Answer Keys
Part 1
1 D – examples. ‘Illustrations’ of art would mean visual copies of it, e.g. a photo of that art. ‘Models’ and ‘cases’ do not collocate with ‘art’.
2 A – deep. ‘Deep inside’ is the only appropriate collocation – the other three words do not make any working word combinations.
3 D – such as. This expression is the only one that shows examples or introduces a list. ‘By means of’ means ‘by or using something’. ‘Apart from’ introduces an exception, e.g.: ‘Everybody apart from Tom attended the conference’. ‘As well as’ adds something to the list, e.g.: ‘The shops sold soft drinks, as well as cigarettes and frozen pizzas’.
4 A – rival. ‘Compare’ and ‘compete’ require ‘with’ in this context (e.g. ‘compete with something’). ‘Oppose’ means to be against something (negative meaning).
5 B – reach. This is the only word with the meaning ‘to discover, to see for the first time’.
6 C – details. ‘Details’ is the only word that collocates with the verb ‘to miss’. ‘Details’ are usually minor and easy to miss, while ‘matters’ are more significant. ‘Issues’ means ‘problems or difficulties’.
7 B – regarded. The only option that can be followed by ‘as’. ‘Believed’ and ‘thought’ are normally followed by ‘to be’: ‘She is believed to be the best specialist in the field’.
8 D – causing. The rest of the options can’t be followed by infinitive. ‘Making’ can look like the correct answer, but the next part would have to be: ‘making people rethink’.
Part 2
9 where. A relative pronoun is needed here. Seals can often be found resting on (or near) sandbanks.
10 to. ‘Close’ is normally used with ‘to’ if we talk about physical distance, e.g. if we are so close that we can touch them. ‘Close with’ would mean connection such as friendship, which is not mentioned in this context.
11 with. ‘Equipped with’ is used when talking about articles of clothing or necessary things, in this case – a mask, a snorkel and so on.
12 out. ‘To work out’ is a synonym of ‘to find out’ – to understand, to learn the meaning or the reason of something.
13 what. A conjunction connecting two clauses. A clause is normally a subject and a verb in case you forgot! 🙂
14 Although/Though/While. A linking word used to contrast two parts of the following sentence. Remember that in your answer sheet all of the letters have to be capital, the capitalisation here is to indicate that it’s the first word of the sentence.
15 get. ‘To get used to’ means ‘to become comfortable with something new’.
16 make/have. Both words collocate with ‘contact’.
Part 3
17 satisfaction. Verb to noun transformation.
18 successful. Mind the spelling! Double ‘c’, double ‘s’, one ‘l’.
19 discover. Prefix changes the meaning of the verb to ‘to learn, to find out’.
20 solution. Verb to noun transformation. It might not be evident that ‘solve’ and ‘solution’ are morphologically related because of all the changes you have to make during transformation.
21 improvement. Verb becomes a noun. Pay attention to the spelling.
22 scientists. Make sure to pluralise the noun, as suggested by ‘some’ at the beginning of the sentence and the following ‘argue’. Another difficult word to spell.
23 performance. Verb to noun transformation.
24 uncertain. A prefix is used to make the adjective negative – as suggested by the contrasting ‘although’ at the beginning of the sentence.
Part 4
25 speak English as well as. A comparison ‘as well as’ is hinted at by ‘as’ in the task.
26 are not supposed to cycle. Passive form of the verb is required.
27 apologised for not letting. Reporting verb with gerund is used.
28 were not able to go/get. Remember that you can’t change the given word, so ‘were unable to go/get’ can’t be used, even though it is grammatically and contextually correct.
29 came as a disappointment. ‘Come as a disappointment’ is a fixed expression. Be attentive to spell ‘disappointment’ correctly.
30 to pay so much. A comparative expression with ‘so’.
Part 5
31 C. Last sentence of the paragraph: Chloe is known for her slightly quirky sense of fashion. The opposite of A and B is said in the text. Answer D is not mentioned.
32 A. Second sentence of Paragraph Two: …the smell of fresh baking greets us. Answer B is not mentioned. The opposite of Answers C and D is stated in the text.
33 D. Last two sentences of Paragraph Three: … it was too much to take in at nineteen. If I’d stayed longer, I might have settled in better. Answers A and C are not mentioned. Answer B is incorrect as she only felt homesick at first, not ‘most of the time’ as stated in the answer.
34 B. Second sentence: ‘I’d been the typical kid, singing with a hairbrush in front of the mirror, dreaming of being a star one day,’. The opposite of other answers is stated in the text.
35 C. Paragraph Six: I fell as I climbed up the ladder and cracked three ribs.
36 B.‘… but we had so many compliments, I decided to go ahead with more’. Answer A focuses on a minor point. Answer C is not mentioned. The opposite of Answer D is said in the text.
Part 6
37 G. ‘What this meant’ refers to becoming a part of the intensive training programme.
38 B. The ‘target’ is getting to the flyweight boxing. The changes to her lifestyle are described in the next sentence: ‘I don’t go out to party anymore. Thankfully, I’m married to my boxing coach, so at least I’ve got some sort of social life!’
39 C. ‘Space-age training kit’ mentioned in sentence C is the special sports clothing from the previous sentence.
40 F. The girl’s sport means that you are unlikely to get hurt. It is implied that women are less likely to participate in sports that involve physical pain or potential injury.
41 E. ‘Those events’ from sentence E are judo and taekwondo.
42 D. ‘That mistake’ refers to thinking that female boxing is about ‘aggression and hurting your opponents’.
Part 7
43 С.… meal times are something I’ve never really got to grips with in all the years I’ve travelled alone.
