Answers to lesson 298: 13. A, comforting. B, uncomfortable. C, discomfort. 14. A, deaths.
B, deadly. C, deaden. 15. A, demonstrators. B, undemonstrative.
4, demonstrably. 16. A, imitation. B, imitative. C, inimitable.
17. A, argument. B, argumentative. C, arguably. 18. A, repeatedly.
B, repetitive. C, repetition. 19. A, unfailingly. B, failure.
C, failing. 20. A, encourage.
B, courageously. C, encouragement. 21. A, unrealistic. B, reality.
C, realist. 22. A, falsifying. B, falsehood. C, falsity. 23.
A, prophet. B, prophecy. C, prophetic. 24. A, indescribable.
B, descriptive. C, description. 25. A, friendship. B, befriended.
C, unfriendly.
Lesson 299: The Prefix Proficiency Test Dear friends, Let's take a look at a very funny story, which has a lot of blanks to be filled up. All the words begin with prefixes and the prefixes are given before the blanks.
This is a proficiency test and if you are able to score at least 22 out of the total 27 you can consider yourself quite proficient in English. If you are able to score 25, you're a master. If you're able to score 100%, well, you're nothing short of a genius. So go ahead and take the test and prove to yourself what you are.
uni-, mono- (one) duo-. bi- (two) tri- (three) quad-, quart- (four) pent-. quin- (five) sex- (six) sept- (seven) oct- (eight) non- (nine) dec- (ten) cent- (hundred) Complete the words in the passage below.
Mohammadreza was born in 1900 and was too young to wear uni------- in the World War I, which took place in the second dec------- of the last cent-------. Instead he finished his schooling and went to university. Like most Oxford colleges, his college was built round a quad ------- and a photograph of him there shows him wearing a mono ------- in his eye, one of his many eccentricities.
He rode a tri -------, declaring it to be safer and more stable than a bi -------. His subject was zoology.
Initially he studied bi, but soon tired of two-legged creatures and took an interest in quad -------, developing a special affection for elephants. However, all animal life fascinated him and he was often to be seen in the Oxfordshire countryside, observing wildlife through his bi------- or setting up his tri ------- to record it in photographs. Marine creatures also attracted him, especially, for some reason, the Oct ---------. He was also creative in such diverse fields as engineering (he proposed a scheme for mono------- transport in London) and music (he formed a jazz sex ---------, which later became a quin------- when the drummer joined the navy, a quart------- when the violinist was run over by a bus and a tri ------- when the trombonist was imprisoned for bi ------- . He travelled widely and spoke French so well that he was completely bi -------. He was a fine sportsman and won many prizes in the pent -------. In 1972, although by this time a sept -------, he wrote his first play, a strange piece which consisted of a duo------- between Shakespeare and Churchill. He is still active and talkative, although conversations with him tend to be mono ---------. He talks and others listen.
Always optimistic, he looks forward to continuing his busy life as a non -------- and to becoming a cent ------. He lives with his wife, a lively oct ------, and has two sons and a daughter, whose birth as tri ------- in 1927 he describes as the happiest event in his eventful life.
IT IS IMPORTANT 'A tree as big around as you can reach starts with a small seed; a thousand-mile journey starts with one small step." You are where your thoughts and actions during the last few years have brought you.
Whatever you will be experiencing in your next ten or twenty years will be influenced by what you do today. Your friends, your family, your job, your bank balance, where you will be living all these things are being shaped by what you choose to do.
Life is a building process. What you do today affects what you will have tomorrow. Life doesn't happen in twenty four hour water tight compartments. Today's effort creates tomorrow's results.
Whether you eliminate a nasty habit, whether you spend an hour with your family, whether you set some goals, whether you save or spend, whether you exercise your body, whether you stretch your mind your decision makes the difference.
The ignorant never see it. Astute people know it. What we do today IS important.
You can get away with being casual and careless for a while but, sooner or later, things catch up with you. Leave your bills unpaid, your work undone and your problems to everyone else and you may manage for a month or so. Then one day the walls fall in and you wonder why there is no fun in your work, no money in the bank and nobody is very friendly any more. It is life reminding you that one day plus another has an accumulative effect.
Wherever you are, it is the place to start. The effort you expend today does make a difference.