CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

CAE Reading and Use of English 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:
Example:
A keeping В holding C clutching D grabbing

I wish I'd known that before

I've always tried to be a supportive friend, 0 keeping my own counsel on my true opinions. I've lied to 1
_______ a friend's face and gone to parties with people I couldn't stand 2 _______ upset them. But now I'm
older I have realised that being permanently sympathetic is not the way to hold on to your integrity and
well-being. Armed with this understanding, I planned to 3 _______ on a policy of being totally honest at all
times. I came across research that 4 _______ me up, claiming that often people don't actually want the truth
and that being honest reduces the stress that inevitably accompanies 5 _______ so-called white lies. So I
decided to 6 _______ ahead. Some people hated me, others were angry, but my real friends valued my
honesty. 7 _______, I was aware of the damage bluntness can do but I've learned that true friendship
survives on sincerity and a few 8 _______ truths won't ruin it. I wish I'd known that before!

1 A rescue B save C recover D retain

2 A instead of B in place of C in preference to D rather than
3 A begin В embark C commence D engage
4 A backed В supported C held D took
5 A saying В speaking C recounting D telling
6 A go В move C got D push
7 A Although В Obviously C Conversely D At last
8 A house B home C base D foundation

CAE Reading and Use of English 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).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet
Example: (0) THE

Happiness is a state of mind

Research undertaken into 0 the pursuit of happiness has produced some interesting ideas. Apparently, our
level of happiness depends on 9 _______ much we invest in it. The hypothesis is that happiness resembles a

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skill and can therefore be learned — if people are willing to put time and effort 10 _______ perfecting it.
Meditation seems to be a key factor and this 11 _______ be scientifically demonstrated. MRI scans
performed on people who meditated regularly showed raised levels of positivity in the left-hand side of 12
_______ brains, the part usually connected with happiness. At the same time, they managed to keep the
more negative right side 13 _______ check. Does this mean only specialist meditators can be happy?
Apparently 14_______, as even people who only meditated occasionally demonstrated greater positivity.
This could indicate that tweaking the 15 _______ we channel out thoughts, modifying our perception of
things around us, can 16 _______ a big difference to our sense of well-being. If true, isn't it worth putting in
some effort?

CAE Reading and Use of English 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).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.
Example: (0) PERSONALITY

The route to perfection

Can there be perfection without pain for those who are 0 successful in the world of 0 SUCCESS
dance? Achieving excellence depends on many different things, including physique 17 DISPUTE
and luck. However,it is 17 _______ that those who dance professionally must also 18 RIGOUR
follow a 18 _______ training regime, combining this with complete 19 _______ to 19 DEDICATE
their art - and this can certainly be painful. Dancers have to be like 20 _______ 20 ENDURE
athletes but they also have to combine fitness with elegance and 21 _______. It’s 21 MUSIC
said that giving a professional dance performance is not 22 _______ to playing a 22 SIMILAR
football game as dancers have to combine periods of sustained activity with short 23 EXPLODE
bursts of 23 _______ energy, while also being able to recover quickly. In the past 24 REPEAT
dancers trained mostly by going through 24 _______ routines but in the modern
world, with its high standards of fitness, they use additional techniques such as gym
routines to gain muscle strength and stamina. Their ultimate aim is perfection.

CAE Reading and Use of English 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 three and six words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).
Jane was advised to work harder by her Maths teacher.
RECOMMENDED
The maths teacher __________ harder
ANSWER: recommended that Jane should work

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25 This was Peter's biggest challenge to date.

FACED
Peter __________ challenge before.
26 I wish I had tried harder when I was at school!
REGRET
I really __________ when I was at school!
27 I wish people wouldn't talk during the performance - it makes me really uptight!
NERVES
It really __________ people talk during a performance!
28 He is so ambitious - he's determined that he'll be successful in the company.
MARK
He is determined __________ in the company.
29 Can you suggest a way of turning dreams into reality for ambitious people?
TRUE
Can you suggest how __________ for ambitious people?
30 I don't want to take part in the project.
RATHER
I __________ part in the project.

