Vocabulary Worksheets

Fascinating Sharks: Vocabulary Worksheet with Fish Idioms

(Whale shark. Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri, Unsplash)


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A) FUN FACTS ABOUT SHARKS 🦈

PDF Printable – Fascinating-Sharks-Vocabulary-and-Idioms-Worksheet

Fill the gaps with these words:

diverse, fabrics, fearsome, flexible, kingdom, length, marine, prey, rough, rows, survived

Did you know that sharks are older than trees! They have been on our planet for around 450 million years and have a)_______________ several mass extinctions.

Unlike most fish, sharks have a skeleton made of cartilage and not bone. Cartilage is lighter than bone and much more b)_______________, which allows sharks to be more efficient swimmers. 

Whale sharks, which are the largest fish on earth, have huge mouths and about 300 c)_______________ of teeth, but these majestic creatures are docile and feed mostly on plankton.

Not all sharks are massive though. In fact they come in all sizes – the dwarf lanternshark is about the d)_______________ of a pencil!

Sharks have small tooth-shaped ‘scales’ on their skin known as dermal denticles. This is why their skin feels e)_______________ like sandpaper if you were to stroke them from tail to head. These ‘scales’ reduce friction allowing them to swim faster and in fact have inspired f) _______________ for Olympic swimsuits!

Sharks never run out of teeth. When they lose a tooth, it is replaced by a tooth from the row behind. They can go through thousands of teeth in a lifetime.

Sharks have a phenomenal sense of smell, one of the most powerful in the animal g) _______________. They can smell blood from hundreds of metres away.

They are also equipped with special sensory organs which allow them to detect electrical currents and vibrations in the water.  This gives them several advantages as hunters. For instance, it can help them detect the heartbeat of h)__________________ hiding under sand.

Not only are sharks fascinating creatures, but they have been a vital part of i)_______________ ecosystems for millions of years. One very important role they play is keeping other animal populations in check (= preventing them from expanding too much). This helps to ensure j)_______________ oceanic life.

Sharks have a k)_______________ reputation thanks in part to movies such as “Jaws” but most shark species are harmless, to humans at least. You are far more likely to be killed by a lightning strike, a bee or even a cow!


Not so fun fact

Alarmingly, shark populations have plummeted by 70% in just the last fifty years, mostly as a result of overfishing, bycatch* and shark finning. 100 million sharks are killed every year.

*Bycatch: the marine creatures caught unintentionally in commercial fishing operations

B) FISH IDIOMS

1. Karla is very nervous about her first public concert. It’s one thing to sing in front of friends and family but singing in front of a big crowd is a different __________ (bucket, kettle, pan) of fish

2. People were packed like __________ (cod, sardines, tuna) in the train so we decided not to get on and to wait for the next train.

3. I wouldn’t talk to the boss today about organising the office party. He’s got __________ (bigger, busier, grander) fish to fry (= more important things to do)

4. Harold needed money fast so he went to a loan __________ (leech, shark, squid) and now he has to pay it all back in a week with 400% interest!



Answers

A) a) survived b) flexible c) rows d) length e) rough f) fabrics
g) kingdom h) prey i) marine j) diverse k) fearsome

B) 1. kettle 2. sardines 3. bigger 4. shark

a different kettle of fish – a completely different situation

If people are packed (in) like sardines there are so many people in a space that it is difficult for them to move

If someone has bigger fish to fry, they have more important things to do

a loan shark is an illegal and sometimes dangerous lender

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Test your Idioms!

Parts of the Body Exercise 1

Animals  Exercise 1

Idioms with ‘Give’  Exercise 1

Idioms with ‘Make’  Exercise 1  Exercise 2

Idioms with ‘Take’  Exercise 1

Idioms with ‘Keep’  Exercise 1

Idioms with ‘Think’  Exercise 1




Grammar Exercises

Spot the Mistakes (41)

Which of these sentences are grammatically incorrect? Correct the mistakes. 

  1. I didn’t have money enough for the train ticket.
  2. Can you help me? I’m not tall enough to reach the top shelf.
  3. I bought my car to a friend of mine.
  4. We regret to inform you that we are unable offer you the job.
  5. Noah regrets to change jobs. His new job is far more stressful.
  6. Jen had the uneasy feeling she was be followed.
  7. Had I had known it was your birthday, I would have bought you something.
  8. I wish I have a boss like yours. He’s very open to new ideas.









Answers

1. I didn’t have enough money for the train ticket.
2. ✅
3. I bought my car from a friend of mine.
4.  We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you the job.
5. Noah regrets changing jobs. His new job is far more stressful.
6. Jen had the uneasy feeling she was being followed.
7. ✅
8. I wish I had a boss like yours. He’s very open to new ideas.

 

Grammar Exercises

Spot the Grammar Mistakes – List of Exercises

Spot the Mistakes (5-10 minute tests)

These exercises are great training before an exam as they quickly help you identify which grammar areas need some extra study. They will also help you be more critical of your own writing.

Can you find the common grammar errors and correct them? 😊


NEW! Exercise 45 (January 2021)

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Exercise 7

Exercise 8

Exercise 9

Exercise 10

Exercise 11

Exercise 12

Exercise 13

Exercise 14

Exercise 15

Exercise 16

Exercise 17

Exercise 18

Exercise 19

Exercise 20

Exercise 21

Exercise 22

Exercise 23

Exercise 24

Exercise 25

Exercise 26

Exercise 27

Exercise 28

Exercise 29

Exercise 30

Exercise 31

Exercise 32

Exercise 33

Exercise 34

Exercise 35

Exercise 36

Exercise 37

Exercise 38

Exercise 39

Exercise 40

Exercise 41

Exercise 42

Exercise 43

Exercise 44 (15 November 2020)

Exercise 45 (January 2021)

SPOT THE SPELLING MISTAKES

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3


VERB DRILLS

VerbTraining 1: Irregular Verbs – Past Simple and Present Perfect (Intermediate + )
Verb Training 2: Different Tenses (Elementary/Pre-Intermediate)
Verb Training 3: Past Simple (Elementary/Pre-Intermediate)
Verb Training 4: Present Continuous
Verb Training 5: Past Simple Questions
Verb Training 6: Mixed Tenses

150 Very Common Phrasal Verbs

Grammar Exercises

🎯Quiz Your English! (1)🎯 – Vocabulary Worksheet