Reading and Use of English: Practice Exam Answers (26th May 2016)

 

Hi everyone. 

Unfortunately, I'm not able to make it into school for the rest of the week, and so tonight's final CPE class will have to be cancelled. 

I have some copies of the Reading and Use of English exams that some of you did last week with me at home, while I've left some at work, so I thought the best thing to do would be to publish the activities, along with the answers, here on the blog. Below are the full texts for Parts 1 and 2 (Use of English), along with the correct answer for each question. For Parts 3 and 4, follow the links below, where you'll find the relevant tasks from last week's exam, as well as many other similar tasks that I'd advise you work through.

I'm in the process of locating and putting together answer sheets for Parts 5, 6 and 7 of last week's exam (the reading parts), so keep an eye on the blog over the next day or two.

I'm also going to put together a check-list for each writing genre that you might find in the writing section of the exam - again, all of this should be on the blog very soon! 

Reading and use of English: Part One

Photography at its most daring

Photographers who have (0) WORKED so close to volcanoes that their clothes started to burn, come within stroking (1) DISTANCE of tigers in the wild, or dived under the sea ice freezing cold water have (2) JOINED forces for an exhibition, (3) BILLED as displaying images from the harshest places on Earth.

Polar bears and seals were (4) CAPTURED on camera by a photographer who grew up in the Arctic and trained as a (5) MARINE biologist. He dives under the sea ice to swim with his subjects, once offending a leopard seal by (6) REFUSING the penguin she tried to feed him with. Another exhibitor has recorded not only tigers but also chimpanzees that had never before encountered human beings. The volcano enthusiasts work in fireproof suits, always at risk of becoming so (7) TRANSFIXED by the beauty of the eruptions that they venture too close. There are invisible pockets of gas as well as flames, all of which contribute to the (8) PERILS of being an extreme photographer.

Reading and Use of English: Part Two

Altering the modern mind

A recently published book claims that the (0) AMOUNT of time we spend on the Internet is changing the very structure of our brains. Its thesis is simple enough: not only that the modern world's relentless informational overload is killing our capacity (9) FOR reflection, contemplation and patience, but that our online habits are also altering the way our brains are wired.

In the book, the author looks (10) BACK on such human inventions as the map and the clock and the (11) EXTENT to which they influenced our essential models of thought. He argues that the Internet's multiplicity of stimuli and mass of information have (12) GIVEN rise to hurried and distracted thinking. Without putting too fine a point on it, the author concludes that our ability to learn (13) ANYTHING at all worthwhile has become superficial. Surprisingly very (14) LITTLE research has looked into the Internet's effects on the brain, but further research is (15) IN hand and is investigating whether deep-thinking processes really are in (16) DANGER of disappearing.

Reading and Use of English: Part Three

Reading and Use of English: Part Four

Report Writing Homework Task

Writing Paper Part 2: Report Writing

We have looked at report writing in a previous lesson, so hopefully the general ideas about how a report should be written are familiar to you. However, there are a number of pointers below the following question, which should hopefully help you to write a high quality response to the question.

If you can hand this to me on Thursday that would be great, but I appreciate that that only gives you two days. So if you can't get it to me by Thursday, you can bring it to the English office any time after that. Good luck!

Question
You work in a department with a large number of colleagues, all of whom are learning English. You recently discussed the idea of setting up an after-work Film Club with the aim of improving or maintaining your skills in English. You volunteered to write a report for your colleagues and you should make suggestions about the following points:

Film Club why we should set up the club how best to organise it costs any other considerations

Write the report for colleagues. (around 280 - 320 words)

What you need to do to pass
Read our checklist first to understand what the examiner is looking for in a good answer.

Ideas for writing
Ask yourself the following questions to help you get started:

• First, make a list of points that could be included as a rationale for setting up the club:
  - fun and sociable way to learn English
  - a useful addition to any language courses that your colleagues attend
• Next, you need to consider how it could be organised. Think about the following points if you are stuck for ideas:
  - how often would the members meet up?
  - what time/day of the week would suit everybody?
  - where would the club meet?
  - who would pick the films?
• A report also has to consider the costs of any recommendations! What are the costs likely to be and how could the money be raised?
  Example: 
  Cost - hiring the videos
  Solution - everyone pays a small amount toward it.
• Finally, a report is normally a fairly formal document but as this is for circulation amongst your colleagues you can be a little more informal.
  Example:
  "I propose/suggest that we ....."
  is preferable to
  "It is proposed that ....."

