FCE Use of English Part 4, Test 19

Answers and explanations

1. Planned on visiting. To plan on doing something. Note how the preposition affects the form of the word that comes after it – a common feature of FCE Use of English Part 4.
2. To be carried out. The word “one” here refers to an impersonal structure where no particular agents of action are mentioned. To carry something out means to do it.
3. Ran/bumped into. The meaning of this phrasal verb is to meet with somebody without meaning or planning to, randomly, for no particular reason.
4. Are unlikely to have. Avoid making any unnecessary alterations to the original phrasing. Answering ‘Are unlikely to get’ is grammatically and lexically correct, but you might get deducted one point for introducing a change to the first sentence that just wasn’t needed.
5. Too difficult to deal. If you can’t deal with something, it means you are unable to face a fact or solve a problem. A small lexical footnote – math problems are various calculations that are there as a form of exercise or a part of some real project.
6. To be called off. Calling something off means cancelling it. This is a more informal way to phrase the idea, which is the case for most of phrasal verbs. However, this does not mean that phrasal verbs are mostly reserved for spoken English.
7. On the lookout for. To be especially careful or vigilant to notice something, to be ready to see it. A similar verb form is spelled in two words and has a different meaning, e.g. ‘I looked out of the train window’.
8. Not as interesting/exciting as. The negative particle as the keyword means that we have to switch to words with the opposite meaning. That is why we have more choice in terms of phrasing the answer.
9. Unless you can guarantee. At this point you should be pretty comfortable with ‘unless’ structures. The biggest mistake you can make here is to spell “guarantee” incorrectly – admittedly, an easy mistake to make.
10. Are out of stock. Answering ‘will be in stock’ is incorrect because of the word “until”. It would work in a context like ‘Phones of this model will be (back) in stock next week’.