Answer Keys

Part 1

1. D – beyond. ‘just beyond’ here means ‘right outside, in the immediate vicinity on the outside’.
2. B – known. ‘Referred’ takes preposition ‘to’; ‘Called’ and ‘named’ do not fit the context – it would have been ‘are called’ and ‘have been named’ respectively.
3. D – range. ‘Range from … to’ phrase is used to refer to the spectrum or variety of something, space junk in this case.
4. A – high. ‘High speed’ is the accepted collocation. Just like how prices are ‘high’ and ‘low’, rather than ‘expensive’ and ‘cheap’, speed can’t be ‘fast’ or ‘slow’.
5. C – estimated. ‘To estimate’ is to guess or calculate something, such as price, amount and so on.
6. B – greatly. By a considerable amount. ‘Largely’ in this context would have meant ‘generally’, so it shouldn’t be used.
7. B – reached. ‘To reach an agreement’ is another strong collocation. Other words do not form any.
8. C – come up with. To invent, to suggest an idea or a plan. ‘Caught up with’ and ‘kept up with’ have a similar meaning of reaching something you’re late for, e.g. something you’re falling behind. ‘To put up with’ means to accept something unpleasant or undesirable.
   

   Part 2

9. though/when. ‘Though’ is used to contrast two ideas in the sentence. We can also use ‘when’ to connect two ideas, although with lesser contrasting.
10. did. “As did” is an expression that is used to avoid saying “the Aztecs chewed gum”. The meaning is the same to the construction “So did”.
11. until/till. “It wasn’t until” indicated a period of time that marked the beginning of chewing gum popularity as we know it. ‘Till’ can also be used, the less formal option.
12. when. A reference to the previous date is made, clarifying what happened in that year.
13. despite. Another contrast is introduced by “despite the fact” construction.
14. as. “To regard as” has the same meaning as “to believe, to consider”.
15. where. ‘Where’ here refers to the pavement.
16. in. “To be in favour of something” means to be for it, to support it.
    

    Part 3

17. introductions. The plural form of the noun is required, as suggested by the plural form ‘are’ after the gap.
18. impolite. The negative form of the adjective is required, the context helps us understand that.
19. overcome. The meaning of the word is ‘to solve, to deal with a problem’.
20. observation. Do not use the gerund ‘observing’, generally avoid using gerunds in CAE Part 3 if an actual noun can be used in its place.
21. characteristics. Another plural form should be used here – the author is giving several examples such as foreheads and eyebrows.
22. variety. A characteristic of being different. If there’s a variety of something, it means that it comes in many different forms, shapes or colours.
23. visual. The following noun suggests that we should be using an adjective.
24. ensuring. Good way of doing something. Use the en- prefix, as ‘insuring’ has a different meaning.
    

    Part 4

25. found it difficult to understand. ‘To find something easy/difficult to do’
26. has been put off. ‘To put off’ means to postpone, to move to a later date. Note that you have to use Present Perfect as in the original sentence to get full points.
27. no intention of (ever) speaking. ‘To have (no) intention’ means to be (not) willing or planning to do something.
28. must have been started. A passive voice structure is required here – suggested by the keyword ‘have’.
29. there was no point in. If there is no point in something, it is not worth doing.
30. didn’t have to book. ‘Didn’t have to do something’ – both sentences contain the negative form of the verb.
    

    Part 5

31. B. In the first sentence of the text, Claire is mentioned to have ‘held back a sigh’ – that is, she prevented herself from sighing, that is a sign of tiredness, irritation or desperation. She is trying to conceal her true feelings.
32. D. Last sentence of Paragraph Two: ‘Tuning back into the phone call, Claire realised she had missed some key information…’. Claire was too deep in her own thoughts to pay attention to the telephone conversation.
33. D. Second sentence of Paragraph Four: ‘… Claire often wondered whether that was to ensure their three children didn’t affect their lifestyle…’. Her parents sent her to that school to have her away and just live their own lives.
34. A. In Paragraph Seven, Claire uses the example of J. K. Rowling as a self-made woman who managed to become wealthy despite having to raise children of her own: ‘She was convinced Ruth could help herself if only she’d try harder.’. Answer C is not mentioned.
35. B. Ruth believes that all Claire has to do is go out with clients spending company money, which is not true.
36. C. ‘It seemed odd to Claire that two people who had no time for their own children could go mad over someone else’s, even if they were their grandkids.’
    

    Part 6

37. G. At the beginning of the paragraph, they are talking about possible extinction of the human race and the changing weather conditions. Sentence G then confirms that if the human race plans to survive, it will have to live in such structures.
38. D. ‘Their’ refers to the animals. ‘Living example of that’ talks about the attempts at protecting those animals.
39. C. These are all the examples of using natural resources without creating unnecessary pollution. Option F shouldn’t be used here – even though it too focuses on eco-friendliness, it will be better used later on in the text.
40. A. A contrast is introduced here – the building gives off a sense of calm, despite being in an ugly part of downtown.
41. F. An ecosystem is the mass of all living things and how they affect each other and the environment. The words ‘global approach’ help us to connect it with the phrase ‘you have to persuade people of the world’ from Sentence F.
42. E. The paragraph focuses on having to deal with the current situation and not looking back. Sentence E fits right in, confirming the statements.
    

