ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

Choose the right word

1. During the 1970's and 1980's, it became increasingly evident / visible that companies in the
West were uncompetitive.

2. The United Kingdom makes / publishes more books than any other country.

3. There has been a major road accident, involving / including 23 cars and 16 lorries.

4. On the basis of the latest survey, we know that most people have a very negative / bleak
view of politicians and their parties.

5. In many parts of the world, people are becoming more worried about the danger of
pollution and its effect on the environment / ecology.

6. Education experts from France travelled to Japan to evaluate / judge the secondary school
system there.

7. Although it is not very big, the library has an excellent range / variety of books, journals and
other resources for study.

8. Increasingly, the design of buildings is being adjusted / modified to allow easier access for
disabled people.

9. The lack of extra student accommodation restricted / narrowed the expansion in student
numbers which the university was planning.

10. Many students acquire / derive a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction from their time
at university.

11. Although the world is getting warmer slowly, the increase in temperature varies /
fluctuates from country to country.

12. Following the bank raid, the police followed / pursued the robbers but were unable to
catch them.

13. Assessment on this course includes / consists of coursework (30%) and examinations
(70%).
 Word substitution
From the list below, choose one word which could be used in place of the language shown in
bold without changing the meaning of the sentence. Remember that you may need to change
the form or in some cases the grammatical class of the word:

comply with (v) conclude (v) equivalent (adj) guarantee (n)

imply (v) method (n) obvious (adj) presume (v)

proceed (v) require (v) specify (v) sum (n)

1. If a company does not observe health and safety laws, it may be fined very heavily if any of
its workers are injured.

2. For many years, $4 was equal to £1.

3. University regulations state that students must pass 18 modules to graduate.

4. Anybody driving a car is obliged by law to have insurance.

5. On the basis of their examination results, it was clear that most students had completely
misunderstood the first part of the paper.

6. Many people think that oil will run out in the next 100 years, but they are assuming that we
will continue to use oil at the same rate as today.

7. Most electrical products have a one- or two-year warranty in case something should go
wrong.

8. One problem facing overseas students is adapting to new teaching techniques.

9. The fact that crime increases when unemployment goes up seems to suggest a link between
the two.

10. It may cost an overseas student around £15,000 per year to live and study in Britain,
which is a very large amount of money.

11. The lecturer gave the students a 10 minute break before continuing with the rest of her
lecture.

12. At the end of her talk, the lecturer finished with a brief review of the main points.
 Choose the best word
1. In this first assignment, we will _______________________ your work and then give you
detailed feedback on how to improve your writing.

a. assess b. judge c. measure

2. In a seminar or tutorial, everyone should take part rather than allow one person to

_______________________ the discussion.

a. overwhelm b. dominate c. oppress

3. Although it is impossible to give a _________________________ age, we believe that the

woman was between 25 and 30 when she died.

a. definite b. certain c. absolute

4. Rather than try to treat it, the best _________________________ to the problem of poor
public health may be to attempt to prevent it.

a. way b. method c. approach

5. Surprisingly perhaps, the biggest _________________________ health risk for tourists

travelling abroad is actually road traffic accidents.

a. potential b. possible c. theoretical

6. Water is made up of two _______________________, namely oxygen and hydrogen.

a. sections b. aspects c. elements

7. Computers can be difficult to repair because there may be hundreds of different

________________ inside.

a. components b. pieces c. parts

8. Because Paris is expensive, many organisations pay higher salaries to _________________

for the high cost of living there.

a. compensate b. adjust c. redress

9. Many people were killed instantly at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but thousands more died
from _________________ radiation sickness.

a. succeeding b. following c. subsequent

10. The clothing of men and women used to be quite ___________________________,

whereas today women often wear trousers as well as men.

a. distinct b. diverse c. distinguished

11. Research _______________________ that customers want free car-parking when they go
shopping.

a. claims b. indicates c. points out

12. In political terms, the Middle East is one of the most unstable
__________________________ of the world.

a. locations b. places c. regions

13. The ___________________________ cause of death today in Britain is heart disease, with
cancer in second place.

a. first b. prime c. initial

COLLOCATIONS
Start by reading through the sentences below. Then take one word from the box on the left
and combine this with one from the box on the right to make a collocation. For example, valid
can be joined with reason. (Note that more than one pairing may be possible and also that
some words appear more than once.) Then try to match your combinations with the spaces in
the sentences below:

Put forward – ultimate - establish status - concept - responsibility - results

reverse - initial – analyse – new the verdict – role – atmosphere - reason

valid – new - tense – leading temperature – the hypothesis – a link

marital – minimum – constant requirement - dimension – results

1. If you submit work late, you will lose marks and may even be given a fail grade, unless you
have a _________________ _________________ such as illness.

2. One travel company is now advertising a completely _______________ _________________

in tourism: flights into outer space by rocket.

3. At the bottom of the ocean, the water remains at a ________________ _________________

irrespective of changing weather conditions at the surface.

4. The growth of China will add a _________________ _________________ to the economic

and political situation in the Far East.

5. Students are expected not just to describe what they have done but also to ____________

_________________ when they write a research report.

6. Investigators have been able to _________________ _________________ between

childhood illnesses and industrial pollution.

7. Following the demonstrations by thousands of students, there was a very

_________________ _________________ in the capital, with many choosing to leave the city
and head for the countryside.
8. Unfortunately, although the _________________ _________________ were very promising,
the project failed in the long run because of a lack of interest.

9. Engineers have played a _________________ _________________ in improving our health

by giving us clean water supplies, perhaps more so than doctors.

10. The Managing Director may run the company, but _________________
_________________ rests with the Board of Directors.

11. On the form, please give your name, nationality, address and indicate your
_________________ _________________.

12. When some scientists originally _________________ _________________ known as global

warming, the idea was not taken seriously, and yet today it is accepted by nearly everyone.

13. In some instances, a Court of Appeal may _________________ _________________

reached at the first trial and released somebody who has been wrongly held in prison.

14. Most universities require international students to have an IELTS score of at least 6 as a

_________________ _________________ for English language competence.