(1) a basketball game/coach/team
(2) The plan has a sting intail: it means we lose one day's holiday.
(3) To master the skill of playing basketball he is making a great business of it.

(1) The street lights go on at dusk .
(2) We arrived home at dusk.
(3) She turned and disappeared into the dusk.

(1) There's only one seat so you'll have to sit on my lap .
(2) She sat with her hands in her lap .
(3) the fastest lap on record

(1) There was a complete stranger sitting at my desk.
(2) They got on well together although they were total strangers .
(3) We've told our daughter not to speak to strangers.

(1) nowadays most kids prefer watching TV to reading.
(2) nowadays it's acceptable for women to be ambitious. But it wasn't then...
(3) I don't see much of Tony nowadays.

(1) a happy/unhappy marriage
(2) All of her children's marriages ended in divorce.
(3) an arranged marriage (= one in which the parents choose a husband or wife for their child)

(1) a vase of flowers
(2) ...a vase of red roses.
(3) ...lead crystal vases.

(1) a swarm of locusts
(2) Old World locust that travels in vast swarms stripping large areas of vegetation.
(3) This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.

(1) a reliable/effective/scientific method of data analysis
(2) a new method of solving the problem
(3) traditional/alternative methods

(1) a salad/fruit/sugar, etc. bowl
(2) a washing-up bowl
(3) a bowl of soup

(1) bus/taxi fares
(2) train/rail fares
(3) Children travel (at) half fare.

(1) a grey, cloudy day
(2) ...a windy, cloudy day.
(3) ...an absurdly cloudy political debate...

(1) a man-made lake
(2) man-made fibres such as nylon and polyester
(3) man-made and natural disasters have disrupted the Government's economic plans.

(1) Is there a university in this town?
(2) Ohio State university
(3) the university of York

(1) That's the best movie I've ever seen!
(2) She was one of the best tennis players of her generation.
(3) Is that your best suit?

(1) a collection of paintings by American artists
(2) cave paintings
(3) Her hobbies include music and painting.

(1) The tour included a visit to the Science Museum.
(2) Does the price include tax?
(3) Your duties include typing letters and answering the telephone.

(1) They were all dressed as clowns.
(2) The bomb was disguised as a package.
(3) She works as a courier.

(1) It's unusual for the trees to flower so early.
(2) She has a very unusual name.
(3) It's not unusual for young doctors to work a 70-hour week (= it happens often) .

(1) He drove too fast with tragic consequences.
(2) to suffer/face/take the consequences of your actions
(3) Don't worry. It's of no consequence .

(1) You can store your entire cd collection on the computer's hard drive.
(2) You can compress huge amounts of data on to a cd-ROM.
(3) The last track on the cd is an instrumental.

(1) 50 young hopefuls are trying for a place in the England team.
(2) The future did not seem very hopeful.
(3) The latest trade figures are a hopeful sign.

(1) Several cars went off the rails.
(2) a sleeping/dining car
(3) Where can I park the car?

(1) a concert hall/pianist
(2) They're in concert at Wembley Arena.
(3) a concert of music by Bach

(1) cow's milk
(2) a herd of dairy cows (= cows kept for their milk)
(3) You stupid cow!

(1) She checked the seating arrangements before the guests filed into the dining-room.
(2) The dining room has lakeside views and offers excellent cuisine.
(3) One of his jobs was supervising the dining room.

(1) Two plus five is seven.
(2) The cost is £22, plus £1 for postage.
(3) We have to fit five of us plus all our gear in the car.

(1) the Roman empire
(2) a business empire
(3) ...the Roman empire.

(1) She recently graduated from being a dancer to having a small role in a movie.
(2) The college graduated 50 students last year.
(3) Martha graduated from high school two years ago.

(1) "I want to send a telegram." — "Fine, to whom?"
(2) Soldiers took away four people one of whom was later released.
(3) whom would it profit to terrify or to kill James Sinclair?

(1) fried fish
(2) the smell of bacon frying
(3) You'll fry on the beach if you're not careful.

(1) His efforts to improve the situation are to be applauded.
(2) I applaud her for having the courage to refuse.
(3) She was applauded as she came on stage.

(1) New japanese cars averaged 13 km to the litre in 1981.
(2) The loch's overflow cascades into the waterfalls of a japanese water garden.
(3) He is quite at home with the japanese language.

(1) medical/historical/scientific, etc. research
(2) to do/conduct/undertake research
(3) He has carried out extensive research into renewable energy sources.

(1) The new design will eventually replace all existing models.
(2) Teachers will never be replaced by computers in the classroom.
(3) He will be difficult to replace when he leaves.

(1) He had finally achieved success.
(2) They could not achieve their target of less than 3% inflation.
(3) I haven't achieved very much today.

(1) The concert will be broadcast live (= at the same time as it takes place) tomorrow evening.
(2) They began broadcasting in 1922.
(3) I don't like to broadcast the fact that my father owns the company.

(1) an arch tone of voice
(2) ‘Guess what? ’ she said archly.
(3) The cat arched its back and hissed.

(1) The cell is the unit of which all living organisms are composed.
(2) The basic unit of society is the family.
(3) The game's selling price was $15 per unit.

(1) She left by plane for Berlin.
(2) a plane crash
(3) I caught the next plane to Dublin.