C1–C2

PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B

Part A • Grammar, Vocabulary and How to …
GRAMMAR
1 Complete the second sentence using the word in
capitals so that it has the same meaning as the first.
Use no more than four words.
1 My colleague commented that we had received no
feedback on the reports and I said I agreed.
ECHOED
I ______________ that we had received no feedback on
the reports.
2 Tomasz had made several mistakes in the document
and he admitted this fact.
ACKNOWLEDGED
Tomasz _______________ that he had made several
mistakes in the document.
3 During the discussion I asked whether we needed
additional training sessions while we were so busy.
QUESTIONED
During the discussion I _______________ for additional
training sessions while we were so busy.
4 I was concerned that the new road would pass too close
to the school and I said so.
VOICED
I _______________ that the new road would pass too
close to the school.
5 The head teacher said that she was surprised we had
not all received the email.
PROFESSED
The head teacher _______________ that we had not all
received the email.
6 The director said that salaries would definitely increase
along with the cost of living.
INSISTENT
The director _______________ salaries would increase
along with the cost of living.
7 Nahla disagreed that we were too early to book in
because this information wasn’t on our booking.
COUNTERED
We were told it was too early to check in, but Nahla
_______________ information wasn’t on our booking.
/7
2 Complete the sentences with the correct forms of
the verbs in brackets.
1 __________ (you / give) me a good reference, I would
be extremely grateful.
2 We __________ (not / be) lost now if you’d used the
satnav instead of the map.
3 When asked his age, he said he __________ (reveal) it
even if his best friend had asked him.
4 He told me __________ (he / listen) to music and that’s
why he’d missed my call.
5 I’d have gone with you to the gig if __________ (I / like)
rock music.
6 If it __________ (not / be) for the cold wind, I’d walk to
the shops rather than take the car.
/6
3 Complete the sentences with the words in the box.
There are two extra words you do not need.
any but equally even nothing providing
so unless whether
1 The problem is not __________ much what to ask, it’s
who to ask.
2 The book is __________ like as interesting as the blurb
leads you to think.
3 I’m afraid I can’t drive __________ faster than I am.
Why don’t you take over?
4 The sequel is __________ as exciting as the first film
was and I recommend watching it.
5 Julia would have won the race easily __________ for
Margarita’s last-minute spurt of speed.
6 This part of Dublin is great to visit, __________ if you’re
low on funds.
7 I can give the presentation __________ you really want
to do it yourself.
/7

© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE 1

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PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B

VOCABULARY 6 The new motorway will open in a month, give or t _ _ _

a couple of days.
4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the
verbs in the box. There are two verbs you do not 7 This final contract bid will be m _ _ _ or break for the
need. company.
8 The success of the restaurant is first and f _ _ _ _ _ _ _
change foster give hang knock make down to the amazing abilities of our chef, Danielle.
strike strive throw /8
1 Read for general understanding and don’t get
__________ up over every unknown word you see. HOW TO …
2 It’s important for a school to __________ good 7 Choose the correct words to complete the
relationships between the different faculties. conversations.
3 If you’re unhappy on your university course, you can
Conversation 1
__________ tack and take up a different subject.
A: OK, to get the ball 1turning / rolling, how do we all feel
4 Don’t let this failure __________ your confidence. There
about advertising externally for a new head of
will be other opportunities.
department?
5 I know the crossword looks very hard, but __________ it
B: Personally, I’d say we can fill the post internally, but …
a go and I’m sure you’ll get a few of them right.
C: Internally? Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you 2back / off,
6 Just because someone upset you at work doesn’t mean
I’m just not sure we’ve got a good, qualified candidate.
you should __________ in the towel and quit.
A: Let me 3take / pick up on that point. This issue was
7 My sister has dyslexia, but she’s __________ strides in
raised before and it was felt that it would be good to
her reading ability.
open up the recruiting process.
/7 B: I 4make / take your point, but I’m afraid I beg to 5change
/ differ. Many of our current employees are definitely up
5 Choose the correct options (a, b or c) to complete to the job.
the sentences. Conversation 2
1 There’s a ___-rooted belief in the community that the A: In my opinion restricting the competition entrants to 50 is
central government does not care about their needs. too low a number.
a solidly b deeply c long B: I think we’re talking at 6opposing / cross purposes
2 ___ learning is a popular method of teaching across all here. I wasn’t talking about restricting the number, just
schools and colleges. about allowing the first fifty members who enter to get a
a Mixed b Involved c Blended reduction on their fees.
3 An alternative to academic university courses is ___ B: OK, I 7agree / get where you’re coming from. And I
training. imagine such competition will really focus the applicants.
a vocational b professional c tuitional C: That’s an excellent way of 8making / putting it. We also
4 ___ thinking skills will be useful throughout a person’s need to consider raising membership fees, don’t we?
working life. A: That’s getting 9from / off the topic really – today’s
a Incisive b Judgemental c Critical decision is about the competition, and we’re 10moving /
5 Raising ___ fees is a controversial move and many running out of time. So, are we all agreed?
politicians will object. /10
a teaching b tuition c educational
/5 Total: /50

