Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The keynote went more smoothly than expected; ..............., I finally met the editor who rejected my first article at Friday's panel.
Wrong!
"Incidentally" is used to introduce a side point or new but related topic; "Nevertheless" would signal contrast with the previous clause.
2Before you present the forecast to the board, you ............... circulate the revised figures to Finance.
Wrong!
"might want to" softens advice; "may" mainly grants permission, which is not the intended function here.
3You say the figures were accurate, but ...............; I am asking why they were released without clearance.
Wrong!
"That is hardly the point" rejects a reply as missing the main issue; "I take your point" concedes that the other person's argument is valid.
4............... blame the analyst, but the schedule left almost no time for validation.
Wrong!
"Far be it from me to" disclaims an intention before doing something potentially critical; "It falls to me to" means the responsibility belongs to the speaker.
5............... keeping your questions until the end, as the witness is under time pressure?
Wrong!
"Would you mind" is followed by an -ing form such as "keeping"; "Could you" would need the base verb "keep".
6............... the interface is elegant, but the encryption layer is still not ready to deploy.
Wrong!
"I grant you that" concedes a point before a reservation; "I could not agree more that" would signal emphatic agreement, which clashes with "but" and the objection.
7............... the committee gives written approval, the archive must remain closed to external researchers.
Wrong!
"Unless" means "if not" and fits the warning about no go-ahead; "Provided that" means "only if" and would make the second clause illogical.
8..............., the clause we are debating was inserted after the merger, not before it.
Wrong!
"If I may just come in here" politely claims a turn in discussion; "To cut a long story short" summarizes a narrative.
9Has anyone objected to the revised timetable? ..............., though Legal has not formally signed it off.
Wrong!
"Not that I know of" means the speaker is unaware of any such thing; "Not as far as it goes" is not a normal answer to a yes/no question.
10The memorandum does not explain the delay, ............... justify the additional expenditure.
Wrong!
"still less" fits after a negative or limiting statement to introduce an even less likely possibility; "let alone" is also possible after negatives, but here the comparative escalation is from failing to explain to failing to justify, and "still less" is the precise formal marker.
11Until the report is published, ............... comment on its findings.
Wrong!
"I am not in a position to" politely says the speaker lacks authority or information; "I am not up to" means not capable or not well enough.
12The translators ............... finish before noon, although they may ask for an extension.
Wrong!
"are supposed to" expresses an obligation or scheduled expectation; "are bound to" predicts that something will certainly happen.
Answers
- The keynote went more smoothly than expected; Incidentally, I finally met the editor who rejected my first article at Friday’s panel.
- Before you present the forecast to the board, you might want to circulate the revised figures to Finance.
- You say the figures were accurate, but That is hardly the point; I am asking why they were released without clearance.
- Far be it from me to blame the analyst, but the schedule left almost no time for validation.
- Would you mind keeping your questions until the end, as the witness is under time pressure?
- I grant you that the interface is elegant, but the encryption layer is still not ready to deploy.
- Unless the committee gives written approval, the archive must remain closed to external researchers.
- If I may just come in here , the clause we are debating was inserted after the merger, not before it.
- Has anyone objected to the revised timetable? Not that I know of , though Legal has not formally signed it off.
- The memorandum does not explain the delay, still less justify the additional expenditure.
- Until the report is published, I am not in a position to comment on its findings.
- The translators are supposed to finish before noon, although they may ask for an extension.
