Improve Your Vocabulary for IELTS – Key Word: standard

standard

1          Verb + standard

Use the correct form of these verbs:

fall                   maintain                 raise

enjoy               reach                       set

1. Our job is not just to ___________ standards – our job is to make sure they improve!
2. He failed to___________ the required standard, and did not qualify for the race.
3. Do you think that reducing class sizes would ___________ standards in our primary schools?
4. It’s hard for others to come up to the standards our head of department ___________ for herself.
5. The standard of service has___________ steadily since the company was taken over a year ago. It’s now so bad, something will have to be done.
6. Today most people in this country___________ a standard of living which their parents could only dream about.

2          Common adjective collocations

Complete the sentences with these adjectives:

approved                 falling

high                          low

minimum              modern

same                       usual

1. My boss demands extremely ___________standards from the people that work for him. In fact some people think he is unrealistic.
2. I was disappointed when I took some friends to my favourite restaurant and neither the food nor the service were up to the___________ standard.
3. Not everyone judges success by the ___________ standards. Unlike you, I think that happiness is more important than the size of your car.
4. Parents are always complaining about ___________ standards in schools.
5. A number of Britain’s beaches fail to meet the ___________ standards laid down by the EU.
6. This special mark shows that the product conforms to an ___________industry standard.
7. We decided that it would be our first and last trip to the island. The hotels and restaurants were all of a very___________ standard.
8. By ___________ standards, the plumbing in our hotel was totally inadequate!

3          Standard + of + noun

Complete the sentences below with these nouns:

behaviour        care                 hygiene

singing            living               workmanship

1. Some countries simply don’t provide proper standards of ___________ for the elderly.
2. Inspectors criticised the kitchen staff for poor standards of ___________ .
3. I had my windows replaced, but I’m not very pleased with the standard of __________ .
4. There’s been a progressive increase in the standard of ___________ over the last five years. People are now much better off.
5. The school insists on strict standards of ___________ on school trips.
6. Although it was an amateur production, the standard of___________ was excellent.

4          Expressions with prepositions

Use these prepositions in the sentences:

of         to         up       below               by        in

1. The work has been done___________ a professional standard.
2. Students will be sent home if their behaviour falls__________________ an acceptable standard.
3. The first computers were very slow ___________ today’s standards.
4. Universities deny that there has been a decline ___________ academic standards.
5. The report is highly critical ___________ safety standards at the factory.
6. The teacher said that my essay was not ___________ to standard and that I would have to do it again.

ANSWER KEY

Ex 1: 1. maintain    2. reach     3. raise    4. sets    5. fallen   6.           enjoy

Ex 2: l. high   2. usual    3. same    4.falling    5. minimum   6. approved   7. low   8. modern

Ex 3: l. care   2. hygiene   3. workmanship   4. living   5.       behaviour    6. singing

Ex 4: 1. to   2. below   3. by   4. in   5. of    6. up

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