FC Practice Test 4 name:_________________ score:_________%
Use of English
For questions 1-12, read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0). Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
Example: 0
A ahead of B in front of C preceding D earlier than
The Best of Britain
It's time for the 'Planetsong Music Competition' again. Several British hopefuls are working hard (0) …. the finals in Brussels in the hope of (1) …. the contest for their country. Like the other contestants, Marcus Inman is excited to have an (2) …. to represent his nation. He says that it's every boy's dream to perform for his country at the (3) …. level. Marcus adds that he believes the contest is the most important music event of the year and that he feels he has a (4) …. to do his very best for the UK.
Marcus isn't a newcomer to the music business, though. He was (5) …. the lead singer of the noted heavy rock band, 'The Fortress'. His band's first album sold hundreds of thousands of copies and as (6) …. their first single, 'Missing a Piece of the Puzzle', (7) …. number one in the music charts. After his huge achievement, Marcus (8) …. his mind to take a short break from recording songs. However, he assures everyone that his new 'PlanetSong' ballad means he's well and truly back!
He says that he is hoping that the judges will like his unique singing (9) …. as much as the Brits do. Whatever happens, though, he has (10) …. a promise that he will not (11) …. even if he is unsuccessful this time around. We've got our fingers (12) …. for you, Marcus!
1
A
gaining
B
earning
C
winning
D
beating
2
appointment
opportunity
option
occasion
3
highest
steepest
tallest
biggest
4
service
duty
job
task
5
lately
recently
currently
previously
6
reason
cause
reaction
result
7
Took
reached
arrived
grabbed
8
made up
put down
set out
got on
9
Way
kind
style
pattern
10
Taken
given
made
said
11
give up
hold back
get out
fall away
12
Stretched
raised
folded
crossed
Part 2
For questions 13-24, read the text below 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).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS in the answer boxes provided.
Example: 0 not / never
Adventures at sea
Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a novel that you should (0) ….. read late in the evening if you intend to get (13) ….. sleep at night! It is definitely a page-turner; I personally found it absolutely impossible to (14) ….. down before I had read it cover (15) ….. cover.
The book tells the unusual story of a sixteen-year-old boy, Pi. (16) ….. Pi is making the voyage from India to Canada on a boat full of zoo animals, his boat sinks. Being the (17) ….. human survivor, he finds (18) ….. sharing a lifeboat with a menagerie of creatures, including a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a 200 kg Bengal Tiger.
Although the book is written in a fairly simple style, (19) ….. examines some very complex themes. In (20) …..,the novel reads like a fable or a fairy tale as it discusses the question (21) ….. faith and belief.
If you read only (22) ….. good book this year, I (23) ….. strongly recommend Martel's Life of Pi. The writer has come up (24) ….. a story that is enlightening, humorous and therefore highly entertaining.
Part 3
For questions 25-34, read the text below. 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. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Example: difference
Something Different
If you are looking for a holiday with a (0) ………. , then 'Koryo Travel' are the people to speak to. While some agencies send their clients off to admire the (25) ………. sights of bustling Athens or to bask on beaches on the sunny Costa Brava, they fly tourists to (26) ………. North Korea.
For years, North Korea has been the subject of increasing
(27) ………. . In the past, its doors were closed to foreign
visitors, but now they are very slowly beginning to open and very few people are refused (28) ………. . There are one or two drawbacks, though. Nicholas Bonner, of Koryo Travel, admits the trip is (29) ………. and normally requires a lot of boring paperwork before you can embark on your journey. But he insists that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Mount Paekdu is a paradise for (30) ………. hill-climbers.
Then moving away from the (31) ………. nature reserves
and over to the wide avenues of P'yongyang lies the May Day Stadium.
The stadium is home to the 'Arirang Festival', a (32) ……….
gymnastics show in which 100,000 gymnasts take part. With all these magnificent and (33) ………. sights, North Korea promises to be a (34) ………. experience, ideal for people who want the most from their holiday.
differ
history
mystery
curious
enter
expense
...
legusta