FCE PREPARATION COURSE

ASSIGNMENT

I. Part 1: Multiple choice

1. Put these adjectives in two groups according to positive and negative

meaning. Which two are used with stiff to describe a very strong
emotion?

POSITIVE MEANING NEGATIVE MEANING

 You can use …………………………and………………………with stiff.

2. If an adjective is:
 Gradable: we can say that a thing or person can have more or
less of the quality referred to. These adjectives can be used with
somewhat, extremely, very, pretty, slightly.
 Non-gradable: we don’t usually imagine degrees of the quality
referred to. These adjectives can be used with absolutely,
practically, completely, almost, totally and their meanings
usually have the words “very” or “extremely”.
For example, according to the dictionary the meaning of petrified is
extremely frightened, especially so that you cannot move or decide what
to do. That’s why petrified is non-gradable.
Classify the following adjectives into gradable and non-gradable.

 AMBITIOUS  DETERMINED  FANTASTIC

 HUGE  IMPOSSIBLE  UNWILLING
 UNKNOWN  RICH  STRONG
 USELESS  UNIQUE  SMART
 BUSY  COMMON  AWFUL
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GRADABLE NON-GRADABLE

3. (Rec. 1) You’re going to listen to a man talking about something

frightening that happened to him, then answer:

 Where was the man?.....................................................................

 How long did he spend there?.........................................................

4. Listen again and describe in detail what happened to the man and
answer these questions.

 Why was he in the building?...........................................................

 What time of day was it?................................................................
 Which two things did he try to do?...................................................
 Why was he there for so long?.........................................................

5. Before listening to the recordings, read the questions and options. Pay
attention to the words in bold.

1) (Rec 1) You hear a man talking about something frightening that

happened to him. What was his first reaction?
A. he sat down and cried.
B. he decided to call for help.
C. he tried to keep calm.
2) (Rec. 2) You hear a man talking about how to deal with fear. Who is he?
A. an ex-teacher.
B. an ex-pilot.
C. an ex-actor.
3) (Rec. 3) You hear a woman talking about her son on the phone. How
does she feel?
A. furious
B. anxious
C. relieved
4) (Rec. 4) You hear a woman talking about something that happened in
her home. The woman was most scared
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A. when she heard a burglar upstairs

B. while she was watching a horror film
C. when she suddenly saw a frog
5) (Rec. 5) You hear a man leaving a phone message. Why is he proud of
his daughter?
A. because she is going to have a book published
B. because she has won a writing competition
C. because she is doing so well at university
6) (Rec. 6) You hear a woman describing what happened to her on a
journey. Where did she end up that night?
A. on a country road
B. in hospital
C. at her house
7) (Rec. 7) You hear a man being interviewed about a salining accident.
The worst part of his experience was
A. being cold
B. feeling hungry
C. avoiding sharks
8) (Rec. 8) You hear a woman talking on the radio about an incident
abroad. Why was she able to escape?
A. she was by the door
B. she wasn’t noticed.
C. she had a radio.

II. Part 2: Sentence completion

6. Look at this list of sections from a newspaper. Then answer the question.

 What other sections might a newspaper include?

…………………………………………………………………………...............

7. Which section of the newspaper from exercise 6 do you think these

headlines come from?
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 BANK BREAKS OFF TALKS WITH PARTNER ……………………….

 BRAZIL PULL AHEAD WITH GOAL IN FINAL MINUTE …………………
 POLITICIANS TRY TO COVER UP SCANDAL ………………………
 RUMOURS OF PRESIDENT’S RESIGNATION LEAK OUT ………………
 NUMBERS ENTERING UNIVERSITY GO UP BY 3% ……………………..
 LEOS LIKELY TO FALL OUT WITH BOSS THIS WEEK …………………
 BRAT AND ANGELINA ABOUT TO BREAK UP? ……………………….
 NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS PULL OUT OF TALKS ….…

8. Match the underlined phrasal verbs in the headlines to the synonyms in

1-8 below.

1) To go in front of somenone……………………..
2) Stop doing suddenly…………………….
3) Disagree and argue………………………
4) Withdraw………………………
5) Increase……………………….
6) Hide the truth…………………………..
7) Slowly become known………………………..
8) Separate……………………..

9. Use the words from the box to replace the words in bold in the
sentences.

SCOOP TABLOIDS CENSOR PAPARAZZI

 There are two types of newspaper. There’s the quality press with real
news and then there’s the low quality press with very entertaining
stories. ……………………………..
 We have a story that no one else has printed. ………………………..
 Newspapers can pay the photographers who follow celebrities 10 000
dollars for a good picture. ………………..
 They tried to prevent us printing parts of this article about his private
life but we ignored them. ………………………

10. (Rec. 9)You will hear a journalist reporting on a problem in education.

