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FCE- Introduction
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Paper 1- Reading and Use of English
- Introduction to the Reading and Use of English section of the FCE exam
- Developing reading skills: skimming, scanning, and reading for detail
- General Information and Tips- Reading and Use of English- Paper 1
- Tips: Part 7- Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 7-Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 4-Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 4- Key Word Transformations- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 3-Word Formation- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 3- Word Formation-Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English-
- Tips Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English-
- Tips Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- General Overview and Tips- Reading and Use of English
- General Review- Reading and Use of English
- Paper 1 Practice- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze-Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 3- Word Formation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 4-Key Word Transformation-Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 7- Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Protegido: Sample Paper Test- Reading and Use of English
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Grammar
- Dynamic vs Stative Verbs- MN Video- Listening- Grammar Focus
- Dynamic vs Stative Verbs – Quiz – Practice Focus
- Verb + Gerund- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Gerund/Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Gerund/Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- The Use of Articles (a/an/the)- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
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Vocabulary
- Vocabulary development and strategies for word formation and collocations
- Vocabulary- Learning Tips
- Collocations- Part 1
- Collocations- Part 2
- Collocations- Part 3
- Collocations- Part 4
- Collocations- Part 5
- Prefixes and Suffixes- Part 1
- Word Formation -“-ed” vs “-ing”
- Phrasal Verbs (1): meanings and types
- Phrasal Verbs (2): Separability
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Paper 2- Writing
- Writing- Preparing for the exam
- Writing- Some Common Questions
- Writing- Dos and Don’ts
- Writing- How is FCE Writing Scored?
- Informal Letter/Email- Writing Guide
- Informal Email/Letter- Sample and Tips
- Informal Letter or Email-Tips/Sample questions and answers
- Informal Email/Letter- Sample and Practice
- Formal Email/Letter – Steps to Writing
- Letter of Application- Writing Guide
- Letter of Application- Understanding and Model
- Letter of Application- Sample and Practice
- Letter of Application-Writing Topics- Practice
- Formal and Semi-formal Letter/ Email- Tips and Samples
- Email/Letter General Writing Guide
- Article- Steps to Writing
- Article- Writing Guide,Tips and Sample Questions and Answers
- Article- How to Write an Article- Video
- Article- Writing Topics- Practice
- Essay- Writing Guide
- Writing Essays for the FCE- Types and Organization
- Essay- Writing Guide, Tips and Sample Questions and Answers
- Essay- Tips and Samples
- Essay- Samples,Tips, and Practice
- Review- Writing Guide, Tips, and Sample Questions and Answers
- Review- Steps to Writing and Tips
- Review- Tips and Sample
- Review- Tips and Sample
- Review- Sample Questions- Practice
- Report- First Steps to Writing a Report
- Report- Writing Guide
- Report- Writing Sample Questions-Practice
- Writing-10 B2 First Writing Exam Tips
- Writing- B2 First Writing Checklist
- Protegido: Writing- B2 First Writing Sample Paper Test Parts 1 and 2
- Writing Essays- 5 most common mistakes
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Paper 3- Listening
- FCE Listening- Introduction and General Tips
- FCE Listening- Do’s and Dont’s
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Protegido: Listening- Sample Paper Test 1
- Protegido: Listening- Sample Paper Test 2
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Paper 4- Speaking
- Varieties of English
- Speaking- Preparing for the exam
- Speaking- Some More Tips
- Speaking- Some Common Questions
- Speaking- Do’s and Don’ts
- Speaking- Examiners Comments
- Speaking- Exam Assessment
- Speaking Part 2- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 2- Practice
- Speaking Part 2- Practice
- Speaking Part 3- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Parts 3 and 4-Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Practice
- Speaking Exam Review
- Speaking Test Practice
Tips Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
MULTIPLE-CHOICE CLOZE
In Part 1 you have a short text with 8 words missing. You must choose from 4 options the best word for each space. Part 1 is a nice, easy start. It’s easy in the sense that it doesn’t take much brain energy. You either know the answers or you don’t.
What it looks like
Here’s the start of a text. The example answer (0) is ‘branch’ – genealogy is a branch of history.
And the first 2 sets of options.
Go through the process of answering these questions and see what that tells you about this part of the exam.
1.
The answer can’t be ‘instead’ because it would have to say ‘instead of’. ‘Rather than’ is good grammar. ‘Except than’ is wrong – it should be ‘except for’.
Lesson: You need to know which prepositions go with which words!
What about ‘sooner’? There is an advanced phrase with ‘sooner than’, but it doesn’t fit the meaning of the sentence. The writer wants to say that genealogy is about family history and not the type of ‘big history’ that people normally think of. So ‘rather than’ is the only choice that fits grammatically and logically.
It may take a couple of minutes to write the explanation. If you don’t know all the prepositions you would have just taken a guess and moved on.
2.
This is another one where prepositions are important. See where it says ‘in’ after gap 2? Circle it! Underline it! That’s the most important word in the sentence. Only one of the choices goes with ‘in’.
