Part 5+7 · Original Practice: An Office Relocation Notice and Five Negative-Inversion Questions

01 Questions & answer area

Part 5 + 7 · 2 sections

Part 5 · Vocabulary & Grammar Fill-in

This section is standalone sentences with no shared passage — each question is listed directly in the answer area below.

Part 5 Answer area

0 / 5 answered

1. The revised policy gives department heads greater ______ in approving requests for remote work.

2. Little ______ that demand for the service would triple within its first month.

3. All applicants will be considered ______ whether they have previously worked in the industry.

4. The compliance team conducted a ______ review of the company's data-handling procedures.

5. Any defects discovered ______ installation must be reported to the contractor within five business days.

Part 7 · Notice on Receiving Deliveries During an Office Relocation

Workplace ServicesReceiving Deliveries During Office Relocation

Questions 6-8 refer to the following e-mail.

To: All Employees From: Workplace Services Subject: Receiving Deliveries During Office Relocation

As previously announced, the Customer Relations Department will move from the third floor to the newly renovated sixth floor on October 8. The department will continue operating during the move, but employees may have limited access to printers and meeting rooms that morning.

From October 6 through October 9, all courier deliveries addressed to Customer Relations will be held at the ground-floor reception desk. Employees expecting urgent packages should monitor the delivery notifications sent by the courier and collect their items personally. Reception staff cannot deliver packages to individual desks during this period.

The department's telephone numbers and postal address will not change. However, visitors with appointments on October 8 should be instructed to check in at reception, where a staff member will direct them to a temporary meeting area on the second floor.

Part 7 Answer area

0 / 3 answered

6. What difficulty may Customer Relations employees experience on October 8?

7. What should employees do about urgent deliveries?

8. What is indicated about visitors on October 8?

03 Answers & explanations

Answers appear after you submit

No.	Correct answer	Point tested	Explanation
1	A · discretion	Noun-meaning discrimination	"greater discretion" fits the context of "department heads have more authority in approving remote-work requests." "intention," "prediction," and "obligation" cannot collocate with the authority to approve requests.
2	B · did the company anticipate	Negative inversion	When the negative adverb "Little" begins a sentence, the main clause undergoes partial inversion — the auxiliary moves before the subject: "did the company anticipate." A simple-past inversion is most natural given the following "that" clause. (A) is not inverted; (C) and (D) have word order or tense that doesn't fit the inversion rule for a fronted negative adverb.
3	C · irrespective of	Fixed prepositional-phrase collocation	"irrespective of whether..." means "all applicants will be considered regardless of prior industry experience." "apart from," "owing to," and "in favor of" do not convey "without regard to a condition."
4	A · comprehensive	Part-of-speech discrimination	Modifying the noun "review" requires the adjective "comprehensive." "comprehensible" (an adjective, but wrong in meaning), "comprehensively" (adverb), and "comprehension" (noun) cannot modify "review."
5	A · subsequent to	Fixed prepositional-phrase collocation	"subsequent to" means "after," fitting the temporal context of "defects discovered after installation." "contrary to," "in behalf of" (the standard form is "on behalf of"), and "with respect for" do not fit the meaning.
6	A · Limited use of some office facilities	Detail question	Corresponds to "employees may have limited access to printers and meeting rooms that morning" — that is, limited use of some office facilities.
7	C · Collect them from reception themselves	Recommended-action question	Corresponds to "Employees expecting urgent packages should monitor the delivery notifications... and collect their items personally. Reception staff cannot deliver packages to individual desks..." Reception cannot bring items to desks, so employees must collect them at reception in person.
8	B · They will meet employees on the second floor.	Inference question	Corresponds to "visitors with appointments on October 8 should be instructed to check in at reception, where a staff member will direct them to a temporary meeting area on the second floor," from which it can be inferred that visitors will meet employees on the second floor.

