English Vocabulary Exercises for B2 – It drives me crazy!

1. Match the adjectives below with the sentences.

amused      ashamed      content      envious      furious      stunned

1   ‘I’d prefer not to talk about it. I’m still in a state of shock.’

      ………………………………

2   ‘That was really funny! I couldn’t stop laughing!’

      ………………………………

3   ‘I’ve never been treated like this before! I shall be speaking to the manager!’

      ………………………………

4   ‘Anybody could have done it. She was just lucky!’

      ………………………………

5   ‘We were very pleased with our presentation.’

      ………………………………

6   ‘How could I have forgotten her name? I feel so embarrassed about it!’

      ………………………………

2. Replace the underlined adjectives with the adjectives below.

disappointed      indecisive      miserable      thrilled      upbeat

We were ¹ really excited …………………………… when the storm started, but the longer it went on, the more anxious we became. We felt ² very unsure …………………………… and didn’t know what to do. Should we stay under the trees or run for home?

Jack was quite ³ positive …………………………… about the news that we were going to have a new trainer, but the rest of us were ⁴ really sad …………………………… . But when we were told that the new trainer was inexperienced, even Jack felt ⁵ let down …………………………… !

3. Choose the correct adjectives to complete the sentences.

1   We felt upbeat / humiliated after losing the match against our biggest rivals 10-0!

2   My mum says she feels frustrated / anxious in her job because she can’t achieve what she wants.

3   I was irritated / thrilled by Sara’s constant questions about my private life.

4   There was a positive, furious / upbeat feeling after the head teacher’s speech.

5   Amy is envious / disillusioned of my new coat and she wishes that she had bought it first!

6   Harry has bad memories of his childhood and he is very hysterical / bitter about it.

4. Match the adjectives with the definitions.

bitter      disappointed      disillusioned      exasperated

hysterical      stressed

1   Feeling irritated and angry about a situation that you can’t do anything about. …………………………

2   Unhappy because something or someone wasn’t as good as you expected. …………………………

3   Feeling extremely worried and nervous about something, especially something you are expected to do. …………………………

4   Unable to control your feelings because of extreme fear or excitement. …………………………

5   Feeling unhappy because you discover the truth about someone or something. …………………………

6   Feeling or showing anger, hurt or resentment because of bad experiences or treatment. …………………………

5. Match 1-9 with a-i to form idioms.

a   your top

b   two minds about something

c   on your nerves

d   your hair out

e   face

f   edge

g   with envy

h   in the dumps

i   the moon

6. Listen to four dialogues. Complete the sentences with an idiom from exercise 5.

1   Jack says he ……………………… about going to Sam’s party.

2   Ann says she ……………………… about her exam results.

3   The boy says that Meg’s complaining ………………………

4   Ewan ……………………… about not getting the summer job.

7. Listen again and choose the correct answers (a-c).

1   If Jack doesn’t go to Sam’s party, Jack will …….

a   blow his top

b   tear his hair out

c   lose face

2   When Kate hears about Ann’s result, she will …….

a   be on edge

b   be over the moon

c   be green with envy

3   The girl thinks that Meg ……. over unimportant things.

a   tears her hair out

b   is over the moon

c   blows her top

4   The boy says that Ewan was ……. about the interview he was going to.

a   losing face

b   on edge

c   tearing his hair out

Extra exercises

1. Complete the sentences with the words below.

alarmed      bitter      content      disillusioned      envious

humiliated      stressed      stunned

1   Beth is completely ………………………… with the course she’s doing. It’s nothing like she expected it to be.

2   My sister’s a bit ………………………… about her wedding at the moment. She can’t sleep at night.

3   I felt utterly ………………………… when I fell down the stairs. The whole class saw me and laughed!

4   I’m rather ………………………… of your new smartphone. I’d love to have one like that!

5   We were very ………………………… when my little brother disappeared. He was missing for over an hour.

6   My dad feels very ………………………… about losing his job. He thinks it was really unfair.

7   We were quite ………………………… to sit and wait. We weren’t in any hurry.

8   Everybody was ………………………… by the tragic news.

2. Complete the second sentence with an idiom containing the word in brackets.

1   I’m thrilled about winning the race. (moon)

     I’m ………………………… ………………………… …………………………

2   My mum is exasperated with my older brother. (hair)

     She’s ………………………… ………………………… ………………………… …………………………

3   Tom isn’t sure if he should go to university. (minds)

      He’s ………………………… ………………………… ………………………… about it.

4   Our first exam is today, so we’re a bit anxious. (edge)

     We’re all ………………………… …………………………

5   Waiting in queues makes me feel irritated. (nerves)

      It ………………………… ………………………… ………………………… …………………………

6   Mia didn’t get the job, so she’s miserable. (dumps)

     She’s ………………………… ………………………… ………………………… …………………………