Short Wave explores ancient sea monsters, long COVID and elephant carcasses

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Use the surrounding sentence to identify the meaning and word form needed. Check which words naturally go together.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “evidence”?

   1. Facts or information that help show whether something is true
   2. A group of tiny organisms
   3. The body of a dead animal
   4. A health problem or illness
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Facts or information that help show whether something is true

   Evidence is information used to support or show whether something is true.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “microbiome”?

   1. A health problem or illness
   2. The community of tiny organisms living in and on a body
   3. Facts about ancient animals
   4. The remains of a large animal
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The community of tiny organisms living in and on a body

   A microbiome is a community of tiny organisms living on or inside a body.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “condition”?

   1. A health problem or illness
   2. A group of fossils
   3. A natural food source
   4. A scientific podcast
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A health problem or illness

   Here, condition means a health problem or illness.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “carcass”?

   1. A health problem
   2. A living ecosystem
   3. The dead body of an animal
   4. Information from fossils
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The dead body of an animal

   A carcass is the dead body of an animal.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “replenish”?

   1. To study something closely
   2. To fill something again or make it full again
   3. To hunt for food
   4. To remain after illness
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To fill something again or make it full again

   To replenish something means to fill it again or make it full again.

What to review next

Keep a short list of unfamiliar words with their meanings and example sentences. Practise recalling them later, then use them in a sentence of your own.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Read the whole sentence before choosing a word. Check both its meaning and the words it naturally combines with.

Please make an appointment before visiting the clinic.

Make an appointment is a natural word combination. Knowing a dictionary meaning alone may not tell you which verb fits.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.