FCE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 4

Part 1
For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (А, В, C or D) best fits each gap. There is
an example at the beginning (0).
Example:
A or  В and  C in  D nor

Royal Residences
Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle 0 _____ the Palace of Holyroodhouse are these 1 _____ of the
Sovereign and, as such, serve as both home and office for the Queen, whose personal flag flies 2 _____ her
Majesty is in residence.
These buildings are used extensively for State ceremonies and official entertaining and are opened to the 3
_____ as much as these commitments allow. They are furnished with fine pictures and works of art from the
Royal Collection, assembled over four centuries by successive sovereigns. Many of the State Apartments
and rooms at the official residences have been in continuous use since their conception and many of the
paintings are 4 _____ in the rooms for which they were originally 5 _____.
The official residences are in regular use and the style and manner in which they are shown to visitors
reflects their working status. Rooms are kept as close to their normal 6 _____ as possible. Inevitably,
opening times are subject to change at short notice depending on circumstances.
The Royal Collection, which is owned by the Queen as Sovereign in trust for her successors and the Nation,
is administered by the Royal Collection Trust to which a proportion of the admission fee and other 7 _____
from visitors is directed. The remainder of this money funds the majority of the cost of restoring Windsor
Castle which was badly 8 _____ by fire in November 1992.
1 A venues B residences C situations D occupation
2 A whatever B however C whoever D whenever
3 A humans B public C peoples D strangers
4 A created B explored C produced D displayed
5 A instructed B intended C performed D guarded
6 A feature B location C destination D appearance
7 A salary B budget C income D wage
8 A destroyed B ruined C damaged D collapsed

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FCE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 4

Part 2
For questions 9-16, 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). In the exam, write your answers IN CAPITAL
LETTERS on tho separate answer sheet.
Example: MOST

Inspiration
I have had what, I think, is the 0 _____ extraordinary day of my life. While the events are 9 _____ clear in
my mind, I wish to write them down. Let me introduce 10 _____.
My name is Lawrence Terrel. I am thirty-five years old, and in perfect health. I have never been ill in my
life, not even for a day. I am an artist. I am 11 _____ very successful, but I earn enough money to 12 _____
care of my needs. My only near relative, a sister, 13 _____ three years ago. So I have no family.
I ate breakfast this morning at eight. After I had read the morning paper, I smoked my pipe and let my mind
wander. I hoped I would think of 14 _____ to draw. The room was very hot, even 15 _____ the door and
window were open. I had decided to go to the public swimming pool when an idea for a drawing came to
me.
I began to 16 _____. I was so interested in my work that I forgot to eat lunch. I did not stop until the clock
struck five. I looked at what I had done. For a hurried picture, I felt it was the best thing I had ever drawn.

Part 3
For questions 17-24, 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).
In the exam, write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.
Example: ENTERTAINMENT

0.ENTERTAIN
People in the world of 0 _____ have to be very 17 _____ in the way that they
17.OBSERVE
dress. It's an 18 _____ fact that image is more than just a case of 19 _____ for a
18.REFUTE
celebrity. How they present themselves is all part of their artistic personality. It
19.DECORATE
would be 20 _____ though to think that somebody can be a successful celebrity
20.FOOL
just because of the clothes they wear. They don't 21 _____ have to wear 22 _____
21.NECESSARY
clothing but they do need to be talented and communicative and they also need to
22.FLASH
be 23 _____ of their fans who make them successful. They also need to be 24
23.APPRECIATE
_____ so that they can cope with all the public attention.
24.ADAPT

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FCE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 4

Part 4
For questions 25-30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including
the word given. Here is an example (0).
Example:
0.They think the owner of the house is in France.
THOUGHT
The owner of the house _______________ in France.
Example: 0. IS THOUGHT TO BE
25. My parents last spoke to me a month ago.
HEARD
I _______________ my parents for a month.
26. All the students had a lot of respect for their teacher.
LOOKED
All the students _______________ their teacher.
27. Linda didn't feel like eating.
MOOD
Linda wasn't _______________ eat.
28. My brother was treated unfairly by his teachers.
DESERVE
My brother _______________ treated that way by his teachers.
29. He couldn't buy the car he wanted because he didn't have enough money.
TOO
The car he wanted was _______________ buy.
30. We all agreed with my father's proposal apart from Joy.
EXCEPTION
With _______________, we all agreed with my father's proposal.

Part 5
You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (А, В, C or D)
which you think fits best according to the text.
"Come along, young fellow," shouted Mr. Watson. "I'll show you the school room."
He swept out of the drawing-room with giant strides and Philip hurriedly limped behind him. He was taken
into a long, bare room with two tables that ran along its whole length; on each side of them were wooden
forms.

