Welcome to Mr Aslanov’s CEFR lessons – LEVEL B2 Get guaranteed intensive CEFR courses with us!!! Call and join our team now: + 998 94 633 32 30 LEXICAL & GRAMMAR COMPETENCE – TEST 18 Squirrel It was when Squirrel Nutkin appeared at the October Board meeting that Mr. Ramsay began
to Q1______ his reputation for eccentricity. And that’s putting it Q2______. To be fair, there were
people who said at the time that there was nothing wrong in wearing a glove puppet to a Board
meeting. However, there were more who disagreed, and several who thought that Mr. Ramsay was
off his chump. The matter was hotly disputed in the company’s offices, on the shop floor, in the
canteen. It happened during Mr. Giles’s monthly overlong summary of the company’s financial
position. Two factors were making the prospects for Ramsay & Co look bleak. The first of these
factors spoke for itself. There were simply fewer items of hosiery being sold. Whether this was due
to the long hot summer combined with the undoubted increase Q3______ the uptake of feminine
trousers, or it was a sign of continued recession was not for him to say. Ramsay & Co simply had
to Q4______ the facts, whether they liked them or not, and accept what the market was telling
them. Reality didn’t always turn Q5______ the way people wanted it to. The second factor,
however, was where they could do something about. Ramsay & Co’s costs were inordinately high
compared to those of its competitors, who had been cutting back on staff over the last five years,
reducing their workforce to one fifth of its previous level. It was high Q6______ that Ramsay & Co
got itself into a similar position. None of the Board members was surprised at what Mr. Giles had
to say. He had, after all, said it all before, many times, over the past several months. Mr. Ramsay
had, until now, always stubbornly resisted him. This time, though, what happened was different
from all the previous occasions. Mr. Ramsay had never before produced a glove puppet from
underneath the table. He had never had a squirrel sitting on his left hand during a presentation.
The only two pairs of eyes in the room focused on Mr. Giles during his summation of the
company’s position were those of Mr. Ramsay and the squirrel, both of whom were shaking their
heads very slightly. The other Board members were sitting shocked with their mouths wide open
and were Q7______ at the puppet.
Q1. A) acquire
B) enquire
C) inquire
D) require
Q2. A) mild
B) milder
C) mildest
D) mildly
Q3. A) at
B) in
C) of
D) to
Q4. A) comment
B) cope
C) deal
D) face
Q5. A) in
B) on
C) out
D) up
Q6. A) price
B) moment
C) time
D) way
Q7. A) watching
B) staring
C) seeing
D) observing