TIME Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

TIME

Exercise 1

Use the time clauses in the boxes to complete the sentences. Pay particular attention to the words that come before or after the time clause.

Part 1: One action or situation occurring before another action or situation

prior to      previously        earlier        formerly       precede          by the time

1	_________________the advent of the Industrial Revolution, pollution was virtually unheard of.
2	_________________ the army had restored order, the city had been almost completely devastated.
3	_________________ .known as Burma, the republic of Myanmar is undergoing a slow and painful political transformation.
4	A sudden drop in temperature will usually _________________ a blizzard.
5	It was my first trip on an airplane. _________________ I'd always gone by train.
6	The President made a speech praising charity organizations working in Mozambique. _________________  that day he had promised massive economic aid to stricken areas.

Part 2: One action or situation occurring at the same time as another action

while / as / just as      during / throughout      at that very moment     in the meantime / meanwhile

1	_________________ the senator was making his speech, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets.
2	_________________ the speech they jeered and shouted slogans.
3	The senator continued speaking. _________________ the police were ordered onto the streets.
4	He finished the speech with a word of praise for the police. _________________ the sun came out and shone down on the angry demonstrators.

Part 3: One action or situation occurring after another action or situation

afterward      as soon as / once / the minute that          following

1	_________________ the earthquake, emergency organizations around the world swung into action.
2	_________________ the stock market collapsed, there was panic buying on an unprecedented scale.
3	The Klondike gold rush lasted from 1896 to 1910. _________________ the area became practically deserted overnight.

Exercise 2

Look at the words and expressions in the box below and on the next page, and decide if we usually use them to talk about (1) the past, (2) the past leading to the present, (3) the present, or (4) the future.

for the next few weeks       as things stand      ever since        in medieval times       one day        nowadays from now on        back in the 1990s       over the past six weeks          over the coming weeks and months in another five years' time          in those days        a few decades ago         lately          at this moment in time at the turn of the century  in my childhood / youth        at this point in history          by the end of this year         for the foreseeable future        for the past few months last century        these days         from 1996 to 1998        sooner or later

Exercise 3

There are a lot of idioms and other expressions that use the word “time” in English. In this exercise, you should match the first part of each sentence on the left with its second part on the right, using the expressions in bold to help you.

1	I'm very busy at the moment, but I'll try to make…		a	…… time warp.
2	Don is a really nice man. I have a lot of…		b	…… times out of ten she's punctual.
3	Susanna is so old-fashioned. She seems to be living in a…		c	…… time for everything, I suppose.
4	I would love a vacation, but I never seem to find…		d	…… the time comes.
5	We thought we would be late, but we arrived with…		e	…… time, too.
6	Shall we start now? After all, there's no…		f	…… the time.
7	At last, here comes our bus. About…		g	…… time being.
8	Chris is sometimes late, but nine…		h	…… time to time it can be glorious.
9	We really need to hurry. There's no…		i	…… time will tell.
10	I don't want to make a decision now; I'll decide when…		j	…… the times.
11	I don't know if we will be successful; only…		k	…… time now.
12	I'm not really watching this movie; I'm just killing…		l	…… time around.
13	If the company is going to compete successfully, we will need to move with…		m	…… his time.
14	I've never had Japanese food before, but there's a first…		n	…… time to spare.
15	If we don't win this time, we will the second…		o	…… time for him.
16	Picasso was a remarkable artist who was years ahead of…		p	…… time until my friends arrive.
17	Winters here are generally cold and gray, but from…		q	…… the time to see you later.
18	I'm thinking of changing jobs in the future, but I'll continue working here for the…		r	…… time to lose.
19	This isn't a sudden decision. I've been thinking of moving for some…		s	…… the time for one.
20	My students just aren't interested in their lessons. They don't even listen to me half…		t	…… time like the present.

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