44 A.You can take the Oz Experience bus down the west coast, jumping off whenever you want, then catching the next bus when you’re ready to move on again.
45 B.The advantages of a pre-planned tour are that you can get an agency to take care of all the arrangements, which can be time-consuming to do yourself.
46 D.But I learnt to accept that some people have different attitudes to mine.
47 A.To cheer myself up, I’d sit down and write a fortnightly email home about everything I’d been up to.
48 A.I remember sitting in the plane thinking to myself: ‘What have I let myself in for?’
49 C.There’s also the wonderful freedom to do what you like, when you like, without having to convince anybody that it’s a good idea.
50 B. …if someone’s chosen to do the same type of trip as you, you’ve probably got lots of ideas in common.
51 D.… the pressure that you’re under to make your own mind up about everything.
52 C.Another thing is stay in the nicest places your budget permits. Miserable hostels can really spoil a trip.
Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is meant to help you with the more difficult words. If the word isn’t on the list then you are either supposed to know it or it is too specific to be worth learning and you don’t have to know it to answer the question. Symbols in brackets mean part of speech(see bottom of the list). Sentences in italics give examples of usage for some more complex words and phrases.
And remember — you are not given a vocabulary list (or a dictionary) at your real exam.
Part 1
Date back (phr) — to exist at some time in the past. Russians’ love for potatoes dates back to Peter the Great’s reign.
Inaccessible (adj) — impossible to reach or get to. I’m afraid the destination you’re interested in is inaccessible – no trains or cars go there this time of the year.
Insignificant (adj) — not large or important enough to be noticeable. Do not worry about insignificant details, concentrate on the main picture.
Humankind (n) – all humans as a group. Space exploration is thought to be one of humankind’s greatest achievements.
Part 2
Wetsuit (n) — a suit made of rubber, that is used for diving or surfing. Its main purpose is to keep you warm. Buying a good wetsuit is important if you’re serious about surfing.
Snorkel (n) — A mask with a breathing tube used for swimming with your face underwater.
Inquisitive (adj) — Curious, asking many questions, willing to learn more. Maria is a young, inquisitive student who is always eager to learn more about the subject.
Pup (n) — a baby of an animal. We went to the Zoo yesterday and saw some cute seal pups there!
Part 3
Workout (n) — a set of physical exercises. My daily workout consists of 20 pull-ups.
Handheld (adj) — One that can be carried around or easily used with one or two hands. Nintendo 3DS is the most popular handheld gaming console.
Boost (v) — to improve, to make higher or better. A good way to boost company income is to attract new clients.
Part 5
Venture (n) — an activity that is not guaranteed to be successful; a risky attempt. I’m now looking for investors to support my new business venture.
Flowerbed (n) — a small area on the ground that is used to grow flowers
Quirky (adj) — strange, attractive and interesting. This new car has a really quirky design.
Den (n) — a place where wild animals make their home. After looking for two hours straight, we finally found the wolf den.
Homesick (adj) — feeling sad or lonely because you are away from home. If you ever feel homesick, just look at your friends’ pictures, it ought to cheer you up.
Bargain (v) — if you bargain for something, you ask for it, you expect it, or you are prepared for it. Spending two years in a foreign country wasn’t what I really bargained for.
Rib (n) — Ribs are bones in your chest that protect your lungs. Mike fell from a ladder yesterday and broke two ribs.
One-off (n) — if something is a one-off, only one of this exists. This BMW supercar is a one-off model – they won’t be making another one.
Part 6
Take up (phr v) — if you take up something, you start doing it regularly. I hadn’t taken up jogging until I turned 33 years old.
Conditioning (n) — process of improving a personal physical condition. In the army, young people have to go through difficult conditioning exercising.
Shed (n) — a small building used as a storage space that is usually made of wood. My grandfather used to keep his motorcycle in the shed.
Whilst (conj) — during the time, at the same time. Similar to ‘while’, but old-fashioned. Whilst you were sleeping, I ordered some pizza.
Gumshield (n) — A piece of plastic shaped after your gums that is used in fighting to protect your teeth. Tyson hit the opponent so hard that the gumshield flew out of his mouth.
Stringent (adj) — very severe and limiting. Financial regulations in this country are quite stringent.
Stamina (n) — physical and mental strength that allows you to do something for a long time. If you want to test your stamina, come trekking with us next Saturday!
Part 7
Flexible (adj) — easily changed or adjusted for current needs. Introducing a flexible timetable is what every school should consider.
Itinerary (n) — route of your journey or travel. I want to include some additional places to our planned itinerary.
Get on (phr. v) — if you get on with someone, you get along well, you are friendly to each other. I’m sorry that you didn’t get on with Susan.
Go with the flow (phr) — to do something others do; to let a situation guide you, to improvise. At first I had a carefully planned itinerary for our trip, but then I decided not to use it and just go with the flow.
Fortnightly (adv) — every two weeks. A fortnight is a period of two weeks. While you’re away, please send me letters fortnightly.
Remote (adj) — situated far away from everything, distant. He has always wanted to live a quiet life in a remote part of the world.
Substitute (n) — replacement or alternative. There is no substitute for sports – it is important to exercise if you want to live a healthy, fulfilling life.
Get to grips with (phr) — to try and deal with a difficult situation. Once you get to grips with mathematics, programming becomes much easier.
Liberating (adj) — making you feel free, unrestricting. Moving out of your parents house can feel extremely liberating.
Miserable (adj) — unhappy or causing unhappiness. Walking in the rain when it’s cold can be really miserable.
Enhance (v) — to improve the quality or strength of something. To greatly enhance your quality of life, I suggest giving up smoking.
Click to download this FCE Reading and Use of English worksheet in PDF