Answer Keys
Part 1
1 B – in case. The meaning of ‘in case’ is very close to ‘in the event of’, ‘if something (usually unpleasant or undesirable) happens’. Choosing ‘even if’ is not optimal because it suggests that an emergency is highly unlikely. Option C introduces a different meaning as well: ‘provided that’ means ‘only if’. Finally, ‘whereas’ is very close to ‘while’ so it does not work here.
2 B – as well as. The phrase is used to give an additional example of the kind of emergency the preparation would be useful for. Options ‘although’, ‘in spite of’ and ‘in contrast’ serve a different purpose – to introduce contrast in the sentence, which is not needed in this kind of context.
3 A – known. Here we look at the preposition ‘as’ that comes right after the gap, and the choice becomes obvious. Entitling is more common for a book or a document. Naming somebody is more appropriate when literally giving a name to a person or a thing. The word ‘called’ doesn’t work so well with ‘as’ in a context like this one.
4 A – views. It is probably the trickiest choice to make in this task. We can discard options B and C right away, as they are more fit for a positive context. Even though it is a decision to be prepared, the word ‘view’ fits better because we are talking about their opinion that something unpleasant might happen.
5 C – supply. A month’s supply of something is the amount you would go through within a course of one month. ‘Number’ has sort of the same meaning, but refers to something that is countable, whereas we are talking about things like food and other basic necessities that can be difficult to accurately quantify. ‘Donation’ and ‘delivery’ clash with the idea of an emergency situation.
6 D – consider. To consider somebody as something is to see them as that, so people might see the speaker as strange. ‘To accept something/somebody the way they are’ means to acknowledge their difference and to agree to live with it.
7 A – sense. To make sense is a well-known collocation, and it can also be modified, e.g. ‘to make little sense’, to make no sense’, and in this case, ‘to make perfect sense’. If something makes sense, then it is reasonable.
8 C – get on with. To get on with something means to continue it in the usual way or fashion. ‘Go through with’ is to do some kind of action even though it might be difficult or unpleasant. To put up with means to accept some degree of discomfort or other kind of undesirable condition. Finally, ‘to get away with’ usually means to go unpunished for something negative or even illegal one has done.
Part 2
9 has. The key phrase that we base our answer on is ‘in recent years’ – it clearly implies the usage of Present Perfect. Be careful not to answer ‘had’ – we are not looking for a Past Perfect tense as there are no two things happening in the past with one preceding the other.
10 in. If something is done in response to something else, it is meant as an answer to it. ‘As a response’ has exactly the same meaning, but we do not have an indefinite article in here.
11 where. The cafes mentioned here are the places for people to bring their broken things.
12 of. When there is plenty of something, it means that there is more than enough of it. ‘Plenty of’ is commonly found in more informal texts or spoken English.
13 unless. We are looking for a word with the meaning ‘if not’ or, in this case, ‘if you do not have’.
14 up. The phrasal verb ‘to pick something up’ in this particular context means that Dan learned it through doing it, rather than because somebody taught him that.
15 is. This is a case of structure called ‘cleft sentence’, in this particular case starting with ‘what’ that does not introduce a question, but instead stresses the fact that they help people repair things rather than do it themselves.
16 for. To look out for something is to actively try to find it.
Part 3
17 location. A rather straightforward verb-to-noun transformation.
18 popularity. Note that ‘its’ is a possessive form of ‘it’ – the only possibly confusing thing in this sentence.
19 substantial. Keep in mind that the letter ‘c’ in ‘substance’ changes to ‘t’ in substantial, so don’t lose focus when spelling the word.
20 scientists. Since there is no indefinite article before the gap, we have no choice but to use the plural form of the word.
21 carefully. We are looking for an adverb to modify the verb ‘fix’. Note the double ‘l’.
22 divers. Another case of a plural form for professions. Be careful not to give an answer that would go like ‘Professionals in diving’ as we can only use one word – we have no right to add a preposition here.
23 effective. The adjective form retains the double ‘f’ of the original noun.
24 strictly. To control something strictly means to pay extreme attention and to take measures in order to achieve the desired result.
Part 4
25 have not taken an exam. A Present Perfect form in the negative helps us rephrase the original sentence. I would recommend to avoid shortening the form: write ‘have not’ instead of ‘haven’t’.
26 have been living here for. Do not use ‘since’ here as we talk a period of time rather than when it all began – in which case ‘since’ would have made more sense.
27 would visit our grandparents. The word ‘would’ here refers to a repeated action (but not a state) from the past that is no longer happening. Remember that for a past state we must stick to ‘used to’.
