Academic English for International Exams

Course Book

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Choose the best word or phrase to complete each sentence.

1.
During the winter, animals such as deer and fire ants ____________ for food that will feed them through the cold months.

2.
The new health club downtown caters ____________ to women and their needs.

3.
Astronomers were surprised when they finally pinpointed the ____________ of the intense microwaves from space.

4.
Glazes used on materials such as stoneware and porcelain make pottery very strong and ____________.

5.
The employee's open defiance of company policy was ____________ for dismissal, so she was fired immediately.

6.
Scientists believe that leprosy, a disease widely thought to have spread from India, in fact appears to have ____________ in Africa or the Near East.

7.
The long-standing ____________ between the two baseball teams made their games more exciting for their devoted fans.

8.
The Czech Republic has the highest annual per capita ____________of beer in the world.

Choose the word or phrase closest in meaning to the underlined part of each sentence.

1.
The local department store sold all types of clothing: work, casual, and dress.

2.
It is possible for some lizards to grow new tails after losing their tails.

3.
Because the sisters fought constantly over which television show to watch, their mother finally had to mediate and choose one for them.

4.
Because of its large surface area, temperatures in parts of Canada can vary from forty degrees below zero to thirty-five degrees above zero.

5.
Mahayana Buddhism is the main religion in China, Japan, Korea, and much of Vietnam.

6.
Phil unintentionally told his aunt about her surprise birthday party because no one had told him that it was a secret.

7.
Many scientists believe that the descendants of wolves, jackals, or coyotes were interbred and evolved into tamed companions for humans.

Use the words below to fill in the blanks.

stereotypes
denotes
underpinning
ranking
construct

The term caste 1. one's rank or position in society according to birth, occupation, or some other criterion. Many nations face issues of social inequality. Perhaps nowhere else in the world is it such an elaborate 2. as the Indian institution of caste. Caste has long been an 3. of Indian culture, but in recent years it has been severely criticized by both Indian and foreign observers. Although some claim that caste has been abolished, such statements do not reflect reality. Caste has undergone significant changes, but it still involves 4. and discrimination against hundreds of millions of people. India's constitution forbids negative public discrimination on the basis of caste. However, caste 5. has occurred for centuries and will likely continue.

Match the words that are similar in meaning.

extract
imposing
robust
primitive
necessity
strong take out overwhelming requirement simple