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 5

You are going to read a magazine article about people unable to throw old things away. For questions 31-36,
choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

My hoarder mum and me

I'd always considered my father to be something of a hoarder. Our family home was flanked by a pair of
garages but neither was used for anything as prosaic as parking cars. Instead, they both bulged, ceiling to
floor, with a bizarre and ever-growing menagerie of stuff: old windsurfing magazines, broken kettles,
mouldy carpets, two dozen or more used stick deodorants. At the time, the rest of the family thought my
father's stockpiling of apparently redundant objects was funny, a harmless eccentricity shared by middle-
aged men nesting in garages and sheds across the land.
Years later, when Obsessive Compulsive Disorder became a recognised medical condition, I started to
wonder if those overflowing garages might have been bad for his health. Watching the moving documentary
My Hoarder Mum and Me put my father's relatively benign symptoms into context. In it, Vasoulla, a
lifelong hoarder and mother of TV presenter Jasmine Harman, invited a film crew into her home, or rather,
her multi-storey storage facility. Every room in Vasoulla's house contained more stuff than space. The
staircases were almost impassable and in the kitchen, Vasoulla had problems chopping vegetables because

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every flat surface had already been commandeered by clutter. The house would have looked tidier if it had
been struck by a tornado.
To her credit, Vasoulla realised that she had a serious problem, not least because her hoarding had been
going on - and getting worse - for years. Her grown-up sons remembered thinking it normal for dinner to be
served in a bedroom; it was the only room that could accommodate the whole family. The hoarding had
evidently been especially hard on Jasmine. All the way through my life I've felt that my mum's stuff was
more important than me,' she reflected quietly. Any Freudian analysts watching will have been scribbling in
their notebooks when Jasmine told us she now presents a TV property series that helps people to find their
ideal homes. In contrast to Vasoulla, Jasmine 'vacuums everything, sofas, chairs, even the kitchen
worktops.'
Over the course of the documentary, which followed the family over several months, Jasmine coaxed and
cajoled Vasoulla to jettison at least some of her junk. It was a slow, painful process - Vasoulla had been
known to buy back her own possessions just hours after donating them to charity. In need of professional
help, Yasmin consulted a Dr Mataix-Cols, who told her hoarding was considered a form of OCD but did not
get the attention and research grants it deserved because it wasn't yet recognised as a condition in its own
right. The author of another book about hoarding had even more dispiriting news for Jasmine. 'Give up,' she
was told, 'because hoarders never stop hoarding'.
Unperturbed by these gloomy prognoses, Jasmine helped Vasoulla sift through the flotsam and jetsam. It
was impossible not to share Jasmine's frustration with her mother's attachment to even her most ephemeral
possessions ('Can I throw away a copy of the Financial Times from 2010?'). Yet by the end, you also shared
Jasmine's triumph as the carpets of three of her mother’s rooms were reintroduced to the light of day for the
first time in years. It would be an overstatement to say that Vasoulla had conquered her obsession. But she
was touchingly appreciative of what Jasmine had done for her and vowed to continue their house-clearing
project. 'It feels good to see the table again,' she said.
After hearing Vasoulla's extraordinary story, I realised that my father isn't a hoarder at all. It isn't objects he
prizes. It's their usefulness. Like many of his generation, who grew up in post-war austerity, my father likes
to squeeze every drop of value from everything he owns, even if it means storing it for decades to do so.
The windsurfing magazines will come in handy if he gets back into windsurfing; the carpet could do for a
third garage. He even had a brilliant scheme for his collection of used deodorants. Incensed that you could
never reach the final ten percent of the deodorant because of its plastic casing, he decided to heat and
transfer the residue from each into an empty casing, thereby creating one new, reconstituted deodorant. At
the time, my brother and I thought he was potty. But now I see that my father was actually decades ahead of
the curve. He wasn't hoarding our family's discarded possessions; he was recycling them.
31 When he was younger, the writer believed his father's collection of strange old things
A was amusing to look at.
В should not be taken seriously.
C was understandable at his age.
D bordered on the obsessive.

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32 After watching the documentary, the writer was

A certain his father had a severe health problem.
В confused by his father's symptoms.
C aware his father's situation wasn't as bad as some.
D worried his father was in a dangerous environment.
33 The writer mentions Jasmine's new job to
A indicate possible psychological effects of her upbringing.
В show she survived childhood difficulties and became successful.
C compare types of environment people live in today.
D emphasise that Jasmine's priorities are not influenced by her mother.
34 When helping Vasoulla, Jasmine had to
A remove some of Vasoulla's possessions secretly.
В make Vasoulla see the funny side of the situation.
C ask an expert to diagnose Vasoulla's condition.
D find ways to persuade Vasoulla to part with some possessions.
35 During the documentary, Vasoulla
A managed to recover from her obsession.
В overcame her frustration with her messy house.
C recognised the value of Jasmine's help.
D found important things she had long forgotten.
36 What has the writer learned about his father?
A He wanted to preserve things to remember the past.
В He was concerned about wastage.
C He hoped to make money from his possessions.
D He was determined to make life easier for his family.

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 6

Read four extracts from drama school blogs about the acting process. For questions 37-40, choose from the
reviews A-D. The extracts may be chosen more than once.

