5 February 2025 · Shift 1

Cloze / word class Decide the part of speech each blank needs, then match the words to it. Blank (1) stands before the noun 'city', so it needs an adjective: 'vibrant' = full of energy and life. Blank (2) follows 'towering' and sits in the list 'markets, ... and narrow streets', so it needs a plural noun: 'skyscrapers' = very tall buildings. Blank (3) follows 'to', so it needs a verb: 'explore' = to travel around a place to discover what it holds. Option (d) is the trap: it gets blank (1) right but then puts the verb 'explore' where only a noun can follow 'towering'. Hence (1) vibrant; (2) skyscrapers; (3) explore - option (b).

Idiom meaning 'Down the road' is an idiom: its meaning is not the sum of its words. It means 'at some point in the future', 'later on'. The sentence says the demographic data 'could be useful down the road' - useful later, when the need arises. 'On the way' is the literal, non-idiomatic reading of the same three words and is the tempting distractor; 'In the present' is the exact opposite of the idiom. Hence 'In the future' - option (b).

Synonym in context 'Inconsistencies' means irregularities - readings that do not agree with each other or with what is expected. Anomalies - things that deviate from the normal or expected pattern; this is the exact match, and a deviation is precisely what would 'indicate a malfunction'. Confirmations - proofs that something is as it should be; that is the opposite of an irregularity. Transmissions - the signals sent from the rover to Earth; true of the situation, but not a synonym of the given word. Specifications - detailed technical descriptions of how a thing is built. Hence 'anomalies' - option (a).

Spelling: -ence / -ance The incorrectly spelt word in the sentence is 'referance'. The noun formed from 'refer' is spelt 'reference' - it takes -ence, not -ance. The 'r' is not doubled here because the stress shifts back to the first syllable (RE-fer-ence); it is doubled only when the stress stays on the second syllable, as in referred, referring. 'Referent' is a different word altogether (the thing a word stands for), 'refferance' doubles the 'f' and 'referrence' doubles the 'r' - all three are wrong. Hence 'reference' - option (c).

Antonym Dejection - low spirits, sadness caused by disappointment. Cheer - a mood of happiness and good spirits; the direct opposite of dejection. Malnutrition - ill health caused by a lack of proper food. Stagnancy - a state of not moving, not flowing or not developing. Glamour - an exciting and attractive charm. Only 'Cheer' names a state of mind opposite to sadness, hence option (a).

Error spotting: adverb Test each segment for a grammatical fault; here the fault is in segment (B), 'articulating her ideas clear'. 'Articulating' is a verb form, and a verb is modified by an adverb, not by an adjective. 'Clear' is an adjective and can only describe a noun (a clear idea); to say how she articulated, English needs the adverb 'clearly'. Corrected segment: 'articulating her ideas clearly'. Segments (A), (C) and (D) are sound - the participles 'articulating' and 'impressing' are correctly parallel, and 'with her extensive research and knowledge' is a well-formed phrase. Hence the segment containing the error is B - option (a).

Collocation with 'tears' A collocation is a fixed partnership of words; with 'into tears' English always uses the verb 'burst'. 'Burst into tears' = to begin crying suddenly and uncontrollably, which fits the shock of hearing of an uncle's death. 'Shed' is the trap: we do say 'shed tears', but never 'shed into tears' - the preposition 'into' rules it out. 'Bowed' and 'started' form no partnership with 'into tears' at all. Hence 'burst' - option (d).

Adverb placement 'Clumsily' is an adverb of manner, and an adverb of manner normally comes after the main verb (or after the verb and its object). The sentence puts it before the verb: 'The fire clumsily spread'. The correct order is 'The fire spread clumsily through the building'. There is also a sense problem: manner adverbs like 'clumsily' describe deliberate action by a person, not the spreading of a fire - which is why the placement stands out. Options (b), (c) and (d) contain no adverb at all, so none of them can hold an adverb-usage error. Hence 'The fire clumsily spread' - option (a).

Vocabulary in context The clue is the second half: the behaviour 'revealed her clear state of mind', so the blank must mean 'easily noticed, standing out'. Conspicuous - clearly visible, attracting attention; it is exactly what makes something get 'revealed'. 'Subtle' is the tempting choice because it also describes behaviour, but it means so delicate as to be hard to notice - which would hide her state of mind, not reveal it. 'Shrouded' means covered or concealed, and 'obscure' means unclear or little known; both contradict 'revealed her clear state of mind'. Hence 'conspicuous' - option (c).

