Answer Keys

Part 1

1 B – attach. The only other verb that goes with ‘to’ is D – stick but it can’t be used here. Sticking means connecting by gluing which is not what the context means.
2 A – aim. The general idea or purpose is described here. ‘Plan’ means something more grand and elaborate. ‘Target’ means a particular point or thing, which is not mentioned. ‘Schedule’ refers to a certain time and does not fit the context at all.
3 C – losing. ‘Lose’ is the only verb of all the options that collocates well with ‘balance’.
4 A – positioned. To position is to specifically put something in a particular place. Answers ‘B’ and ‘C’ do not fit the context at all. ‘Arrange’ implies multiple objects or a more complex system.
5 B – great. The only adjective in the list that goes well with ‘risk’.
6 C – manage. To do something successfully. ‘Succeed’ doesn’t fit as you would need a gerund after it: ‘Succeed in doing something’.
7 D – requires. Needs, demands practice – other examples of verbs that work with the word ‘practice’.
8 B – hold. ‘Hold on to something/someone’ is to maintain physical contact with it for balance or reassurance.

Part 2

9 one. ‘One’ is used to avoid word repetition – in this case, the author meant a butterfly net.
10 that. ‘So that’ has the meaning ‘to/in order to’. The purpose of some action is shown.
11 when. A particular moment in the past is referred to here.
12 could. A possibility is introduced here. Note that it is ‘could’ and not ‘can’ because throughout the sentence Past Simple is used.
13 for. Apply for something – to formally and documentarily announce your desire to do or have something.
14 which. As with most Part 2 tasks, we can see the usage of a non-restrictive clause.
15 been. Past Perfect Passive – a tricky grammar piece, with Past Participle of the verb ‘to be’ used here.
16 as. As a result of something. The required meaning is easier to find when you take a look at the second part of the sentence.

Part 3

17 useful. Various applications of plastic are described here and how each could be fit for a particular purpose.
18 attractive. An adjective with a positive meaning is suggested by the context of this sentence.
19 reputation. Plastic is known for its certain qualities – it has a reputation of/for being ‘cheap and disposable’.
20 designer. Judging by the indefinite article it should be clear that we need a profession here.
21 extremely. An adverb to further intensify the adjective ‘high’.
22 choice. Make sure to choose the right spelling – sometimes students mistakenly write this word with an ‘s’ instead of ‘c’.
23 natural. A straightforward noun-to-adjective transformation.
24 recycle. To use something again, to give in a second life, to repurpose it.

Part 4

25 put Heidi up. ‘To put somebody up’ / ‘to put up somewhere’ means to give somebody a place to stay for the night or to spend the night there, respectively.
26 does not like it when/if. An important point here is that we need an object. ‘It’ serves as an object in this sentence.
27 took my advice. It is worth paying attention that in the original sentence ‘advise’ is a verb and the transformed sentence uses the noun form. Note the difference in spelling.
28 was (completely) unaware of the. ‘of the’ structure is the most challenging part of this otherwise simple transformation. ‘Completely’ is optional and does not affect your score.
29 from Simon none of. ‘None of’ means not a single one, nobody. ‘Apart from’ means ‘with the exception of, other than’.
30 in case it was/got cold. One possible mistake here is to use Present Simple. Remember to stick to the same tense throughout the sentence or clause.