28 did not use to enjoy. Here we have the negative form, so the past tense is only expressed through the auxiliary ‘did’, whereas ‘use’ remains unchanged.
29 have never met Charles. Yet another case of Present Perfect – this time dictated by the keyword ‘never’.
30 has stopped trying. Keep in mind the verb pattern of ‘stopped’ – a gerund.
Part 5
31 C. It was his uncle’s tales that ignited the flame of enthusiasm in the author. Watching TV programmes was incidental to that – and the question clearly wants you to give the first thing that made the author interested in diving.
32 A. At the end of the paragraph, the writer mentions that he felt more comfortable with the instructor right beside him. Nothing related to answers B and C is mentioned. Even though the author mentions being in shallow water, there is nothing in the text to indicate his disappointment with this fact.
33 B. The general idea of the idiomatic ‘under your belt’ expression normally refers to experience, how much exposure one has had to something. For example, if you have three years of gardening under your belt, this is exactly how long you have been doing it.
34 C. Getting the answer correctly here requires looking for a key phrase: ‘What really fascinates me…’. The author stresses their amazement at the fact that sea creatures are curious rather than fearful in the presence of humans. Other answers here are minor points that are mentioned without too much emphasis on them.
35 D. It is said that the oxygen tank was what ‘caught its eye’. If something catches your eye it means you become interested in it. Answer A is wrong as the shark approached the writer. It didn’t get aggressive, nor fearful – at least nothing is mentioned about either.
36 A. The plastic that can get into the sea dwellers’ stomachs and which in turn might bring harm to them. Naturally, we are not talking about the divers or conservation projects here. Unwanted objects are a very general classification here and have to be narrowed down to plastic pieces.
Part 6
37 E. The sentence focuses on the natural disadvantages the wood has in its original form. The sentence after the gap confirms this idea, stating that the wood went ‘out of fashion’ – in other words, it became much less popular.
38 C. Here we talk about how this material is different from traditional wood. You might consider sentence G, but then it makes little sense to say that ‘it is made mainly of wood’. Moreover, sentence G makes a bit more sense in the gaps that follow.
39 G. The key word in sentence G here is ‘stability’. We are talking about high-rise buildings that tend to sway a bit, and wood, quite naturally, is not the strongest material available to architects and engineers. Therefore, any added stability is more than welcome.
40 A. As stated in the sentence coming before the gap, one of the benefits is that a lower amount of energy is required to keep the place warm. This is then explained further in sentence A.
41 B. ‘They’ that sentence B starts off with are the straws that would normally be made of plastic. As we have established previously, materials like plastic are not sustainable and are far from environmentally friendly. These issues are mentioned right after the gap, highlighting how the new wooden straws solve both of these problems.
42 E. While it is usually not a good idea to start your sentence, and especially a paragraph, with a conjunction (‘and’), it is used here for emphatic effect. In other words, the author wants to focus on the fact that wood can even find its use in electronic components.
Part 7
43 B. The speaker didn’t like the fact that at their business school (the college mentioned in the task) profits were given priority over everything else. Answer D is a trap – they do use the word ‘college’ explicitly, but there is nothing there leading us to believe that the speaker came up with their business idea while studying there.
44 C. The speaker mentions having struggled with finding investors at the beginning – the initial difficulties from the task.
45 D. Last sentence clearly states that the speaker feels much better now, as opposed to have been afflicted by anxiety at their previous job.
46 A. Melissa was really surprised at the rate with which they managed to build up their client base – in other words, the number of people who found their services useful.
47 A. She mentions having worked at a supermarket before. The business idea is quite similar, instead it is charity-based, but in essence, it works like a regular supermarket, but without any money or profit involved.
48 B. Dan expresses his gratitude to his father, who had provided him with a loan to help him start his enterprise.
49 D. James says that quitting his job meant he would no longer have the financial security of being paid salary. It was a risky move to try his hand at running his own business, which brought some anxiety.
50 A. Melissa mentions feeling annoyed at the unfairness of her company policy regarding food that had to be thrown away. Instead, it could be given for free to those in need.
51 C. In the last sentence Helena warns potential entrepreneurs of all the hard work they will have to put in, especially at the beginning.
52 B. Dan says that lightning is an integral part of the education process and his business helps kids in poor countries with that – they give away solar-powered lamps to facilitate their studies.
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 at this level or it is too specific to be worth learning for the exam. 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
To depend on something for something – a clear, understandable phrase in itself, it nevertheless gives us nice examples of two different usages of prepositions.