Playing a part
Four aspiring actors comment on how drama school training helps them prepare for a new role.
A
Some actors have little rituals that they have to carry out every time they start a new part, which may be
based on superstition. For them, acting involves a deep personal investment. However, there are also
practical considerations when taking on any new part. Is it better to learn all the words by rote, or through
some kind of emotional memory? The script itself is fixed, but there are a million ways in which an actor

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can imagine saying the lines. Wherever this imagination comes from, the actor must first draw on things
that they have experienced and know to be true. Because of this, actors are not necessarily the best judge of
their own performance since they are too close to it, but if they use the practical techniques learned in drama
school they will be better equipped to take on demanding roles and face their critics knowing they have
performed well.
B
It’s a strange thing that the world of the theatre is often connected with deceit and lying - after all, that’s the
stuff of good drama, and actors are simply playing a part. But really it’s the opposite, as acting is essentially
connected with bringing out some kind of truth. The fact is that truth is everything to do with humanity. And
the best part of an actor’s job is to convey that and change the way people think about it. If an audience
doesn’t believe in a character on stage, it’s not worth doing. In order to get an audience to believe, there has
to be a shared understanding of what truth means; that involves the actor in thinking, evaluating and
planning every move beforehand. That’s when acting is at its most demanding, and learning the lines is
actually quite mundane. When a performance is a revelation, and completely truthful in what it says about
life, it lifts both audience and the actors on to a different level. So much of what is done in drama schools is
based on achieving that.
C
Most acting workshops teach actors to be flexible and loose in their approach to a role, to use their
imagination and be as open as possible. This is key to the success of actors when establishing a new
character. When it comes to fixing the emotions of character, there is no point in trying to create unrealistic
emotions because what people in real life do is reach to other people around them; they don't walk around
summoning up states of anger or fear at a moment's notice. Actors have to do the same thing night after
night, and may lose the ability to see how well it is being done or even engage emotionally. The irony is that
actors must appear to be spontaneous, yet they know what the other characters on stage are going to say.
The audience must believe in their characters and understand a greater truth. Yet clearly, the actor is simply
playing a part, and how well he or she does that is for others to judge.
D
Drama schools teach aspiring young actors that there is no one right way to do things —there are different
approaches to developing a character, although the practical techniques of voice projection and so on are
clearly the same. Some actors totally immerse themselves in the character they're playing, even staying in
character when off-stage. Other consider this self-indulgent, and rely on imagination and spontaneity to
carry them through. After all, imagination is not something concrete that can be manipulated and the aim of
the actor is to convey his or her version of the truth of the play to the audience. Every actor wants to achieve
a performance that really reaches an audience and helps them look at something in a new way.
Which blogger ...
37 expresses a different view from the others about what's important when preparing a role?
38 has a similar view to A about an actor's assessment of his or her own performance?

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39 has a different opinion to the others about what makes a good performance?
40 shares B's opinion about what is most satisfying about acting?

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 7

You are going to read an article about the impact of the Internet on our lives. Six paragraphs have been
removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (41-46). There is
one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

How the Internet is altering your mind

Like most newspapers' content, what you are about to read was written using a computer connected to the
Internet. Obviously, this had no end of benefits, mostly pertaining to the relative ease of my research and
the simplicity of contacting the people whose thoughts and opinions you are about to read.
41 ...
It often feels as if all this frantic activity creates a constant state of twitchy anxiety. Moreover, having read a
hotly controversial book about the effect of digital media on the human mind, I may have very good reason
to feel scared. Its thesis is simple enough: not only that the modern world's relentless informational overload
is killing our capacity for reflection, contemplation and patience but that our online habits are also altering
the very structure of our brains.
42 ...
The writer then argues that the Internet's 'cacophony of stimuli' and 'crazy quilt' of information have given
rise to 'cursory reading, hurried and distracted thinking, and superficial learning' - in contrast to the age of
the book, when intelligent humans were encouraged to be contemplative and imaginative.
43 ...
Dr Small, the director of the Memory and Ageing Research Centre at the University of California, Los
Angeles, is a specialist in the effects on the brain of the ageing process. 'Even an old brain can be quite
malleable and responsive to what's going on with technology,' he tells me.
44 ...
When I ask him how I might stop the Internet's more malign effects on my own brain, he sounds slightly
more optimistic than Carr: 'Try to balance online time with offline time,' he tells me. 'What's happening is,
we're losing the circadian rhythms we're used to; you go to work, you come home, you spend time talking
with your kids.'
45 ...
'His argument privileges activities of the skimming and browsing kind. But if you look at research on kids
doing this, or exploring virtual worlds such as Second Life,the argument there is about immersion and
engagement.'