Part 5

31 C. Qualifying for the upcoming, more important sporting event is the aim she had in mind. The fact that she was very tired is not mentioned – only her desire to ‘conserve energy’. Answer B is not mentioned – she had teammates but they didn’t compete with her.
32 D. The sentence following the underlined ‘it’ makes it clear that the speaker talks about the jump that she has to take. ‘Imagining’ can’t be technically used to any of the other answers – the place and the sounds surrounding her are quite real. The amount of practice she has to have doesn’t really matter now – the jump is happening any minute now. But it hasn’t happened yet – so she is trying to visualise it.
33 A. The pulled muscle is the injury that can still be felt. No previous victories are mentioned here. The opposite of Answer C is said – she is feeling nervous. Answer D doesn’t work here – she was just monitoring other athletes’ performance, analysing their mistakes.
34 D. She showed appreciation – she was thankful for the advice. ‘A’ is wrong – she felt embarrassed with her own answer, not the question. ‘B’ and ‘C’ are not mentioned.
35 C. Most of the phases of the jump seemed imperfect to Audrey. Answers ‘A’ and ‘B’ do not fully address the situation. Answer ‘D’ states the opposite.
36 B. She ran up to the coach to thank her. Being lucky is not mentioned anywhere in the paragraph – in fact she denies that it was because of luck. Her teammates reactions were naturally supportive. She wasn’t lost for words – she was simply jumping with joy.

Part 6

37 B. The author introduces his plan to carry on with the idea of asking the drivers to stop their running engines. Answer ‘A’ can’t be used because it has ‘they’ which doesn’t refer to anything, the driver from the paragraph is in singular.
38 D. In this sentence, the author goes home to do his research on whether a law like that exists. The sentence following the gap confirms this.
39 G. The approach to the problem that the author chooses is described – using cards with the exact law that forbids idling.
40 C. When people the author approaches learn that they are breaking the law by idling, they feel surprised.
41 A. Probably the only sentence of all that adds an extra piece of information and doesn’t conflict with the rest of the context in the paragraph.
42 F. The writer says that they try not to take it personally. Answer ‘E’ shouldn’t be used because of the wording: ‘it’s not the sort of mistake’… whereas the previous sentence has the plural word ‘comments’.

Part 7

43 B. The speaker gives examples of both fun and boring ads. ‘Endless dull adverts’ refers to the lack of variety stated in the task.
44 D. The very first sentence states that the adverts seem to be taking the city over – capturing and dominating it.
45 A. The second half of the paragraph states that the posters ‘make a bit of a mess’ – they do not belong, they clash with the rest of the view.
46 C. The TV screens example is brought up to show how energy can be wasted. The conventional posters, on the other hand, need to energy to function, although admittedly they are less practical.
47 A. Sentence two. While the driver doesn’t get distract by what is on the poster, the fact that they are there can break their focus.
48 E. Middle of the paragraph. Parks and historic buildings are the places the speaker believes should be free from any form of advertising.
49 A. The very first sentence says that posters obstructing (making it hard to see) road signs or intersections pose a potential danger to motorists.
50 B. The second half of the paragraph: ‘an amusing advert can brighten up my day’. ‘To brighten up’ here means to make more happy, fun or enjoyable.
51 D. ‘Thought-provoking’ at the end of the paragraph is the word that points at making you think about something.
52 E. The clever people in question are mentioned in the middle of the paragraph and how the advertising allows their talent to find an outlet in the real world.

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

Strap (v,n) – a strong, thin but wide piece of fabric used to fasten something. As a verb, it means the act of fastening something with a strap.
Webbing (n) – a kind of material made of thin woven stripes of cloth that is very strong and is used to make things like straps or other fabrics that require strength and durability.
Parkour (n) – the act of clearing (going through, jumping over and so on) different obstacles that are a part of city space. Doing so in a visually impressive and creative way is the main aim of parkour.

Part 2

Fascinated (adj) – excited, deeply and genuinely interested in something.
Broom (n) – a brush with a long handle used to swipe dust off floors and other surfaces.
Habitat (n) – a geographical location where a living thing exists because the conditions are to its liking. These foxes can usually be found in desert – that is their natural habitat.
Field trip – an event usually organised by a school or university where teacher takes their students to observe various natural phenomenon for educational or recreational purposes.
Rediscover (v) – to find something that has been previously considered lost. Jake rediscovered his passion for photography after his trip to India.

