gradually start to sleep) A. winding down B. hammering away C. drifting off D. sleeping over
107. Although the chemist’s initial experiment failed, she ________ upon a strong new material in the
process. (discover something by chance) A. tripped B. fell C. broke D. stumbled
108. Lawrence suggested ________ ourselves at the beginning of the long project in order to avoid
exhaustion. (do something at a speed that is steady and that allows one to continue without becoming too tired) A. pacing B. rushing C. plodding D. racing
109. It is important not to ________ creativity in the young and let them express themselves. ( prevent it from continuing) A. hinder B. stifle C. flounder D. expedite
110. The minister was heavily ________ by the United Nations Security Council in their report. (criticize harshly) A. criticized B. scrutinized C. censured D. interrogated
111. When it comes to running the company, Michael is a(n) ________ unto himself; he is doing anything
he pleases. (behave in a way that is independent and does not follow the usual rules) A. act B. code C. order D. law
112. People don’t have a right to ________ in judgement when they don’t know all the facts. (make a judgment on someone ) A. sit B. pass C. make D. bite
113. The ________ skyscrapers of modern metropolises dwarf previous feats of engineering both literally and figuratively. A. tottering B. towering C. sprawling D. spanning
114. The local area is ________ lacking in places to enjoy art and cinema. A. properly B. rashly C. sorely D. aptly
115. At the age of 11, Taylor Swift was already trying to ________ a record deal in Nashville. A. land B. create C. steal D. grab
116. I hope virtual friendships are not the ________ of things to come. A. scheme B. form C. shape D. frame
117. Everyone dissolved into ________ of laughter when they saw my haircut. ( laughing a lot) A. sets B. spells C. fits D. bouts
118. The money-laundering scandal leads to the minister’s ________ fall from political power. (fast) A. prodigious B. precipitous C. dismal D. persistent
119. Harry was a ________ of nerves the whole time his wife was in the hospital. (someone who is extremely nervous and worried) A. batch B. bunch C. bundle D. bale
120. The three tours are run ________ so we can only choose one. A. concurrently B. recurrently C. concurringly D. cursively
121. Taking a gap year will allow you to reach a level of emotional ________ that will stay with you for a lifetime. A. wisdom B. ripeness C. adulthood D. maturity
122. The list of the sources for the information in this book is contained in the book’s ________. (a section,
usually containing extra information, added at the end of a book) A. periodical B. acknowledgements C. appendix D. bibliography
123. This is a very busy office and in your new position you will have to be able to think on your ________! ( make a quick decision) A. toes B. legs C. feet D. knees
124. Our plans to hold an end-of-year picnic in the woods were ________ by the bad weather. (stop sth from happening) A. provoked B. thwarted C. emulated D. vented
125. I had a ________ that something bad was going to happen to Katy and I rushed straight round to her
house, where I found her unconscious. A. premonition B. mind-set C. foresight D. forethought
126. Giovanni and his family spend hours at the dinner table, but that’s just the Italian ________ to food and eating. A. nostalgia B. attitude C. keepsake D. respect
127. Please ________ these figures to memory, so that you will be able to answer the investors’ questions
easily and confidently. ( try to remember) A. memorise B. recall C. retain D. commit
128. A major political party is ________ the campaign for tighter gun controls in the wake of last month’s shooting. (lead) A. procuring B. setting C. spearheading D. fulfilling
129. I hope I’ll be able to _______ today’s performance on the opening night. ( strive to equal or excel) A. aspire B. emulate C. advocate D. persevere
