Test your English language skills with this challenging test.
In the following article, choose the correct word to fill in the blank. Use your knowledge of grammar structure, collocations, and common English expressions to choose the correct option for each blank.
The Importance of Communicating Expectations
A common mistake that we are all guilty of making is expecting people to _____ (1) our minds. We often avoid _____ (2) the effort to communicate ______ (3) we want from someone else, and instead, just hope that they know what we want. Then, we are ______ (4) to discover that these same people have not _____ (5) our expectations and are quick to blame them, _____ (6) ourselves, and rely on the defense that somehow our expectations were clear without ever _____ (7) them.
1. know / see / read / hear
2. make / to make / made / making
3. what / which / that / whichever
4. shocked / shocking / shock / shockingly
5. realized / met / reached / taken
6. no / unlike / without / not
7. had said / having said / said / say
A lack of communication about expectations can cause conflicts and strain on the relationship between partners, roommates, teachers and students, and managers and employees among others. _____ (8) we take shortcuts and minimize the amount of information we provide to others simply to _____ (9) for ourselves. Then, when they fail _____(10) us, our first thought is that they are _____(11) for the misunderstanding.
8. too much / a lot / too often / every time
9. make easier / make it easier / make easier it / make easy
10. satisfying / to satisfied / to satisfying / to satisfy
11. on fault / in fault / at fault / of fault
If you want to _____(12) that people do exactly what you expect them to do, the first step is to not _____(13) any assumptions. We often assume that our expectations are common sense and _____(14) do not need to be described, but this is a biased viewpoint, as our _____(15) always seems obvious to us, but not necessarily to others. You must think from the other person’s _____(16) and not from your own. Could their past experiences, culture, age, or another factor cause them to think that you would have different expectations? For example, a student coming out of high school and a _____(17) student may have very different thoughts about what will be expected in a university class.
12. confirm / ensure / take care / protect
13. take / do / get / make
14. however / indeed / therefore / besides
15. usual sense / normal sense / common sense / good sense
16. point of view / point of sight / point of think / point of opinion
17. 40-year-old / 40-year / 40-years-old / 40-old-years
In order to prevent any misunderstanding, the best approach is to have a friendly conversation about what each person in a situation expects before any of these misunderstandings are likely to _____(18). Avoid oversimplifying or skipping past details to guarantee that there is no risk of false assumptions. If you are the person _____(19) a situation, ______(20) a manager giving instructions to an employee, always ask the employee to summarize their understanding of the instructions at the end and listen closely to see if they match your expectations. If they respond too generally, _____(21) them calculated questions to confirm they understand. Only after doing this can you fully blame the other side for not _____(22) your expectations.
18. arise / rise / exist / appear
19. in charge for / in charge of / at charge of / in charge about
20. as / such / such as / as such
21. make / ask / give / say
22. getting up to / seeing up to / making up to / living up to
Answers
1. Read – because “read someone’s mind” is a set expression
2. Making – because the verb “avoid” connects with a gerund
3. What – because this is a noun clause “what we want” and it is the object of the verb “communicate”
4. Shocked - because it is the feeling that describes a person
5. Meet – because the verb “meet” and the noun “expectations” are a collocation
6. Not – use “not” when you are saying a noun is untrue (ex. “I am a doctor, not a nurse”)
7. Having – this is present perfect “have said” because it is generally in the past and it is “having” because it is connected to the preposition “without” and prepositions connect to gerunds.
8. Too often – this statement is about frequency, so it is “too often”
9. Make it easier – the form of this expression is “make (something) (adjective)”. (ex. “make it better”)
10. To satisfy – because the verb “fail” connects with an infinitive verb (fail to do)
11. At fault – because “be at fault” is an expression (ex. “she was at fault”)
12. Ensure – “ensure” is the verb to describe doing something in a way that you are sure it will happen
13. Make – because “make assumptions” is a collocation
14. Therefore – because it introduces the result or effect (ex. “It rained. Therefore, the ground was wet.”)
15. Common Sense – because this is a set expression
16. Point of View – because this is a set expression
17. 40-year-old – when you use a plural noun as an adjective to describe a noun, it is singular (ex. a five-star hotel)
18. Arise – because it means “happen” and is used for unexpected situations (ex. a problem arose)
19. In charge of – because it is a set expression
20. Such as – it introduces an example, but not “as” alone (ex. Asian countries, such as Korea and Japan)
21. Ask – because “ask questions” is a collocation
22. Living up to – “live up to expectations” is a set expression