FCE Use of English Part 4, Test 1

Answers and explanations

1. Has no clue how to. A simple paraphrase is needed here. If you have no clue how to do something, it means you have no idea about it or how it works.
2. He would come to. An example of reported speech with all the necessary transformations. Note that in different cases of reported speech you will need to change tense, prepositions and modal verbs.
3. Out of breath because. To be out of breath means to have difficulty breathing because of physical exertion. Be aware of the differences in spelling: the verb is “to breathe”, whereas the noun is “breath”.
4. Much more tiring than. ‘Way more tiring’ is an answer that would get you 1 point instead of 2 in the exam. That is because you are discouraged from introducing any additional changes unless they are necessary. ‘Way’ is more informal than ‘much’, even though it has the same meaning.
5. Rain is unlikely (to fall). The word ‘fall’ is optional here as it does not add anything to the sentence, however its addition does not change the meaning in a negative way either. Keep in mind that any transformation in FCE Use of English 4 has to be justified.
6. Not broken down I would. A case of Third Conditional sentence is present here – an unreal result of an action, that didn’t take place. The usual structure is If + Past Perfect in the condition part and Present Perfect in the result part. Remember that with the conditionals you never use “if” and “will/would” in the same part of the sentence.
7. Discouraged from quitting by. An important thing to keep in mind is the verb pattern – to discourage somebody from doing something. Only the gerund should be used after this particular structure. Knowing verb patterns helps with this part of the exam considerably.
8. Is being interrogated by. A past continuous passive structure is required to make the transformation. Failing to use the continuous form will mean that you only get 1 out of the two points possible for this task.
9. Is such fitting weather. An important note to make is that ‘weather’ is uncountable and doesn’t require an article, even despite taking an adjective ‘fitting’ here. This is a trap as most students are used to the structure ‘such a …’ and are tempted to use it without thinking about the purpose of the indefinite article.
10. Got away with (doing/committing). If you get away with something, you go unpunished for it. Here, the test-taker gets some leeway with the choice of words, the last part can be omitted altogether without affecting the meaning of the sentence.