Answer Keys

Part 1

1. A – against. ‘To protect against something’ is the only correct collocation in this context. ‘To protect with something’ would mean using something for protection, not protecting from something, in this case the rising water levels.
2. B – also. The only conjunction that fits grammatically. The other possible option could be: ‘…include raised river embankments and additional flood gates at strategic points too‘.
3. A – consists. Here we limit our choice because of the preposition – ‘consist’ is the only verb in the list that can be followed by ‘of’.
4. C – each. ‘Which’ shouldn’t be used here, as it would be introducing an additional clause, which is not present in the sentence.
5. D – weighs. The mass of the gates is mentioned. This is not a very obvious verb and many overlook it. To weigh means to have a certain weight.
6. A – operation. Being engaged in work or being active, functioning. Admittedly, the remaining choices students face here are rather weird.
7. B – View. Look at or see. ‘Sight’ can’t be used as a verb. ‘Hear’ doesn’t fit as you’re unlikely to hear it – it makes no noise unless being lifted, which doesn’t happen very often. ‘Explore’ doesn’t make sense – you can’t explore it sitting in a cafeteria.
8. B – memorable. Something important or exciting, something you’re likely to remember. If something is memories, it has been learned in advance in order to be used later, like a memorised answer to a question.
   

   Part 2

9. was. The previous sentences suggest we are talking about the past. A verb ‘to be’ in past simple is all we need here.
10. them. The same construction with ‘them’ is used throughout the sentence: “… accepted them, stored them, tested them… “
11. over. “From all over the world” is a set phrase here.
12. country/region. Both words can be used here.
13. looked. ‘To look after’ here is to take care, to make sure it is in good working order.
14. charge/control/possession. Was responsible for/controlled/had the facts.
15. What. The introductory word for the question.
16. went. ‘Sent’ can’t be used here as it would require ‘to’ before to make it passive.
    

    Part 3

17. modernising. ‘In charge of doing something’. If you choose to spell it with a ‘z’ instead of ‘s’, make sure you remain consistent in your spelling throughout your exam.
18. delightful. An adjective with a positive meaning, suggested by ‘old, but …’ construction.
19. invitation. Make sure to spell the word right.
20. employee. Not an ’employer’, as the man worked for the author, not the other way round.
21. extensively. An adverb is required here, pay attention to your spelling.
22. possessions. Another tricky to spell word, two double ‘s’.
23. arrangements. More words with difficult spelling, this time a noun. ‘To make arrangements’ is to prepare something that is needed in order to do something.
24. transformation.
    

    Part 4

25. had her hair done. The first ‘had’ refers to the passive voice, the second one – to past simple (‘last Tuesday’).
26. is responsible for supervising. ‘To be responsible for doing something’ – to have the duty to do something.
27. is a faster reader than. A comparison is needed here, do not forget to use the indefinite article.
28. denied stealing/having stolen. Do not forget that the limit on words is as low as two, so ‘denied stealing’ is acceptable.
29. first time we had travelled/been. Since we’re using ‘it’, we are referring to so-called ‘past in the past’, and to show what happened first we have to use Past Perfect.
30. does this car belong to. “to belong to someone”.
    

    Part 5

31. B. First paragraph of the text: “… I hope I will not grow any more – as it is, I can’t get out at the door…”.
32. A. Second paragraph: “She went on growing, and growing, and very soon had to kneel down on the floor: in another minute there was not even room for this, and she tried the effect of lying down with one elbow against the door, and the other arm curled round her head.”
33. B. Alice keeps on having an internal dialogue with herself for the next few paragraphs. The Rabbit comes much later.
34. B. In the same paragraph that begins with “Mary Ann!…”, third sentence: “Alice knew it was the Rabbit coming to look for her”. That’s the name he called Alice.
35. C. “’Digging for apples, indeed!’ said the Rabbit angrily.” – the tone indicates Rabbit’s dissatisfaction with the pet. He was doing something silly – apples shouldn’t be dug for as they grow on trees.
36. C. “An arm, you goose! Who ever saw one that size? Why, it fills the whole window!” – Rabbit has never seen an arm that big, and he doesn’t believe his eyes.
    

    Part 6

37. B. “…surprised that there were more.” refers to the last sentence of the previous paragraph with two more fish. The sentence after the gap confirms the choice – the author wonders where ‘they’ could have come from.
38. A. The author comes realisation of dreaming, saying ‘Of course!’ as the idea strikes them.
39. E. The husband from the dream is mentioned before. ‘Perplexed’ means lost or confused.
40. G. First the term of lucid dreaming is introduced, and the explanation of it is given in the following sentence.
41. F. The habits to develop lucid dreaming skills, especially the hand techniques, are mentioned in the preceding sentences.
42. C. The sentence that follows the gap continues the list with “You can even try out things you’ve always wanted to try…”.
    

