English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced Book with Answers and Enhanced eBook Vocabulary Reference and Practice 3rd Edition

Would you be pleased or not to read the following headlines in your newspaper?
Which do you think is the best verb to fill each of these gaps?
1 When the car suddenly swerved to avoid hitting the dog, it 
out of control and 
crashed into a tree.
A
 
popped 
B
 
bolted 
C
 
careered 
D
 
dashed
2 When she switched the bathroom light on, she was horrified to catch a glimpse of cockroaches 
away into cracks in the tiles.
A
 
plummeting 
B
 
scuttling 
C
 
creeping 
D
 
nipping
3 I’m going to 
into town in my lunch hour. Can I get you anything?
A
 
bolt 
B
 
plunge 
C
 
totter 
D
 
nip
4 If you don’t 
, you’ll miss the bus and be late for school.
A
 
accelerate 
B
 
rocket 
C
 
speed up 
D
 
crawl
5 Meena’s spirits 
when she learnt that she had won first prize.
A
 
plunged 
B
 
soared 
C
 
zipped 
D
 
tore
6 When the boy saw the fierce dog, he 
into the house.
A
 
dawdled 
B
 
careered 
C
 
tottered 
D
 
bolted
7 I’m just going to 
to the letter box to post these letters.
A
 
scurry 
B
 
totter 
C
 
plunge 
D
 
pop
8 Richard 
into the house, trying hard not to wake his parents.
A
 
soared 
B
 
crept 
C
 
scampered 
D
 
accelerated
9 The dog suddenly 
out into the road.
A
 
tottered
B
 
darted 
C
 
plunged 
D
 
soared
10 We watched the cars 
past on the motorway.
A
 
whizzing 
B
 
tumbling 
C
 
popping 
D
 
darting
66.1
66.2
66.3
1
Taxes rocket in new budget
3
Economic growth 
tumbles to new low
2
Shares plunge in uncertainty 
over US presidency
4
Hopes soar for more 
Olympic medals
5
Profi ts plummet
6
Jobless fi gures creep up

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140
English Vocabulary in Use Advanced
Cause and effect
67
‘Cause’ verbs and their collocations
The differences between these verbs are best learnt by observing their typical collocations.
Cause
usually collocates with negative results 
and situations.
The new computer system has caused us a lot of 
problems.
His stomach cancer was caused by exposure 
to radiation.
sadness/unhappiness
(a lot of) trouble/problems
an illness, e.g. pneumonia
a disaster / an accident
Produce
is more neutral, and deals with more 
concrete results. It is used in formal contexts.
Scientists can produce statistics and figures that 
can prove almost anything.
Cooking the dish for a long time at a very low heat 
produces the best results.
a report
statistics/figures
good results / evidence 
While 
cause
usually collocates with negative 
situations, 
give
can be used for positive or negative 
ones. 
Give
is less formal than 
cause
.
Our dog has given us a lot of pleasure over 
the years.
This car is giving me so much trouble, I’m going to 
get rid of it.
(a lot of) pleasure/happiness
a reason/motivation for 
something
(a lot of) trouble
good results
Generate
is often used in contexts where people 
are forced to do more than usual, and in computer 
contexts. It sometimes has a rather negative feel. It 
is used in formal contexts.
It’s going to be difficult to generate sufficient 
interest in the project.
The government will have to generate the extra 
funds somehow or other.
revenue/income/money
complaints / extra work / 
controversy
graphics/documents
interest/enthusiasm/publicity