The New White House Ballroom – Vocabulary Warm-Up

Here you can practice the vocabulary found in our ESL lesson about the new White House ballroom.

In the first exercise, you must guess the meaning of the bold word from the context of the example sentence. In the second exercise, you must choose the correct form of the word to complete the sentence. Good luck!

Vocabulary in Context:

1. The company plans a major expansion next year, adding new offices in three countries.

a) act of getting smaller
b) act of growing or becoming larger
c) act of cleaning something

2. The old bridge will be replaced with a stronger one that can handle more traffic.

a) exchanged for something newer
b) decorated with lights
c) closed for repairs

3. Our school will host an international art competition next month.

a) pay for the winners
b) be the place where an event happens
c) judge all the paintings

4. We had a small gathering at my house to celebrate my birthday.

a) a noisy argument
b) a formal meeting at work
c) a group of people meeting together socially

5. The charity received a large donation from a local business to help buy food for families in need.

a) something given to help others
b) an advertisement for a company
c) a plan for a future event

6. The old town has a lot of character, with its narrow streets and colorful houses.

a) special qualities that make something different
b) a person in a book or movie
c) a plan for improving something

7. You should remove your shoes before entering the temple.

a) clean your shoes carefully
b) take something away or off
c) hide something under your shoes

8. The donor gave a large amount of money to the hospital.

a) person who receives something
b) person who gives something
c) person who manages a project

9. Parents can have a strong influence on the values their children develop.

a) control over a country
b) disagreement between people
c) power to affect how someone thinks or behaves

10. The university plans to fund new research on renewable energy.

a) to study something carefully
b) to create a new law
c) to provide money for a purpose

Word Forms:

1. The company plans to ______ its services to reach more customers next year.

a) expand
b) expansion
c) expansive

2. The manager is looking for a ______ for the employee who just retired.

a) replace
b) replaced
c) replacement

3. The city will be the ______ of the international music festival this summer.

a) hosting
b) host
c) hosted

4. People began to ______ in the park to listen to the mayor’s speech.

a) gather
b) gathering
c) gathered

5. Many people ______ money to charities during the holiday season.

a) donation
b) donate
c) donor

6. Mexico is often ______ by its spicy food, colorful celebrations, and friendly people.

a) character
b) characterized
c) characterization

7. The ______ of the old building made space for a new shopping center.

a) remove
b) removing
c) removal

8. Some teachers have a major ______ in their students’ lives.

a) influence
b) influential
c) influenced

9. His father is a very ______ person in the community, respected by many.

a) influence
b) influenced
c) influential

10. Government ______ for education has decreased in recent years.

a) fund
b) funding
c) funded

When you’re finished the vocabulary exercise, you can do the reading lesson about the new White House ballroom.