CHAPTER 1: LEXCICO – IDIOMS – PHRASAL VERB

PRACTICE TEST 1

1. She ________ agreed to go with him to the football match although she had no
interest in the game at all.

A. apologetically B. grudgingly C. shamefacedly D. discreetly

grudgingly agree: miễn cưỡng đồng ý

2. On the way to Cambridge yesterday, the road was blocked by a fallen tree, so we
had to make a ________

A. deviation B. digression C. detour D. departure

make a detour: đi đường vòng

3. Tom’s normally very efficient but he’s been making a lot of mistakes ______

A. of late B. for now C. in a while D. shortly

of late: gần đây

4. I know it’s difficult but you’ll just have to ________ and bear it.

A. laugh B. smile C. grin D. chuckle

grin and bear: chịu đựng

5. I didn’t want to make a decision ________, so I said I’d like to think about it.

A. in one go B. there and then C. at a stroke D. on and off

there and then: ngay lập tức

6. We are not in a ________ hurry so let’s have another coffee.

A. dashing B. racing C. rushing D. tearing

in a tearing hurry: vội

7. She’s a bit down in the________ at the moment – her husband has just lost his job.

A. world B. dumps C. heart D. bottom

down in the dumps: buồn chán

8. “How did you know that he was lying?” – “It was just a ________ feeling.”

