Advanced Certificate Practice Exam: Reading & Use of English Parts 1-4

Reading & Use of English Part 1:

For questions 1-8, read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There
is an example at the beginning (0).

What we know about music and the brain

Work on the human brain has (0) _B. indicated__ how different parts are centres of activity for
different skills, feelings, perceptions and so on. It has also been shown that the left and right
hemispheres, or halves, of the brain are (1) ________ for different functions. While language is
processed in the left, or analytical hemisphere, music is processed in the right, or emotional
hemisphere. (2) ________ of music like tone, pitch and melody are all probably processed in
different parts of the brain. Some features of musical experience are processed not just in the
auditory parts of the brain, but in the visual ones. We don’t yet fully understand the (3)
________of this.

The tempo of music seems to be (4) ________ related to its emotional impact, with fast music
often felt as happier and slower music as sadder. It is the same with the major biological rhythm
of the body: our heart (5) ________ quickens when we’re happy, but slows when we’re sad.
Military music may have evolved from attempts to get us ready for battle by using fast
drumming to (6) ________our hearts into beating faster. Music is perhaps one of the most
complex experiences the brain (7) ________with and it has become an absolutely vital part of
our rituals and ceremonies. It has power beyond language to (8) ________mood and co-ordinate
our emotional states.

0. A. realized B. indicated C. dictated D. responded

1. A. amenable B. dependable C. responsible D. reliable

2. A. views B. aspects C. factors D. pieces

3. A. expectations B. implications C. assumptions D. propositions

4. A. surely B. plainly C. evidently D. directly

5. A. pulse B. speed C. pace D. rate

6. A. activate B. motivate C. stimulate D. animate

7. A. copes B. manages C. bears D. holds

8. A. notify B. report C. associate D. communicate

Reading & Use of English Part 2:

Read the text 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)

The wondrous world of coffee

A cup of coffee, like any (0) _other___ experience, can be enriched by selection and
consciousness. "No beans about it," the best coffee decisions (1) __________the ones most
pleasant to one's own palate - the selection of one's coffee is a matter of personal preference.
Choosing coffee beans can also be a perplexing experience, (2) __________there is a huge range
of coffee types and beans blends from (3) __________ around the world. The final flavour and
quality involves many complex factors, beginning with the coffee seed, the beans' botanics, a
wide variety of soil and climate conditions, cultivation altitudes, and the care (4) __________in
harvesting the beans. Raw green coffee beans are then subjected (5) __________many
influencing factors, including various processing, production, roasting, blending and brewing
methods. On a global note, the many species and varieties of coffee trees from different areas of
the world also offer their own distinctive flavours. (6) __________ are more than forty-five
coffee-exporting countries - all of (7) __________ use different classification systems - that
supply the world with coffee beans, in sizes ranging over sixty known species of coffee plants.
No wonder coffee can involve a puzzling java jargon! Fortunately, the world's coffee
nomenclature, from mountain to market, can be classified (8) __________ simple categories.
This briefly outlines the basics of bean botanics, coffee cultivation and processing, and global
classifications used by the coffee trade and coffee-producing countries.
Reading & Use of English Part 3:

Write the correct form of the word in brackets in each gap. The first is completed for you as an
example.
The refugee crisis

The number of Syrian refugees in (0) _neighboring__ (neighbor) countries has reached two
million, while a further 4.3 million people have been (1) ____________ (place) within the
nation's borders. The fighting has been so intense that the number of refugees has increased
almost (2) ____________ (ten) in a single year, according to the UN. "Syria has become the
great tragedy of this century - a (3) ____________ (grace) humanitarian calamity with suffering
and displacement (4) ____________ (parallel) in recent history," said Antonio Guterres, head of
the UN High Commission for Refugees, which released the figures. Syrian refugees in Zaatari
camp in neighbouring Jordan spoke to The Daily and begged (5) ____________ (preside) Barack
Obama and David Cameron to strike the Syrian regime. One mother described a mood of (6)
____________ (desperate) after the Commons voted against Britain joining any military
campaign last Thursday. UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie said: "The world risks being (7)
____________(danger) complacent about the Syrian humanitarian disaster," she said. "The tide
of human suffering unleashed by the conflict has catastrophic (8) ____________ (imply) If the
situation continues to deteriorate at this rate, the number of refugees will only grow, and some
neighbouring countries could be brought to the point of collapse."
Reading & Use of English Part 4:

Use the word given to complete the second sentence so that it a similar meaning to the first.
Write between three and six words in each gap. The first has been completed as an example.

0. My boss doesn’t mind what time I start or finish work.

DIFFERENCE

It __makes no difference to my boss__ what time I start or finish work.

1. The police now think he invented the story to protect his girlfriend.

HAVE

He is now _______________________ up the story to protect his girlfriend.

2. They still haven’t carried out a full assessment of the effects of these changes.

FULLY

The effects of these changes have yet _______________________.

3. He thinks his friends do not appreciate him.

GRANTED

He dislikes _______________________ by his friends.

4. My parents are planning to pay someone to repair and redecorate their house next month.

UP

My parents are planning to have their _______________________ next month.

5. They’ve postponed the meeting until January to give the team longer to decide.

OFF

The meeting _______________________ until January to give the team longer to decide.

6. The activist was so persuasive that I felt obliged to sign the petition.

ADD

I felt I had ____________________ to the petition because the activist was so persuasive.
Answer Key:

Part 1:
1. C 2. B 3. B 4. D 5. D 6. C 7. A 8. D

Part 2:
1. are 2. since / as 3. all 4. taken
5. to 6. there 7. which 8. into

Part 3:
1. displaced 2. tenfold 3. disgraceful 4. unparalleled
5. presidents 6. despair / desperation 7. dangerously 8. implications

Part 4:

1. thought to have made

2. to be fully assessed
3. being taken for granted
4. house done up
5. has been called/put off
6. to add my name