R and S Prepositions

Question 1

to be racked with (guilt / pain)

Answer 1

to feel very guilty about sth / be in great pain
e.g. I was racked with guilt over what I had said to him.
He was racked with pain from his toothache.

Question 2

to reconcile oneself to sth

Answer 2

to accept an unpleasant situation

e.g. She never managed to reconcile herself to her father’s death.

Question 3

a reduction in

Answer 3

a decrease in
Opp: an increase in
e.g. Over the past ten years there has been (a dramatic / a gradual / only a slight / a significant / a steady / an unprecedented) reduction in the number of robberies in the United Kingdom.

Question 4

a (sad) reflection on

Answer 4

if sth is a (sad) reflection on a person or thing, it gives a bad impression of them / it
e.g. It is a (sad) reflection on the society we live in that a film that glorifies war has been nominated for eleven Oscars.

Question 5

to refrain from

Answer 5

to deliberately not do sth

e.g. Please refrain from leaving your seats during the performance.

Question 6

to be related to sb

Answer 6

to be members of the same family

e.g. We look alike, but we are not related to each other.

Question 7

a report on

Answer 7

a report describing

e.g. The ecology agency have produced a report on the devastating effect insecticides are having on the environment.

Question 8

to have a reputation for

Answer 8

to be well known for

e.g. Mr Simpson has a reputation for being a fair-minded teacher.

Question 9

restrictions on

Answer 9

limits on

e.g. There are no restrictions on the amount of perfume that you can bring into this country.

Question 10

to revel in sth

Answer 10

to enjoy sth, especially sth that other people would not expect you to enjoy
e.g. He revelled in the notoriety that the scandal gave him.

Question 11

to be rude to sb

Answer 11

to be impolite to sb

e.g. He was sent to the headmaster for being rude to his teacher.

Question 12

to be scathing about sth / sb

Answer 12

to be very critical of sb / sth

e.g. Lord Boxley, the author of the report, is scathing about the way the police handled the case.

Question 13

a solution to

Answer 13

an answer to

e.g. We need to find a solution to this problem as soon as posible.

Question 14

to specialise in

Answer 14

to give particular attention to

e.g. I sell all kinds of books, but I specialise in crime fiction from the 1940s and 1950s.

Question 15

a stance on

Answer 15

a government’s / organisation’s official opinion / attitude towards sth
e.g. The government has adopted a tough / uncompromising stance on fox-hunting and is currently pushing legislation through parliament to make it illegal.

Question 16

a stickler for sth

Answer 16

if sb is a stickler for sth (e.g. cleanliness) they always demand or require it [Note: stickler for rules / accuracy / punctuality, etc]
e.g. Don’t be late. Mr Thompson is a stickler for punctuality.

Question 17

to stoop to sth

Answer 17

to lower or completely ignore one’s moral standards in order to get what one wants
e.g. I might be desperate to pass the exam, but you don’t honestly think I would stoop to cheating, do you?

Question 18

to stray from a path

Answer 18

to leave a path

e.g. There’s only one path through the forest. Don’t stray from it or you will get totally lost.

Question 19

to be strewn with sth

Answer 19

to be covered in sth

e.g. His bedroom floor was strewn with odd socks, dirty shirts and crumpled pieces of paper.

Question 20

a struggle for

Answer 20

a long and difficult attempt to achieve sth
[Note:
1) to struggle to do sth: to find it very difficult to do sth
2) to struggle with sb: to fight sb who is attacking you
e.g. The small country’s struggle for independence was really admirable.
We are only a small company and in the present economic climate we are really struggling to survive.
He’s not really struggling with an attacker. It’s a martial arts contest.

Question 21

to substitute for sb / sth

Answer 21

to take the place of sb / use sth instead of sth else

e.g. If you suffer from insomnia try substituting camomile tea for coffee.

Question 22

to succumb to pressure / temptation

Answer 22

to find it impossible not to do what sb is trying very hard to persuade you to do / the temptation is so strong that you finally do what you have been trying not to do
e.g. The government is unlikely to succumb to public pressure to abolish the voting tax.
She knew that if she succumbed to the temptation to buy the dress, she’d be broke for the rest of the month.

Question 23

to survive on (an amount of money)

Answer 23

to have enough money to pay one’s bills and buy the things one needs to survive
e.g. I don’t know how she can survive on such a low salary.

Question 24

to be susceptible to sth / sb

Answer 24

to be very likely to be affected / influenced by sth / sb

e.g. Don’t be too harsh on him; he’s very susceptible to criticism.