For questions 1-10, complete the sentences.
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Critics say they are the worst results for more than
(1)_________________years. An ex- (2)________________said the situation
is appalling. Last year’s national tests show 11 and 14-year-olds made more
(3)___________________errors last year than they did four years ago.

The most common errors were words such as “change”, “known”

and(4)________________. Mistakes were made because (5)_______________
had missed out letters, put the wrong endings or used (6)_________________.
Basic punctuation mistakes include capital letters, (7)_______________ and
commas.

The (8)___________________for Education said she had sent schools a list of

words all children should know by the end of their first year and by the age of
14.

The teacher’s (9)_______________will give a statement later, but the new-style

English lessons are popular with them. Each lesson begins with ten minutes of
spelling. Math teachers practise words like geometrical and sports teachers
check pupils can spell athlete and (10)___________________.

III. Part 3: Multiple matching

11. The following adjectives can be used to describe clothes. Match them to
the appropriate pictures. You don’t have to use all the adjectives.

 Tight-fitting  Colourful  Trendy

 Baggy  Plain  Scruffy
 Casual  Tasteful  Sleeveless
 Unfashionable  Smart
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12. Match the following phrasal verbs (1-12) to their meanings (a-i). You
don’t need to use all the phrasal verbs.

1) add to 5) go out 9) save up

2) cut down 6) keep up with 10) slip on
3) dress up 7) pull on 11) stand out
4) fit in with 8) put together 12) take back

a. to be easy to see or notice ( )

b. create something by joining or combining different things ( )
c. return something ( )
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d. wear smarter clothes than usual ( )

e. keep money for something in the future ( )
f. reduce ( )
g. put something on quickly ( )
h. go somewhere for entertainment ( )
i. understand something that is changing fast ( )

13. You will hear five different people talking about occasions when a person’s
clothes and appearance caused surprise or concern. Match the speaker to the
correct occasion in the list A–H. Use the letters only once. There are three
extra letters which you do not need to use.

A. a wedding
B. a friend’s birthday party
C. a classical ballet (Rec. 10) Speaker 1 ( )
D. a sporting event (Rec. 11) Speaker 2 ( )
E. a film premiere (Rec. 12) Speaker 3 ( )
F. an examination (Rec. 13) Speaker 4 ( )
G. a job interview (Rec. 14) Speaker 5 ( )
H. a special family meal

14. Match the crimes in the box with the descriptions 1-6.

arson blackmail burglary kidnap pickpocketing robbery

1) By the time he realised his wallet was missing, it was too late. The bus
had stopped and the two men had run off in different directions.
………………………….
2) Police believe the building may have been burned down by an ex-
employee who was sacked from the company three months ago.
…………………………
3) Three armed men each wearing a stocking over his head, ordered the
customers to lie still on the floor while the cashier emptied the safe.
………………………….
4) We must have left a window open. They took both computers, the
television and all my jewellery. The neighbours didn't hear a thing.
………………………….
5) Mrs Brandon received a note demanding £1 million in return for the
release of her husband. ………………………………..
6) He was demanding regular monthly payments of £3,000 in return for his
silence over the politician's affair with his secretary. ……………………….
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15. Complete each gap with a preposition. The sentence pairs have the same
meaning.

 It could cost thousands to repair.

Repair costs could run……................thousands.

 The plan isn't at all perfect.

The plan is far……………………..perfect.

 Lara's a very good tennis player.

Lara's very good…………………….playing tennis.

 We couldn't see anybody.

There was nobody…………………….sight.

 Paul went to the concert alone.

Paul went to the concert………….............his own.

 You aren't the only intelligent one.

You don't have a monopoly…………………….intelligence.

16. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs from the box.

17. (Rec. 15) You will hear part of a radio interview with a man called Thomas
Barker, who is an ex-criminal. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer (A, B
or C).

1) What does Thomas say about his home life when he was a child?

A His family had a lot of money.

B His parents were good role models.

C His brothers got into trouble with the police.

2) Thomas says that he started stealing things because

A he liked the element of danger.

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B he wanted to be part of the group.

C he enjoyed getting things for free.

3) What was different about the crimes he was involved in later?

A the degree of planning

B the worry about getting caught

C the number of crimes he committed

4) What was Thomas' attitude to his crimes at that time?

A He did not take his crimes seriously.

B He disliked the level of violence involved.

C He envied the more serious criminals.

5) What was his reaction to being in prison?

A He enjoyed making new friends.

B He was confused about the reason for being there.

C He accepted the consequences of his actions.

6) When Thomas left prison he felt

A angry with his parents for not accommodating him.

B concerned that he might reoffend and return to prison.

C grateful to the prison for the opportunities it had given him.

7) Thomas works today to

A help prisoners to rehabilitate.

B help the police to detect crime.

C help others to avoid the problems that he had.