This set has twelve original questions, ordered from easier to harder, covering all five lessons in vocabulary and inference. Questions 1 to 4 are about word meaning, 5 to 7 add affixes and attitude, and 8 to 12 mix fact and opinion, pronouns and several skills together.
Attempt each question on paper first, and write a short reason, not only an answer. Then open the explanation.
Note the ones you got wrong and use the routing list at the end. The mistake log and retest queue is a good place to record them.
Questions
1. “The shop cleared its old stock before the festival.” What does “cleared” mean here?
Show answer
The usual meaning, making a space empty or tidy, nearly fits, but “old stock” is goods, and a shop wants to get rid of them before a busy time. Replace with “sold off” and the sentence works. Sold off / got rid of.
2. “After the long hike, the group pitched camp beside the lake.” What does “pitched” mean?
Show answer
Nobody throws a camp, so the sense of throwing a ball does not fit. After a hike, people would stop and set up their camp. Answer: set up.
3. “The scientist’s claim held up under every test.” What does “held up” mean?
Show answer
Nothing was lifted into the air. The phrase is followed by “under every test”, so it means the claim stayed valid or remained true when checked.
4. “The runner was disqualified for cutting the course.” Use the parts to explain the word.
Show answer
dis- often means undo or remove, and “qualified” means allowed to take part or win. So it means officially removed from the race. The reason, cutting the course, fits.
5. A student says: “In the word uncle, un- means not, so an uncle is a man who is not a ‘cle’.” Explain the error.
Show answer
“Uncle” is a single word; un- is not a prefix here. The letters only look like an affix. The lesson is to check that a word has a real root and that the meaning fits the sentence before trusting a prefix.
6. “It was a modest little trophy, nothing special, but I keep it on my desk and smile at it every morning.” What is the speaker’s attitude to the trophy? Give evidence.
Show answer
The attitude is fond and affectionate, even though the speaker calls it “modest” and “nothing special”. The evidence is “I keep it on my desk” and “smile at it every morning”. The word “but” turns the sentence from plain description to affection.
7. “Oh wonderful, another meeting at 7 a.m. Just what I needed.” What is the attitude, and which words show it?
Show answer
Sarcastic and annoyed. “Wonderful” and “just what I needed” sound positive, but nobody is happy to start a meeting at 7 a.m., so the words are being used to express the opposite.
8. Label each statement as fact, opinion or mixed.
(a) The library opens at 8 a.m. on weekdays. (b) The library is the most peaceful place in town.
(c) Since it reopened, it has lent over 3,000 books, which is an impressive number.
Show answer
(a) Fact, because the opening time can be checked. (b) Opinion, because “most peaceful” is a judgement. (c) Mixed. “Has lent over 3,000 books” can be checked with records, while “an impressive number” is a judgement.
9. “The Earth is flat.” Is this a fact or an opinion? Explain.
Show answer
It is a statement of fact that is false. It can be checked using observation and measurement, so it is a checkable claim. An opinion would depend on a person’s judgement or taste. A fact can be wrong, but it is still checkable.
10. “Mei Ling’s brother borrowed her bike and her helmet. He returned them clean, but it had a flat tyre.” What does “it” refer to?
Show answer
The bike. “It” is singular and only a bike has a tyre. “Them” refers to the bike and the helmet together, so the change from “them” to “it” shows that one item is now being discussed.
11. “The factory cut the night bus service in January. This left many workers with a long walk home.” What does “this” refer to?
Show answer
The cutting of the night bus service. Test: “The cutting of the night bus service left many workers with a long walk home” is logical and keeps the tone.
12. Read the passage, then answer (a) to (c).
“Everyone says the new playground is a triumph. It cost a fortune, and the swings broke within a week. Clearly, the council got what it paid for.”
(a) What is the writer’s attitude to the playground? (b) What does “It” at the start of the second sentence refer to? (c) Is “the swings broke within a week” a fact or an opinion?
Show answer
(a) Sarcastic and critical. “A triumph” is followed by the swings breaking, and “got what it paid for” is a dry criticism of the council.
(b) The playground. It is singular and it is the thing that could cost a fortune.
(c) Fact. It could be checked with repair records, even though “Clearly, the council got what it paid for” is an opinion. Note that “it” in that last sentence refers to the council.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3 (familiar words in new senses): revisit inferring a familiar word in a new sense and practise the substitution test.
- Questions 4 and 5 (affixes): revisit using affixes cautiously, especially the final check against the sentence.
- Questions 6, 7 and 12(a) (attitude): revisit identifying a speaker’s attitude and gather two pieces of evidence.
- Questions 8, 9 and 12(c) (fact and opinion): revisit distinguishing fact from opinion and ask how each statement could be checked.
- Questions 10, 11 and 12(b) (pronouns): revisit resolving a pronoun using context and test each candidate.
For extra rewriting practice, compare two versions of the same sentence in the writing revision compare view.
If one error type returns even after revision, a teacher in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition can work on it with your own answers.