(1) the river Thames
(2) the Hudson river
(3) on the banks of the river (= the ground at the side of a river)

(1) Richard had turned up on christmas eve with Tony.
(2) St. Patrick's Cathedral is famed for its midnight mass on christmas eve.
(3) I awaited christmas eve, and the always exciting advent of fat Santa.

(1) Robin never really liked him at all...
(2) There were no roads at all...
(3) The general was an unattractive man to all but his most ardent admirers...

(1) a flat/sloping roof
(2) a thatched/slate, etc. roof
(3) The corner of the classroom was damp where the roof had leaked.

(1) a big department store
(2) a health food store
(3) a liquor store

(1) The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are stronger at the broken places.
(2) The happiest are not those who own all the best things, but those who can appreciate the beauty of life.
(3) The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.

(1) I should have got a better price for the car, but I'm not much of a businessman.
(2) Application: mainly use to shave rust and oil paint.
(3) He is a sagacious businessman.

(1) a quarter of a mile
(2) The programme lasted an hour and a quarter.
(3) Cut the apple into quarters.

(1) to save sb's life
(2) to save a rare species (from extinction)
(3) Doctors were unable to save her.

(1) The painting is insured for $1 million.
(2) Luckily he had insured himself against long-term illness.
(3) (figurative)Having a lot of children is a way of insuring themselves against loneliness in old age.

(1) the northern slopes of the mountains
(2) northern Scotland
(3) a northern accent

(1) Try to persuade him to come.
(2) Please try and persuade her.
(3) She's always easily persuaded.

(1) wild animals/flowers
(2) a wild rabbit
(3) wild strawberries

(1) a woollen/silk scarf
(2) He reached up to loosen the scarf around his neck.
(3) Jamie snugly wrapped in a white woolen scarf.

(1) sea spray
(2) A cloud of fine spray came up from the waterfall.
(3) (figurative)a spray of machine-gun bullets

(1) a clock/bell tower
(2) the tower of London
(3) the Eiffel tower

(1) to play tennis
(2) a tennis player/tournament/club/court
(3) He made a monkey of me on the tennis court.

(1) a quiet, shy man
(2) Don't be shy─come and say hello.
(3) She was too shy to ask anyone for help.

(1) Their names were called over the loudspeaker .
(2) The new version will also microphone and loudspeaker.
(3) The loudspeaker is too loud and thus a bit noisy.

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

(1) a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol
(2) Soviet citizens were prohibited from travelling abroad.
(3) The high cost of equipment prohibits many people from taking up this sport.

(1) a museum of modern art
(2) a science museum
(3) For months Malcolm had wanted to visit the Parisian art museums.

(1) advice on diet and nutrition
(2) to study food science and nutrition
(3) the nutritional value of milk

(1) to perform/carry out/complete/undertake a task
(2) a daunting/an impossible/a formidable/an unenviable, etc. task
(3) a thankless task (= an unpleasant one that nobody wants to do and nobody thanks you for doing)

(1) She looked out of the window .
(2) to open/close the window
(3) the bedroom/car/kitchen, etc. window

(1) He rescued a child from drowning.
(2) They were eventually rescued by helicopter.
(3) The house was rescued from demolition.

(1) chilli powder
(2) lumps of chalk crushed to (a) fine white powder
(3) The snow was like powder.

(1) I have the greatest respect for your brother.
(2) A two-minute silence was held as a mark of respect .
(3) A deep mutual respect and understanding developed between them.

(1) I have no intention of going to the wedding.
(2) He has announced his intention to retire.
(3) It was not my intention that she should suffer.

(1) We're trying to cut down on the amount of paperwork involved.
(2) How quickly can you prepare the paperwork?
(3) At every stage in the production there will be paperwork — forms to fill in, permissions to obtain, letters to write.

(1) the harmony of colour in nature
(2) passionate lyrics and stunning vocal harmonies
(3) to study four-part harmony

(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) The club has/have voted to admit 50 new members.
(2) We had lunch at the golf club.
(3) the club bar

(1) to make/achieve a breakthrough
(2) a significant breakthrough in negotiations
(3) a major breakthrough in cancer research

(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) After a while his eyes adjusted to the dark.
(2) You'll quickly adjust yourself to student life.
(3) He smoothed his hair and adjusted his tie.

(1) She pulled the curtain aside.
(2) Stand aside and let these people pass.
(3) He took me aside (= away from a group of people) to give me some advice.

(1) (British English)It was only a friendly match.
(2) friendly rivalry
(3) a friendly argument

(1) a warm breeze
(2) Wash the blouse in warm soapy water.
(3) It's nice and warm in here.

(1) heart/liver/kidney, etc. disease
(2) health measures to prevent the spread of disease
(3) an infectious/contagious disease (= one that can be passed to sb very easily)