Page 96 - English Vocabulary in Use (Pre & Intermediate)

Exercises

44.1 Organise these words into pairs of opposites and put them in the columns below.

mean clever nice lazy relaxed hard-working
tense cheerful generous unpleasant stupid miserable

Positive Negative

44.2 What prefix forms the opposite of each of these words? (You need three different prefixes.)

kind flexible friendly honest
reliable sensitive ambitious pleasant

44.3 How would you describe the person in each of these descriptions?
NR He never bought me a drink all the time we were together.
I have to tell her what to do every minute of the working day. She wouldn’t even open a
window without someone’s permission.
BW He often promises to do things but half the time he forgets.
She’s always here on time.
NNN I don’t think he’s done any work since he’s been here.
She finds it difficult to meet people and talk to strangers.
He could work in any of the departments, and it doesn’t matter to him if he’s on his own
or part of a team.
8 One of the great things about her is that she is soGware what other people think or
feel. ~
9 Bob, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He is always making people angry or
upset because he just doesn’t consider their feelings.
10 The other thing about Bob is that he really wants to get the supervisor’s job and then
become boss for the whole department.

44.4 What nouns can be formed from these adjectives? Use a dictionary to help you.
Example: kind kindness
punctual optimistic reliable lazy
confident generous ambitious stupid
sensitive strong flexible shy
44.5 Choose three words from the opposite page which describe you. Is there one quality you do
not have but would like to have? What, in your opinion, is the worst quality described on the
opposite page? If possible, compare your answers with a friend.

English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate) 93