11 February 2025 · Shift 1

Antonym of Salvage 'Salvage' means to save or recover something from loss, wreck or damage, so its opposite must carry the idea of losing or giving something up. 'Forfeit' means to lose or surrender something as a penalty - the exact reverse of salvaging it. 'Rescue' and 'extricate' are near-synonyms of salvage, and 'glean' means to gather bit by bit, so none of them opposes the given word. Hence the correct option is (c).

Subject-verb agreement Rule: 'Each of + plural noun' is always treated as singular, because the real subject is 'each', not 'the students'. A singular subject needs a singular verb, and the sense here is present perfect, so 'has completed' is the right form. 'Were' and 'are' are plural verbs, and 'will completed' is not a possible verb form at all. Hence the correct option is (b).

Synonym of Elusive 'Elusive' describes something that keeps slipping away - hard to find, catch, pin down or define. 'Evasive' carries the same idea of dodging and avoiding, so it is the closest synonym. 'Clear', 'obvious' and 'definite' all mean easy to grasp, which is the opposite of elusive. Hence the correct option is (d).

Spelling error The question asks for the wrongly spelt word, so each option has to be checked letter by letter. 'Adress' is wrong; the correct spelling is 'Address' - it doubles both the 'd' and the 's' (ad + dress). 'Police', 'Policy' and 'Issue' are all spelt correctly. Hence the correct option is (d).

Synonym of Proud 'Proud' has two shades: honest self-respect, and an inflated sense of one's own superiority. Among the options only 'haughty' names a state of mind at all - it means arrogantly conscious of one's own superiority, which is the second shade of 'proud'. 'Happy' and 'sad' are ordinary moods and 'hyper' means over-excited, so none of them touches the idea of self-importance. Hence the correct option is (b).

Antonym of Keen 'Keen' means eager, enthusiastic, sharply interested in something. Its opposite must mean 'having no interest at all', and that is exactly 'indifferent'. 'Understanding', 'tolerant' and 'acceptable' describe attitudes towards other people, not the absence of eagerness, so they are not antonyms of 'keen'. Hence the correct option is (a).

Adjective form of word The blank sits between 'The' and the noun 'design', so the missing word must be an adjective describing that design. 'Innovative' is the adjective of 'innovate' and means marked by new ideas - 'the innovative design'. 'Innovates' is a verb, while 'innovation' and 'innovativeness' are nouns, and a noun cannot describe another noun here. Hence the correct option is (c).

Idiom meaning 'Hit the nail on the head' is an idiom, so its meaning cannot be worked out from the separate words. It comes from hammering a nail squarely on its head - striking the exact right spot - and so means to say or find precisely the right thing. 'Avoid the problem', 'guess the outcome' and 'make the wrong decision' all suggest missing the mark, which is the reverse of the idiom. Hence the correct option is (d).

Spelling error The wrongly spelt word has to be picked out, so each option is checked letter by letter. 'Refuggee' is wrong; the correct spelling is 'Refugee' - from 'refuge', with a single 'g'. 'Violent', 'Honestly' and 'Probably' are all spelt correctly. Hence the correct option is (c).

Passive of past continuous The cake does not bake itself - it is the thing acted upon, so the clause needs the passive voice. The action was still going on at a past moment ('when I arrived'), so the tense is past continuous. The passive of the past continuous is 'was/were + being + V3', which gives 'was being baked'. 'Was baking' is active and makes the cake the baker; 'was baked' is simple past passive and shows a finished action, not one in progress. Hence the correct option is (c).

Idiom meaning 'Poles apart' pictures the North and the South Pole - the two points furthest from each other on the earth. So the idiom means completely different and opposite in nature, which is option (a). The word 'Although' confirms it: the contrast set up by 'although' is resolved by 'they still love each other', so the segment must express difference, not similarity - which rules out 'completely similar'. Hence the correct option is (a).

Error spotting Each part is checked separately for a grammatical fault. The relative clause tells us the toddler's condition at that moment, and a state after the verb 'be' is expressed by the adjective 'asleep', not by the continuous form 'sleeping'. So 'was sleeping in the pram' should read 'was asleep in the pram'. 'Last week, while', 'walking in the garden,' and 'I saw a toddler who' are all correct: 'while + V-ing' and the relative pronoun 'who' for a person are both properly used. Hence the correct option is (a).

Collocation A collocation is the adverb that English habitually pairs with a particular adjective. With 'worried' the natural intensifier is 'deeply' - 'deeply worried' means extremely concerned. 'Gracefully', 'sadly' and 'brightly' describe manner and are never used to intensify 'worried'. Hence the correct option is (a).

Adverb usage An adverb of manner must suit the verb it modifies, so each segment is tested against its verb. 'Brightly' means shining with light and cannot describe the act of listening; the sense required is 'with close attention', i.e. 'attentively listened'. The other three segments carry no adverb at all and are grammatically sound. Hence the correct option is (d).

Meaning of Resilience 'Resilience' comes from the Latin 'resilire', to spring back, and is used of a person who bounces back after a blow. So it is the ability to face hardship and recover from its effects, which is option (d). Laughing at oneself, winning arguments and travelling alone are separate traits - self-deprecation, debating skill and independence - not resilience. Hence the correct option is (d).

Cloze: past tense verb The passage narrates what the ancient Egyptians did, so the verb must be in the simple past. 'Built' is the past form of 'build' and takes the object 'pyramids' - 'The ancient Egyptians built pyramids'. 'Construct' and 'make' are base forms and would need a helping verb, while 'structure' here would be a noun, not a verb. Hence the correct option is (c).

Cloze: passive agreement The blank is followed by 'constructed', a past participle, so a passive form is being built here. The subject is 'These colossal structures', which is plural, and the time is past, so the helping verb is 'were' - 'were constructed'. 'Is' and 'was' are singular; 'had been' would push the action further back than 'served', breaking the parallel with the earlier verb in the same sentence. Hence the correct option is (b).

Cloze: subject-verb agreement The verb must agree with the head noun of the subject, not with the noun nearest to it. The subject is 'The main purpose of the pyramids', whose head noun is the singular 'purpose'; 'of the pyramids' is only a modifying phrase. The passage is in the past tense, so the singular past verb 'was' is needed - 'The main purpose ... was to safeguard'. 'Are' and 'is' are present tense and 'were' is plural, so all three fail. Hence the correct option is (b).

Cloze: superlative degree 'The' immediately before the blank signals a superlative, and a superlative of a long adjective is formed with 'most' or 'least'. The sentence praises the Great Pyramid of Giza as a testament to architectural brilliance, so the positive superlative 'the most famous' is required. 'Least' would reverse the praise, and 'very' and 'little' cannot form a superlative after 'the'. Hence the correct option is (c).

Cloze: preposition The blank joins 'the architectural brilliance' to 'the ancient Egyptians', so a preposition of belonging is needed. 'Of' shows possession - the brilliance belongs to the Egyptians: 'the architectural brilliance of the ancient Egyptians'. 'On' and 'in' would show place, and 'off' shows separation, none of which expresses possession. Hence the correct option is (c).