Quizzes
OK, put on your Thinking Cap! This is Mr. Micawber's Real Mean Quiz Page!
1: The IT department, __________ the management keeps changing, is generally considered to be a good one. 2: The company, __________, must be held responsible for the health of its staff. 3: The results of the experiment, __________, will be published in the medical journal. 4: The results of the experiment will be published in the medical journal, __________ tend to be doctors. 5: Criticisms have been made of the actions of the fire fighters, __________. 6: Children were employed in factories, __________ were in basements without windows.
NON-DEFINING CLAUSES (BBC copyright)
that, who, where, which
which family-run organisation, whom a family-run organisation, that is a family-run organisation, a family-run organisation
the university funded, of which the university funded, which the university funded, the university which funded
of which the readers, the readers of which, who the readers, the readers which
some observers are losing patience with, who some observers are losing patience with, with whom some observers are losing patience, with who some observers are losing patience
which many, which many of them, many of them, many of which
DOING YOUR LAUNDRY (BBC copyright) 1: In winter, I use the __________ to dry my clothes because it's too wet and cold to dry them outside. 2: It's important to check the laundry symbols on the clothing labels; some need to be professionally __________. 3: What a tough interview! They really put me through the __________ ! 4: Listen to them arguing again! They really shouldn't wash their dirty _________ in public like that. 5: Let's get as much money out of them as we can. We'll really __________. 6: Setting your washing machine to do a high-speed __________ reduces drying time.
washer, clothesline, tumble dryer, wringer
dry-cleaned, fumigated, tumble dried, dyed
washer, dryer, wringer, rinser
clothes, laundry, underwear, linen
spin them off, hang them out to dry, throw them out with the rinse water, wash them down
rinse, soak, spin, cycle
1: The British English word 'biscuit' is known as '__________' in American English. 2: I've heard some bad excuses from him before, but this one really takes the __________. 3: She's a __________, but don't worry, I'm sure we can convince her that we're right about this. 4: I can't believe they chose Ann to do that job instead of me! Oh well, that's the way the _________. 5: Management too often uses a(n) __________ approach to problem-solving; they really should try something different for once! 6: I had no problem finding your house, it was a __________! The map you gave me was really detailed.
SWEETS (BBC copyright)
digestive, cookie, cracker, cake
cake, cookie, biscuit, cracker
hot cake, hot cracker, tough biscuit, tough cookie
biscuit bakes, cracker crunches, cookie crumbles, cake walks
cake icing, cookie-cutter, square cracker, indigestive
piece of cake, firecracker, bit of a biscuit, chocolate cookie
1: He can't hear anything. He's as deaf as a __________. 2: Usually my daughter is very naughty at school, but this week the teachers say she's been as good as __________. 3: My grandfather had a heart attack five years ago, so he gave up smoking and started exercising, and now he's as fit as __________. 4: Investing in the stock market is risky, but if you put your money in a high interest deposit, it's as safe as __________. 5: I'm driving, so I can't have any alcohol, so I'll be as sober as a __________ all night. 6: He's very kind and good looking, but he's as thick as __________. I can't marry someone so stupid!
'AS' SIMILES (BBC copyright)
stone, tree, bat, post
an angel, gold, a saint, cow's milk
a glove, an ox, a fiddle, an athlete
your hands, a church, your mother, a bank
lord, judge, child, politician
cheese, a log, pea soup, a brick
GARDEN IDIOMS (BBC copyright) 1: Her guilty behaviour sowed the __________ of suspicion in their minds. 2: Stop trying to justify yourself! No one believes you; you're just __________ yourself into a hole. 3: She's so annoying! That last remark she made was definitely a dig __________ me. 4: He used to be so handsome, but look at him now! He's really let himself _________. 5: I tried to explain, but it was like water __________. He just didn't listen to a word I said! 6: As soon as you approve the idea, I'll start making plans. I'm not one to let the grass __________.
