Difficulty ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 49

Difficulty

A	Adjective + noun collocations ·       Life seems to have been a constant struggle for her ever since she left home. ·       When the electricity went off everyone was rushing about in a state of confusion. ·       Losing the job she loved so much was a severe blow for Anna. She took it very badly. ·       Our plane was cancelled because of adverse weather conditions. ·       Unfortunately, after the widespread flooding came widespread looting of the properties that had been abandoned. Meanwhile, many families remained in grave danger as the floodwaters showed little sign of abating. ·       If you continue to smoke there is a high risk of you developing a number of serious diseases. ·       Jasmine’s birthday party was a complete disaster. She decided to invite all of her own and her sisters’ ex-boyfriends – with catastrophic results. ·       Trying to work and manage a household with three children sounds like hard work.
B	Verb + noun collocations collocation example face a problem My grandmother faced many problems in her life. address a problem How do you think we should address the traffic problems in our city? tackle a problem More must be done to tackle the AIDS problem. pose a threat Nuclear weapons pose a threat to the whole world. carry a risk Most things that we do in life carry some degree of risk. minimise a risk Not smoking minimises the risk of getting a whole range of illnesses. relish a challenge Rob relishes the challenge of a new project. hinder progress Our party believes that this country’s complex tax laws mainly serve to hinder progress. spot an error Terry spotted an error in the email he was about to send. encounter difficulties Any new business is bound to encounter some initial difficulties. deal with (the) complexities (of) You need to maintain a positive attitude if you want to deal successfully with the complexities of life. overcome hurdles As she was born blind she has had to overcome many extra hurdles in her life. fight for survival Poor people in this drought-ridden country fight for survival. respond to an emergency The international community responded rapidly to the emergency. disaster strikes Disaster struck the province last June, when torrential rains caused mudslides in many areas.
	Common mistakes Remember that we make mistakes, NOT do mistakes. We usually have problems or experience problems, just as we usually also have/experience difficulties, NOT get problems/difficulties. We attempt to find a solution, NOT give a solution. Problems arise or occur, NOT happen, and difficulties arise, NOT appear.

 

EXERCISES

 

49.1	Find a collocation in A that has the opposite meaning of these collocations … 1 favourable weather conditions             4 isolated flooding 2 a magnificent success                                           5 slight danger 3 an easy ride                                                                    6 easy work   … and the same meaning as these collocations. 7 total confusion                                     10 a terrible shock 8 disastrous results                                 11 a total disaster 9 serious risk
49.2	Complete each sentence using a verb from the box in the appropriate form. carry face fight hinder pose respond spot strike tackle     1 The government is doing all it can to _______________ the drug problem in our cities. 2 We had only just set off on our holiday when disaster _______________. 3 Can you _______________ the six deliberate errors in this story? 4 The international community does not always _______________ to an emergency as promptly as would be desirable. 5 Any new enterprise _______________ some risk of failure but that should not deter you. 6 I am afraid that Sam’s problems at home may be _______________ his progress at school. 7 If we _______________ the problems together we should find it easier to tackle them. 8 By the end of the expedition the climbers were _______________ for their very survival. 9 A man like that in a position of power _______________ a serious threat to world security.
49.3	Match each question (1–6) with its response (a–f). 1 Is Rory enjoying the challenge of his new post? 2 What can I do to minimise the risk of falling ill? 3 What made them decide to postpone the match? 4 What happened aft er the earthquake? 5 How can we address the climate change problem? 6 What was the hardest hurdle to overcome in your job? a By reducing our carbon footprint. b Widespread looting. c Eat healthily. d He’s relishing it. e Gender stereotyping, probably. f Adverse weather conditions.
49.4	Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 We are getting a number of problems with our new car. 2 Some problems happened when we tried to follow your instructions. 3 Somehow our society must give a solution to the problem of child poverty. 4 A difficulty has appeared with regard to a member of our project team. 5 Even advanced students sometimes do mistakes with this type of collocation. 6 I’ve always found a lot of difficulties with English spelling. 7 A successful teacher needs to deal with the complications of learning that each student faces.
49.5	Use a dictionary such as the Cambridge Online Dictionary to find two other collocations for each of these words. 1 encounter        2 tackle               3 pose

ANSWER KEY

49.1 1 adverse weather conditions 2 a complete disaster 3 a constant struggle 4 widespread flooding 5 grave danger 6 hard work 7 a state of confusion 8 catastrophic results 9 high risk 10 a severe blow 11 a complete disaster   49.2 1 tackle 2 struck 3 spot 4 respond 5 carries 6 hindering 7 face 8 fighting 9 poses   49.3 1 d 2 c 3 f 4 b 5 a 6 e   49.4 1 We are having/experiencing a number of problems with our new car. 2 Some problems arose/occurred when we tried to follow your instructions. 3 Somehow our society must find a solution to the problem of child poverty. 4 A difficulty has arisen with regard to a member of our project team. 5 Even advanced students sometimes make mistakes with this type of collocation. 6 I’ve always had/experienced a lot of difficulties with English spelling. 7 A successful teacher needs to deal with the complexities of learning that each student faces.