Discovering language

1. Fill in the correct prepositions.

1. Out of the more than three million students who finish … high school and vie … admission each year, about one million go on for “higher education”.

2. Individuals were often excluded … higher education based … gender, religion, race/ethnicity, and social class.

3. Though the federal government does not intrude … core academic decisions, an educational institution must comply … a wide range of federal reporting requirements.

4. American higher education institutions range … open-access two- and four-year institutions … highly selective research universities and liberal arts colleges.

5. Many students apply … more than one college or university and enroll … one from among those that offer them admission.

6. Higher education colleges vary … size, mission, subject mix and history. Some colleges cover … a wide range of subjects, while some specialize … one or two areas.

7. Different units within universities are often referred … as colleges or schools.

8. A student who wants to go to university usually applies … this university … admission before he takes his advanced level examinations.

9. If there are no reasons … immediate refusal, the university admission officer passes the candidate's papers … … the academic department concerned.

10. The UK academic year runs … September or October … June, divided … 3 terms, with four weeks’ vacation … Christmas and Easter and three months’ vacation … the summer.

11. The SAT and the ACT (which are composed … three parts: language proficiency, maths, and logic) are given … a certain day in December or January at a local college and take the whole day.

12. Campuses are often located … the outskirts of the city.

13. Student loans are money offered … students to assist … payment … the costs of professional education.

14. A scholarship, which is an award of access … an institution, can be awarded … various criteria.

15. Discussions in the group are a good opportunity to develop skills … presentation and discussion.

2. Use either an adjective or an adverb.

1. (Late/lately) there has been a rise in the tuition fees at most higher education establishments throughout the country.

2. If you want to find the University library, go (straight/straightly) down the street and you will see it on your left.

3. He (hard/hardly) ever studies, yet he always produces a (high/highly) standard of work.

4. It is not (wide/widely) known that students can get medication (free/freely).

5. When a child, she spent 6 years in Spain, no wonder she speaks (fluent/fluently) Spanish.

6. I (full/fully) understand your concern, Jack is not a (hard/hardly) learner he used to be, and he has missed half of the classes.

7. The examiner looked at me (suspicious/ suspiciously) as if he felt that I had cribbed that essay.

8. She is (high/highly) regarded at the University as people can get on with her (easy/easily).

9. I was (pretty/prettily) embarrassed when I realized I had failed the test.

10. She appeared (honest/honestly) but I knew she couldn’t be trusted.

11. The test seemed (easy/easily), but she was not sure whether she had answered all the questions (correct/correctly).

12. Angela is (unbelievable/unbelievably) (good/well) with numbers.

13. Most rooms on the campus are (clever/cleverly) organized, so there is plenty of space for three students to live together.

14. I suppose I should be (nervous/nervously), but I’ve never felt so (calm/calmly) in my life.

15. Mary doesn’t write very (legible/legibly): I often have trouble understanding her notes.

3. Complete the sentences using the adjective or the adverb given in brackets in the proper form.

1. The teacher prevented any … discussion. (far)

2. French is the language he speaks …. (easily)

3. … I learn, … I forget, … I know. (much/much/little)

4. The service is not as … as it used to be. (good)

5. Our recent assignment was to read “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald and “The Parasites” by du Maurier. Frankly speaking I didn’t enjoy …. (late)

6. She earns twice as … as I do. (much)

7. Can you speak any … than that? Nobody can hear you. (loud)

8. Education is getting … these days. (expensive)

9. Of all the speakers he talked …. (persuasively)

10. England is … in spring. (beautiful).

3. Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.

1. If we stay longer, we can spend more time sightseeing.

the The longer we stay the more time we spend sightseeing.

2. Last night I felt more tired than ever.

as I have …………… I did last night.

3. As he gets older, he becomes less tolerant.

the The ………………. tolerant he becomes.

4. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a better solution in the time available.

best Unfortunately …….. we could find in the time available.

5. Sheila is not as talented as her sister.

less Sheila is …………… her sister.

6. This year our university has received the same number of applications as in the previous year.

many This year our university has received …… in the previous year.

7. The University was nearer than we thought.

far The University …….. we thought.

8. Helen had twice as much work as Janet.

half Janet had ………… Helen.

9. Tony finds history easier than geography.

more Geography …….. history for Tony.

10. She writes very creatively.

most She is ………….. writer.

4. Here are the beginnings and the ends of some traditional comparisons with as … as. Put them together correctly and explain the meaning. Use these expressions in the sentences of your own.

as pretty	as hen’s teeth
as red	as watching paint dry
as cold	as a church mouse
as happy	as two skeletons dancing on a tin roof
as exciting	as a picture
as welcome	as a beetroot
as dark	as an ex-wife’s heart
as noisy	as a dog with two tails
as poor	as a wet shoe
as scarce	as the inside of a wolf