(1) a substantial/significant portion of the population
(2) Only a small portion of the budget is spent on books.
(3) The central portion of the bridge collapsed.

(1) We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons.
(2) Those beliefs still prevail among certain social groups.
(3) Justice will prevail over tyranny.

(1) a male bird
(2) All the attackers were male, aged between 25 and 30.
(3) a male nurse/model/colleague

(1) of inferior quality
(2) inferior goods
(3) to make sb feel inferior

(1) Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes.
(2) The climate of political confusion has only reinforced the country's economic decline.
(3) Success in the talks will reinforce his reputation as an international statesman.

(1) Let your eyes focus on objects that are further away from you.
(2) It took a few moments for her eyes to focus in the dark.
(3) In this scene, the camera focuses on the actor's face.

(1) He made a rude gesture at the driver of the other car.
(2) She finished what she had to say with a gesture of despair.
(3) They communicated entirely by gesture.

(1) The hotel offers a wide range of facilities.
(2) There is a full range of activities for children.
(3) Most of the students are in the 17-20 age range.

(1) A large proportion of the nation's households are hooked up to the Internet.
(2) Check that the computer is hooked up to the printer.
(3) She was then hooked up to an IV drip.

(1) readily/freely/publicly/generally available
(2) Tickets are available free of charge from the school.
(3) When will the information be made available ?

(1) They chose him their leader.
(2) After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.
(3) The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.

(1) (North Amercian English)You need to get your priorities straight .
(2) a high/low priority
(3) Education is a top priority .

(1) to arouse sb's interest/curiosity/anger
(2) Her strange behaviour aroused our suspicions.
(3) The whole community was aroused by the crime.

(1) a meat substitute
(2) Paul's father only saw him as a substitute for his dead brother.
(3) a substitute family

(1) the earth's orbit around the sun
(2) a space station in orbit round the moon
(3) A new satellite has been put into orbit around the earth.

(1) He was accused of appropriating club funds.
(2) Some of the opposition party's policies have been appropriated by the government.
(3) Five million dollars has been appropriated for research into the disease.

(1) mutual respect/understanding
(2) mutual support/aid
(3) I don't like her, and I think the feeling is mutual (= she doesn't like me either) .

(1) variable temperatures
(2) The acting is of variable quality (= some of it is good and some of it is bad) .
(3) The drill has variable speed control.

(1) These days we have more money and more leisure to enjoy it.
(2) leisure activities/interests/pursuits
(3) Spend the afternoon at leisure in the town centre.

(1) Travel is by coach overnight to Berlin.
(2) a coach station (= where coaches start and end their journey)
(3) a coach party (= a group of people travelling together on a coach)

(1) We recognize the necessity for a written agreement.
(2) We were discussing the necessity of employing more staff.
(3) There had never been any necessity for her to go out to work.

(1) Competition winners will be notified by post.
(2) The police must be notified of the date of the demonstration.
(3) The date of the demonstration must be notified to the police.

(1) a series of sex scandals
(2) to cause/create a scandal
(3) The scandal broke (= became known to the public) in May.

(1) They hinted (that) there might be more job losses.
(2) What are you hinting at?
(3) Sarah hoped he'd take the hint and leave her alone.

(1) No previous experience is necessary for this job.
(2) The car has only had one previous owner.
(3) She is his daughter from a previous marriage.

(1) a medium-size car/business/town
(2) a man of medium height/build
(3) There are three sizes─small, medium and large.

(1) I wouldn't advertise the fact that you don't have a work permit.
(2) to advertise a product/a business/your services
(3) The cruise was advertised as the ‘journey of a lifetime ’.

(1) The word ‘politics ’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘city ’.
(2) He derived great pleasure from painting.
(3) The new drug is derived from fish oil.

(1) business goals and targets
(2) attainment targets
(3) Set yourself targets that you can reasonably hope to achieve.

(1) We had an exceedingly good lunch...
(2) This was an exceedingly difficult decision to take...
(3) Some nebulae appear to be completely engulfed by exceedingly large molecular clouds.

(1) to weld a broken axle
(2) The car has had a new wing welded on.
(3) All the parts of the sculpture have to be welded together.

(1) a rail/road/canal network
(2) a network of veins
(3) a communications/distribution network

(1) North American literature is the main theme of this year's festival.
(2) The President stressed a favourite campaign theme─greater emphasis on education.
(3) The naked male figure was always the central theme of Greek art.

(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) The gunman used the hostages as a human shield .
(2) Water is not an effective shield against the sun's more harmful rays.
(3) She hid her true feelings behind a shield of cold indifference.

(1) the Minister of State for external Affairs
(2) The building has been restored externally and internally.
(3) The university has many externally funded research projects.

(1) (British English)a jam doughnut
(2) strawberry jam
(3) recipes for jams and preserves

(1) a campaign to encourage childless couples to adopt
(2) to adopt a child
(3) She was forced to have her baby adopted.

(1) to guarantee a bank loan
(2) You can guarantee (that) the children will start being naughty as soon as they have to go to bed.
(3) These days getting a degree doesn't guarantee you a job.

(1) He played a passive role in the relationship.
(2) a passive observer of events
(3) His passive attitude made things easier for me...