QUESTION 16-19: WORD CHOICE
PRIMALY ENGLISH OLYMPIAD 2 · 4 lessons
16. The volleyball team suffered a _______ defeat when the opposing team managed to land a strong spike.
Correct answer: A. bitter
"Bitter" is correct because it's the idiomatic expression for a painful or disappointing loss—when something tastes "bitter," it means it's unpleasant or hard to accept.
Why the others don't work:
- B. bland — means dull or tasteless; it doesn't describe the emotional impact of losing
- C. sour — while it can mean unpleasant, it's less commonly used for defeats; "sour" is more about something going wrong unexpectedly rather than a difficult loss
- D. sweet — means pleasant or satisfying; the opposite of what a defeat would be
17. Honestly, it was a close _______ ! I'm so glad my friend was able to walk away from that incident unhurt.
• A. shave ✓ Correct — "a close shave" is a common idiom meaning a narrow escape from danger or a near-miss accident. It fits perfectly here since your friend barely avoided getting hurt.
• B. pass — While "close call" exists, "close pass" isn't a standard idiom for escaping danger.
• C. slip — "Close slip" isn't an established expression; you'd say "close call" instead.
• D. watch — "Close watch" means careful observation, not a narrow escape, so it doesn't match the context of the incident.
18. I apologise for being an _______. I just needed some help since this is my first time doing this.
Why A is correct:
"Inconvenience" is a noun, and the sentence needs a noun to complete "being an _____." You apologize for *being* something (a noun), not for *being* an adjective.
Why the others are wrong:
- B (inconvenient): This is an adjective, but you can't "be an adjective" in standard English grammar.
- C (inconsistence): This noun doesn't fit the meaning—it refers to contradictions, not being bothersome or troublesome.
- D (inconclusive): This is an adjective meaning "not final or decisive"—wrong part of speech and wrong meaning.
19. All team members will need to ________ in for this project because there is a lot that needs to be done.
Correct Answer: A. pitch
"Pitch in" is a phrasal verb meaning to contribute effort or help with a task. It fits perfectly here—team members need to contribute/help because there's a lot of work.
Why the others are wrong:
- B. ditch = to abandon or skip; doesn't make sense when you need people to help
- C. plead = to beg or make an emotional appeal; grammatically awkward ("plead in") and doesn't fit the meaning
- D. pledge = to make a promise or commitment; while close in meaning, "pledge in" isn't a standard phrasal verb like "pitch in"
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