Three People Injured in Shooting at Des Moines Post Office

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 matches “injured” in the article?

   1. hurt in an accident or attack
   2. moved to a new place
   3. held by the police
   4. named by a witness
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   hurt in an accident or attack

   The word describes people who were hurt.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning matches “escape” in the article?

   1. to explain something clearly
   2. to get away from a dangerous place or situation
   3. to be held by police
   4. to name a person or place
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   to get away from a dangerous place or situation

   The third person was trying to get away.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning matches “custody” in the article?

   1. a public workplace
   2. a detailed account
   3. the state of being held by the police
   4. a person’s physical condition
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   the state of being held by the police

   The article explains that custody means being held by police.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning matches “describe” in the article?

   1. to get away from danger
   2. to say or write what someone or something is like
   3. to hold someone by law
   4. to recognize a person’s name
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   to say or write what someone or something is like

   The article says more detail about conditions was not given.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning matches “identify” in the article?

   1. to name or recognize who someone is
   2. to hurt someone during an event
   3. to take someone to a public place
   4. to give more details about an event
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   to name or recognize who someone is

   The report did not name the injured people.

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.