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46 ...
This all sounds both comforting and convincing, until I return to The Shallows and read a particularly
sobering sentence: 'We are welcoming the frenziedness into our souls.' There's something chilling about
those words and even twenty stupid minutes on YouTube and an impulse buy from Amazon cannot quite
remove them from my brain.
A But here is the really important thing. Carr writes: 'If, knowing what we know today about the brain's
plasticity, you were to set out to invent a medium that would rewire our mental circuits as quickly and
thoroughly as possible, you would probably end up designing something that looks and works a lot like the
Internet.'
В The Shallows is a book by Nicholas Carr. It is an elegantly written cry of anguish about what one admirer
calls 'the uneducating of Homo sapiens' and a rewiring of neural pathways and networks that may yet
deprive the human race of the talents that, ironically enough, drove our journey from caves to PC terminals.
C 'The point is, to play successfully, you have to pay an incredible amount of attention to what your team-
mates are doing, to the mechanics of the game. You can set up a thesis for The Depths, just as much as The
Shallows. And it seems to me that to say that some neural pathways are good and some are bad - well, how
can you possibly say that?'
D 'It's a basic principle that the brain is very sensitive to any kind of stimulation. If you have repeated
stimuli, your neural circuits will be excited. But if you neglect other stimuli, other neural circuits will be
weakened.' Carr argues that the online world so taxes the parts of the brain that deal with fleeting and
temporary stuff that deep thinking becomes increasingly impossible. As he sees it: 'Our ability to learn
suffers and our understanding remains shallow.'
E Among the people with walk-on roles in The Shallows is Scott Karp, the editor of a renowned American
digital media blog called Publish2, whose reading habits are held up as proof of the fact that plenty of
people's brains have long since been rewired by their enthusiastic use of the Internet.
F I get a more convincing antidote to the Carr thesis from Professor Andrew Burn of the University of
London's Institute of Education. Equating the Internet with distraction and shallowness, he tells me, is a
fundamental mistake, possibly bound up with Carr's age (he is fifty). 'Is there anything in his book about
online role-playing games?'
G But then there is the downside. The tool I use to write can also double as many other things. Thus, while
writing this, I was entertained by no end of distractions. I watched YouTube videos, bought something on
Amazon and at downright stupid hours of the day - 6 a.m. or almost midnight - I once again checked my
email on either my phone or computer.

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CAE Reading and Use of English Part 8

You are going to read an article about colour-taste relationships. For questions 47-56, choose from the
sections of the article (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once.
In which section are the following mentioned?
47 the influence of external factors other than the colour of food or drink
48 the idea that reaction to colours is not uniform
49 the type of people who are most susceptible to colour influence
50 a collaboration between people from different backgrounds
51 the effect of impaired vision on eating habits
52 something that interests people but not for its original purpose
53 a hypothetical situation which may disgust us
54 some people's ability to be more precise than others in describing subtle taste changes
55 the way companies can use psychology to make us eat more
56 a belief that some people are naturally reluctant to taste something

How we taste different colours

A
We've all heard that the first bite is taken with the eye but the link between our visual sense and our flavour
perception may be stronger than you think. When I think of flavour perception, noses and taste buds
primarily spring to mind. Sure, other factors such as texture, temperature and touch sensations play a part
but taste and smell are the dominant senses here, right? Well, perhaps not. You only have to consider the
insatiable public appetite for food pictures masquerading as cookbooks to see there is meat to the old adage
we eat with our eyes. Charles Spence, the Oxford experimental psychologist who helped Heston
Blumenthal develop some of his playful multisensory signature dishes, places vision right up there with
smell, in flavour's 'premier league', if you will. 'Half the brain is visual in some sense,' says Spence. This is,
in part, why the colour of our food and drink can not only determine whether it is appetising but its flavour,
too.
В
It is often said that we have an inherent aversion to blue food because it appears so rarely in nature. Another
popular theory is that we're attracted to red food because it signals ripeness, sweetness and calories.But is
this an innate preference? Probably not, thinks Chris Lukehurst, head of research at the Marketing Clinic.
How colour affects appetite is inconsistent and contextual. Think about green food and you might picture
fresh, nutritious rocket, watercress or cucumber. Or perhaps under-ripe, sour fruits. 'However, If I talk to
you about green meat,' he says, 'your stomach probably turns.' It is interesting, though, that a dyed-blue
steak will have the same effect, even if you know it's perfectly safe. If you get people to eat it in the dark,
says Spence, 'so they think it's normal, then you turn the lights up and show them the colour, some will get
up and be sick straightaway.' Such is the powerfully aversive effect of food colour out of context.

