Directions (1-15): In each question, the word at the top is used in four different ways, numbered a-d. Choose the option in which the usage of the word is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE.
Q1. Rake
(a) She’s raking in thousands a day.
(b) It’s the only shop in the area and they’re raking it in.
(c) The rake is coming in any moment.
(d) Tim keeps raking off the rows we had last year.
(e) None of these
Q2. Mark
(a) His dedication marked him up for great things.
(b) I marked off the items on the list as I finished purchasing them.
(c) They marked out the pitch.
(d) Her speed marks her out from the rest of the group.
(e) None of these
Q3. Roll
(a) They rolled in very drunk at three o’clock in the morning.
(b) The government want to roll back the freedom of the press.
(c) The army rolled by when they came under attack.
(d) Roll on Friday! It’s been a dreadful week.
(e) None of these
Q4. Mess
(a) The children were messing about with the TV remote control and broke it.
(b) They messed with the discussions and the contract fell through.
(c) She’s been messing with it for hours and it still doesn’t work.
(d) They messed up the kitchen.
(e) None of these
Q5. Rush
(a) They rushed away when the police arrived.
(b) Zain rushed out to get to his medical appointment.
(c) They don’t want to be rushed into giving an answer and have asked for more time.
(d) They rushed out to catch the first rain of the season.
(e) None of these
Q6. Fasten
(a) Fasten your seatbelts.
(b) We fastened it down to keep the wind from blowing it away.
(c) They have fastened up the speech as a source of inspiration.
(d) He fastened the latch of the door.
(e) None of these
Q7. Wave
(a) They waved at us when they passed by.
(b) Don’t wave at people you don’t know.
(c) We waved her down at the station.
(d) The accident was bad, but the police waved us on.
(e) None of these
Q8. Leap
(a) The tiger leapt at the deer.
(b) A leap of faith is what it takes.
(c) Look before you leap.
(d) He leaped out the chance to visit America.
(e) None of these
Q9. Act
(a) The police were acting on a tip from an informer and caught the gang red-handed.
(b) The enzyme acts upon certain proteins.
(c) My computer’s acting out I think I might have a virus.
(d) They acted out the story on stage.
(e) None of these
Q10. Finish
(a) They finished off all the chocolates and had to go to the all-night store to buy some more.
(b) We went out for dinner and finished out in a club.
(c) We attended some workshops and finished the project.
(d) She finished with him a few months ago.
(e) None of these
Q11. Turn
(a) She turned up an hour late.
(b) Please turn up the music; it’s too loud.
(c) Turn off the lights please before you leave.
(d) Hundreds of fans were turned away from the football stadium.
(e) None of these
Q12. Ask
(a) My mother is always asking after you.
(b) I’ll ask around and see if anyone has seen your cat.
(c) Let’s ask to the teacher our question.
(d) John has asked Mary out several times.
(e) None of these
Q13. Put
(a) Could you put off the light please?
(b) The meeting was put off because of the strike.
(c) Please don’t put yourself out for us.
(d) We put you up if you’d like to come for the week-end.
(e) None of these
Q14. Get
(a) Some people manage to get up early.
(b) It’s time to get down to some serious work!
(c) Be quiet and get on with your homework.
(d) Charlie had the ‘flu but he got rid with it.
(e) None of these
Q15. Pick
(a) Children are quick to pick up a new language.
(b) Can you pick me out at the station?
(c) Will you help me pick out a handbag to go with my outfit?
(d) The other children were always picking on Charlie because of his red hair.
(e) None of these
Solutions
S1. Ans.(d)
Sol. Option (d) is the answer, ‘Rake off’ means to cheat someone, here the sentence explains that Tim keeps talking about the rows the speaker had last year, here the phrase should be ‘raking over’ which means to talk, think, etc, about something negative in the past. “Tim keeps raking over the rows we had last year”.
S2. Ans.(a)
Sol. The phrase ‘mark up’ means to increase the price or number of something, Option (a) is the answer, the intended meaning of the sentence here is that his dedication shall lead him to reach great heights so here the phrase to be used should be ‘mark out’ which means to show promise for the future. “His dedication marked him out for great things.”
S3. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) is the answer, as to ‘roll by’ means to pass and it does not fit in here as it is very clear from the sentence that the army moved back when they were attacked. So, the correct phrase which should be used here is “The army rolled back when they came under attack”. Here ‘roll back’ means retreat or to move back.
S4. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) is the answer as the intended meaning of the sentence is that because the discussion was spoiled and it didn’t work the contract was dropped off. So, the correct phrase which should be used here is ‘messed up’ which means to spoil or ruin. “They messed up the discussions and the contract fell through”.
S5. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) is the answer. The intended meaning of the sentence is that Zain went in hurry to get his medical appointment. The correct phrase which should be used here is ‘Rush off’ which means to depart in hurry.
S6. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) is the answer. The sentence here intends to explain that the people have taken the speech as a source of inspiration but the phrase used here is incorrect.
S7. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) is the answer. Here the intended meaning of the sentence is that we waved to her to say goodbye.
S8. Ans.(d)
Sol. Option (d) is the answer. The intended meaning of the sentence seems to be that the person willingly wanted an opportunity to visit America.
S9. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) is the answer, the correct sentence should be “My computer’s acting up I think I might have a virus”. Here acting up refers to behave badly or strangely.
S10. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) is the answer. The intended meaning is ‘they end up in a club’.
S11. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) is the answer as to turn up means to raise the volume while it is used in the sentence where the intended meaning is to lower the volume as it is too loud.
S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. The sentence is used in correct form with some grammatical errors. While others are correct in every respect. The correct form of option (c) should be:- Let’s ask the teacher our question.
S13. Ans.(a)
Sol. To put off means to postpone or arrange a later date while speaker is asking the person to turn off or switch off the lights. Hence correct choice is option (a).
S14. Ans.(d)
Sol. To get rid of means to eliminate.
S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. To pick out means to choose or to select. The correct sentence is: Can you pick me up at the station?
