The exam for my high school students (1)

Dear native English speakers,

I'm making an exam for my students. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone would check all the sentences and problems below.

(1) This song makes me remember my school days.

(2) The severe stress caused her to become ill.

(3) Climate has a great influence on all living things.

(4) I believe that people are too health-conscious these days.

(5) There is hardly a house in Japan that [/which] does not have a TV set.

(6) Today's newspaper says that President Obama won the election.

(7) Cell phones have enabled me to communicate with my son easily.

(8a) We seldom worry about drinking water.
(8b) We rarely worry about drinking water.
(8c) We hardly worry about drinking water.

(9) Not everyone in the world live peacefully.

(10) "What's this?" " I have no idea."

(11) Nobody wants a country where everyone thinks the same way.

(12) The heavy rain kept [/prevented] us from leaving on time.

(13) This hat makes my mother look much younger.

(14) I think [/believe] that middle-aged people should do more exercise.

(15) There are few people who [/that] know this.

(16a) My father asked me if I wanted to swim with him.
(16b) My father asked me whether I wanted to swim with him.

(17a) I came to know how my sister keeps fit.
(17b) I got to know how my sister keeps fit.

(18) We have little information about the country.

(19) Technology has enabled us to achieve a higher standard of living.

(20a) I wonder if this is really necessary.
(20b) I wonder whether this is really necessary.

(21) Nobody knows how far you will run.

(22a) I hardly know how people around the world live every day.
(22b) I scarcely know how people around the world live every day.

(23) E-mail has made us feel closer to people living far away.


Do all the questions below have the only one correct answer?

Put the underlined words in the correct order.

(24) me / makes / this song / remember my school days.

(25) The severe stress become / caused / her / to ill.

(26) Climate a / on / influence / great / has all living things.

(27) I her / whether / asked / she was interested in surfing.

(28) I how / wonder / long / he sleeps every night.

(29) She said see / I / that / should a doctor.

(30) Do you know his / changed / he / why school?

(31) We about / the / think / seldom people who are dying from AIDS.

(32) E-mail has feel / closer / us / made to people living far away.

(33) Just wishing for world peace bring / always / not / does the desired results.


Which word would be correct in the parenthesis? (Some problems may be ridiculous to you.)
My answer is in the bracket at the end.

(34) A recent survey ( shows / sees ) that older people are getting more active. [shows]

(35) (No / Not / Nobody / None ) everyone ( like / likes / live / lives ) this food. [Not, likes]

(36) Some people in the world have ( hardly / few / little / seldom ) food to eat. [little]

(37) Progress in technology has ( make / made / enable / enabled ) us ( in / to/ for / that ) enjoy various types of leisure activities. [enabled, to]

(38) His curiosity ( make / made / enable / enabled ) him try to use e-mail and the Internet. [made]

(39) The idea of being old keeps the senior citizens ( to / for / in / from ) going out. [from]

(40) I asked my father ( whom / what / if / which ) I should help him. [if]

(41) (No all / Not the all / Not all the / The all not ) food we eat is produced in Japan. [Not all the]

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

A couple of comments...

(8a) We seldom worry about drinking water.
(8b) We rarely worry about drinking water.
(8c) We hardly worry about drinking water.
It may not matter, but these are potentially ambiguous as to whether "drinking water" refers to water that is fit to drink or to the activity of drinking water.

(9) Not everyone in the world live peacefully.
Should be "lives" (or some other fix).

(10) "What's this?" " I have no idea."
Minute typo: superfluous space.

(15) There are few people who [/that] know this.
Both "who" and "that" are used to refer to people, but for me "who" is more elegant.

(16a) My father asked me if I wanted to swim with him.
(16b) My father asked me whether I wanted to swim with him.
(20a) I wonder if this is really necessary.
(20b) I wonder whether this is really necessary.
Purists may prefer "whether" in such cases, but "if" is in widespread use.

(17a) I came to know how my sister keeps fit.
(17b) I got to know how my sister keeps fit.
Correct English, but does not seem a massively likely thing to say. Depending on the required nuance, "I found out how my sister keeps fit" might be more likely, for example.

(21) Nobody knows how far you will run.
Correct English, but seems a slightly unusual thing to say. What is the envisaged situation?

(22a) I hardly know how people around the world live every day.
(22b) I scarcely know how people around the world live every day.
Correct English, but the meaning is not terribly clear. Are you talking about how people manage to survive, or how they spend their daily lives?

I cannot see more than one possibility for any of (24) to (33).

Questions (34) to (31) all seem OK to me. In (39), "the senior citizens" refers to a specific group of senior citizens. If you mean senior citizens in general then delete "the".

Thank you so much for your great help, eeky. I really appreciate it.

Hirashin

Hello, eeky. I have some further questions.

eeky said:

A couple of comments...
(8a) We seldom worry about drinking water.
(8b) We rarely worry about drinking water.
(8c) We hardly worry about drinking water.
It may not matter, but these are potentially ambiguous as to whether "drinking water" refers to water that is fit to drink or to the activity of drinking water.

Click to expand...

