(1) In the silence we could hear the clock ticking.
(2) While we waited the taxi's meter kept ticking away.
(3) a ticking bomb

(1) The italian economic miracle has always been a mystery.
(2) Since she knows little italian, she keeps to herself.
(3) Her story is sharply evocative of italian provincial life.

(1) an executive lounge (= at an airport)
(2) an executive suite (= in a hotel)
(3) an executive car/home

(1) rubber gloves
(2) gardening gloves
(3) a pair of gloves

(1) We contributed £5 000 to the earthquake fund.
(2) Would you like to contribute to our collection?
(3) Do you wish to contribute?

(1) the following afternoon/month/year/week
(2) They arrived on Monday evening and we got there the following day.
(3) Answer the following questions.

(1) vitamin tablets
(2) Take two tablets with water before meals.
(3) water purification tablets

(1) I was too nervous to eat.
(2) She doesn't eat sensibly (= doesn't eat food that is good for her) .
(3) I don't eat meat.

(1) dietary fibre
(2) Dried fruits are especially high in fibre .
(3) a high-/low-fibre diet

(1) a china vase
(2) She got out the best china.
(3) ...a small boat made of china.

(1) Traffic reaches its peak between 8 and 9 in the morning.
(2) She's at the peak of her career.
(3) the peaks and troughs of married life

(1) I'm not strong enough to carry him...
(2) I feared I wouldn't be able to control such a strong horse.
(3) He is sharp and manipulative with a strong personality...

(1) The beach is a mile away.
(2) The station is a few minutes' walk away.
(3) Christmas is still months away.

(1) [不可数名词]to check the effectiveness of the security system
(2) I admire the effective use of colour in her paintings.
(3) the effective, if not the actual, leader of the party

(1) That's absolutely right...
(2) Clocks never told the right time...
(3) Walking, done in the right way, is a form of aerobic exercise...

(1) She took a mouthful of water.
(2) She gulped down a mouthful of coffee...
(3) Chew each mouthful fully before the next bite.

(1) She heaved her bulk out of the chair.
(2) It's cheaper to buy in bulk .
(3) bulk buying (= buying in large amounts, often at a reduced price)

(1) He threw the paper onto the fire and it flew up the chimney.
(2) the factory chimneys of an industrial landscape
(3) This gas fire doesn't need a chimney.

(1) australia's rugby union side enjoyed a record-breaking win over France.
(2) australia, put in to bat, made a cautious start.
(3) He decided to do something about reforesting man-made wastes of western australia.

(1) Garlic is widely used in Chinese folk medicine.
(2) folk wisdom
(3) a folk museum

(1) They were successful in winning the contract.
(2) I wasn't very successful at keeping the news secret.
(3) We congratulated them on the successful completion of the project.

(1) The city is best explored on foot.
(2) They explored the land to the south of the Murray river.
(3) As soon as we arrived on the island we were eager to explore.

(1) Getting an apology from him was like getting blood from a stone.
(2) He lost a lot of blood in the accident.
(3) blood was pouring out of a cut on her head.

(1) a mild/temperate/warm/wet climate
(2) the threat of global climate change
(3) They wanted to move to a warmer climate.

(1) Keep straight on for two miles.
(2) Can you stretch your arms out straighter?
(3) He was too tired to walk straight.

(1) What were his actual words?
(2) The actual cost was higher than we expected.
(3) James looks younger than his wife but in actual fact (= really) he is five years older.

(1) a Scotch and soda
(2) He had an ice-cream soda.
(3) baking/washing soda

(1) He was denounced as a foreign spy.
(2) a police spy
(3) a spy plane/satellite (= used to watch the activities of the enemy)

(1) Don't put that glass so near the edge of the table.
(2) I sat down at the water's edge.
(3) Stand the coin on its edge.

(1) an uneasy laugh
(2) He was beginning to feel distinctly uneasy about their visit.
(3) She felt uneasy about leaving the children with them.

(1) ...the last decade of the nineteenth century.
(2) The historical article sketched the major events of the decade.
(3) Gone are the support suspenders and gaudy steel rings that strangled the tower for much of the last decade.

(1) She turned the handle and opened the door.
(2) They were arrested for handling stolen goods .
(3) She's a difficult horse to handle.

(1) So far eight workers have been killed.
(2) Our family adopted a child aged eight.
(3) It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave.

(1) What did shopkeeper find?
(2) The shopkeeper replies , " That is not my dog! "
(3) The advertised price was 168 dollars, but the shopkeeper knocked off the odd shillings.

(1) a wonderful surprise
(2) We had a wonderful time last night.
(3) You've all been absolutely wonderful !

(1) ocean-going vessels
(2) a Bronze Age drinking vessel
(3) A Moroccan fishing vessel and a South Korean cargo ship collided in rough seas.

(1) a hen pheasant
(2) battery hens
(3) a small flock of laying hens

(1) Ministers must not knowingly mislead Parliament and the public.
(2) Don't let his friendly words mislead you.
(3) Macdonald accepted that such information could be used to manipulate, to obfuscate, and to mislead.

(1) a forest of television aerials
(2) Thousands of hectares of forest are destroyed each year.
(3) a forest fire

(1) He was employed by them for eighteen years.
(2) The money has to be divided among the eighteen Incorruptibles.
(3) My daughter is eighteen years old and has grown into a beautiful lady.