Answer Keys
PART 1
1 C — even. ‘Even’ here is an intensifier, showing that singing Neanderthals are unusual or even paradoxical.
2 B — resulted. ‘Resulted from’ is the best collocation here.
3 D — occupied. Resided and dwelt would need ‘in’ preposition. Filled implies that they were very numerous, which isn’t stated in the text. Occupied is more neutral.
4 B — assumed. ‘To assume’ means to take for granted without any actual proof. As the context suggests, previous beliefs about Neanderthal’s voices had no scientific ground.
5 D — form. Another set expression. The other possible option is an approach to communication, albeit with a different preposition, so it can’t be used here.
6 A — coincides. ‘To coincide with’ means ‘to take place at the same time, simultaneously’. Cooperate is the only other verb that can be followed by ‘with’, but the text speaks of no cooperation.
7 A — differed. Again, the only verb that collocates with the ‘from’ preposition here. ‘Markedly’ here means ‘noticeable, distinguishable, easy to see’.
8 C — build. Build refers to physical strength here. It is the word that is commonly used when referring to the physical features of an object.
PART 2
9 to. Designed to do something.
10 in/into. ‘To pop in/into’ means to visit the place briefly, for a short time.
11 so. ‘So that’ = for a particular reason.
12 well. ‘As well as’ = in addition to. ‘We went shopping to buy some groceries as well as today’s newspaper’.
13 get. ‘To get someone hooked on something’ = to involve someone in something, to allure someone to do something, usually addictive (like reading, sports, substances).
14 for. We normally use ‘for’ preposition with ordinal numbers (first, second, third and so on).
15 a. Indefinite article is used here because we are not talking about any particular selection of books and it is mentioned for the first time in this text. See articles page for more information.
16 with. We cannot use ‘and’ here because there is no ‘is’ before ‘being’ in the last sentence. Therefore, ‘with’ is the only option that fits.
PART 3
17 originally. Originally means ‘in the first place’. The context demands an adverb to be used here.
18 sight. ‘At first sight’ means ‘from the start, at first’.
19 untrained. It is suggested by context that we should use negative prefix ‘un-‘. The second part of the sentence makes it clear.
20 workout. A workout is any exercise aimed at developing your body. Don’t forget that you can’t leave the word unchanged, even though ‘work’ would fit grammatically.
21 necessarily. An adverb is needed here. Pay attention to spelling, it is easy to make a mistake and not get a point for this answer.
22 maximise. A verb is needed. AmE spelling is ‘maximize’, it won’t be regarded as a mistake if you spell it that way, but BrE spelling is preferable.
23 strengthening. Preposition ‘for’ before the word says that we need to use gerund form. Another difficult word to spell, pay attention here.
24 entirety. Entirety means ‘whole, all of’.
25 come up with a solution. ‘To come up with’ means to produce or find something, in this case a solution (way of solving something).
26 be wondering why it has been. Present Perfect is used here because we have preposition ‘since’.
27 me of not telling the truth. Note that you have to use negative particle because the word ‘truth’ has to be used.
28 without giving enough thought. ‘To give a thought to something’ means to think something over, to consider it for some time.
29 there has been a decrease in. Note that decrease here should be used as a noun rather than as verb.
30 however bad his behaviour OR however badly(-)behaved he. ‘However bad/badly’ means ‘no matter how bad/badly’.
PART 5
31 A. Answer B is incorrect —the process is well-understood and is described in detail in the second paragraph. It is the cause of the process that isn’t clear. Answer C is not mentioned. Answer D is wrong because how long the debate was isn’t stated in the first two paragraphs. ‘For decades’ in sentence four refers to the information given in textbooks, not debates.
32 B. By ‘the opposite purposes’ the authors compare Hamilton’s earlier study about birds who use their bright feathers to attract females. Trees, on the other hand, use colourful leaves to discourage insects from choosing it. Answers A and C are not mentioned. There is nothing about the increased survival rate of trees mentioned in answer D.
33 A. Most part of paragraph 3 is about how bright leaves allow trees to protect themselves from harmful insects. Colourful leaves act a warning sign to insects. Answer B isn’t mentioned — there is nothing said about reduction in numbers of certain insects. Proximity of insects mentioned in Answer C isn’t stated. No other defence mechanisms are talked about, so answer D is wrong as well.
