Dubious — (dew-bi-us) doubtful, not certain about something

Synonym — unreliable, unsure

Antonym — unquestionable, irrefutable

— I am dubious about her intentions of helping us.

Clamour — (klammur) a loud confused noise (made especially by many people

Synonym — cry, noise, uproar

Antonym — serenity, silence, tranquility

— The clamour of the vegetable market next to our house is extremely disturbing.

Pivotal — (piv vt’ul) of great importance because other things depend on it

Synonym — crucial, critical, essential

Antonyms — peripheral, unimportant

— We must take this decision very carefully as it is going to be a pivotal one.

Desist — (di-zist, di-sist) to stop from doing something

Synonym — cease, discontinue

Antonym — persist, promote

— I wish she would desist from calling her friends home so often.

Scrupulous — (sk roo-pew-lus) having high ethical standards

Synonym — candid, honest, sincere

Antonym — dishonest, deceitful

— He is scrupulous in all his business dealings.

Demolish — (di-mollish) to pull down a building

Synonym — destroy, dismantle

Antonym — construct, build

— These shops are soon going to be demolished.

Match the countries in column A with their distinctive names in column B

A                   B

1 China           a Little Venice

2 Venezuela     b The gift of the Nile

3 Egypt           c The land of Han

4 Puerto Rico   d Our lady of snow

5 Canada        e Rich port

Hobson’s choice means, no alternative; take what you are offered or nothing at all. Hobson, a lively stable keeper, used to hire out horses, but insisted that the customer should take the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.

Duty and today are ours, results and futurity belong to God.

1c, 2a, 3b, 4e, 5d.