A. faint B. gut C. slight D. vain

a gut feeling: cảm giác thoáng qua

9. The new company had been________ with one problem after another and looked as
if it were about to go under.

A. glorified B. tainted C. fraught D. bewildered

be fraught with: đầy

10. Mike decided that election to the local council would provide a ________ to a
career in national politics.

A. milestone B. springboard C. highway D. turning point

springboard: khởi điểm, bước đệm

11. As a poet, I think she ________ comparison with the greatest this century. .

A. stands B. makes C. leads D. matches

stand comparision with: có thể so sánh với

12. We all have to follow the rules, and none of us is ________ the law.

A. beyond B. over C. above D. onto

above the law: ngoài vòng pháp luật

13. When disaster ______, organisations such as Oxfam quickly provide help.

A. comes B. approaches C. arrives D. strikes

disaster strikes: thiên tai xảy đến

14. The number of people traveling by air has been growing _______.

A. by leaps and bounds B. from time to time

C. slow but sure D. by hook and crook

by leaps and bounds: rất nhanh

15. Drug-taking is a crime which society simply cannot _________.

A. approve B. acknowledge C. consent D. condone

condone: bỏ qua, tha thứ

16. I was scared ____________ when I looked down from the top of the cliff.

A. tight B. stiff C. hard D. solid

be scared stiff: rất sợ

17. The whereabouts of the exiled president remains a _________guarded secret.

A. highly B. closely C. deeply D. entirely

a closely guarded secret: bí mật được giữ kin

18. We should all_________when advertisers attempt to use unfair practices.

A. make a stand B. make a comeback

C. make amends D. make a deal

make a stand: đáp trả

19. The company cannot accept_________for injuries resulting from improper use of
rental equipment

A. validity B. liability C. compensation D. privilege

liability: trách nhiệm pháp lí; tiền nợ, khoản phải trả

20. Jack never cheats or tricks anybody when he plays. He always goes by
the_________

A. book B. instructions C. principles D. method

go by the book: làm đúng qui tắc

21. Recent defeats have _________.his confidence in himself as a player

A. undermined B. disable C. impeded D. hampered

undermine the confidence: làm giảm sự tự tin

22. People turned out in_________to watch the parade on the Independence Day.

A. volume B. mass C. force D. bulk

in force: nhiều, với số lượng lớn

23. Not being able to find my phone number is a pretty_________excuse for not
contacting me.

A. fragile B. frail C. faint D. feeble

a feeble excuse: lí do không chính đáng

24. We were under no _________ about how difficult it would be to achieve our aims.

A. fantasies B. daydreams C. illusions D. deceptions

under no illusions: không ảo tưởng

25. The pollution problems in the town have been ___________ by mass tourism in
the summer months.

A. exacerbated B. developed C. augmented D. contributed

exacerbate: làm trầm trọng thêm

26. I'm in a bit of a _________ as to what to wear to the wedding.

A. loss B. quandary C. problem D. bewilderment

in a quandary: trong tình thế khó xử

27. The problem _________because neither side was prepared to compromise.

A. amassed B. escalated C. proliferated D. enhanced

the problem escalates: vấn đề trở nên nghiêm trọng hơn

28. The Red Cross is ___________ an international aid organization.

A. intriguingly B. intrusively C. intrinsically D. intrepidly

intrinsically: thực chất

29. I couldn't stop myself from _________ with boredom during the lecture.

A. sighing B. gasping C. panting D. blowing

sigh: thở dài

30. My brother found it impossible to _________his anger and started shouting.

A. restrict B. inhibit C. reserve D. contain

contain his anger: kìm chế sự giận dữ

31. Fitting together the thousands of fragments of the broken vase was a long and
___________ task.

A. minute B. careful C. painstaking D. minuscule

painstaking: cực nhọc

32. You’ll just have to _________ yourself to the fact that you can’t always have what
you want.

A. acknowledge B. reconcile C. concede D. allow

reconcile oneself to sth: chấp nhận

33. The students had no money left and took out a loan to _________ him over until
the end of term.

A. last B. tend C. keep D. tide

tide sth over: giúp ai vượt qua khó khăn

34. Money was short and people survived by _________and saving.

A. scrimping B. scavenging C. scouring D. scrounging

scrimp and save: tiết kiệm

35. Jane was terribly nervous before the interview but she managed to pull herself
________ and act confidently.

A. through B. over C. together D. off

pull oneself together: giữ bình tĩnh

36.This is the _________timetable for the conference. It may change later

A. conditional B. indefinite C. provisional D. indeterminate

provisional: tạm thời

37. She didn’t show even a _________of emotion when the court found her guilty.

A. gleam B. wink C. flicker D. flash

a flicker of emotion: cảm giác thoáng qua

38. Few people can do creative work unless they are in the right _________ of mind.

A. trend B. frame C. attitude D. tendency

in the right frame of mind: đúng tâm trạng

39. It was decided that the cost of the project would be _________.and so it was
abandoned.

A. repressive B. prohibitive C. restrictive D. exclusive

prohibitive: expensive

40. I didn't really feel like memorizing all these definitions. It was only the risk of
getting another bad mark that made me _________myself.

A. exert B. absorb C. endeavour D. deploy

exert oneself: nỗ lực

41. In times of _________ , unemployment figures usually rise dramatically.

A austerity B severity C sobriety D. gravity

times of austerity : giai đoạn khó khăn, suy thoái

42. The delight in treasure finding doesn’t always ________acquiring tremendous

amounts of valuables.

A. dwell on B. poke around C. lay about D. hinge upon

hinge upon: xoay quanh

43. Let’s _________ the place, it looks so gloomy and unpleasant .

A. miss B. abandon C. depart D. disappear

abandon: bỏ

44. She used the map to discover where she was in ________to her surroundings.

A. connection B. affinity C. relation D. reference

in relation: liên quan đến

45. He let it __________ that the Prime Minister was a close friend of his.

A. announce B. talk C. drop D. infer

let sth drop: say more about sth

46. It was a fantastic film. I enjoyed it _________

A. endlessly B. unendingly C. without end D. no end

no end: very much

47. When the children _________ their toys, I donated them to charity.

A. outlasted B. outdated C. outgrew D. outwore

outgrow: stop doing sth or lose interest in sth as you become older

48. I was in the ______ of despair before I heard the good news.

A. depths B. profundities C. bottoms D. holes

in the depths of despair: tuyệt vọng

49. When are we going to get rid of all these empty cartons? They've been _________
up the office for weeks now.

A. buttering B. clutching C. cluttering D. botching

clutter up: làm bừa bộn

50. The luxurious office accentuated the manager's position _________. It enhanced
his power and his sense of his own worth. And it made other people feel small.

