1
general::
noun exam ADJ. difficult, stiff The stiff entrance examination removes 60 per cent of prospective students. | easy | important | entrance, matriculation, selection | end of term/year, final He has just completed his final examinations at London University. | professional, school | formal | competitive | external, public One of the teacher's principal duties is to prepare students for external examinations. | A level, GCSE, etc. | mock | multiple choice, oral, practical, written, viva voce VERB + EXAMINATION prepare for, revise for, study for | enter for Students may enter for both examinations. | do, sit, take She will take her professional examinations later this year. | resit, retake | do well in, pass | do badly in, fail | set The examinations are set by individual teachers. | administer, invigilate | mark EXAMINATION + NOUN paper, question | syllabus | candidate | grades, marks, results | certificate | hall, room | fee | technique | success PREP. ~ in He failed his examination in history. | ~ on an examination on human anatomy looking at sth carefully ADJ. careful, close, detailed, full, lengthy, rigorous, thorough Each of the proposals deserves careful examination. | brief, cursory, superficial | initial, preliminary | critical The school curriculum has undergone critical examination in recent years. | clinical, forensic, medical, physical, post-mortem, psychiatric, scientific VERB + EXAMINATION carry out, conduct, do, make, perform He carried out a post-mortem examination. We will make a more thorough examination of the area later. | come under, have, be subject/subjected to, undergo I was advised to have a full eyesight examination. | stand up to His ideas about social change do not stand up to close examination. EXAMINATION + VERB reveal sth, show sth A medical examination showed no signs of hypertension. EXAMINATION + NOUN couch She lay on the examination couch and waited for the doctor to return. PREP. on ~ On closer examination the wood was found to be rotten. | under ~ Several items of clothing are still under examination. | ~ by The school's controversial methods have come under examination by the local authority.
2
general::
examination verbs take an examination ( also sit an examination British English ) • Do you have to take an examination in every subject? pass an examination (= succeed in it ) • I really hope that Suzie passes the examination. fail an examination • Michael had never yet failed an examination. study for an examination ( also revise for an examination British English ) • I have been studying all week for the examination. do well/badly in an examination • He did well in his examinations, and went on to study at MIT. cheat in an examination • Any student caught cheating in an examination will be suspended. ADJECTIVES/NOUN + examination a final examination (= at the end of a course ) • My final examinations take place in June. a written/oral examination • For French, there is an oral and a written examination. a chemistry/French etc examination • Most of the pupils passed their science examination with flying colours. an entrance examination (= to enter a school or university ) • He had now failed the college entrance examination twice. a mock examination (= a practice examination to prepare for the real one ) • Mock examinations help you to prepare for the real thing. A-level/high school etc examinations • The school usually achieves good results in GCSE examinations. examination + NOUN examination results • You will receive your examination results in the post. an examination paper • There will be a choice of questions on the examination paper. an examination question • Read the examination questions carefully before writing your answers. examination revision • I need to find somewhere quiet to do some examination revision. an examination script (= everything that someone writes in an examination ) • I've just finished marking 200 examination scripts. examination marks • On average, girls achieved higher examination marks that boys. an examination pass • To apply, you need at least two A-level examination passes. examination 2 verbs carry out an examination ( also conduct an examination formal ) (= examine something ) • The police are carrying out an examination of the crime scene. adjectives a careful examination • After a very careful examination of the evidence, we have ruled against the defendant. a detailed examination • Scientists have carried out a detailed examination of the house. a thorough/rigorous examination (= very careful ) • There needs to be a thorough examination of these claims. a close examination (= very careful and detailed ) • A close examination of the figures revealed many discrepancies. a brief examination (= quick, and not very detailed ) • In chapter one, there is a brief examination of the economic situation in the country at the time. a cursory examination (= very quick and not careful or detailed ) • Even a cursory examination of the documents would reveal some serious problems. a superficial examination (= looking only at things that are obvious and easy to see ) • The police carried out a fairly superficial examination of the room. a preliminary/initial examination • The inland revenue began a preliminary examination of his tax returns in August. further examination (= a more detailed or careful examination ) • The results of the experiment merit further examination. forensic examination (= the scientific methods used for finding out about a crime ) • The clothing was sent to the lab for forensic examination. phrases on closer examination • On closer examination, I could see a slight crack in the window. under examination • The handling of the matter is under examination by congressional investigators. examination 3 verbs have an examination • He was examined by Dr Bower yesterday and will have another examination today. undergo an examination (= have one ) • All new employees are required to undergo a medical examination. conduct/perform an examination • The doctor will perform an examination in order to assess the problem. an examination shows ( also an examination reveals formal ) • A second examination showed a small growth in his stomach. a medical examination • We need to do a further medical examination. a clinical examination (= by a doctor ) • The clinical examination may not reveal anything abnormal. a post-mortem examination (= an examination of a dead body to discover why the person died ) • The post-mortem examination showed that he died from a blood clot in the brain. a routine examination • I made an appointment at the dentist's for a routine examination.