Vocabulary and Grammar Test Unit 3 Test A

Name: ___________________________________________

Vocabulary
1 Complete the sentences with a phrase to do with money. Use between two and five words in
each gap, including one of the words in brackets.
1 After winning the lottery, Dave _____________________________ (splashed / strapped / lived)
a new car, a boat and a helicopter. He told journalists he just wanted to ‘spend, spend, spend’.
2 Young families are _____________________________ (frittering / struggling / being) in the
difficult economic climate. Statistics show that as many as 20% don’t earn enough each week to
cover basic expenses such as food and heating.
3 I was a bit _____________________________ (squandered / strapped / struggled) last week,
so I had to borrow some money from my parents to pay the rent on my university
accommodation.
4 According to a recent survey, millions of Britons believe that they are
_____________________________ (being / splashing / living).Many people admitted to
overspending by more than £100 each month, saying that they don’t earn enough to
accommodate their expensive tastes. .
5 An aid programme designed to help _____________________________ (strapped / struggled /
stricken) regions to afford better healthcare has been launched. It will provide financial support
for people who have very little money or resources.
6 Instead of _____________________________ (splashing / frittering / struggling) all your money
on things you don’t really need, why don’t you be more sensible and put it in the bank?
7 The poet received thousands of euros in royalties for her collection of works, but every last
penny was _____________________________ (strapped / struggled / squandered) holidays,
parties and gifts for her friends. Before long, she was penniless once more.
8 Poor people in this region are _____________________________ (living / squandering /
splashing). They have no jobs, no money and only the most basic handouts of food to eat.

Mark: ___ / 8

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2 Read the company action plan and complete it with the verbs below.
boost conduct make manipulate outstrip gain launch set up

TELFORD INDUSTRIAL: Action plan

 Carry out surveys and __________________ a lot more market research.
 Win greater market share and ___________________ access to new markets.
 Introduce new products and ___________________ an advertising campaign.
 Negotiate with suppliers so we can ___________________ a larger profit.
 Improve our financial returns in order to make sure we ____________________ inflation.
 ____________________ a new branch of the company abroad.
 Improve sales and ___________________ productivity.
 ___________________ public opinion in our favour by sponsoring worthwhile causes.

Mark: ___ / 8

3 Match an adjective below to the comments from financial newspapers.

volatile gradual significant stable sharp moderate
1 ‘Any changes in the market will happen slowly and over a long period of time.’
__________________
2 ‘The rise in price was quite steady and limited.’ __________________
3 ‘Shares went up significantly, then down, then up again this week.’ __________________
4 ‘A fall in the price of shares by 90% overnight was so sudden it shocked the market.’
__________________
5 ‘Interest rates have been steady and unchanged for six months.’ __________________
6 ‘Although neither sudden nor catastrophic, the fall in market share has been considerable
enough to worry company directors.’ __________________

Mark: ___ / 6

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4 Complete the headlines from two online newspapers. Use the correct form of the words
provided. There is one word you do not need in each set.
dip soar slump plummet fluctuate

tumble fluctuate dip escalate rocket

Mark: ___ / 8

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5 Choose the correct answers.
1 Rising oil prices have had a significant ________________ the economy.
a cause on b effect on c reason for
2 The policy was wrongly ________________ the previous government, who had, in fact, opposed
it.
a attributed to b accounted for c generated by
3 Distrust in the police ________________ a sudden upsurge in violence during the summer.
a attributed to b gave rise to c perpetuated
4 Spending cuts have ________________ a shortage in hospital beds.
a brought about b arisen from c accounted for
5 The slump was ________________ the falling price of gold.
a triggered by b caused for c led to
6 The government has denied responsibility, but the crisis probably ________________ their
policy decisions. Those decisions were the cause.
a gave rise to b attributed to c resulted from

Mark: ___ / 6

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Grammar
6 Put the verbs in brackets into the correct active or passive form.
1 Why _______________________ (Rachel / not give) a bit longer to prepare before she had to
make such an important speech?
2 I suspect you _______________________ (tell) your results by the time we next meet up.
3 Since the 1990s, few people _______________________ (succeed) in rising to the top in our
company without studying for a business qualification.
4 The exciting thing about going on the mystery tour next month is that our final destination
_______________________ (not reveal) until we are halfway through the journey.
5 Despite _______________________ (send) a large information pack, Frank still doesn’t really
understand exactly what the course will cover.
6 Until he came across a website by accident, Dan hadn’t realized that the sweets he remembered
from his childhood _______________________ (still / sell) online.

Mark: ___ / 6

7 Rewrite the sentences using a passive structure with have or get. When both are possible,
use have.
1 Nobody paid the actors for the time they’d spent rehearsing the play.
The actors _____________________________________________________________.
2 Workmen redecorated the company’s headquarters before the President’s visit.
The company __________________________________________________________.
3 By Friday, the teacher will have returned the marked assignments to the students.
The students ___________________________________________________________.
4 Last week, my brother cleaned my car for me.
I _____________________________________________________________________.
5 The council pulled down the old school buildings because they were dangerous.
The old school buildings __________________________________________________.
6 Nobody had stolen anything from Alina before.
Alina__________________________________________________________________.

Mark: ___ / 6

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8 Complete the sentences using the correct form of the pairs of verbs below.
estimate / pass anticipate / grow rumour / waste think / make know / double
believe / resign
1 It _____________________ that the economy _____________________ in the next quarter.
However, there are no guarantees.
2 Since last June, shares _____________________ _____________________ in value. Our
statistics clearly show remarkable growth.
3 New figures have been released today. It _____________________ that the number of
passengers on inter-city trains _____________________ the one million mark by the end of this
year.
4 Last summer, the local council _____________________ _____________________ thousands
of pounds of taxpayers’ money on a car park nobody needed. In the end, however, it turned out
that a private company had paid for the car park.
5 Even today, it _____________________, in some quarters, that the finance minister
_____________________ because of his actions. He was responsible for the inflation, but he
kept his job.
6 Over the last decade, the company _____________________ _____________________ a huge
profit from selling arms to countries around the world.

Mark: ___ / 6

9 Complete the text with the correct active or passive form of the verbs in brackets.
Hyperinflation
Hyperinflation 1_________________________ (occur) when rates of inflation accelerate to such an
extent that all confidence in the currency 2_________________________ (lost) and the general
population, worried they might 3_________________________ (their life savings / wipe out),
withdraw their money from banks. In the early 1920s, Germany suffered from hyperinflation. Two-
trillion mark* banknotes 4_________________________ (issue) on a daily basis. Many workers
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_________________________ (not pay) for months beforehand, simply because money had no
value. Discontent grew in the country, and this discontent 6_________________________ (consider)
by many historians to be a major reason for the rise of extremism in the country during the 1920s and
1930s.
*
The mark (or deutschmark) was Germany’s unit of currency before it adopted the euro.

Mark: ___ / 6
TOTAL MARKS: ___ / 60