CPE Use of English Revision Part 1

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CPE Revision:

Use of English Part 1

Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze

What's tested?

• semantic precision (word with right meaning in the context)
• collocation
• complementation (fits grammatically)
• idioms & fixed phrases (which single word completes them)
• phrasal verbs
• linkers

Skim the text (2 minutes)

Meeting Marvin Gaye

When I first met Marvin Gaye in his Sunset Strip studio, I had just (0) ....... a two-year project co-writing the autobiography of Ray Charles, an inspiring collaborator, but an authoritative and often (1) ...... figure. Marvin came on like a brother. He was warm, witty and (2) ..... to laugh. He spoke like he sang, in whisper-quiet melodies and soft falsettos. His conversation had a lyricism all of its (3) ..... . His affectations - a slight British accent when he was feeling aristocratic, for example - were more than (4) ..... by his disarming sincerity. We became friends. I felt (5) ...... to watch him work and play up-close. It soon became clear that, like his music, his personal life was (6) ..... with dramatic contradictions, a combination of charm and chaos. Because he was a hero of mine, and because his art was so dazzlingly beautiful - so self-contained, so accomplished, so (7) .... slick - it took me a  (8) ..... to realise my hero was drowning.

What is the text about?

Question 0

A accomplished      B completed        C ended              D achieved

Meeting Marvin Gaye

When I first met Marvin Gaye in his Sunset Strip studio, I had just (0) ...B.... a two-year project co-writing the autobiography of Ray Charles, an inspiring collaborator, but an authoritative and often (1) ...... figure. Marvin came on like a brother. 

Do not waste time answering question 0!

Read each question carefully and try to predict the answer

When I first met Marvin Gaye in his Sunset Strip studio, I had just (0) ....B... a two-year project co-writing the autobiography of Ray Charles, an inspiring collaborator, but an authoritative and often (1) ...... figure.

When I first met Marvin Gaye in his Sunset Strip studio, I had just (0) ....B... a two-year project co-writing the autobiography of Ray Charles, an inspiring collaborator, but an authoritative and often (1) ...... figure.

1. distant
2. faint
3. secluded
4. far-away

A: distant

If someone is distant, they are not friendly or communicative.

All options are connected with the idea of distance or being apart from others, but only A can be used to describe a person's personality.

Marvin came on like a brother. He was warm, witty and (2) ..... to laugh.

Marvin came on like a brother. He was warm, witty and (2) ..... to laugh.

1. prompt
2. impulsive
3. abrupt
4. quick

D: quick

All the options refer to speed, but only D is appropriate in the context and grammatically

A=prompt in doing something

He spoke like he sang, in whisper-quiet melodies and soft falsettos. His conversation had a lyricism all of its (3) ..... .

He spoke like he sang, in whisper-quiet melodies and soft falsettos. His conversation had a lyricism all of its (3) ..... .

1. type
2. self
3. like
4. own

D: own

If something has something all of its own, it means it has a quality that is unique to it.

The way he spoke was almost poetic.

All options refer to the nature of something, but only D completes the fixed phrase.

(B: self=by itself=alone)

His affectations - a slight British accent when he was feeling aristocratic, for example - were more than (4) ..... by his disarming sincerity. We became friends.

His affectations - a slight British accent when he was feeling aristocratic, for example - were more than (4) ..... by his disarming sincerity. We became friends.

1. set against
2. weighed up
3. made up for
4. settled up with

C: made up for

To make up for something = compensate so that something negative is balanced by something positive.

A: set  against = judge, compare a positive with a negative

B: weigh up = consider something carefully

D: settle up = pay money

All are phrasal verbs connected with balance. Only C fits in the context.

We became friends. I felt (5) ...... to watch him work and play up-close.

We became friends. I felt (5) ...... to watch him work and play up-close.

1. advantageous
2. privileged
3. indulgent
4. gainful

B: privileged

A: advantageous to /for you

C: indulgent towards someone

D: gainful employment = profitable

All options are connected with the idea of something benefitting someone, but only B can be used to describe a feeling.

It soon became clear that, like his music, his personal life was (6) ..... with dramatic contradictions, a combination of charm and chaos.

It soon became clear that, like his music, his personal life was (6) ..... with dramatic contradictions, a combination of charm and chaos.

1. inundated
2. filled
3. plentiful
4. dense

B: filled

All are connected with the idea of having a lot of something, but only B can be used with the preposition 'with' AND has the correct meaning in the context.

A: inundated = you receive a lot of something e.g. requests

Question 7 (not 8 yet)
Because he was a hero of mine, and because his art was so dazzlingly beautiful - so self-contained, so accomplished, so (7) .... slick - it took me a (8) ..... to realise my hero was drowning.

Question 7:
Because he was a hero of mine, and because his art was so dazzlingly beautiful - so self-contained, so accomplished, so (7) .... slick - it took me a (8) ..... to realise my hero was drowning.

1. appreciably
2. fully
3. utterly
4. sorely

C: utterly

Utterly means completely, totally or absolutely.

A: appreciably = used with comparative adjectives.

B: fully = completely; nothing can be added.

D: sorely = very badly. Used in a few phrases such as 'sorely missed' or 'sorely needed'.

All options mean 'very', but only C forms the correct collocation.

Question 8:
Because he was a hero of mine, and because his art was so dazzlingly beautiful - so self-contained, so accomplished, so (7) .... slick - it took me a (8) ..... to realise my hero was drowning.

Question 8:
Because he was a hero of mine, and because his art was so dazzlingly beautiful - so self-contained, so accomplished, so (7) .... slick - it took me a (8) ..... to realise my hero was drowning.

1. while
2. phase
3. length
4. course

A: a while

All the options refer to a period of time, but only A has the correct meaning in the context and can form a phrase with the verb 'take'.

Tips for Part 1