04 High-frequency vocabulary

Browse all vocabulary →

English	IPA	Part of speech	Chinese	Japanese	Example
discretion	/dɪˈskrɛʃən/	n.	自主决定权，酌情处理权	裁量権	greater discretion in approving requests
irrespective of	/ˌɪrɪˈspɛktɪv əv/	prep. phr.	不论，不管	〜にかかわらず	considered irrespective of whether they have experience
comprehensive	/ˌkɑːmprɪˈhɛnsɪv/	adj.	全面的，综合性的	包括的な、総合的な	a comprehensive review of procedures
subsequent to	/ˈsʌbsɪkwənt tuː/	prep. phr.	在……之后	〜の後に	defects discovered subsequent to installation
compliance team	/kəmˈplaɪəns tiːm/	n.	合规团队	コンプライアンスチーム	the compliance team conducted a review
data-handling procedure	/ˈdeɪtə ˈhændlɪŋ prəˈsiːdʒər/	n.	数据处理流程	データ取扱手順	review of data-handling procedures
contractor	/ˈkɑːnˌtræktər/	n.	承包商	請負業者	reported to the contractor
courier	/ˈkʊriər/	n.	快递员，快递公司	配送業者	courier deliveries addressed to Customer Relations
reception desk	/rɪˈsɛpʃən dɛsk/	n.	前台，接待处	受付デスク	held at the ground-floor reception desk
office relocation	/ˈɔːfɪs ˌriːloʊˈkeɪʃən/	n.	办公室搬迁	オフィス移転	receiving deliveries during office relocation
urgent package	/ˈɜːrdʒənt ˈpækɪdʒ/	n.	紧急包裹	緊急の荷物	employees expecting urgent packages
check in at reception	/tʃɛk ɪn æt rɪˈsɛpʃən/	v. phr.	在前台登记	受付でチェックインする	visitors should check in at reception

05 Common phrases

Learn as a whole chunk — don’t break it apart

give sb greater discretion in doing sth给予某人在做某事上更大的自主决定权〜においてより大きな裁量を与える

Little did sb + V…某人完全没有预料到……〜とは全く予想していなかった

irrespective of whether…不论是否……〜かどうかにかかわらず

a comprehensive review of…对……的全面审查〜の包括的な見直し

subsequent to + n./doing在……之后〜の後に

collect sth in person亲自领取……自分で受け取る

06 Answer techniques

Part 5 + 7 · 6 tips

01
"discretion" meaning discrimination
"greater discretion" is common in sentences that delegate authority. "intention," "prediction," and "obligation" all fail to convey "the authority to approve requests."
02
Partial inversion triggered by "Little"
When a negative adverb (little, never, rarely, hardly, seldom, etc.) begins a sentence, the main clause takes inverted word order — the auxiliary or modal moves before the subject: "Little did the company anticipate..." Options that are not inverted or have the wrong tense form cannot be chosen.
03
The fixed phrase "irrespective of"
Equivalent to "regardless of," taking a noun or a "whether" clause. "apart from," "owing to," and "in favor of" do not fit the meaning.
04
The part of speech of "comprehensive"
Modifying the noun "review" calls for the adjective "comprehensive." "comprehensible" (understandable), "comprehensively" (adverb), and "comprehension" (noun) don't fit in part of speech or meaning. The forms are similar cognates, so check what the word is modifying in the sentence.
05
The fixed phrase "subsequent to"
Means "after," more formal than "after" and common in contract clauses. "contrary to," "in behalf of" (the standard form is "on behalf of"), and "with respect for" don't fit in meaning or form.
06
Reading: locating details, "should" marking a recommendation, and an easily missed final paragraph
"limited access to printers and meeting rooms" directly answers "what difficulty" (Q6). "should monitor... and collect their items personally" is the key sentence answering "what to do," and the following "Reception staff cannot deliver..." narrows it further (Q7). The handling of visitors appears in the e-mail's final paragraph, so you must read the whole text to locate "a temporary meeting area on the second floor" (Q8).

07 Business English

Standard formal business-letter phrasing

We conducted a comprehensive review of our current procedures before implementing the new policy.我们在实施新政策之前对现行流程进行了全面审查。新方針を導入する前に、現行の手続きについて包括的な見直しを行いました。

Visitors should check in at reception, where they will be directed to the appropriate meeting area.访客请在前台登记，工作人员会引导至相应的会议区域。来訪者は受付でチェックインしていただき、担当者が適切な会議エリアへご案内します。

Any issues discovered subsequent to delivery should be reported within five business days.交付后发现的任何问题应在五个工作日内报告。納品後に発見された問題は、5営業日以内に報告する必要があります。

Department heads now have greater discretion in approving remote-work requests.部门主管现在在批准远程办公申请方面拥有更大的自主决定权。部門長は現在、リモートワーク申請の承認においてより大きな裁量権を持っています。

08 Today's reflection

Why you got it wrong matters more than the right answer

When you’re done, note why you got it wrong in one line.

Ten minutes a day — no rush, just no stopping.

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