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C
As well as tasting the colour of what we consume, we can also taste the shade of its wrapping. Spence has
tricked people into confusing salt and vinegar crisps with cheese and onion flavour merely by switching
packets. 'Many of our subjects will taste the colour of the crisp packet, not the crisp itself,' he says. Our
brains excel in picking up associations and using them as shortcuts. When the colour makes us expect
something to taste a certain way, we'll taste what we expect unless it's shockingly different. Using multiple
colours in sweets such as Smarties and M&Ms is a strategy to get you to eat lots of them. People will wolf
down more from a mixed bowl than they will from a bowl full of their favourite colour. And a recent study
from Cornwell University showed that you'll eat more, too, if your food colour matches the plate, while a
contrast will have the opposite effect.
D
If you can't see colours, you might expect your other senses to sharpen and compensate but blind people
don't taste or smell any more than anyone else. They are, however, generally better at naming smells, which
most sighted people struggle with. So they may not be tasting more intensely but they can identify flavours
better without visual cues. Not surprisingly, losing your sight can make eating stressful and it is thought to
contribute to a diminished appetite in old age. But even losing the capacity to see colours can have adverse
effects. In his book An Anthropologist on Mars, Oliver Sacks told the fascinating story of a man who
experienced this after an accident. He found eating less pleasurable and started to choose black or white
foods, or eat with his eyes closed. Following a discussion with Blumenthal, Spence and his team at Oxford
did some research to discover who is the most easily influenced by the effects of colouring and found that
those at the super-taster end of the spectrum rely less on their eyes. 'Whereas those with fewer taste buds,'
says Spence, 'will be more easily led astray or say,"Yep, I see red therefore it's sweet".'

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Answer Keys
PART 1
1 В — save. To save face is a set phrase that means 'to save one's dignity'.
2 D — rather than. Do something rather than do something else. The other three phrases are normally
used with -ing form (e.g. instead of upsetting them).
3 B — embark. The only verb that collocates with on. To embark on(upon) something means to commence,
to start doing it.
4 A — backed. To back up means to support, to reinforce (e.g. to back up your argument with scientific
data)
5 D — telling. To tell lies is the commonly used phrase.
6 A — go. To go ahead — to continue, to carry on. Another set phrase.
7 B — Obviously. It fits in the context and it is the only adverb that would require a comma after it in this
position of an introductory word.
8 B — home. Home truths (usually plural) are unpleasant facts that are told to a person you know well (e.g.
you tell your best friend about his bad breath). This is a set phrase.

PART 2
9 how. The more we "invest" in happiness the more happier we become.
10 into. To put time and effort into something. Effort has to be used with 'into', but time can have both 'into'
and 'in'. Since the preposition is used with both words in this case, you will have to use the only common
preposition 'into'. Using 'in' will be regarded as a mistake.
11 can. Not 'could' and not 'may' because the fact was actually demonstrated, as it is explained in the
sentence that follows.
12 their. The sentence mentions the brains of people who practiced meditation.
13 in. To keep in check means to keep under control.
14 not. The second part of the sentence refutes (proves wrong) the statement made in the previous sentence.
15 way. The way we do something = how we do it.
16 make. To make a difference = to have an effect, to change something.

PART 3
17 indisputable. The context makes it clear that the word has to have negative prefix. The meaning of the
word is "beyond doubt, not open to question". Mind the spelling and use the right negative prefix. If it is not
clear whether to use negative prefix or not, try skipping this word and finishing the rest of the sentence to
understand it better.
18 rigorous. Harsh, accurate and very strict. Do not omit 'u' at the end as you are supposed to stick to BrE
spelling.
19 dedication. A noun is needed here. Note the preposition 'to' used with 'dedication'.
20 endurance. Endurance athletes are required to display both strength and stamina.
21 musicality. Sensitivity to music or being musical. This can involve feeling the rhythm that dancers need

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so much.
22 dissimilar. Double negative should be used here (not dissimilar = similar) — the authors compare a
dance with a football game and it is clear from context that they are alike. Make sure you use the correct
negative prefix.
23 explosive. It is important not to be mistaken and use 'exploding'. The energy the dancer needs is
explosive in its nature (comes suddenly, in quick bursts). The energy does not explode.
24 repetitive. The word routine implies that it repeats over and over again — so it is repetitive.

PART 4
25 had not/never faced a bigger/such a big. It is important to understand why we use Past Perfect here.
'To date' indicates that the period is finished.
26 regret not trying harder. Regret doing/not doing something. Regret is normally used with -ing form.
27 gets on my nerves when. Uptight means tense or nervous. To get on somebody's nerves means to upset,
unnerve or irritate somebody.
28 to make his mark. To make one's mark means to succeed or to become recognised.
29 to make dreams come true. Dreams come true is an established collocation.
30 would rather not take. Would rather not do something indicates lack of desire to do it.

