Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0 – 8.0 – 9.0: THE WORLD OF POLITICS (Part 2)

Advanced Vocabulary for IELTS 7.0 – 8.0 – 9.0: THE WORLD OF POLITICS – Practice Exercises and Answer Key (Part 2)

THE WORLD OF POLITICS (Part 2)

(D)

Choose a verb from the box to fit in each gap. Use each verb once only. You may need to change the tense/form.

1. He _________ from the presidential race for personal reasons and appealed for privacy.
2. The treaty was formally ____________ this afternoon and will pass into law once signed by the President later tonight.
3. They ___________ a candidate for the vacant leadership position and he was elected unopposed.
4. Since forming a government three months ago, the party has been accused of ___________ an extremely liberal agenda.
5. She has confirmed that she will _________ for political office again in the September by-election.
6. Max Dalton has confirmed that he fully intends to be the leader of the party next March when the election is due to be _____________ .
7. The motion ___________ a comprehensive defeat in the lower house.
8. The Prime Minister refused to be drawn on whether the recent press leak would make him ___________ the loyalty of some of the members of cabinet.
9. No matter what way the Prime Minister’s press office choses to try to ___________ this, it looks very bad indeed. This will be a damage-limitation exercise at best.
10. The government ____________ to reform the voting system if re-elected.
11. A snap election has been _________ for the 25th June.
12. A referendum will be on the __________ 30th May to settle the issue once and for all.
13. Fewer people ___________ out at the polls to vote in this election than ever before.
14. Public opinion has __________ seismically in the wake of these new revelations about the Prime Minister’s private life.
15. The motion was narrowly ___________ in what will be a major embarrassment for the Prime Minister who had proposed it in the first place.
16. He ___________ his term of office by another five years.
17. The debate is becoming ___________ and there appears to be little in the way of middle ground between the two sides.
18. The government has the power to ___________ this proposal at the next meeting of the UN Security Council should it deem it necessary to do so.
19. The opposition party has been accused of ____________ dirty tactics in an effort to boost its popularity by launching a very personal attack on the Prime Minister.
20. The electorate has emphatically _____________ the outgoing government and clearly thinks there is a need for urgent change.

(E)

Match each word in Column A with its strongest collocate in Column B.

(F)

Use the answers to (E) above to fill the gaps in the sentences below. You will not need to use all the answers.

1. The Prime Minister looks set to announce a(n) ________ in response to the resignation of the Finance Minister.
2. There is no doubt that the _________ in this presidential race is James Dott, but Wallis Graham is a potential
3. The latest ___________ puts the two parties neck and neck with a(n) the most likely outcome.
4. He has been granted _________ and so will not face prosecution.
5. The government was returned to office in a(n) ____________ as expected.

(G)

Use the words from the box below to complete the gaps in sentences 1 – 20.

1. Her clever opening __________ gave her the edge in the presidential race.
2. His election may prove a(n) __________ for real and meaningful change.
3. The candidates embarked on a(n) __________ tour of the southern states.
4. This election looks set to be decided by a handful of __________ voters.
5. His __________ doctors were hard at work this morning trying to put a positive slant on the latest opinion poll figures.
6. He is just the breath of fresh air that needed to be injected into this political system which has been for far too long dominated by members of the elite __________ club.
7. He is looking more and more like the __________ -duck candidate of this presidential election and cuts a sorry figure on the campaign trial – he will surely pull out of the race before long.
8. The polling __________ s are set to open one hour earlier than normal at 7 a.m.
9. Voter __________ is the real talking point of this election; politicians on both sides of the political divide have failed to engage the electorate.
10. He claims to retain the __________ support of the cabinet despite the fact that the murmurings of discontent are growing louder.
11. The party’s only hope of success is for it to attract __________ voters.
12. The investigation confirmed that the boundary changes were tantamount to __________ .
13. This looks set to be the most eagerly anticipated __________ in living memory with speculation rife that a significant tax cut is on the cards for low-income earners.
14. The civil service in this country is very __________ in nature and there is a needless amount of paperwork necessary to get even the simplest of things done.
15. He received a standing __________ after making his final speech to the house.
16. The __________ president faces a huge challenge in translating his campaign __________ into action.
17. This is the first genuinely __________ government to be formed since the war; the house stands united in the face of the daunting task that lies ahead in trying to rebuild the nation’s crumbling economy following a triple-dip recession.
18. A __________ crowd gathered in support of the candidate and he was greeted with a rousing reception as he made his way to the stage.
19. __________ laughter broke out in the audience as the unpopular leader made his speech; the extent of the mocking and level of disrespect was frankly disturbing.
20. There is a growing __________ for change amongst the electorate.

ANSWER KEY

(D)      

(E)      

 (F)     

1. cabinet reshuffle
2. front runner/dark horse
3. exit poll/hung parliament
4. diplomatic immunity
5. landslide victory

(G)