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"Nobody much here yet," said Mr. Watson. "I'll just show you the playground, and then I'll leave you to
shift for yourself."
Mr. Watson led the way. Philip found himself in a large playground with high brick walls on three sides of
it. On the fourth was an iron railing through which you saw a vast lawn and beyond this some of the
buildings of King's School. One small boy was wandering disconsolately, kicking up the gravel as he
walked.
"Hulloa, Venning," shouted Mr. Watson. "When did you turn up?"
The small boy came forward and shook hands.
"Here's a new boy. He's older and bigger than you, so don't you bully him."
The headmaster glared amicably at the two children, filling them with fear by the roar of his voice, and then
with a guffaw left them.
"What's your name?"
"Carey."
"What's your father?"
"He’s dead."
"Oh! Does your mother wash?"
"My mother's dead, too."
Philip thought this answer would cause the boy a certain awkwardness, but Venning was not to be turned
from his facetiousness for so little.
"Well, did she wash?" he went on.
"Yes," said Philip indignantly.
"She was a washerwoman then?"
"No, she wasn't."
"Then she didn't wash."
The little boy crowed with delight at the success of his dialectic. Then he caught sight of Philip's feet.
"What's the matter with your foot?"
Philip instinctively tried to withdraw it from sight. He hid it behind the one which was whole.
"I've got a club foot," he answered.
"How did you get it?"
"I've always had it."

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"Let s have a look."

"No."
"Don't then."
The little boy accompanied the words with a sharp kick on Philip's shin, which Philip did not expect and
thus could not guard against. The pain was so great that it made him gasp, but greater than the pain was the
surprise. He did not know why Venning kicked him. He had not the presence of mind to give him a black
eye. Besides, the boy was smaller than he, and he had read in The Boy's Own paper that it was a mean thing
to hit anyone smaller than yourself. While Philip was nursing his shin, a third boy appeared and his
tormentor left him. In a little while he noticed that the pair were talking about him, and he felt they were
looking at his feet. He grew hot and uncomfortable.
But others arrived, a dozen together, and then more, and they began to talk about their doings during the
holidays, where they had been, and what wonderful cricket they had played. A few new boys appeared, and
with these presently Philip found himself talking! He was shy and nervous. He was anxious to make himself
pleasant, but he could not think of anything to say. He was asked a great many questions and answered them
all quite willingly. One boy asked him whether he could play cricket.
"No," answered Philip. "I've got a club foot."
The boy looked down quickly and reddened. Philip saw that he felt he had asked an unseemly question. He
was too shy to apologise and looked at Philip awkwardly.
31. What does 'strides' mean? (Paragraph Two, underlined)
A. brooms
B. leaps
C. steps
D. yells
32. When Philip is shown around the school, it is
A. mostly empty.
B. bright and cheerful.
C. small and cramped.
D. full of noise and activity.
33. Why were the children afraid of Mr. Watson?
A. He was very loud.
B. He was angry with them.
C. He was unkind to them.
D. He was very big and powerful.

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34. What does 'his tormentor' refer to? (fourth paragraph from the bottom, underlined)
A. Phillip's club foot
B. the boy called Venning
C. the third boy to arrive
D. the pain in Philip's shin
35. Why does Philip become hot and uncomfortable when the boys talked about his foot?
A. It was summertime.
B. He had been beaten.
C. He was embarrassed.
D. He felt left out.
36. How do the boys who interact with Philip directly react to his club foot?
A. They pay it little attention.
B. They are curious or embarrassed.
C. They are polite and sympathetic.
D. They are disgusted by it.

Part 6
You are going to read a magazine article about one person's experiences of learning to skydive. Six
sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap
(37-42). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. 

The Skydiving Experience

The thrill of skydiving is beyond any possible description. Falling at 120 mph with the wind screaming past
your body is an unbelievable experience of total freedom. The sport is not without an element of danger;
indeed, it is this fear that makes it so addictive. Yet there are relatively few serious injuries in this activity
because of the tight regulations and safety requirements mandated for skydiving and parachuting
organisations.
I still recall my first jump from 2,500 feet using what is called a static line. 37 __. The static line system is
often used for those new to the sport. It is a means of helping them to deal with the sensation of falling,
while ensuring that they will not actually hit anything.
38 __. Still, there seems to be a little slice of missing time from the point where I let go of the aircraft to the
parachute canopy actually opening. Pure terror sometimes does that! It was a moment where time ceased to
exist, not quite a total blackout but still quite strange. Two days of training on the ground, the ceaseless drill
of counting out "one thousand, two thousand, three thousand" and about all I seem to recall when I let go is
something like "aaaaahhhhhh". After a second and many subsequent jumps, this sensation soon faded to a
dim recollection as I became accustomed to falling.