34 D. ‘It was a first stab to see what was out there’ means that he didn’t aim to gain any conclusive information on the subject. ‘Stab’ is a colloquial term for ‘attempt, try’. Answer B is wrong — Archetti’s mathematical model confirmed the initial theory, which was its only aim. There is no regret mentioned in the text as answer C claims. Answer D is wrong because Archetti and Hamilton had a collaboration — they initiated the project together.
35 C. Last sentence of paragraph five states that the purpose of leaves’ colour changing mechanism is to act as a sunscreen (to protect the tree or foliage from ultraviolet rays). Answer A is wrong as the critics do not express this idea — they only give example of certain trees that do not fit the paradigm suggested by Hamilton. Answer B is incorrect because the example with insects doesn’t describe their behaviour, but rather their period of activity. Answer D shouldn’t be chosen because no certain insects are named.
36 A. Brown and Archetti bring up an important question — if the sunscreen theory is correct, why not all the trees have bright leaves? In turn, Dr. Hoch says that this question is not a ‘huge concern’. Answer B isn’t correct — it is said that the subject is worth investigating, but nothing is mentioned about the possible success of that research. Answers C and D aren’t mentioned.
PART 6
37 A.Both speakers A and C are worried about companies that rely on freelance workers — as they outsource their projects to freelancers, their in-house employees become less useful as they are unfamiliar with these projects. Speaker A—last sentence, Speaker C — sentence two.
38 A. Other speakers are optimistic about the growing number of freelance workers. Speaker A though believes that more freelancers drive the prices of their own services down, as some can be willing to take a job for less money to have any work at all.
39 C. Last sentence of Speaker B paragraph says that employed workers see freelance as an ‘easy life’. Speaker C concurs, saying that non-freelancers ‘envy’ self-employed people.
40 D. Speakers A, B and C hold it that a successful freelancer is one who works hard and consistently. Speaker D believes that freelancer’s chances of success are largely based on chance (last but one sentence).
41 F. The author looks back at the years of working as a test pilot. He also mentions the unique opportunity of becoming an astronaut that he pointed out in the first paragraph.
42 E. ‘The situation changed’ refers to the extremely rare opportunities of joining a space flight — the topic of the previous sentence. The final part of paragraph E mentions a ‘test process’ that is then described in more detail in the following paragraph.
43 D. This paragraph is about variety of candidates and how having certain skills and qualities may help you to be chosen for this position. The following paragraph continues this topic.
44 G. The previous paragraph mentions how getting ill in space is a difficult situation to deal with. This paragraph mentions the only possible solution to such scenario, used as a last resort measure.
45 A. ‘It was also good …’ expands on the idea of remaining candidates. The selection was coming to an end, and the author was happy to learn that more than half of the group consisted of his fellow countrymen.
46 C. Last part of the previous paragraph states that there wasn’t much time left for the author to be contacted. This paragraph mentions the telephone call and how the author was excited to get the news of him being chosen for the programme.
PART 8
47 C. ‘what had been a largely desolate stretch’ — desolate here means ‘gloomy, depressing’. Past Perfect tense implies that it is no longer so, the design has changed for the better.
48 B. Middle of the paragraph starts with ‘Explaining his approach to designing …’, Paoletti compares his style to one of ‘free-form jazz’.
49 E. Second sentence of that paragraph how the design has radically transformed the appearance of the station.
50 B. Paoletti complains how the station he designed is compared to a cathedral, and he jokingly complains that it isa cathedral, not something that looks like one.
51 E. Last sentence of this paragraph contains Paoletti’s thoughts on the function of the underground stations.
52 E. Middle of the same paragraph gives Paoletti’s comments on the criticism and how he managed to ‘save millions in tunnelling costs’.
53 D. Very beginning of the paragraph: ‘seamless marriage of architecture and engineering’— two different elements that Paoletti attempts to unite seamlessly (without any visible transition between one and the other).
54 A. Second sentence claims that Paoletti ‘possessed the persuasiveness and tenacity’ to accomplish this project. ‘Tenacity’ means persistence and willpower.
55 D. Third sentence mentions: ‘design stopped at the top of the escalators leading down to the platforms…’. This was as far as architects were allowed to go with their ideas.
56 A. Last but one sentence contains the architect’s opinion on his predecessors: ‘whom Paoletti dismissed as visionless ‘trench-diggers’’