Difficult times in agriculture are making it tough for the next generation of farmers

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

C2. 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 “legacy” as used in the article?

   1. A temporary commercial arrangement
   2. Something valuable handed down from an earlier generation, especially an enduring tradition or inheritance.
   3. A government agricultural subsidy
   4. A recently established business model
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Something valuable handed down from an earlier generation, especially an enduring tradition or inheritance.

   Here, legacy denotes an inherited family enterprise and tradition.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “sustain” as used in the article?

   1. To maintain something over time despite pressure, difficulty, or changing circumstances.
   2. To measure with precision
   3. To divide among successors
   4. To accelerate unexpectedly
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To maintain something over time despite pressure, difficulty, or changing circumstances.

   Sustain means maintaining a pattern despite changing and increasingly difficult conditions.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “steep” as used in the article?

   1. Unexpectedly unstable
   2. Unusually high, often to an extent that creates difficulty or imposes a serious cost.
   3. Gradually declining
   4. Widely distributed
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Unusually high, often to an extent that creates difficulty or imposes a serious cost.

   Steep describes operating costs that are unusually high and burdensome.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “succession” as used in the article?

   1. The process by which control, ownership, or responsibility passes from one person or generation to another.
   2. The expansion of agricultural land
   3. The interruption of supply chains
   4. The replacement of farm machinery
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The process by which control, ownership, or responsibility passes from one person or generation to another.

   Succession concerns the transfer of ownership or responsibility between generations.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “formidable” as used in the article?

   1. Impressively difficult, substantial, or demanding, and therefore requiring considerable effort to overcome.
   2. Brief and manageable
   3. Traditional and predictable
   4. Unimportant and temporary
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Impressively difficult, substantial, or demanding, and therefore requiring considerable effort to overcome.

   Formidable characterizes a financial burden that is impressively difficult to manage.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “prolonged” as used in the article?

   1. Repeated without variation
   2. Continuing for an unusually long time, especially beyond what is normal or desirable.
   3. Completed with unusual speed
   4. Interrupted by external events
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Continuing for an unusually long time, especially beyond what is normal or desirable.

   Prolonged indicates that the period continued for an unusually long time.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “hurdle” as used in the article?

   1. A significant obstacle that must be overcome before progress or success is possible.
   2. A financial inheritance
   3. A gradual improvement
   4. A legally binding agreement
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A significant obstacle that must be overcome before progress or success is possible.

   A hurdle is an obstacle requiring effort to overcome.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which meaning best matches “precarious” as used in the article?

   1. Secure despite uncertainty
   2. Unstable or insecure, with a substantial possibility of failure, loss, or deterioration.
   3. Profitable over generations
   4. Protected by formal ownership
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Unstable or insecure, with a substantial possibility of failure, loss, or deterioration.

   Precarious describes a financially unstable situation vulnerable to failure or loss.

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.