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Costa Rica vocabulary (ESL)

Total questions: 22

Worksheet time: 44mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

"How did Costa Rica escape the corruption, instability, and violent political struggles that have plagued many Latin American countries?"


a "struggle" means ...

a)

a fight for control

b)

a difficult effort

c)

a weakness

d)

an election

e)

a strange position

2.

"How did Costa Rica escape the corruption, instability, and violent political struggles that have plagued many Latin American countries?"


to "plague" means ...

a)

to worry too much about something

b)

to spread a disease widely

c)

to cause constant or repeated trouble

d)

to cause something to be dirty

e)

to resolve difficulties

3.

"strength" is the opposite of ...

a)

strong

b)

width

c)

weight

d)

shortness

e)

weakness

4.

Carlos Alvarado was elected in 2018 and is still the leader of the republic. He is the ... president of Costa Rica.

a)

former

b)

current

c)

actual

d)

pretend

e)

acting

5.

"The book looks at how Costa Rica achieved its surprisingly strong happiness score."


to "achieve" means ...

a)

to arrive, to get to a location

b)

to almost - but not quite - reach a goal

c)

to surprise the expectations of most people

d)

to save valuable papers in a special location

e)

to accomplish; to reach a status through effort

6.

"In 1948, a civil war broke out in Costa Rica."


to "break out" means ...

a)

for a difficult situation to cause a skin condition

b)

for a difficult situation to begin (often suddenly)

c)

for a difficult situation to end suddenly

d)

for a difficult situation to cause a lot of damage

e)

for a difficult situation to be surprisingly good

7.

Costa Rica's defense minister had proposed abolishing the military to free up government funds that could be spent on education and healthcare."


to "abolish" means ...

a)

to officially give something a name

b)

to officially end or stop something

c)

to give special status to a group

d)

to allow in special circumstances

e)

to destroy by violence

8.

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."


to "avoid" means ...

a)

to prevent the occurrence of something

b)

to encourage to happen

c)

to make something bad better

d)

to maintain a condition

e)

to allow many people to do something

9.

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."


to "ban" means ...

a)

to encourage the development of something

b)

to not allow something to exist

c)

to create a special group

d)

to violently destroy something

e)

to make something official

10.

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."


a "target" means ...

a)

a place, thing, or person at which an attack is aimed (directed)

b)

an attempted difficult goal

c)

something that is not allowed

d)

a popular location for illegal business

e)

a place for practicing the use of weapons

11.

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."


an "uprising" means ...

a)

a group of unhelpful people

b)

a surprising election result

c)

an opportunity for improvement

d)

a violent effort to change something

e)

a launch of military airplanes

12.

Which two words are similar in meaning?

a)

plague

b)

encourage

c)

ban

d)

allow

e)

abolish

13.

Which of the verbs below are in the past tense? (Select all correct answers.)

a)

fought

b)

won

c)

broke

d)

surrendered

e)

spend

14.

"The conservative platform gained more support than one would expect in Costa Rica."


What is the difference between "than one would expect" and "than one would hope"?

a)

"hope" is about desire/want; "expect" is about facts

b)

"hope" is about religion; "expect" is about authority

c)

"hope" is the simple passage of time; "expect" is a need

d)

"hope" is about facts; "expect" is about desire/want

15.

"Costa Rica is the happiest country in the region according to a 2018 Gallup World Poll."


"according to" means ...

a)

that it is the cause of disagreement (the dispute)

b)

that it is the only correct choice (the obvious)

c)

that it is where the information is found (the source)

d)

that it is only partially true

e)

that it is only one person's opinion

16.

"Costa Rica is the happiest country in the region according to a 2018 Gallup World Poll." (Select all correct answers.)


a "poll" means ...

a)

asking a lot of people a question / questions

b)

a decision by a government

c)

the answer according to experts

d)

research to try to discover what most people think

e)

the resolution to a problem

17.

"Costa Rica has remained proud of its progressive traditions on issues like the environment, human rights, and democracy."


"proud" means ...

a)

embarrassed or ashamed

b)

disapproving of something

c)

telling too many people about something

d)

happy and pleased because of your identity and/or accomplishments

e)

protesting loudly about something

18.

"Costa Rica has remained proud of its progressive traditions on issues like the environment, human rights, and democracy."


"issues" means ...

a)

disagreements

b)

opinions

c)

religious beliefs

d)

political parties

e)

important subjects or topics

19.

"Today Costa Rica is still benefiting from the decisions the government made during those early years of the Cold War."


to "benefit from" means ...

a)

to be helped by; to receive good effects of

b)

to be given money or something valuable

c)

to be told what to do by an authority

d)

to be loved by other groups of people

e)

to be wanting more of something

20.

"The Communist forces agreed to peacefully surrender the war."


to "surrender" means ...

a)

to demand your way

b)

to ask for help; to beg

c)

to stop doing something; to give up

d)

to continue in a smaller way

e)

to want to win

21.

"Some see Fabricio Alvarado's success as a bad omen for Costa Rica's social and political stability down the line."


a "bad omen" means ...

a)

a bad sign of what will happen

b)

a dangerous spirit

c)

a strong desire

d)

something that is not important

e)

a good option or possibility

22.

"Some see Fabricio Alvarado's success as a bad omen for Costa Rica's social and political stability down the line."


"down the line" means ...

a)

in the recent past

b)

in the present

c)

in the distant past

d)

in another place and time

e)

in the future