Part 3

Flexible (adj) – if something is flexible, you can bend or twist it without breaking. Can also be used figuratively – then it means that the object or person are able to adapt.
Disposable (n) – single use, meant to be thrown away after use.
Consistency (n) – thickness, smoothness or texture of something.
In short supply – if something is in short supply it means that there is not enough of it or that it is difficult to get.
Hard-wearing (adj) – durable, not easily damaged, lasting for a long time. These shoes that I bought two years ago are pretty hard-wearing. You could hardly tell they are that old!

Part 4

Enrol (v) – to apply or to become a student of some course. If you want to have a chance to study at the University you have to enrol in advance.
Scholarship (n) – an arrangement when a company or the government partially or fully pays your tuition fees. If it is a company that does that you are usually required to work there for some time after graduating. Sheila was lucky to get scholarship at that new prestigious school – she won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for each semester.

Part 5

Bouncing (n) – jumping again and again as soon as you touch the ground.
Sigh (n) – to let air out through your mouth as a sign of tiredness or relief. I sighed with dissatisfaction when I heard that I would have to work with our boss.
Runway (n) – (here) a long path an athlete runs down before jumping.
Take up (phr v) – to start a new activity. I took up smoking in hopes it would help me fight work-related stress, but so far it hasn’t helped me much.
Meander (v) – to move slowly and unevenly, uncertainly.
Hurdles (n) – (here) obstacles that athletes have to jump over in a race.
Lump (n) – a swelling under your skin that can be a result of an injury or illness.
Lunge (v) – to start moving suddenly in a certain direction. The boxer lunged at his opponent trying to catch him by surprise.
Strides (n) – long, measured steps. Usually refers to running.
Pace (v) – to walk up and down or forwards and backwards without any particular destination, usually because of impatience or anxiety.
Soothe (v) – to make calm, to relax, to take worries away.
Chopped (adj) – (here) not long enough or failed.
Suspense (n) – anticipation, nervous undecision.
Put down smth to smth – to see something as a reason for something else. The failure of the marketing campaign could be put down to poor management of funds.

Part 6

Address (v) – to talk about, to discuss or to deal with. We addressed the problem of littering by placing more bins around the city and introducing fines.
Empowered (adj) – having authority, resource or right to do something.
Undercover (adj) – usually referring to a police representative, the word means not wearing uniform in order not to be noticed by possible criminals.
Relevant (adj) – related to, having connection to something.
Unaware (adj) – not knowing, not having information about something. I was unaware that it is against the shop policy to spend time there without an intention of making a purchase.
Concerned (adj) – worried or feeling the importance of some issue. Parents are concerned about ill kids that come to school and how their own children could catch the flu from them.
Spreadsheet (n) – a table that tries to systematise some kind of information. Monthly expense spreadsheet.
Addiction (n) – a harmful dependence on something. Smoking is the most commonly known addiction and as many as 8.5% are addicted to nicotine.
To date – to this day, up to now.

Part 7

Urban landscape – the combination of buildings, streets, architecture and general that creates the visual image of the city.
Junction (n) – a part of the road where it splits into several different ones or joins with other roads.
Motorway (n) – a multi-lane road that connects different towns and cities. American English calls it ‘highway’.
Mess (n) – something that is not clean or not in proper order. Your workplace is a complete mess, tidy it up, will you?
Rural (adj) – relating to the countryside. The opposite of ‘urban’.
Captive audience – people who cannot leave some place and have to watch or listen to something. People waiting for their flight or train are one example of captive audience.
Dull (adj) – boring, uninspiring or stupid.
Obtrusive (adj) – standing in the way of something or preventing something from being clearly visible.
Counterproductive (adj) – harming rather than helping something, the opposite of productive. Cutting people salaries to save money proved to be counterproductive as they feel that they no longer have to work hard.
Resigned to – you accept something unpleasant because you realise you can’t do anything about it. Teachers are often resigned to the fact that most students see learning something new as boring and useless.
Intrusive (adj) – becoming a part of something without being asked. If something is intrusive, it forces itself into something. Radio adverts can be very intrusive and even dangerous, especially when they have higher volume than the rest of the radio programme.
Angle (n) – (here) used figuratively – new view, new way of looking at something, i.e. a problem.

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