6 Complete the sentences with the missing words.

1 Many people escape the h _ _ _ _ _ and bustle of the
city and move to the countryside.
2 If you’re out and a _ _ _ _ this week, take a diversion to
avoid road works along the M50.
3 I’ll make this speech short and s _ _ _ _ as I know many
of you are trying to beat the rush hour going home.
4 I’m s _ _ _ _ _ but surely getting back on my feet after
the accident.
5 I had no idea that the school used to be a hospital, but
you l _ _ _ and learn.

© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE 2

 C1–C2
PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B
Part B • Listening and Reading
LISTENING
1 [Audio PT1.01] Listen to an extract from a talk about
teaching and choose the correct options.
1 What is the main topic of the talk?
A the qualities of a good teacher
B interesting teaching experiences
C reasons people choose to be teachers
2 The speaker mentions an early teacher because
A she put her on a career path.
B she inspired creativity in the speaker.
C she favoured the speaker in class.
3 Regarding a later teacher, the speaker feels
A grateful for having been taught language in a certain
way.
B appreciative of the teacher’s fluency in a foreign
language.
C admiring of the teacher’s work-life balance.
4 The speaker is ‘intrigued’
A why some people choose teaching when they are not
cut out for it.
B how some teachers can justify their choice of a
teaching career.
C why some people use teaching as a time to make
other career decisions.
5 The speaker mentions various reasons for some people
becoming teachers. Which reason does she NOT
mention?
A I had no idea what else to do.
B My parents were both teachers.
C I dropped out of my training to be a nurse.
/10
2 [Audio PT1.02] Listen to a conversation about
visiting a Capital of Culture. Are the statements
True (T) or False (F)?
1 The designation of City and Capitals of Culture has
become more popular over the last ten years. T / F
2 When Hannah and Derek visited Valletta, it was in its
year as European Capital of Culture. T / F
3 Hannah became ill while they were on holiday. T / F
4 Their hotel overlooked the centre of Valletta. T / F
5 The restaurant was about fifty metres from the hotel.
T/F
6 They were not well equipped for the weather. T / F
7 They were unable to make out the details of the statue.
T/F
8 There were thirteen installations in the same square.
T/F
9 The special installations represented important points in
Maltese history. T / F
10 An anticipated event was affected by the weather. T / F
/10
© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE
READING
3 Read the article and choose the best title (1–5).
1 Genuine or fake?
2 How sophisticated was cave art?
3 Yet another cave art controversy
4 Art and humanity
5 Cave symbols interpreted
/5
__________________________
The word ‘Neanderthal’ has become something of an insult for
someone lacking in culture and refinement. It is generally
assumed that what makes us human is our ability to use
complex behaviour, such as manipulating language, having
morals and being able to create art. Neanderthals were thought
to have none of these ‘human’ traits and abilities. But we
Homo sapiens may be unfairly maligning our prehistoric
cousins, as researchers have found that they were more
accomplished artists than previously thought.
Academics have found that cave paintings in Spain were
created more than 64,000 years ago – 20,000 years before
modern humans arrived in Europe. The paintings, the oldest
cave art ever discovered, include animals, dots and geometric
signs, and are much more sophisticated than anything
previously attributed to Neanderthals. The team used a method
known as uranium-thorium dating, which is more accurate
than radiocarbon dating, to establish the age of the Palaeolithic
paintings. It had previously proved a contentious issue, as
some scientists were not convinced that the pigments were
natural and stemmed from iron oxide. This new analysis
strongly suggests that the pigments were intentionally blown
onto the surface and did not match any other natural samples
in the vicinity. What is more, the dating also suggests that the
pigments were applied 10,000 years apart, positing the theory
that Neanderthals returned over many thousands of years to
leave their records in the caves. And similar patterns in caves
across Europe suggest that Neanderthals may have produced
these symbolic prints too, far wider afield than just Spain.
According to Alistair Pike, professor of Archaeological
Sciences at the University of Southampton and co-director of
the study, Neanderthals were initially considered brutish and
uncultured with an inability to produce art, and many still hold
these opinions today. The extent of their human-like behaviour
remains a controversial issue and is the topic of fierce debates.
Another archaeologist from Southampton, Dr Chris Standish,
believes that this discovery implies a greater sophistication in
Neanderthal behaviour and ability.
While these early Neanderthal works cannot be described as
‘art’ in the same way as that of prehistoric modern humans
(for example, in the incredible Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave of
France), they can be seen as symbolic. It is a well-known fact
that the cave formations had a deep significance for some
Neanderthal communities, but the meaning of the pigment
symbols remains unknown. What is clear is that because of
their location, often on stalagmites or low ceilings in the
darkest areas of caves, the places chosen must have had an
importance. It also indicates that a light source was used for
