This document contains an English vocabulary practice exercise with multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions about environmental issues and vocabulary. It covers topics like deforestation, global warming, renewable energy sources, pollution, and environmental problems. It also includes questions about word roots, idioms, and sentences to choose the best answers to complete. The exercise is designed to help students improve their environmental vocabulary.

1. PHOTOCOPIABLE © Cambridge University Press 2015
Vocabulary practice
PV
Unit 2
Environmental problems
1 Match the words 1–8 with the definitions a–h.
1 deforestation
2 electricity
3 global warming
4 wind turbines
5 waste
6 pollution
7 solar panels
8 oil
a These are used to produce energy from the sun.
b This is a climate change caused by greenhouse gases.
c This is a natural substance found underground.
d This is the action of cutting down trees over a large area.
e This is a form of energy.
f This is another word for rubbish.
g These are used to create energy from the wind.
h This is contamination of the natural environment.
2 Complete the sentences with the words from the box.
environmental problems fossil fuels gas packaging
power stations renewable energy sources of energy
1 Oil, gas and coal are all types of
that we rely on for energy at
present.
2 Oil, solar panels and dams are three
that can help power our
homes.
3 Supermarkets use so much
that it is creating a lot more waste.
4 Using from wind turbines or
solar panels is one way to reduce greenhouse gases.
5 Man’s modern inventions are creating numerous
that must be solved.
6 Burning fossil fuels releases
into the atmosphere, which may cause global warming.
7 Environmental activists want to phase out
that burn coal.
3 Choose the best answers to complete the text.
Freddy is studying a doctorate in environmental
research. He wants to 1 get around / put off problems like
global warming and pollution. His research is very time
consuming and he often 2 takes up / puts off going out
with his friends. I think it’s great that he’s enjoying his work
and he doesn’t mind that it 3 takes up / gets around so
much of his time. I also realise that he can’t just
4 bang out / eat up 100,000 words in a month. However,
I’m not sure it’s healthy to work so hard. It’s also
5 eating up / going for a large part of his allowance as
some of his experiments are quite expensive.
Word roots
4 Choose the best answers to complete the sentences.
1 Can you translate / transfer this sentence into Spanish?
2 Painting the kitchen a different colour totally transferred /
transformed the room.
3 Did they repeat / report the problem to the builder?
4 The little boy was very ill and needed a kidney transform /
transplant.
5 We could take the transatlantic / transocean flight to New
York.
6 I have to pay some bills later so I need to transfer / transform
some money to my account.
7 The country exports / reports coffee and cocoa beans.
8 The country’s transfers / imports of manufactured products
have increased.
5 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs
from the box.
contract export increase object
present produce product
1 Due to the downturn in the economy, unemployment has
.
2 The manager him with an award for all his
hard work.
3 Some countries export a lot of food while
others export manufactured goods.
4 The of this meeting is to discuss the
company’s recycling policy.
5 The Middle East is the area that the most oil at
the moment.
6 The automotive industry makes up a large part of Spain’s
.
7 The company has just been given a large to
supply the government.
Idioms
6 Choose the correct meanings for the idioms.
1 a drop in the ocean
a a small amount b a large amount
2 the tide is turning
a things will stay the same b things will change
3 go up in smoke
a to be destroyed b to be repaired
4 go through the roof
a to decrease b to increase