Lexical Sophistication — C2 Vocabulary Practice

Exercise 1

Choose the correct term

10 points

1

The word 'home' has a positive ______ — it suggests safety and warmth beyond its literal meaning.

2

The literal dictionary meaning of a word is its ______.

3

'I could eat a horse' is an example of ______.

4

'Not bad' used to mean 'quite good' is an example of ______.

5

The word 'villain' originally meant 'farm worker' but now means an evil person. This is ______.

6

The word 'nice' originally meant 'foolish' but now means 'pleasant'. This is ______.

7

'Passed away' instead of 'died' is an example of ______.

8

'All hands on deck' uses 'hands' to represent the whole crew. This is ______.

9

'The White House announced...' uses a place to represent an institution. This is ______.

10

Words like 'home', 'family', and 'warmth' all belong to the same ______ field.

Exercise 2

Complete with the correct term

8 points

1

The term 'collateral damage' softens the reality of civilian casualties — it is a ______.

2

Using 'croaked' to mean 'died' is harsher and less polite — it is a ______.

3

Using slang in a formal essay is an example of inappropriate ______ shift.

4

The word 'awful' once meant 'inspiring awe' but now means 'very bad' — this is ______.

5

'I've told you a million times' is a clear example of ______.

6

The word 'knight' once meant 'servant boy' — its rise to noble warrior is an example of ______.

7

The ______ of 'snake' includes ideas of deception and danger, beyond its literal meaning.

8

'The pen is mightier than the sword' — here, 'pen' and 'sword' represent abstract concepts. This is ______.

Exercise 3

Identify the figure of speech or process

6 points

1

'She's not the most organised person' (meaning she is quite disorganised). This is ______ — a form of understatement.

2

Using 'passed away' to refer to death softens the reality. This is a ______.

3

'Ten thousand spears' used to mean 'an army' takes one part (spears) to represent the whole. This is ______.