PART 5
31 D. Answers A, B and C are all opinions the rest of the family had about author's father strange habit.
Answer D is what the author thinks of his father, stated in the very first sentence: "a hoarder". See
vocabulary for more information.
32 С. Paragraph 2, second sentence mentions author's father 'relatively benign symptoms'. What this means
is that father's condition wasn't as bad as in comparison to those people in the documentary.
3З А. The main clue is the mentioned 'Freudian analysts'. As you know, Freud was a famous psychologist.
Evidently Jasmine tried to offset the psychological damage caused by her troubled childhood by choosing
an occupation that involves the opposite environment to that witnessed back home.
34 D. Beginning of paragraph 4 goes: "Jasmine coaxed and cajoled Vasoulla to jettison at least some of her
junk". The less known vocabulary contains the answer here. In short, Jasmine tried to persuade Vasoulla to
let go of the things she amassed. Refer to vocabulary for more information. Answers A and B are not
mentioned. Answer C is not correct — Vasoulla's condition did not need to be diagnosed, Jasmine asked the
doctor for more information about the illness.
35 C. Ending of paragraph five: "But she (Vasoulla) was touchingly appreciative of what Jasmine had done
for her". Answer A is wrong — it is clearly stated that Vasoulla was far from completely recovering from
her condition. Answer B is not mentioned. Answer D is only a minor detail ("it's good to see the table
again").
36 B. The whole paragraph talks about how their father is very frugal and afraid that even the slightest part
of what he has goes to waste.

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PART 6
37 A. Blogger A questions "more practical" things about preparing, namely the benefit of learning your
lines.
38 С. Both bloggers believe that actor himself can't tell how well he performs. Blogger A: " actors are not
necessarily the best judge of their own performance", Blogger C: "the actor is simply playing a part, and
how well he or she does that is for others to judge"
З9 А. This is answer explanation is courtesy of Josef Svoboda, one of the visitors. Thanks Josef!
“[…] if they use >the practical techniques performed well<"
To put this into context:
B – "When a performance is a revelation, and completely truthful in what it says about life, it lifts both
audience and the actors on to a different level."
C – "The audience must believe in their characters and understand a greater truth."
D – "[…] the aim of the actor is to convey his or her version of the truth of the play to the audience. Every
actor wants to achieve a performance that really reaches an audience and helps them look at something in a
new way."
40 D. Blogger B believes that the best thing is to change somebody's view on things: "the best part of an
actor’s job is to convey that and change the way people think about it"; Blogger D concurs in the very last
sentence of his paragraph.

PART 7
41 G. The previous paragraphs mentions the advantages, and this one immediately introduces the downside,
so the narrative is easy to trace.
42 В. It is easier to have a look at a paragraph that follows this one — it starts with "The writer ...",
suggesting that the previous paragraph introduced a writer and possibly a book. Paragraph B is the only one
fitting this description.
4З А. The preceding paragraphs numbers the downsides of the Internet in contrast with the advantages of
more conventional reading from a book. Then this paragraph suggests that despite of all the downsides, the
web offers best possibility for quick and efficient learning: "... a medium that would rewire our mental
circuits as quickly and thoroughly as possible... "
44 D. The paragraph before focuses on how a brain can me "malleable" — or able to change. Then
Paragraph D continues and expands the idea by explaining and giving examples. The next paragraph starts
with "When I ask him... " it is clear that 'he' is Dr. Small.
45 F. At the very end of Paragraph F online games are mentioned. The paragraph that follows continues this
idea with the example of Second Life virtual world type of game.
46 C. The game talk is continues and Dr. Small explains how playing a game can be beneficial for your
thinking: "you have to pay an incredible amount of attention to what your team-mates are doing, to the
mechanics of the game"

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CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

PART 8
47 C. The 'other' factor here is label. The example illustrates how people can be mislead by a changed label
on potato crisps.
48 В. Reaction to green can be both positive and negative — a ripe cucumber or an unripe fruit.
49 D. The example in the middle of Paragraph D talks about people with poor colour perception and how it
affects their appetite.
50 A. The paragraph mentions two people who worked together to conduct an experiment in taste
preference.
51 D. The bottom half of the paragraph talks about a man who sustained an injury that impaired his colour
vision and it affected his food preferences dramatically.
52 A. 'Food pictures masquerading as cookbooks' is what the author meant here. This suggests that the
original idea of cookbooks (to help cooking by giving recipes) is overlooked in favour of just gazing at
highly-appetising pictures.
53 B. The blue and green meat examples are meant. Disgust = get sick.
54 D. The example with blind people shows how they are more capable of telling the slight differences in
taste, compared to people with sight.
55 C. Examples with Skittles and M&Ms — they colour each candy differently to subtly make us want to
eat more of them.
56 В. Example with green-dyed meat suggests that some would be unwilling to taste it: ‘your stomach
probably turns.’

Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is meant to help you with the more difficult words. If the word isn't on the list then
you are either supposed to know it or it is too specific to be worth learning and you don't have to know it to
answer the question. Symbols in brackets mean part of speech (see bottom of the list). Sentences in italics
give examples of usage for some more complex words and phrases.
And remember — you are not given a vocabulary list (or a dictionary) at your real exam.

