English Vocabulary Exercises for B2 – Relating to people

1. Complete the sentences with the words below.

close      common      eye      sorry      wary      wavelength

1) I don’t really understand Kevin or his jokes. We really aren’t on the same ________

2) Sara feels ____________ for me for failing exam, but it was own fault.

3) We’ve got a lot in ____________ with each other and we share quite a few interests.

4) mother doesn’t see ____________ to eye with me about plans for the weekend.

5) Although Jack has moved to London, we are still very ____________ and are in contact every day.

6) I’m a bit ____________ of giving email address to people online that I don’t know.

Show answers

1) wavelength   2) sorry   3) common   4) eye   5) close

6) wary

2. Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the verbs below.

adore      envy      look down on      look up to      respect      trust

1) We should treat the environment carefully and not pollute it. ____________

2) Andy thinks very highly of his big brother Tom and wants to be just like him. ____________

3) Some of his friends are jealous of the success that he has had. ____________

4) sister warned me not to have confidence in him. ____________

5) She’s afraid they think they are better than her because she doesn’t have a job. ____________

6) They have one son and they really love him ____________

Show answers

1) respect   2) looks up to   3) envy   4) trust

5) look down on   6 adore

3. Listen and choose the correct answer (a-c).

1) The man in dialogue 1 suggests that he and Eva ____


a are very close to each other

b adore each other

c have nothing in common with each other

2) The woman in the second dialogue ____ her friend’s family.


a looks down on

b feels sorry for

c adores

3) The two people in dialogue 3 ____ the man they see.


a are wary of

b are on the same wavelength as

c respect

4) How does the girl in dialogue 4 feel about her brother?


a She envies him.

b She looks up to him.

c She despises him.

5) The girl in dialogue 5 feels confident that her friend ____ A.


a can trust

b admires

c has a lot in common with

6) What problem do the two speakers in dialogue 6 have with Jack?


a They have nothing in common with him.

b They don’t see eye to eye with him.

c They are wary of him.

Show answers

1) c   2 a   3) a   4) b   5) a   6 b

Transcript

1)

Girl So what’s Eva like?

Boy She’s really good fun and I enjoy going out with her, but we don’t seem to like doing the same kind of things. I suppose that’s OK, though. We do always have a good time together.

Girl Well, they say that opposites attract, don’t they?

2)

Girl Look, you can’t expect me to spend time with your family. I mean, they’re so ___ so ___

Boy What? What’s so special about you and your family? You think you’re better than everyone else, don’t you?

Girl Well, we’re from different social backgrounds, aren’t we? I mean ___

3)

Boy1 Look out! It’s that guy from the other day. You know, that one that was shouting at people in the shopping centre.

Boy 2 Oh yes! I remember him. We’d better keep away from him in case he starts getting aggressive again.

4)

Boy Your brother’s done really well. You must be really proud of him!

Girl I certainly am! He’s really worked hard for everything that he’s achieved. I hope I can do as well as him one day!

5)

Boy I told A about secret and now I wish I hadn’t.

Girl Don’t worry, if there’s one person you can count on, it’s A. She won’t say anything to anybody.

Boy Are you sure?

Girl Definitely!

6)

Girl   What do you mean, Jack isn’t going on the march? Everybody else is. We’ve got to save the park!

Boy  That isn’t his opinion. He actually thinks a new road would help reduce traffic problems in town!

Girl   What? Are you joking?

Boy  I wish I were! I really don’t understand Jack at times!

4. Complete the sentences with the prepositions below.

about (x3)      for (x2)      on

1) I was complimented ______ winning entry for the poetry competition by the head teacher.

2) dad is always being teased ______ his terrible cooking.

3) We were warned ______ the dangers of cycling at night.

4) Sam was told off ______ not taking his medicine.

5) The whole class might be lectured ______ behaving well when in public places.

6) We’ve all been praised ______ our performance in the play.

Show answers

1) on   2) about   3) about   4) for   5) about   6) for

5. Match the verbs below with the situations.

flatter      insult      nag      praise      warn

1) ‘That’s a fantastic piece of work, Lily. Well done!’ ____________

2) ‘I really like your new suit. You look great in it!’ ____________

3) ‘You are a complete idiot, aren’t you?’ ____________

4) ‘Don’t jump into the sea from the rocks. It’s extremely dangerous!’ ____________

5) ‘Oh, please, please, please let me stay out late on Friday night. I promise that if you do, I’ll ___ ’ ____________

Show answers

1) praise   2) flatter   3) insult   4) warn   5) nag

6. Complete the text with the correct form of the verbs below.

compliment      nag      praise      tease      tell      warn

Well, it’s been a bit of a strange day. mum 1) _______ me off this morning for arriving home late last night, but then she 2) _______ me for good marks in the test! On the bus to school, best mate Harry kept 3) _______ me about lending him mountain bike. He went on and on about it for the whole journey! Once at school, everyone made jokes and 4) _______ me about new haircut. Well, everyone except for Chloe! She 5) _______ me on ‘stylish’ hair and said it looked great! But then I realised that I’d left English homework at home. English teacher 6) _______ me not to forget homework again and gave me extra work as a punishment!

Show answers

1) told   2) praised   3) nagging   4) teased

5) complimented   6) warned

Extra exercises

1. Complete the sentences with a verb phrase containing the word in brackets.

1) I ____________ Oliver. He hasn’t got any friends. (sorry)

2) I ____________ new neighbour. I don’t trust him. (wary)

3) Sarah and I seem to be arguing a lot. We don’t ____________ on several things. (eye)

4) Poppy’s best friend because we have ________ (common)

5) We have similar ideas. We ________ (wavelength)

6) Matt adores his elder brother. He really ____________ him. (looks)

Show answers

1) feel sorry for   2) ’m wary of   3) see eye to eye a lot in common

5) ’re on the same wavelength   6) looks up to

2. Complete the sentences with the words below.

complimented      flattered      lectured      nagged

offended      teased

1) mum ____________ me all weekend about room. She kept on telling me that I should tidy it.

2) You really ____________ me when you said that I’d put on weight. I was quite upset.

3) host family ____________ me on English. They said it was excellent.

4) Anna’s brother ____________ her about her new haircut. He said it made her took like a boy.

5) You only ____________ me because you wanted something. You don’t usually say anything nice.

6) dad ____________ me for an hour about exam results. He went on and on about ‘responsibility’.

Show answers

1) nagged   2) offended   3 complimented   4) teased

5) flattered   6) lectured

Advanced English Vocabulary - One Minute Videos