Drafting and proofreading your work

You should look at your first draft of the task and decide:

• Have you answered the question?
• Is the layout and organisation appropriate?
• Is the language accurate with a good range of structures?
• Is the style appropriate and consistent?
• Will it be useful and helpful in setting up the Film Club?

Use of English

Work the the exercises via the following links:

Quizlet: Use of English 1

Quizlet: Use of English 2

Quizlet: Use of English 3

CPE Listening Practice

Listenening 1

Listening 1

1  The speaker makes the point that…

 It takes skill to write a memorable novel about miserable marriages.   
 It is immoral that people prefer novels about bad marriages to good ones.   
 Fairy tales give readers false hopes about the reality of married life.   

2  ‘Madame Bovary’ is used to exemplify…

 the lengths women went to in order to avoid being socially outcast.   
 how divorce made it easier for women to escape unhappy marriages.   
 how inescapable marriages make better stories.   

3  When the woman was a bridesmaid at her brother’s wedding…

 she was embarrassed about taking the role because of her wheelchair.   
 she was delighted that her childhood dreams had come true.   
 she was sceptical about marriage in general.   

4  The woman’s experience at her friends’ wedding…

 made her feel grateful to her friends for changing her outlook.   
 made her realise that disabled people could be treated better at functions.   
 made her feel equally conspicuous, but for different reasons.   

5  Recent demographic research in America has shown…

 surprising changes in the divorce rate.   
 a repeat of a former trend.   
 an increase in the cost of getting a divorce.   

6  One positive impact identified by the study is that the recession…

 reduced the incidence of violence within families.   
 improved the relationship between children and parents.   
 strengthened some marital relationships.   

7  According to the speaker, marital pair bonds probably began when…

 males forced females to become more compliant.   
 the difference in size between males and females decreased.   
 females objected to living in polygamous relationships.   

8  By ancient Greek times, the institute of marriage was characterized by its role as…

 a public proclamation of romantic love.   
 a pact to secure possessions and social standing.   
 a relationship in which both the male and female benefitted.   

Listening 2

1. Biomimicry imitates nature’s structures, processes and  to create new ideas.
2. Velcro was developed after its inventor observed the sticking qualities of one particular plant’s .
3. Wood has the beneficial feature of being able to 
4. The synthetic ‘wood’ created for the post office will not according to surrounding environmental conditions. 
5. The Namibian Fog Basking beetle uses its ability to  in order to live in harsh conditions.
6. A  on the beetle’s shell repels water and aids the formation of large droplets.
7. The Sahara Forest project utilised this concept in the design of a .
8. The ‘Able Project’ uses  from the composting process as an input to the fish farm.
9. The extinction of one species of  has prevented scientists from finding a cure for excess stomach acid.

CPE Reading Practice

Work through the reading exercise via the following link:

http://www.examenglish.com/cpe/cpe_reading_part1.htm

Report Writing

Report Writing Task

You belong to a committee that helps to organise a yearly carnival or festival in your home town. This year's event has just taken place and you have been asked by the event leader to write a short report about it, highlighting the successes and making recommendations for next year. Your report may include any or all of the following topics:

•number of people attending?

•money raised?

•most successful acts or events?

•publicity?

•general points?

Write the report for the event leader. (around 280 - 320 words)

1. The use of formal language in a Report

•Avoid using contractions in reports as they are too informal.
Write "I would like to recommend..." instead of "I´d like to recommend..."

•Another thing to avoid is using idioms and phrasal verbs as they tend to be spoken and informal.

2. The organisation of a Report
A report should have a title and subtitles (or subheadings) and be divided into clear sections. There is usually an introduction and a conclusion.

3. Useful language / Phrases to use in a Report.

•In the introduction

–The aim of this report is to...

–The purpose of this report is to outline...

–This report will also provide some recommendations on...

•In the conclusion

–I strongly recommend...ing

–It would be highly advisable to...

–I would no doubt suggest...ing

–I also believe we should...

Adverbs of Frequency and Manner

Work through the activities on the following links:

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Manner