CPE Use of English Parts 1-4 Week 2.2

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CPE Use of English: Parts 1-4

Use of English Part 1

• See handout
• You can fill in your answers on the following slides
• Tip: try to guess the answer before looking at the options

‘You’ve not had much luck with the book, I hear.’

That had to be the (0) …A… of the year. My novel had been rejected four times (1) ……… far.

I’ve no doubt that behind my (2) …… the family were having a good snigger. Rhona of course had been the loyal (3) ………. , though I admit that her piteous expressions when the thing limped home battered by franking stamps were harder to (4) ……………. than her sister’s outright sarcasm: ‘Has your boomerang got back yet, Patton?’ she’d enquire, while her husband Jack would give the knife an extra twist by asking if I’d managed to sell any of my daubs. Which meant that he presumed I’d (5) ……………….. my job on the railways to pursue a painting career. Maybe I should have. The manuscript had begun to show bruises from its days, weeks and months (6) …………….. in the ‘slush pile’ of various publishing firms. Actual criticism of the novel by its rejectors was very (7) ……………. on the ground, although the consensus of opinion seemed to indicate that its main weakness (8) …………………… in its apparent ‘lack of plot’.

The Rejected Novel

‘You’ve not had much luck with the book, I hear.’

That had to be the (0) …A… of the year. My novel had been rejected four times (1) ……… far.

I’ve no doubt that behind my (2) …… the family were having a good snigger. Rhona of course had been the loyal (3) ………. , though I admit that her piteous expressions when the thing limped home battered by franking stamps were harder to (4) ……………. than her sister’s outright sarcasm: ‘Has your boomerang got back yet, Patton?’ she’d enquire, while her husband Jack would give the knife an extra twist by asking if I’d managed to sell any of my daubs. Which meant that he presumed I’d (5) ……………….. my job on the railways to pursue a painting career. Maybe I should have. The manuscript had begun to show bruises from its days, weeks and months (6) …………….. in the ‘slush pile’ of various publishing firms. Actual criticism of the novel by its rejectors was very (7) ……………. on the ground, although the consensus of opinion seemed to indicate that its main weakness (8) …………………… in its apparent ‘lack of plot’.

Question 1

1. yet
2. thus
3. hence
4. by

B: Thus far = 'until now/then, 'so far'. 

A: 'As yet'= until now/then

C: 'Hence' = from/after this time (your exam takes place three weeks' hence) OR therefore

D: 'By far' = by a great amount

All options can complete phrases connected with time or phrases with 'far'

Question 2

1. back
2. head
3. ears
4. face

A: 'behind someone's back = secretly

B: to go over someone's head = go to someone in a higher position of authority (He was only a junior manager so I went over his head and complained to a senior manager).

C: out of earshot = cannot be heard by person mentioned

D: say something to someone's face = say it directly to them rather than only saying it to someone else.

Question 3

1. omission
2. exclusion
3. difference
4. exception

D: the exception = the only case of something not being true

A: omission = something that is left out

B: exclusion = the act of not including someone/something

C: The difference = the way something is different

Only D fits the precise meaning:

Rhona was the only family member who did not secretly make fun of him.

Question 4

1. bear
2. defy
3. cope
4. resist

A: can't bear something=unable to accept/deal with something unpleasant and affects you personally

B: defy someone/something = refuse to do what you have been told

C: can't cope with something = unable to deal with something putting you under pressure

D: resist something/resist doing something = keep your self-control so that you not do something you are tempted to do.

C fits the meaning but not grammatically.

Question 5

1. broken off
2. wound up
3. pulled out
4. packed in

D: to pack something in/pack in something = give it up or stop doing it

A: Break off = stop talking in the middle of doing so. (He broke off when the phone rang). 

A: Break something off = end a relationship. (They had a row and broke off their engagement).

B: Wind something up = bring it to an end. (Let's wind up the meeting now).

B: Wind up somewhere = end up somewhere. (I got lost and wound up on the other side of the city).

C: Pull out of something = withdraw

Question 6

1. stationed
2. encased
3. buried
4. consigned

C: buried in=at or near the bottom

A: Stationed somewhere = sent to perform an official duty (Armed guards were stationed outside the building).

B: Encased = inside a container, surrounded on all sides (Because of the injury, his arm was encased in plaster).

D: If something is consigned to a place, it is put there, usually because it is not wanted or someone does not want to deal with it (His application was consigned to the list of those unlikely to be accepted).

D would fit the meaning but is followed by 'to' not 'in'.

Question 7

1. light
2. shallow
3. thin
4. scant

C: thin on the ground=not much of it

A: If conversation is LIGHT, it is meant to be amusing or entertaining (not serious).

B If someone is SHALLOW, they show a lack of serious thought or sincerity.

D: SCANT=very little/not enough (He acted with scant regard for other people's feelings).

All options are connected with the idea of 'not much of something/not serious' but only C completes the idiom.

Question 8

1. stood
2. revolved
3. lay
4. centered

C: to lie in = to be found there/ exists there

A: How something stands = its situation or circumstances (how do the negotiations stand at the moment?)

B: If something revolves around something = it has as its main concernor most important aspect (Everything he does revolves around his job.)

D: If something centres on something, it has it as its main point or most important aspect

B and D would fit the meaning but only C fits grammatically

Use of English Part 2

• See handout
• You can fill in your answers on the following slides
• Tip 1: read directly before and after the gap
• Tip 2: read to the end of each sentence

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Use of English Part 3

• See handout
• You can fill in your answers on the following slides
• Tip 1: read directly before and after the gap
• Tip 2: read to the end of each sentence

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Use of English Part 4

• See handout
• You can fill in your answers on the following slides
• Tip 1: do not change the given word
• Tip 2: do not go over/under the word limit (3-8)
• Tip 3: always attempt an answer, even if you are not sure (you could still get one point)

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