FC Practice Test 14 Name:_______________ score: _____%
Use of English
part 1
For questions 1-12, read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
Example:
0 A beginning B first C primary D basic
Volunteering
When Pamela Jarrett left university to become a (0)… school teacher, it was by no (1)…. easy to find a job. She therefore decided to go abroad as a volunteer teacher for a year. When she realised she would be teaching deaf and blind children, she was a (2)…. taken aback. But after a month's training she felt more confident that she would be able to (3)…. with the situation.
The basic living conditions also (4)…. as something of a shock. Pamela's school was situated in a remote Ethiopian village, where her accommodation (5)…. of one room and a shared bathroom. Not only was the space cramped, (6)…. there was no electricity, Internet or telephone access, so she felt totally cut (7)…. from the outside world.
Now back home in Britain, Pamela has used her (8)…. experience to set up a similar school. The specialized help she offers to the deaf and blind has made a huge (9)…. to dozens of children who would (10)…. find themselves struggling to learn.
Pamela would certainly like to revisit Africa someday. At the moment, though, she is concentrating her efforts on (11)…. her school to cater for children with other learning difficulties, too. It seems as if the more people get to know her, the (12)…. the demand is for her skills.
A means
A somewhat
A handle
A appeared
A consisted
A and
A out
A priceless
A change
A otherwise
A widening
A taller
B way
B quite
B manage
B proved
B contained
B also
B down
B valuable
B difference
B besides
B stretching
B larger
C account
C rather
C cope
C arrived
C composed
C then
C off
C worthy
C transformation
C alternatively
C growing
C greater
D extent
D little
D succeed
D came
D combined
D but
D away
D precious
D contrast
D instead
D expanding
D steeper
PART 2
For questions 13-24, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS in the answer boxes provided.
Example: 0 back
Blue jeans
The story of blue jeans goes (0)……………….a long way. Even (13)……………. .Levi Strauss started manufacturing them in San Francisco in 1850, sixteenth-century sailors in Genoa were making trousers out (14)……………… a cloth which they named 'gene', after their city. Jeans were thought to be excellent work clothes, as the material didn't wear out easily and was strong (15)…………….. to allow people to carry tools in their pockets. Then in the 1950s jeans took on a new image when teenagers started to wear (16)……………… as a fashion statement.
The jeans of today have changed very (17)……………… from their original design. Cotton is still used and most jeans are still blue, (18)………………. they were in the beginning when they were dyed using indigo. Back pockets have remained a common feature, too, as (19)………………. the metal pins used to strengthen the jeans at certain points.
The (20)……………….. decades, however, have seen variations in style. In the 1970s, for example, wide- legged 'bell-bottoms' were popular, and then more recently jeans with rips in the knees became fashionable. (21)………………… have also been times when it has been trendy for the colour of the jeans (22)……………….. look faded. Designer jeans have always been popular, but of course they tend to be expensive. Arguably, lesser-known brands can be (23)……………….. as good quality and bought at (24)………………… more reasonable prices.
PART 3
For questions 25-34, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS in the answer boxes provided.
Example: 0 exciting
Aerobatics
One of the most (0) extreme sports, both for those EXCITE
participating and for (25) , has to be aerobatics. SPECTATE
This aviation sport owes much of its (26) to the POPULAR
Red Arrows, a team of nine (27) skilled pilots who HIGH
have been putting on (28) air displays since 1964. DARE
To the (29) of the crowds below, the pilots fly in AMAZE
fantastically shaped formations such as the Corkscrew or the Heart,
leaving a trail of brightly coloured smoke behind them. This can be a
risky business, (30) when the pilots have to fly very SPECIAL
close to each other. They have to stay to within 50 centimetres of the
formation pattern, or the lack of coordination will be
(31) to the people on the ground. NOTICE
(32) , the Red Arrows' rigorous training and FORTUNE
experience makes the chances of an accident (33) LIKE
All pilots have 1,500 hours of flying time behind them, including at
least one flight in a (34) jet and spend six months COMMERCE
every year training for their aerobatics shows.
PART 4
For questions 35-42, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. There is an example at the beginning (0).
0 Bill said he'd never been to such a good restaurant.
WAS
Bill said ……………………………………………………………………. he'd ever been to.
Example: 0 it was the best restaurant
35 Thieves broke into John's house last Saturday night.
HAD
John …………………………………………………………………… last Saturday night.
36 The project could have been successful if you had worked harder on it.
SUCCEEDED
The project could only you had worked harder on it.
37 The insurance company asked me to describe the stolen painting in detail.
FULL
The insurance company asked me to give them ………………………………………. the stolen painting.
38 Seamus finds both Mathematics and Chemistry easy.
ARE
Neither ……………………………………………………………………… for Seamus.
39 "Be quiet, or you'll wake the baby," Mother told us.
IF
Mother told us that the baby ……………………………………………… made a noise.
40 The match couldn't take place because of a heavy snowstorm.
PREVENTED
A heavy snowstorm ……………………………………………………………….. place.
41 You can wear my dress, but you must be careful not to ruin it.
LONG
You can wear my dress careful not to ruin it.
42 The politician refused to say anything about the matter.
COMMENT
The politician would make …………………………………………………… the matter.