PROGRESS TEST 1 (UNITS 1–4)

Name: ______________________________ Total: _____ out of 30

A Word formation

For questions 1 – 8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals below to form a word
that fits in the space.

Cathy Come Home

Anyone over the age of fifty-five will have little problem remembering the (1) ______ docu-
drama Cathy Come Home, directed by Ken Loach and written by Jeremy Sandford in 1966.
The gritty, black and white programme (2) ______ the struggle of a young family who were
sinking further and further into (3) ______ and being failed by the system in every way. For
many of the affluent viewers of the time, it was a complete revelation that people in the
1960s still had to endure such (4) ______ and they were truly shocked at the final scene
when the young mother’s children were forcibly taken from her in the streets to be put into
care.

Since Cathy Come Home, the battle against homelessness has made little (5) ______
Charities and governmental projects do their best to assist those who are forced out of their
homes and onto the streets, and the majority of the public are (6) ______ to their plight, but
against the (7) ______ of uncertain economic times, the number of homeless people is
increasing month by month. These days the public are all too aware of the problem.

Cathy Come Home recently came second in a nationwide poll to compile the most influential
TV programmes of the 20th century. The central issues are (8) ______ still relevant today.

1) COMPEL

2) LIGHT

3) POOR

4) DEPRIVE

5) HEAD

6) SYMPATHY

7) DROP

8) DENY

[__/8]

B Comprehension questions

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Answer these questions about the text in A.

1) What does ‘failed by the system’ in line 4 refer to?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2) What does the writer mean by saying, ‘These days the public are all too aware of the
problem’?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

[__/2]

C Open cloze

For questions 1 – 8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space.
Use only one word in each space.

Crime writing

The lists of international top selling paperbacks have been dominated by American thriller
writers for a long time now, but these days the top spots on these lists are (1) ______ hotly
contested by an army of crime writers from Scandinavia. It seems that (2) ______ list is
complete without a book by Nesbo, Mankell or others from Norway, Sweden, Denmark or
even Iceland. So, what lies (3) ______ the sudden influx of detective fiction from these
countries?

The Scandinavians (4) ______ probably say that this is nothing new. They have known for
decades that they have some of the greatest writers in the world. No, (5) ______ is just the
rest of us that have been rather late in catching up. Mankell, Nesbo and others have been
writing brilliant novels for a long time but it (6) ______ the staggering success of Stieg
Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy, starting with Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, to bring them to our
attention. (7) ______ undoubtedly contributed to the success of these books was the
backstory of the writer. Larsson finished the third book in the series but died from a heart
attack at the age of 50 (8) ______ ever seeing his work in print.

[__/8]

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D Key word transformations

For questions 1 – 6, 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 three and eight words, including the word given.

1) I refuse to be pressurised into buying a bigger TV for my teenage son.

give

I refuse ________________________________ a bigger TV for my teenage son.

2) No film has ever been nominated so many times for the Academy Awards before.

received

The film ________________________________ for the Academy awards.

3) I am not to blame for the failure of the project.

help

I ________________________________ the project failed.

4) Recent problems with the aircraft engine have been attributed to faulty batteries.

have

Faulty batteries ________________________________ recent problems with the aircraft

engine.

5) It was a long film but I never lost concentration.

lose

Never ________________________________ the long film.

6) The teacher refused to consider my request to drop out of the course halfway through the
term.

hear

The teacher ________________________________ dropping out of the course halfway

through the term.

[__/12]

TOTAL [__/30]

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CPE Masterclass Progress Test 1 Answer Key

1) compulsive/compelling C

2) highlighted 1) being

3) poverty 2) no

4) deprivation 3) behind

5) headway 4) would

6) sympathetic 5) it

7) backdrop 6) took

8) undeniably 7) What

B 8) without

1) The ‘system’ is the welfare system, which is D

supposed to care for people who are in need – this
includes money for those out of work, help with 1) to give into pressure to buy
housing, medical care etc. In the phrase ‘the system’
2) has received an unprecedented number of
these different departments are grouped together and
nominations/has received more nominations than ever
accused of being unable to help the young family in
before
this docu-drama.
3) can’t help it if
2) The public knows about the problem because
we see films, read books, articles about 4) are known/said to have caused/to have been the
homeless people and more than that we see cause of
them with our own eyes sleeping in doorways,
asking for money on the streets, etc. The 5) once did I lose concentration during
problem confronts us physically every day.
6) wouldn’t hear of my
Also, more and more people know someone
who has become homeless and the problem
seems to be getting closer.

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