An early start to flu season moves up vaccination timing

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

B2. 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 “unusual” in the article?

   1. Different from what is normal, expected, or common
   2. Connected with a particular geographic area
   3. Able to resist a medical treatment
   4. Happening repeatedly at regular intervals
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Different from what is normal, expected, or common

   The word describes a pattern that differs from what is expected.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “shift” in the article?

   1. A change in position, direction, timing, or emphasis
   2. A medical response to an infection
   3. A formal instruction from a health authority
   4. A repeated examination of scientific evidence
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A change in position, direction, timing, or emphasis

   Here, “shift” describes a change in seasonal timing or emphasis.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “circulating” in the article?

   1. Moving or spreading among people or through a place
   2. Changing its genetic structure in a laboratory
   3. Remaining inactive inside the body
   4. Being eliminated by a vaccination campaign
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Moving or spreading among people or through a place

   The virus is moving or spreading among people.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “evade” in the article?

   1. To avoid being recognized, captured, or affected by something
   2. To increase the strength of an existing protection
   3. To measure the spread of an infection
   4. To explain a change in regional timing
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To avoid being recognized, captured, or affected by something

   The virus may avoid being recognized or affected by immunity.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “immunity” in the article?

   1. The body's ability to resist or respond to a particular infection
   2. The process of recording regional health data
   3. The period before seasonal activity begins
   4. The movement of a virus between regions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The body's ability to resist or respond to a particular infection

   Immunity concerns the body’s ability to respond to infection or protection.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “uncertainty” in the article?

   1. A lack of complete knowledge or confidence about something
   2. A predictable change in seasonal weather
   3. A strong response to an earlier vaccination
   4. A confirmed explanation for a public-health event
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A lack of complete knowledge or confidence about something

   The article describes incomplete knowledge about the mutation’s effects.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “monitoring” in the article?

   1. The careful and regular observation of a situation or change
   2. The immediate treatment of a serious infection
   3. The movement of people toward medical facilities
   4. The decision to delay all seasonal vaccinations
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The careful and regular observation of a situation or change

   Experts need to observe flu activity and the variant carefully over time.

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.