    Part 7

43. D. ‘… it is well worth the small amount it costs for access’.
44. D. ‘It’s easy to see why commercials have been made there.’
45. A. ‘ At first sight it almost seems tropical, until dipping your toe in the water encourages you to spend a lazy day on the beach rather than dive in for a swim.’
46. C. ‘he air temperature hardly varies around the year, and neither does that of the ocean – which is only waist-high even hundreds of metres from the shore.’
47. D. ‘… don’t forget to get some shots of your own…’
48. B. ‘The sand, in contrast, always remains cool as it is of a type that reflects the sunlight, so you won’t need sandals.’
49. A. ‘… the scent of pine from the nearby woods…’
50. D. ‘The best spots – those with both sunshine and shade – quickly get taken, so make sure you arrive well before the sun starts to beat down and the sand heats up.’
51. A. ‘… with public access limited to the summer months…’
52. C. ‘There isn’t, however, much shade, so it is advisable to use plenty of sun cream…’

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

Man-made (adj) – created by humans (artificially) rather than by nature (naturally). Some scientists doubt that the Pyramids of Egypt are man-made.
Crew (n) – people who operate a complex machine such as a plane, a ship or, in this case, a space vehicle.
Tidy up (phr v) – to make something cleaner by removing unnecessary items.

Part 2

Evidence (n) – proof, supporting information. Evidence suggests that dolphins are the most intelligent animals found on our planet.
Flavour (n) – a particular taste added to food, usually done by chemicals. Note that while the word ‘taste’ is the natural way the food feels like, ‘flavour’ is artificial.
Regard (v) – to have an opinion about something, to know as having some quality. Students of Harvard are regarded as one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to liberal arts.

Part 3

Mental note – something that you force, or tell yourself, to remember without actually writing it down. I was making a mental note of the names of all the places we were visiting during our trip to Japan.
Forehead – the part of one’s face between the eyebrows and the beginning of hairline.

Part 4

Postpone (v) – to move something like an event or a meeting to a later date, to reschedule.
Intention (n) – a plan or an idea, something that you are going to do in the future.

Part 5

Sigh (n) – the act of letting air out through your mouth or nose when you feel upset or relieved. I could swear I could almost feel a sigh of relief from her as soon as she heard the good news.
Mull over (phr v) – to think about carefully before deciding what to do next.
Offspring (n) – a formal word meaning children. Can also be used to refer to animals.
Tantrum (n) – when a child loses their temper and protests in a noisy when, they are said to throw a tantrum. Same word could be used to talk about an adult, not literary but as a form of criticism.
Rise to the bait – to let yourself be provoked by something intended as a provocation. The politician didn’t let himself rise to the bait of groundless accusations by the opposing party members.
Begrudge (v) – not to begrudge somebody something is to try and not say that somebody did something unfairly or didn’t deserve it. Note that this is mostly used with ‘not’. I never begrudge my dad his academic success, as he has dedicated his entire career to get where he is now.
Hold somebody back (phr v) – to prevent somebody from doing or achieving something.
Choke (v) – to have food stuck in your throat that prevents you from breathing. Here it is used figuratively to show shock or unpreparedness for something the author has just heard.
Gulp down (phr) – to swallow liquid or medicine with visible effort.
Petulant (adj) – (usually about children) upset or unhappy about something.

Part 6

Hemispherical (adj) – in the shape of half a sphere, like an orange sliced in half.
Enshrine (v) – to protect something valuable.
Extinction (n) – the situation when a species no longer exists because of being hunted or due to natural causes such as climate change. The reason for dodo extinction is that it had no natural predators and therefore was not afraid of humans, who took advantage of the situation to hunt the bird down.
Vast (adj) – extremely big. This politician’s influence in the region is vast.
Environmentalist (n) – a person who actively protects the environment by various means or advocates for the importance of such actions.
Shrink (v) – to reduce in size suddenly and considerably, like a balloon when all air escapes it.

Part 7

Fee (n) – a sum of money that you pay either for a service or for the right to access some place. The entrance fee is $5 during the week and $7 on the weekend.
Shallow (adj) – the opposite of deep. Shallow beaches of this region are very popular with kids of all ages.
Stunning (adj) – so amazing or impressive that it blows your mind; extremely beautiful.
Charge (n) – a synonym to fee in this context, it is an amount of money you have to pay to access some location, in this case the beach.
Patches (n) – small, isolated areas of something, usually some surface. The lawn was pretty far from perfect with patches of naked dirt here and there.
Click to download this FCE Reading and Use of English worksheet in PDF