    Part 7

43. A. Throughout the paragraph the author mentions occasions of meeting and interacting with various sea animals.
44. A. One can infer from context that the author is swimming either by means of a boat, a board, or without any equipment.
45. D. I liked New York even more than I expected…
46. C. The author mentions hearing the ‘bark-like’ call of hippos at night. In the next sentence, it is mentioned that hippos can be very dangerous, if provoked. Paragraph A shouldn’t be used as an answer as no animals listed in it are described as dangerous.
47. B. I revisited them again and again, sleepless, in my memories and notes and photographs, once home.
48. D.… this seems like a better way to get to know a city: less being sociable, more walking and visiting different places.
49. B. Long hot days in the silence, 5,000 temples on every side…
50. B. Almost every day of the three-week trip was so vivid that, upon returning, I gave a friend a nine-hour account of every moment.
51. D. Last two sentences of the paragraph make comparisons, including Oxford Street in London and Promenade Plantee in Paris.
52. C. Our guides warned us that although hippos may seem harmless, if threatened, they could easily kill a man.

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

Flood (n) – a natural phenomenon of rising water levels in lakes, rivers and other bodies of water that causes damage to crops and infrastructure.
Embankment (n) – a raised, man-made platform at river or sea bank that is used either for pleasure or utility, such as preventing floods.
Pivot (v) – to turn with the center being the point of rotation.
Stock (v) – (here) to keep in stock i.e. to have available at the shop to purchase now rather than order something and wait for it to arrive.
Adjacent to – right next to something.

Part 2

Move about (phr v) – to move around.
Pile (n) – an unordered mass of things lying of some surface like the ground or a table. When I opened his briefcase, there was a pile of money, most of the notes crumpled or dirty.

Part 3

DIY – Do-It-Yourself, a practice of making or assembling something with your own hands.
Take on the challenge of doing smth – to accept a difficult task.

Part 4

Do smb’s hair – to give somebody a haircut
Purse (n) – a very small bag for your money, credit and business cards, as well as coins. Notably, in American English it means a handbag – a much larger container for things.

Part 5

Stoop (v) – to bend your shoulders forwards because you are cold, insecure or (in this context) when you need to enter some place with low ceiling.
Hastily (adv) – quickly and without thinking because of fear or hurry.
Sorrowful (adj) – full of sadness and regret.
Fetch (v) – to bring something. The teacher asked one of the students to fetch him some chalk from the storage room as he had ran out of it.
Tremble (v) – to shake or shiver because of being cold of afraid of something.
Snatch (n) – (here) close your hand on something in an attempt to catch it. She snatched the ping-pong ball before it fell on the ground.

Part 6

Lucid dreaming – the act or practice of seeing dreams that you have control over, i.e. understanding that you are asleep but not waking up.
Stare (v) – to look at something intensely and for a long time. If you stare at something, you find it interesting. Staring at somebody can be considered impolite.
Ponder (v) – if you ponder something you think about it long and hard.
Mundane (adj) – uninteresting, ordinary, boring. Another mundane week at work was over and I was happy to have the weekend all to myself.
Blurt out (phr v) – to say something loud after you had kept it a secret for some time.
Thud (n) – a sound made by a heavy object hitting some surface i.e. a book falling on a wooden floor.
Prospects (n) – opportunities or possibilities. Can be used both positively and negatively.
Gaze (v) – similar to stare, but you gaze at something or someone because you find it beautiful or attractive.
Induce (v) – to make something happen, to help something happen quicker.
Perplexed (adj) – confused and feeling uncomfortable because you do not understand something.

Part 7

Interact (v) – to spend time with, to communicate. I knew John pretty well because we had to interact professionally for some years.
Proximity (n) – how close something is to something else. The proximity of school made this house a great purchase for young families or those seeking to rent it out.
Murky (adj) – difficult too se through because of dirt or darkness.
Gape at smth – to look at smth with surprise with you mouth open. Can often be used figuratively for humorous effect.
Revisit (v) – to look back to, to live through it again in your memories.
Vivid (adj) – bright, detailed, clear. My memories of the vacation in the Caribbean were very vivid indeed.
Monsoon (n) – South-East Asia natural seasonal phenomenon with lots of heavy rains.
Arid (adj) – so dry that no plants or other vegetation grows there. The arid fields stretched as far as we could see, the sight was quite depressing.
Relentless (adj) – merciless and intense, unstopping. The relentless rainfall kept us indoors for the better part of the week.
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