"I am not comfortable after eating these peaches." Is this sentence natural? Do you use comfortable in such a sentence? I don't feel it's OK to use it this way. I think it should be: "I don't feel good after eating these peaches." "I don't feel well after eating these peaches." Am I right? Thanks!

"It’s surprising how fast/quickly you get used to new things." Are both fast and quickly correct and natural here? Or is either of them much more preferred? Thanks.

"Those students were very excited every time the exam results were announced." Are the exam results here more common in British English? If so, what's the American English version of this sentence? Exam scores or exam grades? Thanks!

"Through further communication, she found that the man had a wide knowledge of arts." Is this sentence correct and natural? a. I feel "Through further communication" is too formal. How about I change it to "Through further communication? b. AI says "found" isn't the right word here. "Discovered" or "realized" would be the right word. But I think "found" is correct here. Am I right? c. Is "arts" here clear enough? Should I use "the arts" instead? Thanks!

Is the preposition ON necessary in the following sentences? Which is better, with ON or without ON? 1. She was puffing (on) a cigarette at the time. 2. I sat puffing (on) my cigar.

"She said that she could discriminate/distinguish/differentiate/tell the wine only by smelling it." In this sentence, which verb is more common and natural? Or are they all fine to be used here? Thanks!

People say "change trains/planes" because it refers to the action of switching from one train/plane to another during travel. But when it comes to the following situation, things are getting weird: Let's apply the same rule. Then we've got the action of switching from one razor blade to another. The ONLY correct sentence would be "How do I change razor blades?" But it seems also correct and natural to say: "How do I change a razor blade?" Am I right? If so, why and between "change a razor blade" and "change razor blades," which is more common?

"The middlescent usually have to bear much responsibility." Is this sentence correct and natural? I think the word middlescent is not common, which makes this sentence a little unnatural. I guess a more natural way to phrase it would be: "People in middle age usually have to bear much responsibility." or "Middle-aged people usually have to bear much responsibility." Am I right?

This morning, I had a lesson with a former IELTS British examiner. During the lesson, one of the students pronounced the word “era” as /ˈer.ə/ with an American accent. The teacher said it should be pronounced as /ˈɪ(ə)rə/. Then he looked it up in the dictionary and said, “I didn’t know it can be pronounced this way.” This raised my questions: We always ASSUME that all IELTS examiners are well-trained and aware of all the differences between any English-speaking countries. But what if they are not? Does using American punctuation formats and pronunciation make it impossible to get a band 9? Let’s say the examiner is British, and they happen to be unfamiliar with the American pronunciation of certain words. For example, you pronounce the word “schedule” as /ˈskedʒ.uːl/ instead of the British version /ˈʃedʒ.uːl/. I’m not referring to typical accent differences, like the "er" sound being pronounced in American English while not in British English, but to less commonly known examples. Let’s take a look at punctuation. Here’s what Grammarly says: Quotation marks in British English reverse single and double quotation marks, so single quotation marks are the standard, and double quotation marks are used only for a quote within a quote. American English: “The chef told me, ‘Anything you order is free,’” I said to the waiter. British English: ‘The chef told me, “Anything you order is free,”’ I said to the waiter. Here’s what www.unr.edu says: British English puts commas and periods (full stops) outside the quotation marks unless the quotation is also a complete sentence or the punctuation is part of the quotation. However, American English always puts commas and periods inside the quotation marks. What if the British examiner happens to not know these rules? Are my worries real? Does using American punctuation formats and pronunciation make it impossible to get a band 9? (Of course, you can get a 7.5-8.5, but these subtle issues might make it impossible to get a 9.)