I

Select the most suitable answer and fill in the blanks below.
1. supercilious 6. insomniac 11. implemented 2. mediocrity 7. impalpable 12. hitherto 3. mitigate 8. placatory 13. capricious 4. jubilant 9. oblivious 14. monstrosities 5. ornamental 10. eradicate 15. lucid

1. From the ------------tone of his voice, we can tell that she is sincere in her apology to us. 2. --------------- is not encouraged in this organization; if you want to stay on you have to be outstanding in your performance. 3. The carvings at the side of the vase are not only for --------------purposes; the designs at each side of the container connote different meanings. 4. Engrossed in the football match on television, Larry seemed to be ---------------- to the commotion around him. 5. Among the --------------- in the dungeon were skeletons lying on the ground and heads of animals hanging on the walls. 6. The haughty princess spoke in a ---------------- voice demanding all her subjects to cater to her whims and fancies. 7. The government is trying its best to ------------- the effects of the flood on the wildlife and people on the island. 8. After regaining coconsciousness the witness was able to give a --------------- account of what exactly took place at the scene of the crime. 9. The team members were ---------------- about their victory and decided to celebrate their win at the pub. 10. To -------------the problem of inefficiency in the company, the management has decided to carry out a retrenchment exercise to remove all staff who do not meet the work expectations. 11. Mary is a serious ---------------- who has problems falling asleep at night despite consuming sleeping pills before hand. 12. New strategies have to be -------------------in order to sustain the growth of the organization. 13. When the verdict was announced, the defendant who had ----------------- sat quietly at one corner of the court started to make defiant yells. 14. All I could remember of the dream were a few --------------images and sensations. 15. Having suffered several rejections in love the forlorn man is lamenting about the -------------- nature of women. II

1. perpetuate 6. disillusionment 11. bona fide

2. ostracised 7. hassle 12. abdicate

3. peeved 8. intriguing 13. supplement

4. loquacious 9. residual 14. vibes

5. scoundrel 10. endorsement 15. pristine

1. You can avoid the---------- of shopping by logging in online to make your purchases. 2. The company moved into a -------------- office which had brand new furniture and polished floors. 3. The tourists were --------that the itinerary was changed at he last minute by the travel agency without prior consultation with them. 4. With a couple of ----- deals under his belt the singer is promised at least a six-figure sum at the end of the marketing campaigns. 5. The poor boy is feeling miserable that he is ------------by his classmates because of his deficiency in speech. 6. Condoning her habitual late-coming will only ------------this bad habit of hers; you should instead punish her every time she does not observe the time. 7. Despite pleas to reconsider his decision, the king made up his mind to ----------- the throne and marry the divorced woman. 8. Only a ------------ amount of income is left after deducting taxes, the central provident fund, and paying for bills. 9. A ------------like him with no moral principles doesnt deserve our respect, he said. 10. Being a --------------man, Terence has no qualms talking endlessly to strangers about his adventures as a sailor. 11. Man finds life on other plants ---------- and thus decides to spend time exploring this subject. 12. Cecelia has decided to resign from her job because she does not like the negative ---------- in the organization. 13. Please trust that these are my ----------- and not the evil intentions you are thinking about. 14. The money that Keith gets from conducting night classes provides a ------------ to his income. 15. There is increasing -----------with the government as it fails to solve the rising unemployment rate in the country.