A. on the pecking pole B. in the nibbling line

C. at the nipping post D. in the pecking order

CHAPTER 2: WORDFORM

PRACTICE TEST 1

1. Democracy died after a period of ________(cease) wars, imperial expansion

abroad, and the rise of demagoguery at home.

incessant/ceaseless: triền miên, không dứt

2. The consequences of ________ (compel) gambling are comparable to those of any

other addictive disease and are not simply those of financial loss.

compulsive: có tính ép buộc

3. The prison service has the twin goals of punishment and ________ (habit).

rehabilitation: sự phục hồi

4. The first ________ (conceive) is that legal study at university is exclusively for
students who intend becoming solicitors or advocates.

misconception: sự hiểu sai

5. Too late, she remembered the ________ (settle) effect such comments would have
on Johnny.

unsettling: đáng lo

6. Some economists are now predicting the danger of ________ (run) inflation.

runaway: xảy ra rất nhanh

7. The ________ (narrate) in this book plays second fiddle to the excellent
photographs.

narrative: câu chuyện

8. They were now faced with seemingly________(mount) technical problems.

insurmountable: không thể vượt qua

9. When you come down on him too hard, you may only intensify his own ________
(critic)

self-criticism: tự phê bình

10. Your speech should not have been ________ (lace) with these facts beside the
point.

interlaced: trộn lẫn

11. Their views lie outside the ________ (stream) of current medical opinion.

mainstream: xu hướng

12. The teachers are fair and avoid ________ (favour) and scapegoating.

favouritism: sự thiên vị

13. She has become ________(mesh) in a tangle of drugs and petty crime.

enmeshed: vướng vào

14. Do not set your goals too high or else you will always be failing and there is
nothing more ________ (moral).

demoralising: làm nản lòng

15. The demise of the industry has caused ________(tell) misery to thousands of hard-
working tradesmen.

untold: đáng kể

16. Attracting the banks are the ________ (surge) economy and reforms that have
opened up industries to foreign capital.

resurgent: hồi sinh

17. The ordinary reader is impressed by the tone and manner of publication, and the
words chosen to ________ (head) a story.

headline: đặt tiêu đề

18. At all events, it was this group of the ________ (possess) that gave the first
successful impetus to the Revolution.

dispossessed: nghèo

19. ________(prey) pricing by large supermarkets was threatening the livelihood of

smaller businesses.

predatory pricing: chính sách hạ giá để tiêu diệt đối thủ

20. He is a ________(voice) critic of the president's stance on abortion.

vociferous: mạnh mẽ

21. She made several ________ (par) remarks about the manager she dislikes.

disparaging: làm mất danh dự

22. As women we tend to be ________ (face) and make light of what we have
achieved.

self-effacing: khiêm tốn

23. GEW lamp dimming promise uptime at least 1500 hours, raised productivity and
reduces ________ (time).

downtime: thời gian chết của máy móc

24. Would you mind if I took one of the pictures as a________(keep)?

keepsake: vật lưu niệm

25. Mania usually alternates with depression, to form a ________ (pole) disorder.

bipolar (disorder): bệnh trầm cảm

26. This was too we a ________ (hole) for the tax planners: no wonder inheritance tax
is called a voluntary tax.

loophole: kẽ hở

27. The teacher said that he found it difficult to cope with a class of ________ (affect)
teenagers.

disaffected: bất bình

28. He is ________ (fail) polite and tries desperately to understand other people's
views.

unfailingly: luôn luôn

29. The court ________ (turn) that decision on the grounds that the Prosecution had
withheld crucial evidence.

overturned: lật đổ

30. Some of these statements are misleading and some downright ________ (amend).

mendacious: sai sự thật

31. The state ________ (fast) refused to settle this matter at any time.
steadfastly: kiên quyết

32. What is illustrated by these photographs is as much the culture of shamelessness as

the reigning admiration for ________ (apology) brutality.

unapologetic: không biết hối lỗi

33. The judge found that in her case there were________(mitigate) circumstances.

mitigating: làm dịu bớt

34. He impressed his audience by the ________ (profound) of his knowledge.

profundity: sự uyên thâm

35. The causes of social ________(stress) include inadequate housing.

distress: cảnh khốn cùng

36. He was in the ________ (envy) position of having to choose between

imprisonment or exile.