130. Unfortunately, Jamie’s plans to tour around Australia didn’t _______ due to a lack of finances.
(develop in a particular way or in a successful way) A. pan out B. pull off C. knuckle down D. waltz through
131. Trekkers should be prepared to _______ it as there are few facilities in remote areas. (live without comforts) A. struggle B. rough C.succumb D. tolerate
132. The challenges Ann encountered while assisting the medical charity in Africa brought _______ the best in her personality. A. up B. out C. about D. around
133. The plane had moved onto the runway and the cabin crew were standing _______ take-off. A. by for B. in for C. up for D. up to
134. If you are given a ________ anaesthetic during an operation, you are still aware of what is going on
around you. (local anesthetic that is used to numb the surface of a body part) A. local B. tropical C. varied D. released
135. Garlic being sold as organic was found to contain pesticide ________ and was removed from the
market. (Dư lượng thuốc trừ sâu) A. elements B. filaments C. residues D. variables
136. Colin is only just ________; he gets unemployment benefit, but it isn’t much. ( manage to live when you do not have enough money)
A. scraping by B. putting aside C. bailing out D. tiding over
137. Insurance companies had to ________ ￡ 10 million in storm damage claims. ( pay or spend that
amount, usually when you would prefer not to) A. dip in B. rip off C. bail out D. cough up
138. We hurried back to our car as we saw the clouds ________ over the mountains. (appear or arrive in large numbers or amounts) A. rolling in B. holding off C. beating down D. bucketing down
139. My train ________ at 3.15, so could you be there to collect me? A. stops off B. pulls up C. gets in D. heads for
140. If we're going to bring this company back to its former glory, we'll need a marketing team that can do ________. A. justice B. business C. credit D. miracles
141. The well-known ________ clash between the President and the rebel leader is not making things easier. A. character B. mood C. enemy D. personality
142. It had been with a heavy ________ that I watched her leave, and I had sunk into a dark and despairing mood. A. head B. mood C. mind D. heart
143. In some countries, a bride’s family is still required to pay a ________ to the groom’s family. (property
or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage.) A. dowry B. bill C. relic D. heirloom
144. Their ________ religious beliefs were of great comfort in troubled times. (Having existed for a very long time) A. age-long B. long-gone C. strongly-held D. time-honoured
145. The local area is ________ lacking in places to enjoy art and cinema. A. properly B. rashly C. sorely D. aptly
146. I offered to do the job, but soon found that I was ________ as it was more difficult than I had thought.
( be involved in a difficult situation that you cannot get out of)
A. pushing up daisies B. knocking on wood C. in over my head D. off my hands
147. He asked the question rather _______, as his boss was in a bad mood and he didn’t want to annoy her. (causing mild anger) A. tentatively B. explosively C. insolently D. provokingly
148. His ________ expression left us in no doubt as to how much her rejection had hurt him. (having or
showing extreme physical or mental suffering) A. anguished B. resigned C. downright D. placid
anguished: đau đớn, buồn bã
149. They are not likely to ________ information during the current armed conflict.
ladle out: give somebody a lot of something, especially money or advice
150. Now that you have more money, you’ll be able to ________ a little; you have no excuses any more.
(spend one's time in an extremely enjoyable way) A. live it up B. make a break C. cut and run D. fly off the handle
Exercise 2: Give the correct form of words in capital Dickens and his world
It was with the circulation of Pickwick Papers in 1836 that young Dickens began to enjoy a truly (1.
PRECEDENT) _unprecedented________ ascent into the favour of the British reading public. He
magnificently (2. PROVE) __disproved_______ a theory that his fame would disappear just as quickly as it
had come. He remained until his death 34 years later (3. DENY) __undeniably_______ the most popular
novelist the English- speaking world had ever known.
The public displayed a/an (4. SATIATE) _insatiable________ appetite for his works, and there was
also a great diffusion of them through (5. NUMBER) __innumerable_______ dramatic adaptations (nearly
all completely (6. AUTHORITY) _unauthorized________ the copyright laws being much weaker in those days).
His immense popularity was based on the widespread perception of him as a great champion of the
poor and the (7. POSSESS) _dispossessed________ against all forms of (8. JUST) _injustice________ and
abuse of power. In his personal life, however, he was (9. CAPACITY) __incapable_______ of achieving the
level of fulfilment he enjoyed with the public, and all his close emotional relationships with women (10.
VARY) _invariably________ ended in failure. Yet, he created an extraordinary range and variety of female
characters who live on in our minds and culture unlike any others created by Victorian novelists
One of the most lethal poisons on Earth, ten thousand times more (0) deadly than cyanide is tetrodotoxin,
more concisely known as TTX. Its potency is well known in East Asia, where it regularly kills (1- DINE)
__diners________ who have braved the capricious (2- DELICATE) _delicacy_______ known as fugu or pufferfish.
This toxin has a (3- TERROR) _terrifying_______ method of operation: twenty-five minutes after exposure
it begins to (4- PARALYSIS) __paralyze_____its victims, leaving the victim fully aware of what is
happening. Death usually results, within hours, from suffocation or heart failure.
There is no known antidote. If lucky patients can (5- STAND) withstand________ the symptoms for twenty-
four hours, they usually recover without further (6-COMPLICATE) complications_________It is no ordinary poison.
What is strange about its (7-OCCUR)_occurence______is that it is found in such a wide range of creatures,
from algae to angelfish spanning entire kingdoms of life. It is rather unlikely that such an unusual toxin
evolved (8-DEPEND)_independently_______in so many unrelated animals.
Marine biologists have discovered that the poison is produced by bacteria living in the gut of its host. The
best explanation is that a (9-SYMBIONT) ___symbiotic_____ relationship exists between host and not the
unwelcome guest, where microbes exchange poison for nutrients, providing a valuable (10-DEFEND)
____defensive____weapon for its host.