(1) Life in a small town could be deadly dull.
(2) The first half of the game was pretty dull.
(3) There's never a dull moment when John's around.

(1) I wrote to them last month and I'm still waiting for a reply.
(2) Mum, I'm still hungry!
(3) Do you still live at the same address?

(1) to travel by sea
(2) a cottage by the sea
(3) The waste was dumped in the sea .

(1) The rooms were awful and the food was worse.
(2) The weather got worse during the day.
(3) The interview was much worse than he had expected.

(1) We grew up together.
(2) together they climbed the dark stairs.
(3) Get all the ingredients together before you start cooking.

(1) the provinces of Canada
(2) The show will tour the provinces after it closes in London.
(3) a shy young man from the provinces

(1) to be seriously ill/injured
(2) You're not seriously expecting me to believe that?
(3) They are seriously concerned about security.

(1) Most people who smoke began smoking in their teens...
(2) My late teens and early twenties were really rough years...
(3) ...a teen movie starring George Carlin...

(1) Do they like the talent show ? And why?
(2) Following, I declare, True self graceful bearing for talent show Let's begin.
(3) Who won the talent show ? By what, dancing or singing?

(1) rat poison
(2) Where I come from, you don't rat on your friends.
(3) The government is accused of ratting on its promises to the unemployed.

(1) The radio station claimed that 87,000 "reactionaries" had been eliminated.
(2) The radio station has to include a substantial proportion of classical music.
(3) a pirate radio station

(1) the southern slopes of the mountains
(2) southern Spain
(3) a southern accent

(1) They had gone two days without food.
(2) He found the place without difficulty.
(3) She spoke without much enthusiasm.

(1) Try not to eat between meals.
(2) Lunch is his main meal of the day.
(3) (especially British English) to go out for a meal (= to go to a restaurant to have a meal)

(1) a brilliant/polished/seasoned performer
(2) He was a poor performer at school and left with no qualifications.
(3) VW is the star performer of the motor industry this year.

(1) It was by far the worst speech he had ever made.
(2) What's the worst thing that could happen?
(3) What she said confirmed my worst fears (= proved they were right) .

(1) The musical theater company is about to launch a new performer on the musical world.
(2) He could amuse us for hours with his stories of the theater.
(3) He took an interest in going to the theater when he was young.

(1) a computer screen
(2) a monitor with a 21 inch screen
(3) They were staring at the television screen.

(1) a positive attitude/outlook
(2) the power of positive thought
(3) She tried to be more positive about her new job.

(1) Britain still boasts the cheapest postal service...
(2) We have started a campaign for better nursery and school services...
(3) ...the BBC World service.

(1) The interview was broadcast on radio and television.
(2) The play was written specially for radio.
(3) I listen to the radio on the way to work.

(1) What's the secret of your success?
(2) I didn't have much success in finding a job.
(3) Confidence is the key to success .

(1) snow was falling heavily.
(2) We had snow in May this year.
(3) The snow was beginning to melt.

(1) She sat back in her seat.
(2) He put his shopping on the seat behind him.
(3) Please take a seat (= sit down) .

(1) to have great artistic talent
(2) a man of many talents
(3) She showed considerable talent for getting what she wanted.

(1) to be of good/poor/top quality
(2) goods of a high quality
(3) high-quality goods

(1) lovely countryside/eyes/flowers
(2) She looked particularly lovely that night.
(3) He has a lovely voice.

(1) trendy clothes
(2) young trendies from art college
(3) ...a trendy London night club.

(1) a piece of string/wood
(2) She wrote something on a small piece of paper.
(3) a large piece of land