Summary – Look for grammar clues like prepositions, and for words that fit the meaning of the sentence.
To do well here you should brush up on phrasal verbs, collocations, and the kinds of synonyms.
Guide and Practice for FCE Use of English Part 1
This is a quick guide to some of the common things you need to know in Part 1 of the Reading and Use of English test.
It’s helpful, but not a replacement for a coursebook or vocabulary book. There’s a lot to learn, so read the following:
♦ Seek vs look for vs search vs look after
1. I went to the shop to __________ for a nice birthday cake.
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- a – seek
- b – look
This one is easy. Only ‘look’ needs a preposition. Answer: B.
2. She said she was __________ the man who had written the book.
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- a – seeking
- b – searching
If the answer was ‘searching’, we’d need a ‘for’ as well. So it’s A.
3. English teachers spend most of their time __________ alcohol.
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- a – seeking
- b – looking
- c – searching
Easy, right? We know that B and C should have ‘for’ as the next word. And anyway, if two answers are complete synonyms neither can be the answer. That just leaves A.
4. This weekend I’m going to __________ my children.
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- a – look for
- b – look after
Some students always get this wrong. They say ‘I’m going to look for my children’ and I pretend to be worried. ‘You don’t know where your children are? Oh my god! Why are you in an English lesson? Let’s go and find them right away!’
Soon they say ‘oh I mean take care of them’. Which they could say by using ‘look after’.
♦ Work vs Job vs Career
1. I have no money left! I really really need a __________ as soon as possible.
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- a – work
- b – job
- c – career
‘A work’ doesn’t exist in English, and ‘a career’ means your whole working life from start to finish. What he wants is a place where he goes, fills in stupid paperwork, goes to boring meetings, and grows to hate his boss. We call that ‘a job.’ So the answer is B.
2. Ahead of her lay college and a possible _________ in journalism.
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- a – work
- b – job
- c – career
The only one that goes with ‘in journalism’ is ‘career’, meaning the answer has to be C. If the word were ‘job’ the sentence would have to be ‘a possible job as a journalist’.
3. I have a lot of __________ to do today.
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- a – work
- b – job
- c – career
Job and career don’t fit this one. Gotta be A.
♦ Travel vs journey vs trip vs voyage
1. I always enjoy our school __________ to the local museum.
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- a – travel
- b – journey
- c – trip
Travel is a general word – it describes the whole concept of going from place to place. It’s not very specific. Journey is like trip but is normally for longer distances. Another slight difference is that a journey can be one-way, while trips should involve going back to the start again.
And ‘school’ collocates strongly with ‘trip’. When I was a boy we had a school trip to an island and the students had to fight each other to the death while the teachers watched.
Oh wait, that was the movie Battle Royale.
2. We will start our __________ to the mountain first thing in the morning.
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- a – travel
- b – journey
- c – trip
Now this question would never be in a Cambridge exam. Most British people would choose ‘journey’ because we don’t really have any mountains nearby. So mountains feel quite ‘far’. (To me, anyway! No mountains in Manchester.) But maybe the speaker is in Lucerne and the Alps are ten minutes away. Then it’s just a trip.
See?
Cambridge will always give you a question where only one answer is possible. Like the next one:
3. Captain Cook discovered Australia on a __________ to the Pacific.
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- a – travel
- b – voyage
- c – trip
This time ‘trip’ is not appropriate. The Pacific is a long way from England, where Captain Cook started from. A voyage is a journey on water (or in space).
4. I love __________.
a – travel
b – voyage
c – trip
d – journey
Now we need the concept word. Answer: A.
♦ Border vs edge
1. You don’t need a passport even if you cross the __________ into Germany.
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- a – border
- b – edge
Borders are the lines between countries.
2. I hate it when someone puts their cup on the __________ of the table.
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- a – border
- b – edge
A photo will explain better.
♦ Make vs do
This one needs its own website…
1. Andrew, for the 9th week in a row I didn’t _________ my homework.
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- a – make
- b – do
2. When I was younger I used to __________ gymnastics.
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- a – make
- b – do
3. Is it easy to __________ business in China?
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- a – make
- b – do
How are you doing? Have you done well on this test? The answers to 1-3 are all ‘do’. Spoiler alert – the answers to the next ones are all ‘make’.
4. Do you find it easy to __________ decisions?
5. Don’t _________ a promise if you can’t keep it.
6. It’s possible to __________ a mistake if you don’t read the sentences properly.
How should you read?
It depends how much you read English in your daily life. If you read a lot, you will probably be able to just look at the sentences and find the best answer.
But most students should read the whole text quickly to get an idea of what the writer really wants to say about the topic. That will make it easier to choose the answers.
The key word is ‘quickly‘.
Some Tips
- The best way to prepare for the Reading test is to READ. Read a lot.
- If you know that two of the options have the same meaning, neither can be the answer.
- Remember to read the title. It’s there to help you.
- Never lose time trying to think of the answer to the example.
- Observe the prepositions!