FCE Use of English Part 1, Photo Album

Answers and explanations

1. A – chance. This means doing it randomly, without meaning to do it. ‘By mistake’, as the word suggests, means that you have done something mistakenly. ‘By accident’ normally implies that it was something negative or undesirable. ‘Occasion’ does not work with ‘by’ here.
2. A – Flicking. To flick through is to look through it quickly, without paying too much attention. Scrolling would normally refer to computer or mobile phone screens. ‘Checking through’ means a more attentive approach with an intention to find something. ‘Scanning through’ is not a valid collocation in this context; it would be appropriate in a more technical context of using a scanner.
3. B – expired. Outdated would mean useless or old-fashioned (no longer fashionable or very traditional). Obsolete is used negatively to mean that it is too old to be relevant and is often used to describe technology.
4. C – capturing. In the context of photography or drawing, to capture a feeling or emotion means to display it masterfully in the form of a still picture. ‘Shooting’ is a more technical term that refers to the action of making a photo. ‘Seizing’ and ‘getting’ do not fit here as collocations for the word ‘mood’.
5. A – look. ‘A look of uncertainty’ means an expression that is clearly visible on the person’s face. ‘Emotion’ doesn’t work here, as uncertainty is not an emotion. Grimace is normally used negatively, and while ‘face’ is a much more neutral expression, we do not say ‘a face of uncertainty’.
6. D – away. To give away is to show something that was meant to be hidden, e.g. ‘to give away a secret’. The rest of the options form various phrasal verbs with meanings that do not fit here.
7. C – time. During that period. ‘At the moment’ is not optimal as it refers to a very particular moment, whereas talking about somebody’s age does not require such precision. ‘Period’ is not good here because we are not referring to any specific period. ‘Present’ is incorrect as the text clearly refers to events of the past.
8. D – wished. We wish somebody luck when we want them to succeed. Something can also give luck, but this option is not good for us here, because no reference to good luck is made in the text. The other two options do not collocate.