Test 1: The life of words · C2 use of english

Exercise 1 of 3

Part 1: Multiple-choice gaps

Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

The word nice once meant foolish, a shift that shows how readily words _____ new associations, good or bad.
achieveobtainacquireattain
Purists lament the arrival of loanwords, seemingly _____ of the fact that English has grown largely by borrowing.
indifferentobliviousreluctantwary
Slang that is all the _____ among teenagers one year can sound hopelessly dated the next.
customtrendmoderage
In admitting such words, editors lay themselves _____ to the charge that they are legitimising careless usage.
widefreeopenclear
Not until the printing press arrived _____ to be standardised.
did spelling beginspelling beganbegan spellingspelling did begin
The poet’s phrase was so apt that it has passed _____ the language as a proverb.
tointoontoacross
Some words resist translation: they are so bound _____ the culture that coined them that any equivalent feels thin.
in withup withover without with
Whether language shapes thought remains a _____ point among linguists, though few doubt that it influences it.
mootmutevoidblank

Exercise 2 of 3

Type the missing word or words in each gap. Write one word unless the item clearly needs a short phrase.

Little the early lexicographers realise how far their work would shape ideas of correct usage.
Words, people, have histories that explain much of their present behaviour.
It is no means certain that the word will survive another decade.
The term, originally coined in jest, has since been adopted by serious scholars.
Whatever its other merits, the 1926 report little to settle the matter.
Slang thrives the margins of society, where inventiveness is a way of belonging.
Not the manuscript was discovered did scholars grasp the true origin of the word.
it not been for a chance remark, the etymology might never have come to light.

Exercise 3 of 3

Use the word in CAPITALS at the end of each sentence to form a word that fits the gap. Type one word.

The of the word salary from a Latin term connected with salt is often repeated, though it is disputed. (DERIVE)
His account of the committee’s debates was refreshingly about the usual academic pieties. (REVERE)
Overuse has led to a gradual of the word’s force. (DILUTE)
The author’s for obscure vocabulary irritated his critics. (FOND)
It is to expect a single dictionary to record every word in use. (REAL)
Her essay explores the between spoken and written registers. (DISTINCT)
The proposal to abolish the apostrophe was met with widespread among readers, who flooded the newspaper with angry letters. (APPROVE)
Without their cultural background, many idioms are simply to a learner. (COMPREHEND)