the painting.
3
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PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B
The earliest symbolic artefacts – decorative objects with
carvings – are around 70,000 years old and were found in
Africa, but have always been attributed to Homo sapiens.
Neanderthals living in Europe 40 to 45,000 years ago had used
body ornamentation, but researchers previously suggested that
this was inspired by Homo sapiens who had at the time just
arrived in Europe. Separate research published last week
suggested that the Neanderthals’ inability to create
sophisticated art could provide clues to their extinction, but
this study appears to challenge that hypothesis. Researchers
said the findings challenge the accepted definition of what it
means to be human, and could lead to the re-examination of
other European cave art. Perhaps the time has come to focus
not on ways in which Homo sapiens and Neanderthals
differed, but on how similar they were.
4 Read the article again. Choose the correct options,
A, B or C.
1 In the first paragraph, the writer mentions
A the superiority enjoyed by Homo sapiens over
Neanderthals.
B the need to rethink a particular theory.
C the lack of refinement shown by insulting language.
2 The discovery of the oldest cave art suggests
A Neanderthals existed long before had been thought.
B a higher sophistication than that created later by
Homo sapiens.
C an ability to create symbols beyond simple
mathematical shapes.
3 Since the discovery of the cave art in question,
A scientists have disagreed over the colour sources.
B nothing new or conclusive has been proven by
different testing methods.
C one assumption is that the pigments on the walls
could have been brought in by the wind.
4 An assumption under consideration is that
A Neanderthal cave art is limited to the area of Spain.
B return visits were made to the caves thousands of
years apart.
C some of the art could have been made by
Homo sapiens 10,000 years ago.
5 In his conclusion, the writer
A queries the theory that Neanderthals did not survive
because of their lack of creative ability.
B believes that no one can identify the true elements of
being human.
C accepts that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were
comparable in their abilities.
/10
© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE
5 Read two blogs about people’s experiences learning
to drive. Which comment (A or B) might Elisa and
Kim be more likely to make?
1 Elisa
A I shall never make assumptions again.
B I don’t think I deserved to fail first time round.
2 Kim
A I’d have passed even without the rivalry.
B Competition usually makes me up my game.
/4
Yes – talking about THAT test!
Elisa
You must have heard the term ‘quaking with fear’. Well that
was me the morning of my second driving test. It’s quite
amazing really that students can go through exam after exam
at college and, I agree, it can be nerve wracking, but for me
that was nothing like the sheer terror I felt when about to get
into the car with the examiner for a second time. The first test
hadn’t scared me at all. I’d been confident that I could walk it.
(OK, maybe not the right choice of idiom there!) I’d prepared
well, practised my three point turns until they were perfect and
rattled off every answer to the oral test without hesitation. But,
five minutes into the practical test and I’d blown it. I didn’t
check left when I pulled out of a junction and had to slam on
the brakes to avoid a collision. One look at the examiner’s
stern face and I knew I might just as well drive straight back to
the Driving Centre. No way was I going to pass after that and I
was spot on. Which was why I had to go through it again a
second time, and on that occasion the fear really kicked in.
Maybe it’s true what they say, that adrenalin spurs you on. It
certainly focused me, and I was aware of every single decision
I made during that second test; check mirror, indicate, pull out,
check the speed, check … and thank goodness it worked, and I
didn’t have to go through it yet again! I learnt an important
lesson from that first failure – never to take success for
granted. And I won’t, I am sure of that.
Kim
There’s fierce sibling rivalry in our family, and it was never
more apparent than when my brother and I were learning to
drive at the same time. Quite honestly it shouldn’t have
happened – all things being equal he’d have had his licence a
year ahead of me, but he’d had an expensive year with several
educational trips abroad and for financial reasons my parents
had delayed the driving lessons. Instead, we ended up learning
at the same time, sharing the same driving instructor and
doubling up the demands on my mum’s patience in taking us
both out at the weekends in the family car to practise. We’ve
always been competitive and with driving there was no
exception. I think, however, it really worked for me. I can be a
little lazy at times, but with the driving, the rivalry pushed me
to excel. If my brother perfected a manoeuvre – then I would
outperform him, if he got eight out of ten on an oral test, then I
would get nine. There was no way he was going to pass and
me fail. I would never have lived it down. The day arrived and
my test followed his. I saw him smirk at me as he left his car.
He’d clearly passed, and I got in with the examiner thinking
that I couldn’t possibly let him beat me. I remained calm and
my concentration was intense. I knew I’d done it before the
4
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PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B

