Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1After the crisis, the negotiators finally had a shared experience they could build ...............
Wrong!
"on" fits because a relationship or shared future is metaphorically treated as a structure with foundations; we build on a basis, not over it.
2Rather than deny the insult, she chose to ............... her anger into a campaign for institutional reform.
Wrong!
"channel" is correct because emotion is conceptualised as a force or fluid that can be directed into controlled action.
3Despite the generous severance package, morale has remained ............... since the layoffs were announced.
Wrong!
"low" is correct because mood and morale are commonly mapped onto a vertical scale: good is up, bad is down.
4The reviewer did not merely disagree; she proceeded to ............... the argument clause by clause.
Wrong!
"dismantle" is correct because an argument can be treated as a structure whose parts can be taken apart.
5By pooling equipment across departments, the laboratories found a way ............... the budgetary impasse.
Wrong!
"around" is correct because a difficulty is conceptualised as an obstacle in a path, so one finds a way around it.
6Within hours of the leak, a ............... of criticism broke over the minister's office.
Wrong!
"wave" is correct because public criticism is often conceptualised as a moving mass of water that can break over someone.
7Over three years, the committee ............... the proposal from a rough sketch into a defensible policy.
Wrong!
"nurtured" is correct because an early proposal is metaphorically treated as a living thing that can grow if cared for.
8Taking custody of the archive imposed a ............... burden on a museum already short of staff.
Wrong!
"heavy" is correct because responsibility is conceptualised as a physical load that can weigh on someone.
9The chair's final remark ............... the conversation to questions no one had dared raise.
Wrong!
"opened" is correct because a conversation is conceptualised as a space or container that can be opened to let subjects in.
10Once the replication studies appeared, the theory ............... under the weight of contrary data.
Wrong!
"collapsed" is correct because a theory is treated as a structure that can fail under weight or pressure.
11For a whistleblower returning to the department, she received an unexpectedly ............... welcome.
Wrong!
"warm" is correct because friendliness is commonly conceptualised as physical warmth.
12Her ability to translate technical risk into political language helped her climb ............... the ranks unusually quickly.
Wrong!
"up" is correct because organisational status is conceptualised vertically, so promotion is movement upward through the ranks.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- After the crisis, the negotiators finally had a shared experience they could build on.
- Rather than deny the insult, she chose to channel her anger into a campaign for institutional reform.
- Despite the generous severance package, morale has remained low since the layoffs were announced.
- The reviewer did not merely disagree; she proceeded to dismantle the argument clause by clause.
- By pooling equipment across departments, the laboratories found a way around the budgetary impasse.
- Within hours of the leak, a wave of criticism broke over the minister’s office.
- Over three years, the committee nurtured the proposal from a rough sketch into a defensible policy.
- Taking custody of the archive imposed a heavy burden on a museum already short of staff.
- The chair’s final remark opened the conversation to questions no one had dared raise.
- Once the replication studies appeared, the theory collapsed under the weight of contrary data.
- For a whistleblower returning to the department, she received an unexpectedly warm welcome.
- Her ability to translate technical risk into political language helped her climb up the ranks unusually quickly.