III 1. inscribed 6. preoccupied 11. coruscating

2. relishes 7. melancholic 12. effusive

3. Spartan 8. pristine 13. jest

4. undaunted 9. rouse 14. endeavour

5. spellbinding 10. flamboyant 15. thronged

1. As the festive period draws near, the streets will be -----------with crowds rushing to get their last minute shopping done. 2. Known for his ----------------wit Tom can be such a good entertainer at social functions. 3. The ----------white beach along this coast is a favourite tourist attraction among the holidaymakers who enjoy the crystal-clear waters and warm sunny climate. 4. Names of soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the war were on the cenotaph. 5. She exclaims that her remarks are only made in -------------and should not be taken seriously. 6. She ----------the idea of an overseas scholarship as the prospect of engaging in multicultural exchange with fellow schoolmates excites her. 7. Months of hard work finally paid off when the cast gave a ---------------- performance at the theater last night. 8. Mandy was so ---------------with her family problems that her work performance has plummeted for the past few weeks. 9. Reaching the summit of the Himalayan Mountains was an amazing feat of human ---------- for the group of handicapped explorers. 10. Used to the creature of comforts of an urban lifestyle, Jenny found the conditions at the kelong ------------ devoid of amenities. 11. Despite standing in the rain for the whole night, the man remains ----------in his pursuit for the woman he adores, and finally wins her heart. 12. He wore a -------------expression whenever he looked at photographs of his deceased wife. 13. His -----------designs may be frowned upon by the more conservative group, but are definitely applauded by those who are at the fashion forefront. 14. With his sense of humour, the presenter managed to ----------------the audience to participate in his game show. 15. The VIPs were given an --------------- welcome when they landed in Islamabad, and were taken to many interesting places.

1. interrogative 6. indolent 11. magnitude

2. attest 7. boulevards 12. bombastic

3. mishap 8. perplexed 13. boisterous

4. freebies 9. augment 14. rampaged

5. beguiling 10. abyss 15. amateurish

1. We had expected her to express disapproval of this project and we were -------------by her sudden change of mind. 2. One look at his project and the experts in this field can tell that it is an ----------piece of work. 3. Peters mother is worried sick that her son may with a ----------as he should have returned two hours ago. 4. Thomas plunged into an ------------- of misery and despair when his wife of thirty years died of cancer. 5. To pay for his mothers medical bills, Mr. Lee had to take on three jobs so that he can ----------- his income. 6. In order to curb the problem of congestion, the government decides to replace the narrow streets in the city with wide -------7. From the --------------tone of her voice, we can tell that she is not happy that her son reached home late that night. 8. This is a very ---------------- bargain indeed, but I am not sure whether it is a mere gimmick thought up by the salesman. 9. Thousands of people poured out into the streets to ------------- their support but the audience was not impressed. 10. The presenter used ---------------language in his opening speech but the audience was not impressed by it. 11. Alex tried to propose a new project to his supervisor who merely dismissed it with an ------------ wave of his hand. 12. Fredricks mother has barred him from playing rugby as she considers it a --------------and meaningless game. 13. The ------------- of the devastating effects of the tsunamis was felt by us when we saw the thousands of lives lost and the hundreds of damaged properties. 14. The demonstrators ------------- the town, smashing windows and setting fires to cars. 15. In order to attract more people to sign up for their club membership, the company has decided to give out ----------to passers-by on the busy streets.

Replace the words in bold with suitable synonyms and also find the correct antonym beside it. 1. wicked 4. stealthy 7. naive 10. composed 13. surrendered virtuous artless sceptical Sheepish resisted 2. treacherous 5. deceptive 8. candid 11. duped 14. perplexity upright honest devious manifested lucidity 3. wise 6. secretive 9. definitive 12. mournful 15. boisterous foolish open Indefinite joyful orderly Synonym
1. Cathy has a wicked mouth and often spreads pernicious gossip about those she does not like. 2. Volpone is a shrewd man who behaves in most insidious manner. Such people are highly dangerous and should be avoided. 3. 4. A sagacious person always reads the small print in a contract before making a decision. The man keeps taking furtive glances at us. Let us get out of here.

Antonym

5. Bob is a bummer and spends most of his time thinking up fraudulent schemes fro escaping taxes. 6. 7. The union of Ronald and Kelly was clandestine affair as Ronald was already married. Immature girls are often too fleecable and thus easily tricked and swayed by sweet nothings.

