Idioms; Commonly confused words – B2 English Vocabulary Test

1 Complete the idioms A–H. Then match them to the definitions 1–8.
1 to be unaware of the time A a ………………. of cake
…D… B break someone’s
2 to be annoying …… ……………….
3 to think about something C be a ……………….
for a short time …… D ……lose…… track of time
4 to make someone feel E have an ……………….
surprise and admiration …… for something
5 to be good at noticing a F ………………. the ice
particular thing …… G take someone’s
6 to make you feel very sad ………………. away
…… H cross someone’s
7 to be very easy …… ……………….
8 to make people feel more
relaxed ……

Answer
B heart C pain D lose E eye
F break G breath H mind
2C 3H 4G 5E 6B 7A 8F

2 Complete the sentences with the phrases in the box.

cross your mind (that) have an eye for is a pain

it broke my heart lost track of time
takes my breath away to break the ice
was a piece of cake
1 On the first day of class we played a game ……to break the
ice…… .
2 This view of the ocean is so beautiful it
……………………………. .
3 That exam ……………………………., I should get 100%.
4 Sorry I’m late, I was reading a great book and I
……………………………. .
5 I nearly cried at the end of the film,
……………………………. when the man left.
6 Did it ……………………………. they might be busy
tonight?
7 My younger brother ……………………………. sometimes
but he’s funny too.
8 You ……………………………. what clothes look good
together, are you interested in fashion?
Answer
2 takes my breath away
3 was a piece of cake
4 lost track of time
5 it broke my heart
6 cross your mind (that)
7 is a pain
8 have an eye for

4 Complete the sentences with appropriate words.

1 I’m not sure how tall I am but I guess…… I’m around 1.65m.
2 The hurricane caused a lot of d……………… on the island
with many homes totally destroyed.
3 We had a lot of f……………… at the park today.
4 It’s only snow, it won’t h……………… your clothes, just
dry them later.
5 Do you k……………… how much paint we need to cover
the whole wall?
6 There must be a w……………… to solve this equation.
7 This internship is a great o……………… to gain some
office experience.
8 There’s a p……………… that dad might get a job in the
US, but he doesn’t know for sure yet.
Answer
2 damage 3 fun 4 harm 5 know 6 way
7 opportunity 8 possibility

5 Choose the correct options.

A: Did you complete the application form?
B: Yes, it was a (1) break the ice / piece of cake / pain. It just required
a few personal details.
A: Good. I think it would be a great (2) observe / opportunity /
possibility for you and you’d get some valuable experience.
B: I (3) guess / know / harm so. I’m just not sure if I want to work
in advertising.
A: Well, it’s only a (4) short-term / grown-up / high-tech summer
position, but it might help you decide. You (5) cross your mind /
have an eye for / lose track of detail and a way with words, so you’re
an ideal candidate.
B: We’ll see. I’ll certainly (6) see the best in it / have a go at it / look
bright if I get offered the job. I just wish it wasn’t so (7) badly
paid / rewarding / deadline. I really need to save up for college.
A: Perhaps there’s a (8) journey / way / injure you can make more
money; evening work in a café or bar, for example.
B: Maybe.
Answer
2 opportunity
3 guess
4 short-term
5 have an eye for
6 have a go at it
7 badly paid
8 way
READING-MULTIPLE CHOICE
World Book Day – the test teen reads
1 What criticism does the writer make in the first paragraph?
A World Book Day has been poorly organised.
B School librarians aren’t working hard enough.
C Teenagers are reading books that are too easy.
D Teachers don’t encourage pupils to read enough.
2 What point is made about books which are made into films?
A The best books tend to be made into films.
 B The film of a book makes more people read the book.
C Many people prefer to watch a film than read the book.
D It is useful to be able to compare the book and the film.
3 What does the writer suggest about A Streetcat Named Bob?
A She is surprised that it is on the list.
B The book did not sell as well as it deserved to.
C It is the most recently published book on the list.
D It is the only autobiography on the list.
4 How does the writer justify the presence of the Harry Potter books on the list?
A The books’ fame can help the list get more attention.
B The later books in the series are more suitable for teenagers.
C Teenagers should read books that they will also enjoy as adults.
D It makes sense to have a whole series as well as individual books.
5 Which book does the writer feel shouldn’t be on the list?
A Jane Eyre
B The Diary of a Young Girl
C The Lord of the Rings
D Lord of the Flies
6 What does the writer intend to do?
A be more fully developed in future
B prompt pupils to read more widely
C enable pupils to write more effectively
D provide a useful topic for discussion in class
by Genny Haslett, 24, English literature Also on the list are J. K. Rowling’s Harry
teacher at Bathampton Secondary School Potter books. In this case it’s actually the
It is often suggested that teachers and whole series rather than one particular title
librarians aren’t pushing secondary school that makes the shortlist. Perhaps the judges
readers towards titles that challenge them struggled to agree which one book to pick.
enough, and so the organisers of World For me, the books are rather more pre-teen
Book Day have announced a list which than the rest of the books on the list, which
might provide some inspiration for anyone are aimed at a more mature readership.
who’s stuck for ideas. This list of popular But Harry Potter is a special case: as Harry
books for young adults, voted for by 10,000 gets older in each successive book in the
people across the UK, features a top 10 to series, the stories do become more complex
‘shape and inspire’ teenagers, and handle and darker. In a way, readers themselves
some of the challenges of adolescence. grow up with Harry and his friends.
All but one of the books have already been Rowling asks some tough questions about
made into films, demonstrating that when a standing up to authority, challenging
book makes it to the big screen, it often then ‘normal’ views and many other subjects
acquires more readers thanks to the film’s close to teenage readers’ hearts. This should
success. Of course, this isn’t always the get rid of the idea that the whole series is
case, as with George Orwell’s 1984, where just for young kids. In actual fact, half of
the rather mediocre film does not compare all Harry Potter readers are over the age of
so favourably with the book’s ability to 35, but that’s another story.
conjure up a dark vision of life in a police The list goes right back to the nineteenth
state. century with Charlotte Bronte’s great
James Bowen’s A Streetcat Named Bod, romance Jane Eyre, showing that some
published in 2012, is one of the few books never grow old, though the majority
relatively contemporary books here. It’s also are twentieth-century works such as Anne
certainly for me the least predictable Frank’s heartbreaking wartime memoir The
member of the list, but its extended stay on Diary of a Young Girl, which even now I
the bestseller list earned it – and its author – find hard to get through without shedding
a devoted following. It is the touching story tears. Personally, I would have swapped J.
of Bob, the cat who helped a homeless man R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for
called James get his life back on track. Bob one of the many classics that didn’t make
sits on James’s shoulder and sleeps at his the final selection, Lord of the
feet while he plays the guitar on the street, Flies perhaps, William Golding’s nightmare
and soon becomes the centre of attention. vision of schoolboys stuck on an island.
What makes the story particularly powerful Of course there’ll always be some choices
is that it is based on author James Bowen’s we don’t agree with, but that’s what I think
real life. makes a list like this so fascinating. I’ve
been using it with my class of 16-year-olds,
and I got them to evaluate it and make other
suggestions for what to include or how it
could be changed. But what I hope can
really make a lasting difference is if it
stimulates them to try out writers on the list,
perhaps ones they haven’t come across
before, and be introduced to new styles of
writing.

1 C 2 B 3 A 4 B 5 C 6 B