examiner told me and my smile grew even bigger when he

actually complimented me on my driving and suggested I go
on to take the advanced learner’s course. I later learnt that in
fact my brother had failed, and his smirk was just to wind me
up!

6 Read the blogs again and decide which blog

contains the following information. Choose
A, B or C.
1 assuming a result by the expression on a person’s face
A Elisa B Kim C both
2 getting practical experience with a family member
A Elisa B Kim C both
3 comparison of taking a college exam with the driving
test
A Elisa B Kim C both
4 making a costly mistake
A Elisa B Kim C both
5 being spurred on by competition
A Elisa B Kim C both
6 being successful because of good concentration
A Elisa B Kim C both
7 performing to a higher standard than necessary during
the test
A Elisa B Kim C both
8 believing an element of fear helped to focus the mind
A Elisa B Kim C both
9 making a false assumption moments before taking the
test
A Elisa B Kim C both
10 contrasting their attitude to a previous experience
A Elisa B Kim C both
11 unexpectedly preparing for the test the same time as a
member of their family
A Elisa B Kim C both
/11

Total: /50

© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE 5

 C1–C2
PROGRESS TEST 1 | Version B

Part C • Speaking and Writing WRITING

SPEAKING
1 Listen to your partner talk about their pictures. Ask:
Whose help is likely to make the most difference to
the people’s lives?
2 Describe and compare the pictures showing people
helping the environment. In what ways might they
make a difference?
4 Choose the correct words to complete the
sentences from a travel blogpost.
1 Visiting the marine museum is a definite / must.
2 This area is full of small restaurants and the smells
attack / assault your senses.
3 Sit back and let the installations play / work their magic.
4 Keep an eye on the time as it’s easy to forget / lose
yourself in the gallery.
5 Interest in the clocktower has streamed / surged
recently.
/5

5 Read the announcement on a travel website. Write

your post in 200–300 words.
Have you got some amazing local sights or areas near you that
tourists would enjoy seeing? Send us a blogpost with
recommendations for tourists and we’ll post the best on the
site.

/15

Total: /40

/15
3 Answer your partner’s question.
/5

© 2023 Pearson PHOTOCOPIABLE 6