8. An ingenuous individual does not mask his feelings and often speaks his mind in a straightforward manner. 9. 10. The police found unequivocal evidence confirming Alex as the murderer of his wife. Even under such awkward situation, Maggie was unabashed and carried on with her routine.

11. Lampard was a mischievous but smart boy who bamboozles professors into thinking he knew his subject well. 12. Melvin could not tolerate his wifes plaintive whining and agree to take her to Paris for the weekend. 13. A preoccupied frown on Seans forehead often denotes his bemusement with the lecturers prattling. 14. 15. Carr was so engrossed in his novel that he missed his bus-stop. The teacher was losing her patience with the group of rambunctious students.

II choose the most suitable answer and write its number in the blank provided: 1. He often -------------when getting ready to g o on a trip, it is so tiresome having to hurry him each time. 1) dawdles 2) reels 3) lazes 4) postulates 2. it was ----------------indeed that we met our close friends unexpectedly in London. 1) incidental 2) accidental 3) fortuitous 4) pre-empted 3. the landscape that passes before our eyes was a beautiful ----------------- of colours 1) mirage 2) kaleidoscope 3) iridescence 4) canopy 4. He committed such an -----------------crime that it is likely that he will be given the death sentence. 1) iniquitous 2) insidious 3) ubiquitous 4) irreversible 5. The dancer --------------such grace; she definitely has the ability to become a prim ballerina. 1) eludes 2) exudes 3) enthuses 4) evinces 6. It has often been said that traveling can -------------------- the mind. 1) widen 2) open 3) broaden 4) lengthen 7. The climb up the mountain was so ------------------- he collapsed upon reaching the summit. 1) strenuous 2) exhilarating 3) extorting 4) enduring 8. In an age of -----------, immoral people freely indulge in violence and drugs leading to the moral degeneration of society. 1) exposition 2) draconian 3) decadence 4) ecstasy 9. As fallible humans, we are all ------------------- to make unfortunate mistakes at one time or another of our lives. 1) pliable 2) prosecuted 3) subservient 4) liable 10. The --------------- spread of Aids across many developing countries over such a short period of time is very worrying. 1) rampant 2) percolating 3) intrusive 4) feted 11. in a ----------------- of rage, she broke her favourite piece of crockery. 1) gust 2) burst 3) hale 4) gale 12. Jane had a ------------------ headache and needed to lie down. 1) stampeding 2) rioting 3) burning 4) splitting
canopy. n. the sky dawdle-v. delay, waste time decadence-n- moral or cultural deterioration enthuse-v-be or make enthusiastic evince-v- show that one has a quality exhilarate-v- effect with great liveliness and joy exposition-n- an explanatory statement extort-v- obtain by force exude-v- (of a liquid, moisture, etc escape or cause to escape gradually fortuitous-adj- accidental, casual iniquitous- adj- wickedness insidious-adj- crafty iridescence-n- showing rainbow-lile luminous or gleaming colours irreversible-adj- not alterable kaleidoscope-n- constantly changing group of bright or interesting objects. mirage-n- an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions postulate-v- claim pre-emptv- forestall rampant-adj- flourishing excessively reel-n- quantilty of thread etc. wound on a reel splitting-v- (esp. of headache) very painful strenuous-adj- requiring or using great effort ubiquitous -adj- present everywhere or in several places simultaneously.

wilful adjective Remember that wilful is spelled with one l in the middle (the spelling willful is American). Rule: Drop the last l when adding suffixes (endings) which begin with a consonant to words which end in a double l (here, will plus -ful): wilful. CHARACTER: A person, animal or imaginary creature in your story. There are usually one or two main characters. There can be many secondary characters too. Make your characters interesting so that they hold your reader's interest. SETTING: This is where your story takes place. The setting is a time - the future, the past, or now. The setting is also the place - on the moon, school. The setting is an important part of your story. PLOT: The plot of your story tells the actions and events that take place in your story. Your plot should have a beginning, a middle and an end. The plot tells the events of your story in a logical order.