Part 4

For questions 25-30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).

0 We couldn’t go sailing because there wasn’t enough wind
LACK
Due to the lack of wind, we couldn’t

25. Some schools were closed for a couple of days because of the heavy snow.
LED
The heavy snow _______________ for a couple of days.

26. Steve doesn’t take much notice of the weather forecast.
ATTENTION
Steve doesn’t _______________ the weather forecast

27. John wishes he had taken an umbrella to work this morning.
TAKING
John _______________ an umbrella to work this morning

28. Donna said that apart from Friday, every day last week had been really hot.
EXCEPTION
Donna said that _______________ Friday, every day last week had been really hot.

29. This is the worst weather we’ve ever had in July.
AS
We’ve _______________ as this in July

30. I’m sure it was unbearably hot where you were staying.
MUST
The _______________ unbearable where you were staying.

Part 5

You are going to read an article about some amazing jobs. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (А, В, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Dream Jobs

During our teens, all the pupils at my school had to have a meeting with a ‘careers advisor’ who only seemed to know about jobs at the local ship-building works. That was fine for some, but many of us would have liked to hear about a wider range of opportunities at that time. If only she had known about the jobs I’ve been researching for this article! It seems there are positions out there that are almost too good to be true.

Take, for example, the job with the title ‘Ice cream flavour advisor’ for ice cream manufacturer Frederick’s. Imagine making and tasting ice cream for a living! From the Fredrick’s website I learned that the people who do this job are all chefs and food scientists, and often go on what they call ‘taste hunts’ where they travel to other countries, trying new foods to get inspiration for new products. The website’s home page also states that ‘every ingredient deserves consideration’, meaning anything from peanuts to potatoes could make it into the next flavour advisor’s invention. I guess the one downside of this job could be tasting failed creations.

For those worried about the health implications of eating so much ice cream, then how about something more active? The perfect job for water sports lovers was advertised in 2015 by holiday company Travel Now. They needed a water slide tester! This involved getting into swimming gear and speeding down slides at various holiday centres around the world to check for any issues. The company was seeking applicants with strong written and verbal skills, experience in social media and a willingness to travel.

Another job that seems impossibly wonderful is one for those who dream of living on a remote island. As the caretaker of a private island in the Maldives, Simon Grainger gets to enjoy fabulous weather, fishing and boating as part of his job. However, he says that while it may sound more like an extended holiday than work, the responsibilities of the job can be very demanding. These include maintaining and repairing the island owners’ property and cleaning up after storms. On top of that, being by yourself on an island means that your social life suffers. Seeing friends involves an hour’s boat ride, which is never easy and sometimes impossible. Grainger warns anyone considering a job like his to be realistic about it. He explains you’ve got be very practical with good physical fitness, and happy in your own company. If you are this type of person, you’ll do the job well and never want to go back to life on the mainland.

A fortune cookie is a moon-shaped biscuit given away in Chinese restaurants that contains a little piece of paper with a message on it. Millions of these are read every day, but few realise that people actually get paid to write the words of wisdom you find when you crack your cookie open. Daisy Cheng, president of New Asian Food in Los Angeles, used to be one such person. It wasn’t exactly her chosen career path, it was more of a role she fell into. When the company expanded and realised they needed to update their cookie messages, she was asked to do it because her English language skills were stronger than other employees’. She found it difficult to start with, but soon she was finding inspiration everywhere, from subway signs to newspapers.

As a writer myself, I would love to create messages for fortune cookies, but I would be delighted to do any one of these amazing jobs. Listen up careers advisors!

31. How does the writer feel about the careers advisor he met when he was younger?
A He regrets that she was unable to help any of the teenagers.
B He found her guidance quite useful at the time.
C He thought it was unnecessary to see her.
D He wishes she had been aware of a greater variety of job options.

32. What is claimed on the website for Frederick’s ice cream?
A There is no food type that they will refuse to experiment with.
B They are able to make most ingredients taste good in ice cream.
C They trial every new flavour creation internationally before it goes on sale.
D No other ice cream producer has greater expertise.

33. Applicants for the job of water slide tester were required by Travel Now to
A be good at communicating with people.
B have plenty of travel experience.
C have good IT qualifications.
D be very physically fit.

34. What does Grainger say about his role as caretaker on a private island?
A He is considering giving it up so he can move back to the mainland.
B The only thing that is hard about it is being alone on the island.
C It might not be the right job for everyone.
D The holiday lifestyle involved is not always enjoyable.

35. What does the fifth paragraph say about Daisy Cheng getting her job as fortune cookie writer?
A She did not deliberately choose to do the job.
B She got the job because none of her colleagues spoke any English.
C She applied for it when the company grew and needed more people to do the job.
D She tried to avoid doing the job at first.

36. What does ‘one such person’ refer to in the fifth paragraph?
A someone who is a company vice president
B someone from New York
C someone who didn’t know fortune cookie message writers existed
D someone who writes the messages in fortune cookies

Click to download this FCE Reading and Use of English worksheet in PDF