Practice English Vocabulary B2 Exercises – The media

A. Complete using the correct form of the words in the box.

1   John Sanders, MP, ………………… any involvement in the scandal when asked about it yesterday.

2   The politician ………………… to say more when questioned by reporters this morning.

3   Johnny Depp rarely ………………… invitations to do interviews.

4   Johnny Depp ………………… to appear at a press conference to promote his latest film.

5   Did you see the newspaper ………………… this morning?

6   If you give every paragraph of your report a …………………, it’ll be easier to read.

7   Living Today has got a special ………………… this month on healthy diets. There are interviews with nutritionists, menus, recipes, and loads of other things too.

8   There’s an interesting ………………… in the paper about the Constitution of the European Union.

9   I generally trust what I hear on the news, but rarely believe anything I read in the ………………… .

10   The ………………… involve print journalism, TV, radio and even electronic forms of communication such as the Internet.

11   We interrupt this programme to bring you an urgent ………………… .

12   And we’ll be back with our regular ………………… at seven o’clock.

B. Circle the correct word or phrase.

1   It’s a great computer programme / program once you get the hang of it.

2   I hate tabloid / broadsheet newspapers; they’re just full of gossip, scandal and lies!

3   As a journalist / columnist for a local paper, you don’t have to interview people or attend events. You just have to express your opinions about the issues of the day.

4   There’s a great talk / quiz / game show on BBC1 tonight. Contestants have to race through a supermarket as quickly as they can, filling up their trolleys as they go.

5   On some TV channels, an announcer / a commentator tells you what the next programme is going to be.

6   Join us at half past nine for a live broadcast / channel of the State Opening of Parliament.

C. Write on word in each gap.

1   Please do not ……………… over your examination papers until you are instructed to do so.

2   I had to ……………… in so many forms. It took me hours!

3   I’d like everyone here to ……………… forward as many suggestions as possible.

4   There was a guy in the street ……………… out free tickets to that new quiz show.

5   He ……………… out that he’d worked in children’s TV, but in fact he’s never been near a TV studio!

6   Could you ……………… up her number in the phone book?

7   She ……………… out as one of the finest contemporary British novelists around at the moment.

D. Complete each second sentence using the word given, so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. Write between two and five words in each gap.

1   Her latest bestseller was published last month.   out

      Her latest bestseller …………………………………… last month.

2   That story’s not true, is it?   up

      You ……………………………………, didn’t you?

3   The programme starts at half past six.   on

      The programme …………………………………… at half past six.

4   The documentary didn’t really explore why the rainforests are being cut down.   into

      The documentary didn’t really …………………………………… why the rainforests are being cut down.

5   I had a quick look at the magazine in the dentist’s waiting room.   through

      I …………………………………… in the dentist’s waiting room

6   I don’t think we need to mention that now.   up

      I don’t think we need to …………………………………… now.

7   Your lies don’t fool me!   through

      I can …………………………………… your lies!

E. Choose the correct answer.

1   It’s not always easy to ………… the difference between fact and opinion.

        A make         B do

        C say             D tell

2   The debate will ………… place tonight.

        A be              B have

        C take           D make

3   In my …………, freedom of the press must be maintained.

        A mind          B view

        C sight          D thought

4   Media mogul Ronald Morduck has ………… control of another tabloid.

        A made         B found

        C give            D taken

5   They ………… a description of the robber on CrimeTime and it sounded like you!

        A made         B told

        C said            D gave

6   J.K. Rowling has ………… an enormous influence on children’s literature.

        A had            B given

        C done          D set

7   I could spend hours ………… the Internet!

        A surfing      B diving

        C sailing        D swimming

8   They said ………… the news that the price of petrol is going up again.

        A from          B in

        C on              D at

9   The issue ………… question is more complex than you think.

        A from          B in

        C on              D at

10   Watch ………… for words like ‘so-called’ in articles as they express the writer’s bias.

        A about        B around

        C over           D out

F. Each of the words in bold is incorrect. Rewrite them correctly.

1   He’s been described by several critics for our greatest living poet. ………………

2   I think you’ve confused tabloids by broadsheets. ………………

3   Do you believe about telepathy? ………………

4   There’s no point of trying to get an interview with him. He never does interviews! ………………

5   According from this report, scientists have discovered a new planet. ………………

6   The facts in this article don’t correspond about my own experience at all. ………………

G. Water has damaged part of this text about an announcement. Read it and decide what you think each of the original words was. Write the words in the blank spaces.

The announcement

The editor sent an e-mail (1) …………… every journalist on the news desk announcing (2) …………… there would be an emergency editorial meeting at one o’clock. I had heard (3) …………… the problems the paper was facing and I heard (4) …………… one of my colleagues that the paper might be going to close. Whatever it was, it was likely (5) …………… be bad news. At the meeting, the editor told us (6) …………… to tell anyone else yet, but the paper had been taken over by Ronald Morduck. He said he had only been informed (7) …………… the decision that morning. We were all so surprised (8) …………… the news that nobody knew what to say. I made a comment (9) …………… a colleague that it was time to start looking for a new job. The editor heard this, and finally managed to persuade us not (10) …………… quit until we had seen what changes would be made.

H. Complete the sentences by changing the form of the word in capitals when this necessary.

1   Why do press photographers think they can turn up at a celebrity’s house completely …………………. (ANNOUNCE)?

2   How many means of …………………. (COMMUNICATE) do you use on a regular basis?

3   Could you write an …………………. (EDIT) for the next issue of the school magazine?

4   You have to have a sense of …………………. (HUMOUR) to work on children’s TV!

5   There’s an …………………. (WRITE) rule on tabloid newspapers that the truth always takes second place to a good story.

6   When Jill was at …………………. (SECOND) school she used to dream of being a DJ on local radio.

7   Are you thinking of a career in …………………. (JOURNAL)?

8   You don’t actually get a lot of …………………. (INFORM) from a news report on radio or TV.

I. Complete the text by changing the form of the word in capitals.

Politics on TV

I love watching (1) …………………. (DISCUSS) programmes, and I love politics, so you’d think I’d enjoy watching (2) …………………. (POLITICS) being interviewed on TV. But I don’t. All too often, (3) …………………. (JOURNAL) ask them the most (4) …………………. (RIDICULE) questions, and, when they do get an interesting question, I sit there watching in (5) …………………. (BELIEVE) as some of the most (6) …………………. (POWER) people in the country give totally (7) …………………. (CONVINCE) responses. It’s as if they don’t care whether their reply is (8) …………………. (BELIEVE) or not. Often, they’re very poor (9) …………………. (COMMUNICATE), and they’re frequently even more (10) …………………. (INFORM) about key issues than I am. I don’t expect them to be particularly (11) …………………. (HUMOUR) – they are serious people, after all – but at least they could say something interesting occasionally. It makes me want to stand for election myself!