PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

1. Look at the following international words, guess their meaning and check the pronunciation:

College, music, autonomous, act, Parliament, result, separate, polytechnics, status, academic, faculty, department, qualification, historical, style, business, administration, combination, modern

2. Fill in the gaps with these prepositions: at, for, of, to:

1. Sheryl is brilliant ___ history but she’s hopeless ___ geography.

2. Bill is tired ___ people complaining all the time.

3. Olivia is allergic ___ milk and shellfish.

4. Derek is partly responsible ___ the collapse of the company.

5. Most people are aware ___ the risks of smoking.

6. Victoria is married ___ a hugely successful football player.

7. Barcelona is famous, among other things, ___ its outstanding architecture.

8. Polly is terrified ___ mice.

9. Ashley is extremely proud ___ her students’ rapid progress.

10. Steve’s not very good ___ remembering people’s names.

11. Some newspapers are highly critical ___ the country’s new prime minister.

12. The locals are opposed ___ the building of a new terminal at the airport.

3. Here are some expressions with the preposition at. Translate and learn them:

4. Fill in the gaps with the preposition at or the expressions given above in the appropriate form:

1. Howard started ___ and reached the mountains late ….

2. They had the same books ___ that is why they refused to buy them.

3. The boy ___ a stone ___ the crow and it flew away.

4. They have been ___ this problem for a year.

5. She understood it ___ and frowned.

6. Larry never ___ his children and they respect him very much.

7. I did not recognize you ___

8. We need ___ three more days to finish this work.

9. My uncle said they had to do it ___

10. They always ___ his jokes.

11. Mankind is ___ the size of Egyptian pyramids.

12. Liz is ___ geography and ___ physics.

13. Pakistan was ___ with India some decades ago.

14. My mother always gets up ___ and does a lot of house work.

15. Hilbert was driving his Mercedes ___ 160 kilometers and we were scared.

16. Thomas was ___ in Russia for three years.

17. Sonia is a very naughty girl but ___ she is very kind-hearted.

18. At this time of the day dad is ___ .

5. Fill in the gaps with the correct word to complete the sentences:

1. American technical education ___ well known for its wide relevance to employment.

2. It was a good idea of ___ to go swimming this afternoon.

3. This building was built ___ people who lived a long time ago.

4. Begin with a minute ___ two of small talk.

6. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases in English:

Autonomous institutions; postgraduate qualifications; entry requirements; government support of education; professional work experience

7. BRAINSTORMING: What is your understanding of the words below? Give examples.