embarrased, co-operators, on

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask:

No.1
My doctor told me that I was dying. He said, "You should start thinking of your life in terms of months". There was an __________ silence.
a. embarrassed b. unhappy
The key is 'a'. Could you please explain why 'b' isn't correct?

No.2
In the U.S, no one would think of keeping a business associate waiting for an hour; it would be too mimpolite. When _____ meet, a person who is five minutes late is expected to make a short apology.
a. co-coperators b. equals
The key is 'b'. My question is: how do I know it is 'equals' instead of c0-operators? I can't see any clue.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[David L.]

Jiang:
I recall your mentioning that these items come from some entrance exam in China.
Is it a particular exam you will be taking, and therefore important to your future; or are you just doing these items to improve your English skills?

If the latter, GIVE THIS TEST A MISS. The items are getting bizarre!

'When two co-operators meet' ?

[jiang]

I don't know it is from some entrance exam. I am doing these items to improve my English. And one of the purposes is to prepare for a far future exam. The problem is sometimes the exercises are confusing and I become less confident in myself.

co-operators: It is in the test. And I think it is from the word "co-operate", which means 'work together'. After reading your 'When two co-operators meet' ? I consulted my dictionary and found there was no such a word. I guess this is what you mean when you put a ?

Jiang

Jiang:
I recall your mentioning that these items come from some entrance exam in China.
Is it a particular exam you will be taking, and therefore important to your future; or are you just doing these items to improve your English skills?

If the latter, GIVE THIS TEST A MISS. The items are getting bizarre!

'When two co-operators meet' ?

[David L.]

I am not surprised you are feeling confused...and worse, having your confidence undermined!

I'm a native speaker, and I'm struggling to come up with confident reasons for making a definite, valid choice with some of these items.

The idea of a native speaker saying or writing: "When two co-operators meet..."

I think the word they meant was 'colleagues', which would be the more usual term to use than 'equals'.
If they can't give the right words to choose from, what hope have native speakers and learners alike in passing this test!! It's that..... or

Just laugh at it, Jiang, and find a better test to sharpen your linguistic teeth on!

[Ouisch]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask:

No.1
My doctor told me that I was dying. He said, "You should start thinking of your life in terms of months". There was an __________ silence.
a. embarrassed b. unhappy
The key is 'a'. Could you please explain why 'b' isn't correct?

B should be the correct answer. I can't think of any reason why would be an "embarrassed" silence would be an appropriate answer, unless the doctor's trousers accidentally fell down around his ankles as he gave the patient the bad news.

No.2
In the U.S, no one would think of keeping a business associate waiting for an hour; it would be too mimpolite. When _____ meet, a person who is five minutes late is expected to make a short apology.
a. co-coperators b. equals
The key is 'b'. My question is: how do I know it is 'equals' instead of c0-operators? I can't see any clue.

Perhaps by "co-operators" they meant "coworkers"? In any case, this is a poorly worded question overall. The author is referring to American business practices (that is, not being late for a meeting), and then refers to the business people as "equals" in the answer. That sort of terminology is considered offensive and is not used in the U.S. in business, even if one person is the president of the company and the other is the janitor.

I agree with David, this "test" is not a helpful tool to use in sharpening your English skills.