News quiz 2015 VOCABULARY REVIEW AND PRACTICE 1 A. Match the verbs in the left column with the noun phrases in the right to make collocations from the news quiz. Some verbs can go with more than one noun phrase. The first one has been done for you. 1.

go

to the polls

2.

curb

the rise in temperature

3.

win

the title / the gold medal

4.

rig

the tests

5.

extend

an invitation

6.

take in

refugees

7.

seek

asylum

8.

come

to an end / under fire

9.

set

a target / a new record

10. expand

its range of products

Try to remember in what context the above collocations were used in the quiz.

B. Some of the verbs above can also go with the following nouns. Which ones? curb seek expand rig

your enthusiasm / inflation advice / justice your vocabulary / your horizons the results of the election / competition

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C. Insert nouns from the quiz into the “forks” below. The noun must collocate with ALL three adjectives in the fork. Look back at the quiz only if you have to. major massive devastating civil bloody ongoing important startling major

1 earthquake

private major 2 company multinational

3 war

heated hottest ongoing

4 debate

5 discovery

convincing hard conclusive

6 evidence

D. Match the noun in the last column with the adjective/noun in the middle column, then the verb in the first column (yes, it’s easier if you do it ‘backwards’). The first one has been done for you. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

win set reach came to flee sign make expand

the gold a new a major an abrupt a civil a landmark its range a startling

medal record milestone end war agreement of products discovery

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News quiz 2015 VOCABULARY EXPANSION 

The dress debate was raging on the Internet. What other things can be raging? storm, battle, teenage hormones



Volkswagen rigged the tests. In what other context is the word often used in the news? HINT: the subject is mentioned in the quiz. the results of an election



What do you think may have happened to the Volkswagen shares as a result of the scandal? Find a word in the quiz which can describe the fall of the share price. It has plunged



Sepp Blatter abused his power. What other things can one abuse? Translate these into L1. Do you always end up with the same word for “abuse” in L1? sexual / child / verbal / alcohol / drug abuse - depending on L1 you will probably end up with two-three translations of “abuse”



In the same question (Question 3), what chunk can be used to describe what happened to Lance Armstrong a couple of years ago? He was banned from cycling



Still in the same question (3), who do we normally refer to when we use the word reign? A king or queen (a monarch)



Death and destruction is an example of alliteration. Do you know other alliterative phrases like this? Now or never, bigger and better, part and parcel For more about binomial phrases, visit: http://bit.ly/XA4o8T For more activities on alliteration, visit: http://bit.ly/142km13



Can you think of other reasons why you might be left stranded? Usually bad weather or having no money



What other things can you keep track of? spending/money

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News quiz 2015 VOCABULARY REVIEW AND PRACTICE 2 A. Each of the sentences below is missing three words. Try to complete them from memory before going back to the news quiz to check. The first letter of each missing word has been given. 1. Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Presidency came to an abrupt end and he was banned from football for eight years for abuse of power. 2. The Nepal earthquake caused death and destruction and left many climbers stranded at the foot of Mt. Everest. 3. NASA made a startling discovery on Mars which suggests that there was once water on the planet, but the evidence that there was life is still not conclusive. 4. The leaders of nearly 200 countries agreed to curb the rise in global temperatures and set the 2°C target in a landmark agreement signed in Paris. 5. An invitation to take part in Eurovision 2015 was extended to Australia, although it’s not a member of the European Broadcasting Union and, technically, is not eligible to take part in the contest. B. Replace the underlined words in the sentences below with the chunks from the news quiz. 1. In the wake of the November attacks in Paris, many world landmarks were illuminated in the colours of the French flag in solidarity with French people. 2. Volkswagen came under fire in September 2015 after it was revealed that it had been rigging emissions tests on their diesel vehicles.

3. Apple expanded its range of products last year when it launched a new smart watch. 4. Refugees continued to flee a bloody civil war in Syria and seek asylum in other countries. 5. Facebook reached a major milestone when one billion users used the social network in a single day last August.

Developed by Leo Selivan http://leoxicon.blogspot.com

News quiz 2015 VOCABULARY REVIEW AND PRACTICE 3 These words appeared in the news quiz 2015. abrupt

major startling

landmark massive

conclusive

Insert them where they belong in the sentences below.

1 Many climbers were stranded as a result of an massive earthquake which hit Nepal last spring. 2 His career came to an abrupt end after a corruption scandal. 3 There is still no conclusive evidence that there is life on Mars, 4 although NASA made a startling discovery last year. 5 Facebook reached a major milestone when one billion users used the social network in a single day last August. 6 At the climate conference in Paris, world leaders signed an landmark agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Developed by Leo Selivan http://leoxicon.blogspot.com