Part 1
Counsel (n) — advice. I wish somebody would provide me with a counsel on the matter.
Permanently (adv) — forever, for good. My father seemed to be permanently busy with his business.
Integrity (n) — honesty, sticking to your principles. If you try to be everyone's friend you will lose your
personal integrity.
Inevitably (adv) — something that can't be avoided; certain to take place. With my knowledge of the
subject I will fail the exam inevitably.
Bluntness (n) — straightforward honesty, usually in an impolite manner. I like the way he treats everyone
with bluntness — at least he is not a hypocrite like most people at the office.
Sincerity (n) — quality of being sincere — genuine, what you really think. Most girls here won't
appreciate your sincerity, they are used to be flattered by men.

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CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

Part 2
Undertake (v) — to attempt or start something. The task we undertook is not an easy one but eventually we
will finish it.
Apparently (adv) — easy to spot, evidently. Apparently I am the only guest in the house right now — it is
very quiet and no other people can be seen.
Hypothesis (n) — an idea suggested to explain something.
Resemble (v) — be similar to. The writers later works resemble the best examples of this art from his era.
MRI — Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a medical examination.
Tweak (v) — to make small alteration of something to make it more efficient. I wish they tweaked our
curriculum a bit — I'm sure we could squeeze in a subject or two in it!
Perception (n) — the ability to perceive, the way a person sees things and events. Nancy always has her
own perception of school programme.

Part 3
Sustained (adj) — stable, continuous.
Burst (n) — sudden explosion or a huge amount of something. She reacted to my suggestion with a burst of
laughter.

Part 4
Uptight (adj) — tense or nervous. Don't be so uptight, your interview is going to be just fine!
Ambitious (adj) — with strong desire of success or other achievement. The hall outside of the interview
room was full of young ambitious specialists.

Part 5
Hoarder (n) — a person who accumulates various things, unable to let go of them, hoping that he will get
to use them later.
Prosaic (adj) — simple, without imagination. Prosaic matters like earning his own living didn't concern
him.
Bulge (v) — to stand out, to protrude.
Bizarre (adj) — strange or unusual in an interesting way. Ted's bizarre jokes can put you off if you don't
know him well enough.
Menagerie (n) — a collection. A huge menagerie of World War Two weaponry.
Mouldy (adj) — covered with mould — tiny fungi that grow on things if the humidity is too high. Bread
gets mouldy in a matter of days if it isn't properly kept.
Stockpile (v) — to collect in order to amass a large quantity of something. My father was paranoid about
the war so he kept stockpiling food and bottled water.
Redundant (adj) — unnecessary, over the top. The redundant employees are going to be let go next week.
Benign (adj) — favourable, kind. Geoff's benign character made him an all-round pleasant person.
Clutter (n) — a heap of object without any order. A clutter of books and magazines were on top of the
table.
Reflect (n) — to think over, to contemplate. She reflected on her life for a while.

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CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

Coax (v) — to persuade gently into something one isn't willing to do. I won't be coaxed to join their party!
Cajole (v) — see Coax. Cajole might also involve making a promise to the person in order to make them
do what you want.
Jettison (v) — get rid of, throw away. Your old writing table ought to have been jettisoned long time ago!
Charity (n) — an organisation that raises money for some good cause (e.g. to buy clothes and food for an
orphanage).
Dispiriting (adj) — upsetting, depressing. The burned down house was a dispiriting sight.
Unperturbed (adj) — not bothered by something. No matter how loud I shouted at the dog, it remained
unperturbed by my commands.
Sift (v) — to filter through in order to remove bigger or coarser pieces. You ought to sift rice through before
washing it.
Flotsam and jetsam (n) — unnecessary pieces, leftovers.
Overstatement (n) — exaggeration. Saying that he is the smartest student in the class would be an
overstatement.
Vow to (v) — to swear to do something. I'd never vow to serve my country because I know I couldn't
possibly kill a man even if I had to.
Austerity (n) — state of being austere — stern, strict and without luxuries or excess. The austerity of post-
war times drove many men into depression.
Residue (n) — remaining substance. After you wash the dished you have to rinse them to make sure you get
all the soap residue off.
Potty (adj) — insignificant; foolish or crazy. A potty old lady shouted at us to get off her lawn.
Discarded (adj) — thrown away; considered to be useless. The discarded clothes could still be used by
someone.
Border on (v) — to balance on, to be close to. Her immense intelligence borders on insanity.
Severe (adj) — harsh or rigorous; very serious. The ambulance delivered to man who had severe wounds.