How about these?
(8d) We seldom worry about water for drinking.
(8e) We rarely worry about water for drinking.
(8f) We hardly worry about water for drinking.

I guess (8d) and (8e) have almost the same meaning, but (8f) is a little different from the others. Am I right?

(9) Not everyone in the world live peacefully.
Should be "lives" (or some other fix).

Click to expand...

Yes. I did make a mistake.

(10) "What's this?" " I have no idea."
Minute typo: superfluous space.

Click to expand...

"What's this?" "I have no idea."

Is this OK?

(15) There are few people who [/that] know this.
Both "who" and "that" are used to refer to people, but for me "who" is more elegant.

Click to expand...

Elegant. OK.

(17a) I came to know how my sister keeps fit.
(17b) I got to know how my sister keeps fit.
Correct English, but does not seem a massively likely thing to say. Depending on the required nuance, "I found out how my sister keeps fit" might be more likely, for example.

Click to expand...

The original sentences go like this:
My sister asked me if I wanted to jog with her. I wondered how far she would run.
After an hour's jogging, I came to know how she keeps fit.

Is it still unnatural?

(21) Nobody knows how far you will run.
Correct English, but seems a slightly unusual thing to say. What is the envisaged situation?

Click to expand...

How about this?
(21b)Nobody knows how far you've run so far.

(22a) I hardly know how people around the world live every day.
(22b) I scarcely know how people around the world live every day.
Correct English, but the meaning is not terribly clear. Are you talking about how people manage to survive, or how they spend their daily lives?

Click to expand...

(22a) is from the textbook we use. If it is ambiguous, how would you suggest I should correct it?
How about this?
(22c) I hardly/scarcely know how people around the world spend their daily lives?

I cannot see more than one possibility for any of (24) to (33).

Questions (34) to (31) all seem OK to me. In (39), "the senior citizens" refers to a specific group of senior citizens. If you mean senior citizens in general then delete "the".

Click to expand...

You mean (34) to (41), right?

Ahh, I see. I should not have put "the" before senior citizens.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

hirashin said:

How about these?
(8d) We seldom worry about water for drinking.
(8e) We rarely worry about water for drinking.
(8f) We hardly worry about water for drinking.
I guess (8d) and (8e) have almost the same meaning, but (8f) is a little different from the others. Am I right?

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They are OK. Yes, (8f) has a slightly different nuance. It is quite hard to pin down, but possibly it suggests a situation where there may be a little reason for worry.

hirashin said:

"What's this?" "I have no idea."
Is this OK?

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Yes.

hirashin said:

The original sentences go like this:
My sister asked me if I wanted to jog with her. I wondered how far she would run.
After an hour's jogging, I came to know how she keeps fit.
Is it still unnatural?

Click to expand...

It is not wrong exactly, but it is not something I would very naturally say in that context. I might say "... I began to understand how she keeps fit".

hirashin said:

How about this?
(21b)Nobody knows how far you've run so far.

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This is a bit awkward because of the repetition of "far".

hirashin said:

(22a) is from the textbook we use. If it is ambiguous, how would you suggest I should correct it?
How about this?
(22c) I hardly/scarcely know how people around the world spend their daily lives?

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Yes, that's OK.

hirashin said:

You mean (34) to (41), right?

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Yes, sorry.

Eeky, you are great. Thank you so much.

Hirashin

Your students are very fortunate to have such a diligent teacher. I hope they appreciate it.

Thanks for the encouraging comment, Mike.

I'm fortunate to have a lot of wonderful friends who have helped me.

Hirashin

Hello, eeky. I have some further questions.

eeky said:

It is not wrong exactly, but it is not something I would very naturally say in that context. I might say "... I began to understand how she keeps fit".

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Hmm... Then how would you use "come to know"?

How about this?
I know how my sister keeps fit.

This is a bit awkward because of the repetition of "far".

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How about this?
Nobody knows how far he can run in an hour.

Hirashin

hirashin said:

Hmm... Then how would you use "come to know"?

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Hmm indeed. I think "come to know" is more often used for acquaintances that develop over a period of time (e.g. "Over the years I came to know him well"), or for significant pieces of knowledge or understanding that one acquires over time. In your example, the knowledge seems rather too minor and too quickly acquired for "come to know" to be the best fit. However, as I say, it is not actually wrong.

hirashin said:

I know how my sister keeps fit.

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That sentence is fine in itself. (It doesn't fit the tense of the context that you posted earlier though.)

hirashin said:

How about this?
Nobody knows how far he can run in an hour.

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That's fine.

Thank you for your help, Eeky.

Your comments made me decide to alter those sentences. I want to avoid using unnatural sentences.

And I have another question About (14).

>(14) I think [/believe] that middle-aged people should do more exercise.

Can you say "take more exercise" instead? Do they have the same meaning?

Hirashin

Hirashin

hirashin said:

>(14) I think [/believe] that middle-aged people should do more exercise.

Can you say "take more exercise" instead? Do they have the same meaning?

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Yes, they are both possible and have the same meaning, near enough. However, the simplest and most common way to say this is probably "... should exercise more".