FCE Reading & Use of English

Practice Test 2
Answer Keys

Part 1
1. D – fulfilled. ‘To fulfil an ambition’ is the only correct collocation here.
2. A – estimated. The only verb that can be used in passive form correctly.
3. A – according. The only word that can be used with preposition ‘to’. ‘Depending’
and ‘relying’ are used with ‘on’, ‘agreeing’ takes ‘with’.
4. B – tendency. Answers A and D do not fit contextually as they have different
meaning. Habit can’t be used because it should be followed by a gerund: ‘be in the habit
of doing something’.
5. D – further. ‘Further out’ is the only correct collocation of the four.
6. C – Whichever. The only determiner that can be used with a noun here.
7. A – head. ‘To head for’ means ‘to go in a certain direction’.
8. C – pursuit. ‘In pursuit of something’ means ‘seeking, chasing something’. Other
nouns do not fit ‘in … of something’ construction.

Part 2
9. come. ‘Come as a surprise’ is a set expression.
10. is. ‘The strange thing … is that‘.
11. more. ‘Even more’ is used for contrast.
12. ago. A time in the past is mentioned.
13. from. ‘To get inspiration from something or someone’.
14. would/could. Both modals are acceptable here – both meanings fit the context.
15. so. ‘So that’ is the phrase that means possibility to do something.
16. how. They talk about the skill of Kieron’s drawing.

Part 3
17. truth. Adjective to noun transformation.
18. relationship. Do not pluralise the noun, otherwise it won’t be counted as right.
19. unsuitable. Note the negative prefix suggested by the context of the sentence.
20. absence. Adjective to noun transformation. Make sure to spell the word with ‘c’.
21. inappropriate. Similar case to Question 19, a negative prefix is needed.
22. scientists. Plural is required by ‘think’.
23. Unfortunately. Attacks from viruses is something undesirable, so a negative
prefix should be used.
24. easily. Adjective to adverb transformation.
 Part 4
25. has been/is three years since. Both variants are acceptable.
26. buy everything except. Note how changing forgot to remembered changes the
sentence.
27. had arrived on time. Past perfect is used to show how one thing happened after
the other.
28. not used to wearing. Use gerund after ‘used to’
29. accused Jennifer of breaking. Accuse of something.
30. (really) looking forward to using. Both variants can be used here.

Part 5
31. C. …the news that he was in hospital shook me all the same. The opposite of A,
B and D is mentioned.
32. C. Last sentence of Paragraph Three: … I’d darted into the doorway of a closed
shop to avoid coming face to face with him. The opposite of A and D is mentioned.
Nothing relating to Answer B is stated.
33. B. ‘He was looking round but his attention was on the call. Suddenly, he brought
it to an abrupt end’. ‘It’ refers to the call, or the conversation as the answer puts it.
34. D. Paragraph Six: ‘I’d no idea what my hair looked like or if I’d got a spot on my
chin‘. Answers A and C are not mentioned. Answer B shouldn’t be chosen as Ashe is
only guessing whether Tyler had noticed her earlier.
35. B. Last but one paragraph: I wondered what he was doing. I pictured the funny
brown glasses he’d worn to read with and wondered if he still read books by George
Orwell. Answer A is not mentioned. Answer C is wrong – she felt sorry about turning
down the invitation, not guilty. The opposite of Answer D is said.
36. A. To draw a blank means to get nothing, to get no result. This refers to Beth not
calling or sending a message about her being late. Other answer are not relevant to the
phrase.

Part 6
37. E. This answers the question posed in the previous sentence.
38. B. An advice is given in the previous sentence, and then more explanation is
presented in Sentence B
39. G. A range of occupations is talked about in the paragraph, and Sentence G
presents additional examples of such spheres of work.
40. D. The question in the previous sentence asks for qualities of potential
candidates and Sentence D gives the answer – what the employer is looking for in
people they want to hire for a job involving a lot of travelling.
41. F. Sentence F contrasts the previous sentences about companies that care
about their employees and the sentence after the gap that asked their workers to move
on a very short notice.
42. C. This paragraph gives tips, including the warning in Sentence C about not
wanting to travel for the rest of your life.
 Part 7
43. B. I think his greatest gift has been his general unwavering belief in
me.
44. D. He made me realise that if you just stick at something, no matter how hard
things get, then your time will come.
45. A. ‘Drive it like you stole it and keep it on the black stuff!’ … those were my dad’s
jokey words of wisdom.
46. D. He used his catchphrase and explained that if you don’t put sufficient effort in,
you’ll never get anything out of whatever it is you’re doing.
47. C. He tried to teach me a lot of things – how much I’ve taken on board is another
matter.
48. A. … he never said it was my fault.
49. B. … but my brother and I have done other things, and we’re back with Dad
again because we want to be. He left the decision to us.
50. A. I used to drive a Porsche 924 and pretty much every single race something
would break, but Dad would just say: ‘Don’t worry about the car, we can always fix it.’
51. C. Dad also taught me valuable skills like how to change the oil in my car, how to
play tennis and ski…
52. B. Since I was about fourteen, he’s given me the opportunity to input ideas and
have my say about the bands we work with or the equipment we use, which is amazing.