Disrupted (adj) – out of order, balance, or not in the usual functioning state for any other reason. Disrupted sleep can seriously affect your general quality of life.
An outbreak of something – a situation when something negative or unpleasant happens suddenly and on a massive scale. Gun violence outbreak was mostly associated with a recent change in firearms ownership legislation.
Prepper (n, inf) – a prepper is a person who prepares for something, usually a war or any other extreme situation in which a prepared person would have a serious advantage over those whom the situation caught by surprise.
To see somebody through some period of time – to have enough of something to last your for that long. I had just enough money to see me through this month, then I will have to find a job no matter what.
Part 2
Get used to doing something – to be accustomed to some activity. Note that the gerund form is required here.
Sustainable (adj) – if some practice is sustainable, it means that it can be continued for a long (or even indefinite) time because it is reliant on renewable resources. Contrastingly, ‘unsustainable’ requires finite resources, those that can run out.
To pick things up – to learn something through practice, not by studying to do it in a formal or academic way. I picked up the guitar last summer because I was bored and didn’t have much else to do.
Emphasis (n) – focus or stress. If you put emphasis on something, you want to show that it is particularly important.
To look out for something (also, to be on the lookout for something) – to search for something actively, with the intent to find something particular.
Part 3, 4
Household (adj) – relating to house needs a purposes, as opposed to professional or industrial applications. Simple household items can be turned into makeshift weapons if they have to.
Carry out (phr v) – to perform. It took the specialists three hours to carry out the surgery.
Part 5
To be into something – to be interested and actively involved in it. I am aware that most people are really into watching movies, but I personally find this rather boring.
Urge (v) – if you urge somebody to do something, you tell or even force them to do it as soon as possible. I was urged by my parents to respond to the job offer.
Awaken (v) – used figuratively here, it means to bring something to life, to activate something that was previously inactive.
Straightforward (adj) – not complicated, right to the point. Lifting weights is not as straightforward as it may first appear and actually requires a very systematic approach with proper diet and even a rest schedule.
Shallow (adj) – the opposite of deep. It is used literally here, but you might also see it used figuratively. In the latter case it means lacking substance, uninteresting, e.g. a shallow person is one who isn’t of much interest.
Lose track of something – to become lost or confused with something that you should be keeping in mind. I have lost track of days we spent trying to find a good holiday destination that we could comfortably afford.
Hooked on something – to get very interested in an activity. I got hooked on reading thanks to our literature teacher, she basically introduced us to the magical world of fiction.
Head to (v) – to go somewhere. We headed to the nearest pub even though we had about four hours before we would have to be back to work.
Effortlessly (adv) – without needing much energy to do something, easily. I would solve most math problems effortlessly, although they seemed impossible to most students in my group.
Species (n) – a particular type of living thing. Note that both the plural and the singular form look the same.
Suitable (adj) – fitting a particular purpose or situation. I didn’t have any suitable clothes for the party and that is why I ended up not going there.
Stomach (n) – the part of your body where the food you have eaten gets digested.
Relieved (adj) – having the sense of relief, i.e. feeling much easier because something difficult, stressful or dangerous is already over.
Part 6
Recognise (v) – to understand and accept some quality of something. Our school is recognized as one of the more prestigious in the city.
To go out of fashion – to stop being popular or in demand.
Break down (phr v) – (here) to separate something into its basic parts, to take something apart.
Part 7
To run something – to control something ,to be in charge of it. I had to run my father’s company in his absence.
Throw something away – to get rid of something because you no longer need or want it.
Dump (v) – see previous entry. To throw something away, especially in a careless or inappropriate way.
Persuade (v) – to make somebody change their mind, to convince. I had to persuade my mother to let me get a part-time job.
Build something up (phr v) – to increase something gradually, over a period of time. I build up my client base by ensuring they get the best service possible.
Charity – a place, company or general practice to provide things or services without expecting to get any money in return.
To make up your mind – to reach a particular decision, especially if it takes you a lot of time.
Generous (adj) – ready to give something for free, such as money, food or any other thing, without asking money for it. Also see charity.
Loan (n) – a sum of money you get from a person on the condition you pay it back over time.
Struggle to do something – to find something to be particularly difficult to achieve. I always struggle to keep up with other kids when we play physically demanding games like football.
Set something up (phr v) – (here, about a business) to start or establish one.
Anxiety (n) – a constant feeling of nervousness, usually without an apparent reason.
Relevant (adj) – immediately related or connected to something. The questions that the students asked the professor were not very relevant to the topic of today’s class.
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