unenviable: không mong muốn

37. He was ________ (capacity) by old age and sickness.

incapacitated: suy yếu

38. The bank is ________ (solve) and will be unable to live up to its obligations.

insolvent: vỡ nợ

39. Natalie considered herself very ________ (virtue) because she neither drank nor
smoked.

virtuous: có đạo đức tốt

40. Their refusal to ________ (tail) spending plans and to increase the burden on poll
tax payers is expected.

curtail: cắt giảm

41. Rather than a benevolent "socialist" super power China, whose population is made
up over 90% Han Chinese, will ________ (stride) the world as a racially
homogeneous, and communalistic "Middle Kingdom”.

bestride: bắc ngang qua

42. Broadly speaking, on-line shopping experiences can be categorized into two
distinct dimensions: ________ (use) and hedonic value.
utilitarian: thực dụng

43. It encouraged experimenters to propose ________ (beat) or novel approaches to

problems.

offbeat: khác thường

44. It's a bustling ________ (eat) where the fishy fare is served in cones of butcher's
paper.

eatery: quán ăn

45. Several spoke out against the harshly ________ (right) tone of the original motion.

self-righteous: tự cho là đúng

46. Elections are essential for the ________ (sustain) of parliamentary democracy.

sustenance: sự tồn tại

47. ________ (similar) is consequently difficult, particularly as the minority groups

experience considerable hostility.

Assimilation: sự đồng hóa

48. Growth and ________ (mature) of vascular plants are often controlled by light,
usually in conjunction with temperature.

maturation: sự lớn lên

49. The practice of meditation and ________ (temple) is life-long, reflecting this daily
process of repentance and change at heart.

contemplation: sự suy ngẫm

50. The new policy only serves to ________ (accent) the inadequacy of provision for
the homeless.

accentuate: nhấn mạnh

51. Pressure was applied with cool precision: women had discovered that to ________
(step) male dominance was to avoid destructive rage.

sidestep: tránh

CHAPTER 3: CLOZE TEST

Part 1. Cressida Cowell is the author of the widely-praised How to Train your Dragon
series of children’s books. She spent her own childhood holidays on a remote island,
where she has left very much to her own (1)________. As a result, she became an avid
reader, entertaining (2)________ with books and developing a fervent imagination.
She even (3)________ up her own secret languages.

Cowell believes that today’s children still have a real (4)________ for language, even
though their attention (5)________ may not be as great as in her day, (6)________
them less tolerant of descriptive passages in stories. Her books are outlandish and
exciting, with vivid imagery, cliffhangers and eye-catching illustrations. Dragons seem
to (7)________ to children of all nationalities, who also seem to (8)________ with her
protagonist, Hiccup, quite easily. Hiccup is a boy who battles his way through’s life
problems, often against the (9)________ .

Cowell is currently planning an illustrated book for teenagers. In her own words, she
enjoys breaking the (10)________ and finds that kids are open-minded enough to
accept this.

Part 2. Recent research carried out in Ireland amongst chefs and consumers found that
48% of people (1)________ to regularly over-ordering in restaurants. A campaign has
been launched as a result calling for the food-service industry to join (2)________
with chefs and consumers to address the issue of food waste.

To bring the research findings to (3)________, the owner of a restaurant in Dublin is

creating a "Great Irish Waste" menu, reconsidering food ingredients that have been
thrown away, rejected or (4)________ inedible and turning them into imaginative
dishes that are both appetising and of a suitable (5)________ to serve his customers.
He says that while there will always be some (6)________ of waste in the kitchen due
to elements such as bones or fat trimmings, there's an opportunity to minimize wastage
in the restaurant (7)________ through better communication. "Even though so much
food comes back on customers' plates and goes in the bin, the majority of diners aren't
aware of the environmental or cost (8)________ of that waste." Without consumers
shifting their (9)________ restaurants will struggle to reduce food waste significantly.

Tackling this problem as a consumer is straightforward. Ultimately, it (10)________

down to smart shopping, clever cooking and shrewd storage.

Part 3. The relationship between the modern consumer and his or her rubbish is a
complex one. Getting rid of rubbish has come to mean a great deal more than simply
consigning breakfast leftovers (1)________ a plastic bag. With the (2)________ of
recycling, rubbish has now invaded many people’s personal lives to an unprecedented
degree.