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

Natural habitat  — the area and conditions where an animal usually lives. This TV-
show gives us a chance to see bears in their natural habitat.
Inlet (n) — a narrow strip of water that goes into the land, for example between
islands.
Shoal (n) — a group of fish swimming together. The water was crystal clear and we
could see shoals of fish at sea bottom.
Herring (n) – silver-coloured fish, usually found in large groups. This island is most
famous for its herring fishing.
Part 2

Landscape (n) — large area of land and the way it looks. Icelandic countries are
known for their rocky landscapes and cliffs.
Depict (v) — to show or present in a form of a picture or a story. In this book the
author depicts the hard life of harbour workers.
Sketchpad (n) — sheets of paper joined together used for drawing. Sketchpad is
an affordable gift for a kid who is into drawing.

Part 3

Pass down (phr) — to give something to someone who is younger or not as

important as you. This knowledge is passed down from one generation to another.
Convince (v) — to make someone change their mind, to persuade someone. Try to
convince your boss to give you a raise – you’ve been working in the company for
two years now.
Blood vessel (v) — the tubes that carry blood in your body. If a blood vessels
comes open, you better use bandage to avoid intense bleeding.

Part 5

Lad (n) — a boy, a guy or a young man. Those lads look like trouble, don’t spend
too much time around them.
Dart (v) — move somewhere quickly and suddenly. There was a crash and a small
boy darted out of the room right after.
Peek out (phr v) — to look out of something in a secret way in order not to be
seen. I was to scared to peek out and see if they were still there.
Cropped (adj) — cut to be made shorter. His cropped hair didn’t look that good – I
liked him better the old way.
Dismay (n) — feeling lost and disappointed. To my dismay, nobody turned up for
my birthday party.
Gig (n) — a music concert, especially pop or rock. We didn’t have anything planned
so we went to a rock gig with a couple of her friends.
Fancy (v) — (v) if you fancy something, you’d like or want to have it. I didn’t fancy
going to the movies that night so instead we went to a pub.
Hoot (v) — (here) to use car’s horn signal. There was a huge traffic jam downtown,
drivers hooting impatiently at each other.

Part 6

Cite (v) — quote, bring up as an example. You could cite some well-known scientist

to make your argument sound more convincing.
Seasoned (adj) — experienced and knowledgeable. A seasoned adventurer like
you shouldn’t be afraid of spending a night in the woods.
Burn out (phr) — if you burn out, you stop liking something because you’ve had too
much of it. I’m afraid to burn out on my favourite TV-series so I only watch one
episode a week.
 Appraisal (n) — examination of something to judge how good or bad it is. They are
going to appraise your professional performance tomorrow.
Fondly (adv) — in a way that you like or enjoy. I remember the moments from my
childhood fondly.
Prospects (n) — how likely something good is to happen in the future. This
company’s financial prospects are pretty good – it will probably triple the money it
has by the end of next year.
Outlook (n) — the likely situation in the future. The outlook for the university is not
so great, especially after the recent scandal!

Part 7

Light-hearted (adj) — careless, happy and not serious. Nancy’s light-hearted

attitude made her very popular at school.
Reassure (v) — to make someone less worried by telling them something
comforting. There was nobody around to reassure Stacy when the crisis struck.
Jokey (adj) — not serious, funny. Bill is a jokey fellow, and he likes to be known for
that.
Circuit (n) — a closed road that is used for racing. Suzuka is the most famous
racing circuit in Japan.
Role model (n) — a person you respect, admire and want to be similar too. Fathers
often become role models for their sons.
Impart (v) — to share information with someone, to communicate a message. The
words of wisdom that he would sometimes impart were going to affect my whole
life.
Unwavering (n) — never stopping or becoming weaker. An unwavering desire to
make money is something every businessperson could benefit from.
Unruly (adj) — hard to control, independent, not obeying the rules. Joshua is an
unruly employee who never follows company dress code.
Catchphrase (n) — something that is used often by a person and a company and
becomes associated with them. ‘Don’t give up, no matter what’ came to be my
football coach catchphrase.
Stick at sth — continue doing something hard or difficult. If you won’t stick at it,
you will never become a good actor.