Answer Keys
Part 1
1 D — occasion. The meaning of ‘on occasion’ is ‘sometimes (not often), when needed’.
2 A — limb. Life and limb is an idiom that means ‘health and well-being’. With this kind of question, you can’t know every single idiom. To make an educated guess, you may go for alliteration (when words begin with the same letter, like in this case) and try to listen to each construction. E.g. ‘life and bone’, ‘life and flesh’ sound rather awkward.
3 B — called. ‘To call on someone’ is to ask them to do something. Pay attention to the following preposition, as it is a phrasal verb and preposition is key to understanding the meaning.
4 C — host. ‘A host of something’ is a large number of it.
5 C — debt. ‘A debt of gratitude’ is a large amount of favour you owe someone because they helped you a great deal.
6 B — involved. One of the easier gaps in this text.
7 D — vital. The only widely used collocation here is ‘of vital importance’.
8 C — donations. Unlike other options listed (except D), donations are given with a general purpose of helping the cause without expecting any feedback on expenditures. Option D doesn’t fit lexically.
Part 2
9 longer. ‘No longer’ is used in the meaning of ‘in the past, but not anymore’.
10 which. ‘Which’ here refers to the end of the sentence: ‘which… is very convenient’. Consider reading an article on relative clauses if you think ‘that’ would be more appropriate.
11 having. ‘Having done something’ is an example of a perfect participle, which shows the interrelation between two actions: first you park the car, then you do the shopping inside the mall.
12 There. Well, you shouldn’t be asking about this one if you really have your mind set on a CAE exam :).
13 like. Another straightforward gap. Don’t be tempted to put ‘is’ in there, as there’s already an auxiliary verb in that clause.
14 to. ‘To object to something’ means to be against it, to dislike it.
15 One. One of the many.
16 with. The result of malls looking the same is the identical appearance of every city.
Part 3
17 eloquently. An adverb is needed here.
18 conceivable. Make sure not to misspell this word. Remember one simple rule: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ (which is the case here).
19 disrespect. The context clearly indicates the need for a negative prefix.
20 influential. An adjective with no spelling pitfalls.
21 discredited. ‘or called into question’ helps to understand that the preceding verb should be negative and in the past form.
22 incorporated. The meaning of the verb is ‘to implement, to introduce’.
23 unmodified. ‘Raw’ helps to get the idea of the blog material remaining unchanged.
24 disprove. Another rather difficult case. The two pitfalls here are which negative prefix to use and how to spell the verb form of ‘proof’. Both are a matter of memorisation.
Part 4
25 would benefit from (taking/having)
26 no time were we (ever) aware
27 had not / hadn’t been for that accident
28 are on (very) good terms with
29 can’t have been put
30 had her bag snatched
Part 5
31 C. This one is not an easy question; the best way to approach it is to exclude options that do not fit and gradually work from there. Answer A is not mentioned – it was not said when the information was discovered. Answer B is not mentioned again – even though there is a mention of ice age, it wasn’t the cause. Answer D can’t be used as nothing is said about the inhabitants drowning. It is also a ridiculous notion, as the process of rising sea level takes hundreds of years.
32 C. The devices mentioned are ‘computers’ and ‘satellite-positioning equipment’. Option A is wrong – the sonar is located at the bottom of the survey ship. Option B is not correct either – the imagery produced by this technology has three dimensions. Option D is not mentioned.
33 A. Understanding the word ‘scathing’ is the key to this question. It means ‘bitter or hurt’. Another helpful expression is in the last sentence of the paragraph: ‘it’s an absolute scandal!’ Dr Andrews is definitely angry at the situation.
34 B. Last but one sentence of the paragraph clearly states that such findings could change how British people perceive their origin.
35 D. The practical application is the mapping capabilities of the technology that would help pick the best site for quarrying. Other answers here have no direct relation to quarrying.
36 A. The second part of the last paragraph concentrates reader’s attention on the importance of preserving marine life and how the use of the new scanning technology could both help save the sea species and conduct the long-planned enlargement of the English Channel.
Part 6
37 A. Reviewer A is the only one unhappy with the author’s style or narration: ‘excessively poetic, at times, absurd language’; Reviewer B: ‘[her ideas are] passionately and eloquently expressed’ ; Reviewer C: ‘it’s a fascinating proposition, fluently and vividly delivered’; Reviewer D: ‘rare vitality and admirable energy in Griffiths’ writing’.
38 B. Reviewer A believes the author to be too selective, as she conveniently picks arguments that support her theory: ‘a single idea of lost childhood freedom’ is taken. Reviewer B agrees: ‘She is also guilty of selective deployment of evidence’.
39 D. The only reviewer who doesn’t doubt Griffiths fairness in data representation: ‘The result, as the UNICEF surveys of well-being that Griffiths’ quotes reveal, is a generation of children who are unhappy and unfulfilled.’
40 C. Both reviewers point out that children are in fact far from the innocent beings she believes them to be: Reviewer B: ‘Part of the problem is that she regards children as originally innocent and good’; Reviewer C: ‘Griffiths ignores all the science that shows that children are, in fact, far from being the simple innocents of romantic tradition.’
Part 7
41 E. ‘they work outdoors’ at the beginning of Paragraph E helps us to establish the connection with the first paragraph and refers to the field scientists.
42 C. The preceding paragraph ends with ‘everywhere is teeming with life’ and then the idea is developed at the beginning of Paragraph C with a literal example of a sprouting mushrooms.
43 F. The plural pronoun ‘they’ at the beginning of Paragraph F refers to the local community and carries on to expand the topic of their lives. Then an example of a helping a local woman is needed, with the beginning of the next paragraph contrasting with this event, giving a brief description of the author’s regular activities.
44 A. A number of relative pronouns are used throughout this paragraph and as you read through it, you understand that they refer to the ‘species’ from the previous paragraph. Then the following paragraph continues this idea, stating that usually there are no species in sight, just crawling among leaves.
45 G. ‘Rewarding’ at the end of previous paragraph is the adjective referring to what is described in Paragraph G. The thrill of discovery, the joy of sharing it with the scientific community.
46 D. This paragraph and the previous one both give a brief description of the trouble of finding a job position like the one the author has.
Part 8
47 D. The first sentence of this paragraph encourages the reader to prepare for the interview, namely find out how it is going to be conducted.
48 A. The middle of the paragraph mentions the author talking about their hobbies and then getting ‘carried away’. That’s how they learned to keep to the point the hard way.
49 C. This is one of the easier questions. The first half of the paragraph tells the story of an informal setting at a workplace and the author of the paragraph showing up for the interview in a suit.
50 C. The middle of this paragraph mentions the author responding with ‘No, thanks!’ to whether he had any questions, which briefly ended the interview for them.
51 D. The bottom half of the paragraph mentions the employers being interested in a candidate that is able and willing to take responsibility for their own shortcomings.
52 B. The second sentence suggests not to learn your responses as not to appear insincere.
53 C. Bottom half of this paragraph advises to have about ten questions ready for when the interview is over to ask your future employer.
54 D. The second part of the paragraph mentions the importance of candidate’s posture, position of hands, maintaining eye contact and so forth.
55 B. Last sentence of the paragraph gives an example of an inquiry about prospective promotion as good practice. The author encourages you not to hide your plans and intentions.
56 A. Last two sentences mention that you should not be shy about your shortcomings and weaknesses and let your prospective employer know about them. However, it is also advisable to mention how you tend to cope with them.