There was a time, in living (3)________, when rubbish collection was a simple matter
– but today’s household rubbish, (4)________ being discarded, has to be filed and
sorted into colour-coded containers according to its recycling category.
What is more, we are (5)________ out in a rash of irritation by the suggestion that, if
rubbish collections (6)________ to become more infrequent, people would then make
the effort to cut down on shopping and recycle more. We might be excused for
wondering how this would be (7)________. Can people realistically buy fewer eggs or
tubes of toothpaste than their lives (8)_______?

Recycling is (9)________ to be good for us. But for some, it’s just a (10)________ of
rubbish.

Part 4. The environmental outlook for the future is mixed. Inspite of economic and
political changes, interest in and (1)________ about the environmental remains high.
Problems such as acid deposition, chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depletions still
require (2)________and concerted action is needed to deal with these. (3)________
acid deposition diminish, loss of aquatic life in nothern lakes and streams will continue
and forest growth may be affected. Water pollution will (4)________ a growing
problem as an increasing human population (5)________ untold stress on the
environment. To reduce environmental degradation and for humanity to (6)________
its habitat, societies must recognize that resources are finite. Environmentalists believe
that, as populations and their demands increase, the idea of continuous growth must
give (7)________ to a more rational use of the environment, but that this can only be
brought about by a dramatic (8)________ in the attitude of the human species.

Part 5. Just as a language may develop varieties in the (1)________ of dialects and
argots, languages as a whole may change (Latin, for example, evolved into the
different Romance languages). Sometimes rapid language change occurs as a result of
(2)________ between people who each speak a different language. In such
circumstances a pidgin may arise. Pidgins are grammatically based on one language
but are also influenced, especially in vocabulary, by (3)________; they have relatively
small sound systems, reduced vocabularies, and simplified and altered grammars, and
they rely heavily on context in order to be (4)________. Pidgins are often the result of
contact by traders with island and coastal peoples. A pidgin has no native speakers;
when speakers of a pidgin have children who learn the pidgin as their first language,
that language is then (5)________ a creole. Once the creole has enough native
speakers to form a speech community, the creole may (6)________ into a fuller
language. Many creole speakers think of their languages as dialects of some colonial
languages. Linguists nearly always disagree with this view - from our (7)________,
creoles have independent grammars and all the equipment of full, proper languages.

Part 6. The issues for emerging economies are a little more straightforward. The desire
to build on undeveloped land is not (1)________ out of desperation or necessity, but is
a result of the relentless (2)________ of progress. Cheap labour and a relatively
highly-skilled workforce make these countries highly competitive and there is a flood
of inward investment, particularly from multinationals (3)________ to take advantage
of the low wages before the cost and standard of living begin to rise. It is (4)________
such as these that are making many Asian economies extremely attractive when
viewed as investment opportunities at the moment. Similarly, in Africa, the relative
(5)________ of precious metals and natural resources tends to attract a lot of
exploration companies and a whole sub-industry develops around and is completely
dependent on this foreign-direct investment. It is understandable that countries that are
the focus of this sort of attention can lose (6)________ of the environmental
implications of large-scale industrial development, and this can have devastating
consequences for the natural world. And it is a vicious (7)________ because the more
industrially active a nation becomes, the greater the demand for and harvesting of
natural resources. For some, the environmental issues, though they can (8)________
be ignored, are viewed as a peripheral concern. Indeed, having an environmental
conscience or taking environmental matters into consideration when it comes to
decisions on whether or not to build rubber-tree plantations or grow biofuel crops
would be quite prohibitive in. For those (9)________ in such schemes it is a pretty
black-and-white issue. And, for vast tracts of land in Latin America, for example, it is
clear that the welfare of the rainforests (10)________ little to local government when
vast sums of money can be made from cultivating the land.

Part 7. It seems that a large percentage of today’s population is addicted to all forms of
digital media and no one seems (1)________ of the nagging phone that buzzes, rings
or sings to its owners incessantly. Many people no longer trust their own fallible
memories and (2)________ every detail of their lives to some digital device or
(3)________ and are completely lost without it. Generally speaking, it is the younger
generation who are so addicted, but more and more people seem to be (4)________
their way of life eroded by the digital world. People ‘tweet’ the most mundane of
(5)________ as well as the most interesting – in their world, having a cup of coffee is
as exciting as climbing Mount Everest! There is a grave danger that people are
allowing technology to take (6)________ over everything else in their lives. And in
educational circles, concern is (7)________ over the influence of social media, which
seems to be adversely affecting students’ progress in some cases.