Idiom for 'completely' The underlined word 'completely' must be replaced by a phrase carrying the same sense. 'Through and through' means completely, in every respect; it is used exactly of a person's essential nature - 'a patriot through and through'. 'Down and out' means penniless and defeated, which says nothing about degree. 'By and by' means after some time, and 'off and on' means occasionally - both are about time, not about completeness. Hence 'through and through' - option (b).

Antonym Meager - small in quantity and poor in quality; not enough for the need. Adequate - as much as is needed, sufficient; the direct opposite of 'not enough'. Unfortunate - unlucky, marked by bad luck. Unsafe - not free from danger. Unbiased - fair, showing no prejudice towards either side. Only 'Adequate' answers the idea of quantity, hence option (d).

Synonym Resilient - able to recover quickly from difficulty; tough enough to take strain and spring back. Strong - able to withstand force, pressure or hardship; of the four, this is the closest in sense. Antique - belonging to an earlier period and valued for its age. Coarse - rough in texture, or rude in manner. Content - satisfied with what one has. Hence 'Strong' - option (a).

Definition of a word Dismay - a feeling of unhappiness and discouragement caused by something unexpected. 'A feeling of unhappiness' names exactly that emotion, so option (d) defines the word. 'Something very cumbersome' defines a burden or an encumbrance, not an emotion. 'Horrifyingly wicked' defines 'heinous', and 'Showing admiration' defines 'appreciative'. Hence option (d).

Noun clause: question word The blank opens a noun clause after 'know', and that clause must state in what manner the machine works. 'How' is the question word for manner, so 'how this machine works' is the right clause. 'What' and 'whatever' would have to stand for a missing noun ('I know what this machine does'), but 'works' is complete without an object, so nothing is left for them to represent. 'That' would merely report a fact ('I know that this machine works'), which is not what someone wanting an explanation asks for. Hence 'how' - option (b).

Incorrect spelling 'Vandetta' is the misspelt word; the correct spelling is 'vendetta'. It comes from Italian 'vendetta' (revenge) and means a long-running blood feud, so the first vowel is 'e', not 'a'. 'Legible' (clear enough to read), 'Necessity' (something that is needed) and 'Chronology' (the arrangement of events in time order) are all spelt correctly. Hence 'Vandetta' - option (b).

Cloze: verb + preposition The blank is the main verb of 'It (DNA) ___ as the code for all life on Earth'. 'Act as' is the fixed pattern meaning 'to function as' or 'to serve the role of', which is exactly what DNA does here. 'Keeps as' and 'delivers as' are not English patterns, and 'present' is not even in the -s form that the singular subject 'It' requires. Hence 'acts' - option (a).

Cloze: verb choice The blank follows 'the cellular instructions to ___ everything from a beetle to a human'. Instructions held in DNA build living things, so the verb must mean 'to produce': 'make'. 'Clarify' means to explain, and 'stop' and 'finish' end a process instead of creating one - none of them can take 'everything from a beetle to a human' as a sensible object. Hence 'make' - option (b).

Cloze: adjective from context The comparison that follows fixes the answer: DNA is 'like a product barcode in a supermarket', and a barcode identifies one product and no other. So the blank needs 'unique' - belonging to one species alone. 'Usual' and 'common' would mean the opposite, shared by every species, which would make identification impossible and destroy the barcode comparison. 'Slight to each species' is not idiomatic English at all. Hence 'unique' - option (b).

Cloze: verb choice The blank takes 'fragments of their DNA' as its object, and the examples that follow - dead skin, hair, saliva, leaves, pollen - tell us what kind of losing is meant. 'Shed' means to lose or drop something naturally, which is exactly what skin, hair and leaves do. 'Melt' needs heat, 'treat' means to deal with or to cure, and 'strike' means to hit - none of them fits a natural, continuous loss. Hence 'shed' - option (d).

Cloze: preposition of means The blank joins the action 'shed fragments of their DNA into their environment' to the list 'dead skin, hair, saliva, scat, leaves or pollen'. That list is the means by which the shedding happens, and 'through' is the preposition of means - by way of. 'Above' and 'farther' express place and distance, and 'for' would express purpose or a recipient, none of which the list supplies. Note that the answer is not a second place-word: 'into their environment' has already given the destination, so what is still missing is the channel. Hence 'through' - option (c).