Part 6
Superstition (n) — irrational belief that comes from ignorance or fear of unknown. Old people usually
stick to superstitions when making important decisions.
To learn by rote — to learn something mechanically, without trying to understand it.
Convey (v) — to take or carry across. I couldn't convey the meaning to my students effectively no matter
how hard I tried.
Evaluate (v) — to calculate worth, effectiveness of something.
Mundane (adj) — dull, everyday, usual. The mundane landscape of arid desert.
Revelation (n) — a sudden realisation; exposure of something previously kept secret. It didn't come as
revelation to anyone that Jill was cheating on her husband.
Workshop (n) — (here) — group of people who came together to share their experience in a field. There is
going to be a sculpting workshop at the gallery next Tuesday.
Flexible (adj) — able to change, bend without breaking. Flexible working hours is what I really need to
feel comfortable with my day job.

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CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

Spontaneous (adj) — happening on the spot rather than planned. Spontaneous decisions can lead to
unexpected consequences.
Immerse (v) — to involve into something deeply. Immersing into the book is important to enjoy it fully.
Self-indulgent (adj) — following one's own desires.

Part 7
Pertain to (v) — to have relation or reference to. Laws that pertain to immigration policies.
Frantic (adj) — worried and hurried; unorganised. So he was late for his night shift, running around the
room frantically searching for his cellphone.
Twitchy (adj) — similar to frantic. Being nervous about something.
Controversial (adj) — with two or more opinions, causing disagreement. The controversial issue of gender
equality.
Relentless (adj) — (here) fast-paced, quick and unceasing. The rate at which we had to learn at the
university was relentless.
Contemplation (n) — process of thinking something over carefully and at length. My contemplation was
interrupted by a stranger who approached me to ask for a cigarette.
Stimuli (n) — Latin, plural of stimulae — something that makes you want to do something. Money is the
most effective stimulae of today.
Cursory (adj) — quick and superficial (not thorough). Don't worry about the inspection, it will only be
cursory.
Superficial (adj) — happening on the surface and not inside; not real. Her superficial intelligence was
hiding ignorance and arrogance.
Malleable (adj) — easy to alter, changeable. Young mind are the most malleable of all.
Malign (adj) — having bad intentions, evil.
Circadian (adj) — relating to biological rhythms that relate to 24-hour cycle.
Skim (v) — (here) to read superficially without paying much attention to details. Skim reading is a very
useful technique for CAE Reading and Use of English part.
Immersion (n) — involvement in something, such as a book or a movie.
Sobering (adj) — disillusioning, returning to reality. That last failure has had a really sobering effect on
me.
Rewire (v) — to change something fundamentally, at a deeper level.
Anguish (n) — pain or misery, torment. The anguish of losing your best friend is hard to explain.
Deprive of (v) — take away by force. Deprived of right to protect ourselves legally, we had to find other
means of dealing with the situation.
Pathway (n) — route or way to something.
Neglect (v) — to deny due care, to ignore. If you neglect your duties as a parent you children will
eventually start loathing you.
Shallow (adj) — the opposite of deep. Similar to superficial — lacking substance.

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CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 8

Part 8
External (adj) — located on the outside. You should use an external microphone for you videos to improve
the quality of sound.
Uniform (adj) — not changing in form, quality, number etc.
Susceptible to (adj) — easily affected by. If you are taking certain medicine then you are more susceptible
to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.
Collaboration (n) — joint work such as a project that is done by two or more people, companies etc.
Impaired (adj) — with reduced strength, weakened. When you are drunk your judgement is severely
impaired.
Disgust (v) — feeling of aversion, strong dislike to something. People with poor understanding of political
system disgust me.
Subtle (adj) — not immediately visible, slight. The subtle details of the show is what makes it so enjoyable.
Reluctant (adj) — unwilling. It is natural to feel reluctant to work or study, but it has to be done
nonetheless.
Taste bud (n) — the part of your tongue that is responsible for "feeling" the taste of food you eat.
Insatiable (adj) — unable to be satiated — give enough food or whatever the person is desiring. The
insatiable hunger for reading.
Masquerade as (v) — to pretend to be something else. Burglars masquerading as policemen got into their
house.
Adage (n) — a proverb. As a famous adage goes, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'.
Signature dish (n) — a dish the cook or the restaurant is most famous for.
Inherent, innate (adj) — given or existing from birth.
Aversion (n) — similar to disgust.
Shortcut (n) — a shorter route; a way to achieve something quicker that usual. We took a shortcut through
the woods but got lost.
Wolf down (v) — to eat something quickly and carelessly. I was too hungry to mind my manners so I
simply wolfed down the food without help of a fork.
Sighted (adj) — able to see. Sighted people will never understand the complexities of being blind.
Cue (n) — a hint. I don't need any cues to pass the exam.
Diminished (adj) — reduced, lowered.
Capacity (n) — ability to contain. Any battery's capacity diminishes with time

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