Reading Passage 1
Glossary
| Words and Phrases | Definition | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| inhabitant (n) | a person that lives in a particular place | New Zealand is a small country of four million inhabitants. |
| long-haul (adj) | travelling a long distance, especially by air | The visitors arrived after a long-haul flight. |
| campaign (n) | a series of things such as television advertisements or posters that try to persuade people to do something | Tourism New Zealand launched a campaign to communicate a new brand position to the world. |
| exhilarating (adj) | making you feel excited and full of energy | New Zealand’s scenic beauty, exhilarating outdoor activities and authentic Maori culture. |
| on a regular basis (adv) | regularly | participating businesses were able to update the details they gave on a regular basis. |
| evaluation (n) | the process of judging something’s quality, importance, or value | the website underwent an independent evaluation. |
| blockbuster (n) | a book or film that is very successful | blockbuster films which had made use of New Zealand’s stunning scenery. |
| itinerary | a detailed plan or route of a journey | travellers devise their own customised itineraries. |
| indicate | show | according to the season and indicating distances and times. |
| inclusion | the act of including someone or something as part of a group, list etc. | anyone could submit a blog of their New Zealand travels for possible inclusion on the website. |
| set up | establish | The website was set up |
| undertake | to do something, esp. something that will take a long time or be difficult | The more activities that visitors undertake, the more satisfied they will be |
| appear | seem | it appears that visitors to New Zealand don’t want to be ‘one of the crowd’ |
| be composed of | to be formed from different things | New Zealand is a small country with a visitor economy composed mainly of small businesses |
| infrastructure | the basic systems and services that a country or organization uses to work effectively | a safe English-speaking country with a reliable transport infrastructure. |
| underlying | real but not immediately obvious | the underlying lessons apply anywhere |
Practice
Exercise 1: Circle the correct answer.
- Learning to windsurf is tiring but exhilarating/exhausting.
- Water is composed/created of hydrogen and oxygen.
- A detailed itinerary/blockbuster was handed to each member of the tour.
- After careful inclusion/evaluation, the judge eventually reached a verdict.
- We are unable to find the undertaking/underlying cause of such a plunge in sales.
- Muscles are comprised/compound of two different kinds of protein.
- We set off/up at 5 and arrived at the location at 10.
Exercise 2: Rewrite the following sentences.
- The Lord of The Rings is a very successful movie.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - The man seems to know nothing about the incident.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - Muscles consist of two kinds of protein.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - They have established a new conservation zone in this region.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - Those who exercise regularly may be less likely to suffer from stress.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - We have been carrying out a very challenging task.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Exercise 3: Fill in each blank with an appropriate word.
Words: undertake – indicate – infrastructure – underlying – campaign – regular – composed – long-haul – inhabitant – itinerary
- Those goods are checked on a __________ basis.
- Activists have launched a lot of __________ against anti-LGBT acts.
- Monowi is the most remote town in the world – its mayor is also the only __________ of the town!
- Returning from a __________ flight, they decided to have a short nap.
- Stress is the __________ cause of many health problems.
- The research has __________ that drinking juice does not help you lose weight.
- More money should be invested in education, health care and __________.
- A short excursion in the safari is included in the __________.
Collocations for Speaking and Writing
campaign: launch a campaign, an intensive campaign, a fund-raising campaign
on a … basis: on a regular basis, on a daily basis, on a permanent basis, on a temporary basis
undertake: undertake a task, undertake a project, undertake research, undertake a challenge
underlying: underlying cause, underlying reason, underlying principle, underlying problem, underlying message
Exercise 4: Fill in each blank with one word.
- The authority has (1)___________ a (2)___________ campaign to build a retirement home for the elderly in the village.
- Teachers here are employed on a (3)___________, or part-time, basis.
- Although usually conceived as a ballad about unrequited love, the song has an underlying anti-war (4)___________.
- In 1746, Samuel Johnson (5)___________ a daunting challenge of writing the first English dictionary.
Reading Passage 2
Glossary
| Words and Phrases | Definition | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| stretch out | make something continue for longer | time stretches out |
| apathy | lack of interest in something | apathy, depression and indifference |
| indifference | lack of interest in something | apathy, depression and indifference |
| agitated | worried or upset | feeling agitated and restless |
| infectious | spreading from one person to another | “infectious” social situations |
| intriguingly | in an interesting or mysterious way | Intriguingly, Goetz has found… |
| specialize in | to be very good at one particular field | tend to specialize in one |
| prone to | likely to be affected by something | might be prone to |
| not necessarily | not always | That doesn’t necessarily mean… |
| curiosity | a strong feeling to find out something | personality traits, such as curiosity |
| associated with | linked with | associated with a high boredom threshold |
| threshold | level | high boredom threshold |
| detrimental | harmful | boredom has detrimental effects |
| alleviate | make something less serious | alleviate it before it comes to that |
| distraction | something that prevents concentration | snacks, TV or social media for distraction |
| speculate | guess | Wemelsfelder speculates that… |
| stimulation | something that causes activity or enthusiasm | mental stimulation |
Practice
Exercise 1: Choose A, B or C.
- Success doesn’t …………………. mean having great financial wealth. (A. necessity B. necessary C. necessarily)
- Such a widespread political ………………… among students is alarming. (A. apathy B. curiosity C. threshold)
- That chef specializes ………………… Japanese dishes. (A. in B. on C. at)
- One of the problems associated ………………… illiteracy is poverty. (A. at B. with C. out)
- Being forced to do something is great ………………… for creativity. (A. detriment B. stimulation C. indifference)
- I feel a little bit ………………… whenever I am in an interview. (A. detrimental B. stimulated C. agitated)
Exercise 2: Rewrite the sentences.
- Young people nowadays don’t seem to take much interest in jobs related to farming.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - Being mathematically intelligent doesn’t always mean being a successful person.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - Interestingly, he managed to survive even though he didn’t know how to swim.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - It is scientifically proven that men are more likely to suffer from heart attacks.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - Facebook never prevents me from concentrating on my study.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - One way of making this problem less serious is to divert more money into research.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Exercise 3: Crossword
Across:
1 apathy
3 threshold
4 infectious
6 prone
7 in
8 speculate
Down:
2 harmful
5 curiosity
Collocations for Speaking and Writing
indifference: complete indifference, feign indifference, callous indifference, indifferent to
curiosity: insatiable curiosity, arouse curiosity, out of curiosity
alleviate: alleviate a problem, alleviate an issue, alleviate the pain
detrimental: highly detrimental, prove detrimental
Exercise 4: Complete the sentences.
- Such _ _ _ _ _ _ _ indifference to environmental problems is a great threat.
- He asked me this problem just _ _ _ of curiosity.
- This man has an _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ curiosity for quantum physics.
- Sightings of UFOs _ _ _ _ _ _ great curiosity among locals.
- The doctor has prescribed some drugs to alleviate the _ _ _ _.
- Coal energy has been _ _ _ _ _ _ detrimental to the environment.