Phrases with in, out of, at, by; Extended meaning of words – B2 English Vocabulary Test

1  Add a preposition to each phrase. Then match the phrases A–H to the definitions 1–8.

1   being in a situation where something bad is likely to happen   …C…

2   used to show the total amount of something

3   unusual in terms of someone’s personality

4   without intending to

5   if someone or something appears suddenly

6   before a particular time

7   responsible for something bad that has happened

8   without telling other people

A   ………………… secret

B   ………………… fault

C   ……at…… risk

D   ………………… of character

E    ………………… of nowhere

F    ………………… advance

G   ………………… all

H   ………………… accident

2  Put the words in the correct order to make sentences. Add one preposition to each sentence.

1   came / nowhere / attacked / and / poor Barney / The dog / out

      ……The dog came out of nowhere and attacked poor Barney. ……

2   while / chance / met him / We / were shopping / we

      ………………………………………………………..

3   detail / happened / last night / Please / tell me / exactly / what

      ………………………………………………………..

4   comes to / including / The bill / €135 / all / breakfast

      ………………………………………………………..

5   at least / make a reservation / You need to / advance / two days

      ………………………………………………………..

6   very bad-tempered / of / which / He was /was / character / yesterday

      ………………………………………………………..

3  Complete the sentences with the words in the box.

1   Tom and Jenny don’t always get on well, as they have a rather ……stormy…… relationship.

2   You should ………………… up the advantages and disadvantages before you decide.

3   When I say stop you need to …………………, don’t move until I say so.

4   I woke up when the sunshine ………………… in through the open window.

5   It was good to see them ………………… all the questions with ease.

6   What exactly happened last night, my memory is still a bit …………………?

7   Charlie is not exactly ………………… but he would never steal anything.

4  Tick ✓ the sentences that are correct. Find and correct the sentences with mistakes.

1   It’s freezing in here, can you turn the air conditioning on? ……boiling……

2   You could have weighed up the suspect for a bit longer. ……………………

3   We thought this comedian would lift everyone’s mood because she’s so funny. ……………………

4   She was so petrified that she was flooded to the spot and couldn’t move. ……………………

5   Her poor exam results boiled her very hard and now she doesn’t know what to do. ……………………

6   I have a rather bright relationship with my sister but my brother and I are very close. ……………………

7   If you choose a job in engineering or medicine then you have bright career prospects. ……………………

5  Choose the correct options.

A:   Have you ever seen a flashmob?

B:   I have actually. Last summer I was at the beach and (1) by chance / at risk / at fault, we saw this flashmob dancing to hits from the eighties. Two dancers came (2) in secret / by accident / out of nowhere and started dancing and then more and more people joined in. There were probably about 40 dancers in (3) detail / all / advance.

A:   That sounds cool! I bet it (4) lifted / weighed up / flooded everybody’s mood.

B:   Yes, it did. It was (5) boiling / frozen / bright hot that day so no one was doing very much. It got everyone moving, despite the heat. It must have been planned (6) by accident / in advance / out of character but I don’t know why. The beach isn’t in a (7) trendy / remote / rural place or anything. It was definitely a (8) development / agreement / success though – everyone loved it.