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The first real free fall commenced at about the fifth jump. This simply involved letting go of the aircraft and
immediately deploying the canopy. 39 __. Starting from three seconds (let go and pull the ripcord) to five
seconds (let go, count to three then pull the ripcord) increasing to seven seconds and so on. Once I made it
to ten seconds and beyond, it became important to use an altimeter.
Free fall became really interesting at the 15-second mark because that is when the real training started.
Turning, tumbling and rocketing forward by using different body positions put a completely new challenge
before me. I learned it was possible to put my body in a position where forward ground speed was around
80 mph with an increase of downward velocity close to 200 mph - the ears tend to get a little warm! It is
also quite important to flare out, slow and adopt a more stable position before deploying the canopy. Doing
so at really high velocity really hurts, and I suspect everyone does this at least once. It is quite a lot of stress
on your body when pulling up from 120 mph to 10 mph in about two or three seconds. 40 __.
One of my most fearful experiences occurred when I made a complete mess of trying to do a reverse tumble
and became wildly unstable. Nothing I did seemed to correct the spinning and rolling, I was still at 5,000
feet and in desperation I deployed the canopy. 41 __. The bag wrapped around one of my legs. Luckily, by
this time had enough free fall experience to have the presence of mind to see what was happening and it was
not too difficult to reach down and disentangle the risers. I also knew there was plenty of time to correct the
problem because I was far higher than the standard 2,500 deployment altitude. It turned out fine in the end.
I would say one of my most memorable free falling experiences was above the Mornington Peninsula in
Victoria, Australia. 42 __. From this altitude, I did some nice slow turns and drank in the scenery of Port
Phillip Bay, out to sea, across the length of the peninsula to the city of Melbourne, all in an orange-red glow
of the most amazing sunset I can ever remember. It was incredible.
A. There are few other ways to experience the total and utter freedom of flight.
B. This is a strong nylon tape that is attached to the aircraft on one end, and to the release pin of the
jumper's canopy on the other.
C. I think my ears are still ringing from that mistake.
D. Altitudes increased gradually, as did time in free-fall.
E. It was a 40-second fall from 14,000 feet, right at sunset.
F. What happened next was not good at all.
G. My first experience is still very sharp in my memory.

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FCE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 4

Part 7
You are going to read some extracts about the fears or challenges that several people have faced. For
questions 43-52, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.
Which person...
43. did not receive help willingly at first? __
44. did not realise how difficult something would be? __
45. did not feel a need to change? __
46. helped others while being challenged? __
47. can rely on a family member who does not share their phobia? __
48. was afraid of being unsuccessful? __
49. felt a sense of great happiness while taking part in an extreme activity? __
50. initially tried to overcome his/her difficulty alone? __
51. took advantage of an offer which had conditions attached to it? __
52. had the support of a friend? __

Confront your fears and face your challenges

A Katie
I'm afraid of spiders. You won't hear me scream, but I will certainly get out of the room until someone else
has dealt with it. Once, when I was a teenager, and my parents were both working late, I sat on the front
steps of the house for nearly five hours waiting for help. There was a spider on the ceiling in the hallway,
you see! I couldn't get into the house! My father was quite angry with me when he got home; he thought I
needed to learn to be more independent. "How will you ever survive if you have to live alone some day?"
he asked. Well, I'm sure if I had to I would just deal with it, although it would be a challenge. But I've never
had to live alone. I had flatmates at university, and now I'm married. Luckily my husband has no problem
with spiders, and is tolerant of my phobia!
B Ellie
The most challenging thing I've ever done, by far, was trekking in the Himalayas. It was something I'd
always dreamed of doing and I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to join a trek for charity. I
always considered myself fit; I mean, I go to the gym two or three times a week. But as soon as we set out I
realised I was quite out of my depth; I'd never even carried a pack before. In retrospect, I can't imagine what
I was thinking. On the first day, we had a six-hour walk and after four hours I was so exhausted I felt that I
couldn't go on. I took off my pack, sat down, and cried. Apparently my reaction was fairly common so our
group leader knew just how to deal with it. He calmly explained that we were only two more hours from our
first camp, while I'd have to walk for four, alone, to go back! I had no choice. I had to continue. So I did,
and when we eventually reached Everest base camp it was the proudest I've ever been.

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C Daniel
After high school I was accepted into a very good music school, by merit of my audition. I almost declined;
I didn't want to go to university. It was a terribly difficult time because nobody could understand why I
would make that decision. I was just so terrified that I would fail. I'm dyslexic, and I knew that even if I
were studying music I would have to write essays for so many classes. I'd had some teachers in the past that
were convinced that I was just careless, that I was lazy, when in fact I was spending much more time on the
assignments than my classmates. In the end I went, but I had a terrible attitude. I missed a lot of classes; I
wasn't even trying. Eventually I found my way to an office that offered support to students with special
needs; I think someone told me that I could get a free computer, or something. That turned my life around.
To get the computer I had to attend regular meetings with an advisor, which I hated at first, but eventually I
learned to recognise my strengths and be realistic about my weaknesses; I realised I could get help when I
needed it, and that was OK. That was the hardest thing; but once I'd understood it, there was no stopping
me.
D Jack
My fear of heights was affecting my life because I had difficulty going up and down stairs or over bridges,
particularly if I could see down, beneath me. I would just get paralysed. I would feel nauseous, and my feet
would feel heavy, as if they were made of lead. I had read that it was possible to get over phobias by
exposure, so I put myself into difficult situations on purpose. It was exhausting, but I knew it was important.
I noticed slight improvements, but only very slight. It was frustrating. Then I had the idea; I was going to
try bungee jumping. I got a trusted friend to go with me; to make sure I didn't change my mind. He told the
people in charge they would have to push me, because I wouldn't jump. It was all very fast; there was no
time to think. The feeling was exhilarating, to be honest. And I've had no trouble in my day-to-day life since
then. Though, I admit, I have no desire to do it again.

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