Part 8. Social networking is here to (1)________ and interaction between people all
over the world has never been (2)________. We can share our lives with our network
friends who can help us solve problems or offer advice. Although these sites can
(3)________ as a kind of group therapy session with people who seem to care and
who will listen, there is little or no censorship, so cyber-bullying is a growing problem.
Perhaps there need to be more (4)________ on what people are allowed to say.
Nevertheless, social networking sites can be a great way to find people with shared
(5)________ and they can also be very informative if used wisely. For many people, it
offers them a feeling of (6)________ from the real world. Furthermore it gives them a
chance to chat about anything and (7)________, often quite meaningless, without fear
of being rejected by others. (8)________ the drivers, it has become a compelling
activity for many, so it is hardly surprising that some people feel a (9)________ of
disconnectedness if they are unable to get online for any period of time. And when
they do get back online after a few hours of downtime, there is an unmistakable feeling
of relief at being a (10)________ of the world once more.

Part 9. It is hardly surprising, in light of their desperation, that the peoples of the
developing world who are on the very bottom (1)________ of the ladder have little
time for the conservationists and environmentalists who (2)________ bloody murder
at what they perceive to be a total (3)________ for the environment in some parts of
the “Third World”. And while they – the nature campaigners, that is – have, on the
(4)________ of it, a very valid point after all, serious, and, in some cases, irrevocable
(5)________ has been done to many precious habitats and the rare creatures that
inhabit same – we must understand that the rules of supply and demand are in
(6)________ here in the developing world just as much as anywhere else. For
example, on the African plains, where (7)________ is still rife, and in the mountain
forests where rogue hunters patrol, ask yourself this; would they bother if there wasn’t
a market for their kill? Believe me, for every bull elephant slaughtered for its ivory
(8)________, there is a rich, greedy, fat-cat collector ready to pay a premium to
acquire this ‘find’ – in fact, there are probably ten of them. Similarly, for every
mountain gorilla murdered, whose dismembered limbs appear in tourist outlets
(9)________ so-called ‘ornaments’ – ashtrays and jewellery boxes, if you don’t mind
– there has to be a willing buyer; an admirer of these grotesque trinkets. And there are
plenty of them it (10)________ out. It’s the same principle with rare animal furs and
skins; who do you think buys the crocodilian handbag? I doubt the local tribespeople
could afford the price tag, don’t you? It is an absolute tragedy that endangered species
of animals are being (11)________ to the verge of extinction, of this there can be no
doubt. But we must try to understand the reasons why this is happening. The reality is
that poaching will continue while it is a lucrative occupation and while the
(12)________ of finding other forms of employment are very poor. Developing
nations need our help, not our scorn. (13)________ that for the few unscrupulous
trophy hunters still out there; rich, spoilt, despicable Western brats who get a
(14)________ out of taking aim at some of the world’s most precious and endangered
species; it is a good thing for them that we live in a civilised world where the death
penalty has, by and large, been removed from the list of possible punishments our
courts can (15)________ down. That said, since they have made themselves judge,
jury and executioner for the innocent creatures they have slain, perhaps nothing
(16)________ than a capital sentence would be good enough for these trigger happy
delinquents.

Part 10. While the internet opens up a whole new (1)________ of knowledge and
information for this and future generations to explore, it also (2)________ a number of
serious concerns for parents with young, net-savvy children. For (3)________, it is
exceptionally difficult to (4)________ your children's net activity and keep
(5)________ of whom they are interacting with online. Secondly, there is little
(6)________ any censorship of the internet, so parents must be willing to do the
censoring themselves or rely on software products to do it for them. Even still, there
are ways around the best-intentioned of such programmes, and, besides, the alarming
level of growth in cyber-bullying is (7)________ of a trend parents should, perhaps,
be far more concerned about. lt used to be that children were (8)________ from the
bullies one they returned to the safe confines of their home, (9)________ escaped their
schoolyard tormentors, but not anymore. There is nowhere to (10)________ thanks to
social networks like Facebook, which, if anything, make the (11)________ far and
wide of malicious rumours and the like easier than ever before given the virulent
(12)________ of the internet.