(1) The villages had been deserted.
(2) The owl seems to have deserted its nest.
(3) Large numbers of soldiers deserted as defeat became inevitable.

(1) five years of steady economic growth
(2) a steady decline in numbers
(3) We are making slow but steady progress.

(1) party politics
(2) local politics
(3) He's thinking of going into politics (= trying to become a Member of Parliament, Congress, etc.)

(1) ...his niece from America, the daughter of his eldest sister.
(2) The President and Mrs. Bush are the adoptive uncle and aunt of a niece and nephew.
(3) She will tend after her niece and nephew for the weekend.

(1) Some people disagree with this argument.
(2) No, I disagree. I don't think it would be the right thing to do.
(3) I disagree with violent protests.

(1) He was found not guilty because of holes in the prosecution case.
(2) She won the first hole.
(3) He liked to play a few holes after work.

(1) When you're old, people treat you like a second-class citizen .
(2) She's Italian by birth but is now an Australian citizen.
(3) British citizens living in other parts of the European Union

(1) He's just a business acquaintance.
(2) He hoped their acquaintance would develop further.
(3) I had little acquaintance with modern poetry.

(1) a programme making science more accessible to young people
(2) The remote desert area is accessible only by helicopter.
(3) These documents are not accessible to the public.

(1) It's going to be the death knell of the red deer.
(2) Crops can be all too easily decimated by unchecked depredations by deer.
(3) deer hunting was banned in Scotland in 1959.

(1) Children must be accompanied by an adult.
(2) Why can't you two act like civilized adults?
(3) The fish return to the river as adults in order to breed.

(1) rock, pop and soul
(2) Hi, pop!
(3) The cork came out of the bottle with a loud pop.

(1) a slow driver
(2) Progress was slower than expected.
(3) The country is experiencing slow but steady economic growth.

(1) She floated down the steps to greet us.
(2) They floated the idea of increased taxes on alcohol.
(3) The company was floated on the stock market in 2001.

(1) an educational/financial, etc. institution
(2) the Smithsonian institution
(3) a mental institution

(1) a brain/heart, etc. surgeon
(2) ...a heart surgeon.
(3) I want to see a surgeon.

(1) I don't know the name of the place...
(2) I know that you led a rifle platoon during the Second World War...
(3) Gifford was a friend. I'd known him for nine years...

(1) the classical/contemporary/popular idiom
(2) ‘Let the cat out of the bag ’ is an idiom meaning to tell a secret by mistake.
(3) ...her command of the Chinese idiom.

(1) economic/political/domestic chaos
(2) Heavy snow has caused total chaos on the roads.
(3) The house was in chaos after the party.

(1) Why do you dislike him so much?
(2) He disliked it when she behaved badly in front of his mother.
(3) I dislike being away from my family.

(1) I'm off now. See you tomorrow.
(2) She's leaving tomorrow.
(3) (especially British English)They arrive a week tomorrow/tomorrow week (= after a week, starting from tomorrow) .

(1) an urgent appeal for information
(2) a problem that requires urgent attention
(3) ‘Can I see you for a moment? ’ ‘Is it urgent? ’

(1) Ambassador Thompson's cables from moscow reported Khrushchev's unusual preoc cupation with Cuba.
(2) Does $ CIVNAME 1's arrogance know no bounds ? Why do your troops threaten moscow?
(3) Why Jerusalem , and not London, Beijing, New York, Rome or moscow?

(1) to have/exert a strong influence on sb
(2) the influence of the climate on agricultural production
(3) What exactly is the influence of television on children?

(1) A desert holiday hooray!
(2) hooray! Lingling is a fantastic goalkeeper.
(3) hooray, we are safe now!

(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) which is better exercise─swimming or tennis?
(2) which of the applicants has got the job?
(3) which of the patients have recovered?

(1) furniture/floor/shoe/silver polish
(2) wax polish
(3) I give it a polish now and again.

(1) holy cow! What was that?
(2) Islam's holiest shrine
(3) a holy life/man

(1) a ham actor
(2) a radio ham
(3) a slice of ham

(1) No human being can be free from mistakes.
(2) The old play a stress action in the social development of human being.
(3) To solve some problem the human being faces we have made many big science projects.

(1) The almanac skin has the handbag factory for the domestic soleownership handbag manufacture enterprise.
(2) Why dont you clean out your handbag?
(3) Your handbag is really cool.

(1) In july 1957, we were married in New York.
(2) "Eat before july 14" was stamped on the label.
(3) Execution by lethal injection is scheduled for july 30th.

(1) a rock/jazz band
(2) She's a singer with a band.
(3) a military band

(1) We're going to call her Sophie.
(2) Please give her my regards.
(3) The manager will be free soon─you can wait for her here.

(1) The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics.
(2) (British English)Antibiotics are only available on prescription .
(3) (North Amercian English)Antibiotics are only available by prescription .

(1) The relationship between the police and the local community has improved.
(2) She has a very close relationship with her sister.
(3) I have established a good working relationship with my boss.

(1) when did you last see him?
(2) when can I see you?
(3) when (= in what circumstances) would such a solution be possible?

(1) Liverpool won by three goals to one.
(2) United conceded two goals in the first half.
(3) a penalty goal

(1) Can you telephone me at your convenience to arrange a meeting?
(2) We have provided seats for the convenience of our customers.
(3) For (the sake of) convenience , the two groups have been treated as one in this report.