Identify the word where the primary stress falls on the second syllable

Here are the answers to questions 31-50:

31. B. About

    • The primary stress in "About" falls on the second syllable (a-BOUT).

32. C. themselves

    • "The group of students" is plural, so the correct reflexive pronoun is "themselves".

33. A. Mouth

    • The word "Mouth" contains the /aʊ/ sound.

34. D. Occasion

    • The standard and correct spelling is "Occasion".

35. A. has

    • "The committee" is treated as a singular unit, and "decided" is a past participle, requiring the auxiliary verb "has" for the present perfect tense.

36. C. beautifully

    • "Performed" is a verb, and it needs an adverb to describe how the action was done. "Beautifully" is the adverb form.

37. D. but

    • The two clauses express contrasting ideas (wanting to attend vs. having another engagement), so "but" is the appropriate conjunction.

38. B. many

    • "Candidates" is a countable noun, so "many" is the correct quantifier.

39. C. What a remarkable performance it was!

    • An exclamation sentence correctly ends with an exclamation mark.

40. A. Coward

    • In a formal context, "coward" (or "cowardly") is the most accurate opposite of "brave".

41. B. will reach

    • This is a first conditional sentence structure: "If + present simple, will + base verb".

42. C. Please ensure your work is submitted by Friday.

    • This sentence uses "Please" and is phrased as a polite request.

43. D. The candidate said that she was ready.

    • When converting direct speech to reported speech, the tense shifts to the past ("am" becomes "was") and the pronoun changes ("I" becomes "she").

44. C. Hour

    • The letter 'h' in "Hour" is silent.

45. B. The assignments were marked by the teacher.

    • To change an active sentence ("The teacher marked the assignments") to passive voice, the object becomes the subject, and the verb is formed with "to be" + past participle.

46. D. Swarm

    • A "swarm" is a collective noun, typically used for insects.

47. A. through

    • The river flows through the valley, indicating movement within an area.

48. D. more efficient

    • The question asks for the "best comparative form". While the sentence structure "the ___ approach" often takes a superlative, "more efficient" is a comparative that can fit if an implicit comparison is made.

49. D. look over

    • To "look over" a document means to examine or check it carefully.

50. B. haven't they?

    • The main verb is "have finished" (present perfect), so the auxiliary verb is "have". The statement is positive, so the tag question is negative, and "students" is plural, so the pronoun is "they".