weeds, roots, seeds, vines
digging, dumping, dipping, dredging
for, to, in, at
fall to earth, go to seed, out to pasture, go to weeds
under the bridge, from a well, in the desert, off a duck's back
wither and die, grow under my feet, overrun the garden, feed the sheep
WEATHER IDIOMS (BBC copyright) 1: Only one of the following idioms is really about the weather. Which one? 2: 'My life used to dull and boring, but since I met Linda, things have become much more exciting'. Linda could be described as: 3: If you are feeling unwell but for no particular reason, you might be described as feeling: 4: Your friend has a problem that's upsetting her. You comfort her by letting her see the positive side. You say: 5: 'I really love my little granddaughter. Watching her play cheers me up and makes me smile'. The granddaughter can be described as being: 6: If an argument becomes much bigger than it really should be, it can be described as being:
a ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air, it's raining men, every cloud has a silver lining
a storm in a teacup, under the weather, a breath of fresh air, a big wind
rained out, like a breath of fresh air, like a tempest in a teapot, under the weather
every cloud has a silver lining, it's a breath of fresh air, somewhere over the rainbow, it never rains but it pours
an easterly gale, a fresh wind, a ray of sunshine, over the moon
a pitch black night, a big wind, a breath of cold air, a sea change
WORK (BBC copyright) 1: What do you do for ___________? 2: Which of the following are reasons for not going to work? 3: A: What do you do? B: I'm __________ teacher. 4: Look how much ___________ tax I've paid this month! 5: Which is the odd one out? 6: I need an assistant - I'm up to ___________ with work.
a job, work, a living, all of these
I've been fired, I've been made redundant, I'm on maternity leave, all of these
a, the, (no article), all of these
income, wage, salary, earnings
They've hired him, They've taken him on, They've given him the job, They've let him go
my eyes, my ears, here, all of these
FOOD & FLAVOURS (BBC copyright) 1: Which of the following would a vegetarian eat? 2: Waiter: "How would you like your steak, sir?" Customer: " ___________ , please." 3: I love cakes, biscuits and chocolate– the problem is that they're so __________. 4: Mmmmm... that was absolutely __________! 5: Li has ___________; he loves cakes, chocolate, ice-cream, cookies– all that kind of stuff. 6: Some people don't like Indian or Thai curry; they say it's too ______________ – but I love it!
poultry, veal, mutton, kale
medium-rare, medium-well, well-done, all of these
fatty, fat, fattening, all of these
tasty, delicious, good, all of these
a sweet mouth, sweet lips, a sweet tooth, a sweet tongue
hot & spicy, spicy hot, spicy & hot, hot spicy
GETTING ANNOYED (BBC copyright) 1: It really __________ when people look at their mobile phones while I'm talking to them. It's so rude! 2: Waiting for ages in the bank on my lunch break __________. Why don't they have more cashiers for busy times? 3: When I get stuck in traffic on the way home after work, it's really __________. 4: My boss has been under a lot of stress and gets angry easily. He's usually such a nice guy; he isn't normally so __________. 5: It makes my blood __________ when I see people littering. I have to stop myself from telling them to pick it up! 6: When the phone rings all the time and customers are complaining, it stresses me __________.
makes me nervous, gets on my nerves, unnerves me, gets me nervous
annoys me, causes me annoyance, is annoying, is an annoyance
irritation, irritating me, irritated, irritating
furious, irritable, annoyable, nervous
burn, hot, boil, steam
out, up, over, off
PREGNANCY (BBC copyright) 1: Some pregnant women feel nauseous especially in the first three months of their pregnancy. This is called __________. 2: My sister had weird __________ when she was pregnant. She wanted to eat cabbage with ice-cream! 3: Sometimes women are not able to __________ naturally so they have their babies by Caesarean section instead. 4: When the baby started to come, my partner timed the __________. We waited until they were five minutes apart and then we went to the hospital. 5: When I had my first baby, I was only in __________ for three hours, but it took 15 hours for the second one! 6: During the birth, the mother is helped by a special kind of nurse called a __________.
motion sickness, morning sickness, the greengages, the baby blues
diets, urges, servings, cravings
born, give birth, get a baby, have born
rhythms, spasms, contractions, cramps
birth, pains, work, labour
midwife, paediatrician, candy striper, obstetrician
BUSINESS PREPOSITIONS (BBC copyright) 1: BZ Pharmaceuticals is dependant _______ profits from sales in its Asian market. 2: Recent years have seen an increase _______ the number of customers from overseas markets. 3: The telecom sector has been suffering _______ dramatically falling share prices. 4: Greenco Supermarket has been placing big orders _________ local producers, so many of their products travel fewer miles and that's good for the environment. 5: TGS Bank has entered ______ merger negotiations with Northlands Bank. 6: The business grew _________ 10% last year, making pre-tax profits of $2 billion.
in, for, from, on
in, on, over, by
in, by, from, for
with, to, for, on
on, through, into, for
at, from, to, by