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Duvan Jair Palacios Hernandez 20181265049

Difficulty level: C1 / advanced

Reading Use of English paper 1

Read the text and choose the best word (A, B, C or D) to fill the spaces.

A Famous Library
The most famous library of all time was founded by Alexander the Great over 2,300 years ago, in
Alexandria. It was situated at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, and was the perfect location for a
center of learning. The library was (1) ____________ to have around 700,000 books, and at the time people
thought it contained ‘all the knowledge in the world’. Copies of these books were (2) _________________
there, and these were then distributed around countries in the ancient world. But then the library was
destroyed by fire. Thousands of works of philosophy, science and literature were lost, and it took centuries
to recover them.
Now a new, modern library has been built in Alexandria, at a (3) ____________ of £120m. It has a vast
reading area seating 2,000 people, and (4) ___________ in the library for eight million books. The (5)
___________ of the building is spectacular, with amazing use of light and space. There is a huge circular
roof, which slopes at a special angle. This means that it can (6) _________________ light from the sun into
the museum. Rays of sunlight shine through green and blue glass onto the desks and bookshelves below,
and letters from every known alphabet are carved on the walls. People in Alexandria (7) _______________
that the library will once again be a place where scholars from all over the world come to study and
(8) ______________ research.

1. A stated B told C spoken D said 1. .D

2. A got B made C formed D achieved 2. .B
3. A price B cost C worth D charge 3. .B
4. A room B place C volume D extent 4. .A
5. A model B creation C invention D design 5. .D
6. A show B mirror C reflect D demonstrate 6. .C
7. A hope B want C aim D target 7. .A
8. A follow B have C accept D do 8. .D
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Duvan Jair Palacios Hernandez 20181265049

Reading & Use of English 2.

Read the text below and write the missing word in the answer sheet.

The Origin of Language

The truth is nobody really knows how language first began. Did we all start talking at around the same
time (9) _____ of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop.
Although there is a lack of clear evidence, people have come up with various theories about the origins of
language. One recent theory is that human beings have evolved in (10) ________ a way that we are
programmed for language from the moment of birth. In (11) _________ words, language came about as a
result of an evolutionary change in our brains at some stage.
Language (12) ______ well be programmed into the brain but (13) ______ this, people still need stimulus
from others around them. From studies, we know that (14) ______ children are isolated from human
contact and have not learnt to construct sentences before they are ten, it is doubtful they will ever do so.
This research shows, if (15) _________ else, that language is a social activity, not something invented (16)
________ isolation.

9. . Because
10. . Such
11. . Other
12. . Could
13. . Despite
14. . If
15. . Nothing
16. . In
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Duvan Jair Palacios Hernandez 20181265049

Reading & Use of English 3.

Read the text below and 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.

Second Language Learning

There has been debate in recent times about when young people should take up a
second language. This has been specially fuelled in recent times by the increasing (17)
IMPORTANT
___________ placed on the English language. It is now commonplace to see parents
providing a substantial amount of (18) ___________ on additional tuition on language FUNDING

lessons to give their children every (19) ___________ edge. In the past decade,
COMPETITION
language institutes have sprung up innumerous centers, all claiming to provide rapid
(20) ___________ in English. There has been a push by many parents to expose their ADVANCED

children to English in their formative years. This, many claim, will make the language
more (21) ___________ and ensure that all pronunciation errors can be avoided. There INSTINCT
is some evidence which points to youngsters who have been raised in bilingual families,
where the language spoken at home is different to the one that they (22) ___________ CONVERSATION

within their external environment. While these children can switch between two EASY
languages with greater (23) ___________, it remains to be seen, whether this is (24)
___________ when learning additional languages. ADVANTAGE

17. . importance
18. . funds
19. . competitive
20. . advancement
21. . instinctive
22. . converse
23. . ease
24. . advantageous
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Duvan Jair Palacios Hernandez 20181265049

Reading & Use of English 4.

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.

25. Miguel was interested in North American literature in his college days.
Interest
Miguel __________________________________ North American literature in his college days.

26. The school principal should think about experience when hiring new language teachers.
Consideration
The school principal should _____________________ when hiring new staff.

27. The anti-smoking advertisement does not stop people from smoking.
Ineffective
The anti-smoking advertisement is ________________ people from smoking.

28. She has learnt a substantial amount from her university course.
Gained
She has ______________ knowledge from her university course.

29. It is a good idea to learn Chinese to improve your future job prospects.
Taking
___________________ is a good way to enhance your work opportunities.

30. Do you think you could give me a hand to move the sofa?
Mind
Would you __________________________ to move the sofa?

25. . had an interest in

26. . take experience into consideration
27. . ineffective at stopping
28. . gained a substantial amount of
29. . Taking up Chinese
30. . mind giving me a hand