Cambridge Use of English Practice Samples

Answer key

17. uncomplicated — After ‘refreshingly’ an adjective is needed, and the positive meaning of ‘refreshingly’ shows it must be negative: ‘uncomplicated’ (simple).

18. variety — ‘A wide variety of’ is a fixed noun phrase meaning ‘many different kinds of’. ‘Variation’ is a noun too, but it means a change or difference, not a range.

19. safety — ‘For reasons of’ is followed by a noun. The noun from ‘safe’ is ‘safety’.

20. poverty — ‘Living in’ needs a noun here. The noun from ‘poor’ involves an internal change: ‘poverty’. ‘Poorness’ is not used with this meaning.

21. embarrassment — After ‘none of the’ a noun is needed, and the feeling people have when asking for help is ‘embarrassment’. Note the double r and double s.

22. unexpected — An adjective is needed before ‘effect’, and ‘an’ shows it starts with a vowel sound. The contrast with ‘were set up to reduce waste, but …’ shows the effect was not planned, so the negative ‘unexpected’ is needed.

23. belonging — ‘A sense of belonging’ is a fixed phrase meaning the feeling of being part of a group, which is what the chats between neighbours create.

24. actively — An adverb is needed to describe the verb ‘encourage’. ‘Actively encourage’ means they make a deliberate effort to do it, not just allow it.

Answer key

25. to put the meeting off (also accepted: to put off the meeting) — marks: to put … off (1) | the meeting (1) — ‘Put off’ means ‘postpone’. Because ‘the meeting’ is a noun, it can go either between the verb and the particle or after the particle; both orders are correct.

26. wish I had told (also accepted: wish I’d told, wish that I had told, wish that I’d told) — marks: wish I (1) | had told (1) — A regret about the past is expressed with ‘wish’ + past perfect. The negative ‘not telling’ becomes the positive ‘had told’, because you wish the opposite of what happened. ‘I’d’ counts as two words.

27. has been learning (also accepted: ’s been learning) — marks: has been (1) | learning (1) — An activity that started in the past and is still going on, with ‘for’ + a period of time, needs the present perfect continuous. ‘Has learnt’ is wrong because it does not use the key word.

28. may have missed — marks: may have (1) | missed (1) — Speculation about a past event uses a modal + ‘have’ + past participle. ‘May miss’ would refer to the future.

29. was such a boring film — marks: was such (1) | a boring film (1) — ‘So’ is followed by an adjective, but ‘such’ is followed by (a/an) + adjective + noun, so the noun ‘film’ must be added: ‘such a boring film’. ‘It’ at the start of the sentence needs the verb ‘was’.

30. if I hadn’t been (also accepted: if I had not been) — marks: if I (1) | hadn’t been (1) — This is a third conditional about an unreal past situation, so the if-clause needs the past perfect. Because I really was tired, the condition must be negative: ‘if I hadn’t been’. ‘Hadn’t’ counts as two words, so the answer has five.

Answer key

17. indication (also accepted: indicator) — A noun is needed after ‘an’ and before a ‘that’ clause: an indication that something is true. ‘Indicator’ also fits the grammar and meaning, so it is accepted.

18. deliberately — An adverb is needed to modify the adjective ‘dull’: the task was made dull on purpose.

19. imaginative — An adjective meaning ‘showing creativity’ is needed before ‘answers’. ‘Imaginary’ (not real) and ‘imaginable’ (possible to imagine) are adjectives from the same root but have the wrong meaning.

20. unoccupied — The sense requires a negative adjective: a mind with nothing to do is the one that wanders. ‘Occupied’ would contradict the point of the paragraph.

21. distraction (also accepted: distractions) — A noun is needed after ‘constant’. Both the uncountable ‘distraction’ and the plural ‘distractions’ are correct here.

22. beneficial — An adjective is needed after ‘is always’. The next sentence gives an example of harm, so the sense is ‘good for us’.

23. strengthen — A verb is needed after ‘helps to’. The adjective ‘strong’ changes internally (o → e) and takes the suffix -en.

24. unwillingness — A noun is needed after ‘our growing’, and the meaning must be negative: people find it hard to tolerate boredom. The word needs both a prefix and a suffix.

Answer key

25. can’t have been aware that (also accepted: cannot have been aware that, couldn’t have been aware that, could not have been aware that, can’t have been aware, cannot have been aware, couldn’t have been aware, could not have been aware) — marks: can’t / cannot / couldn’t have (1) | been aware (that) (1) — ‘I’m sure … didn’t’ is a confident deduction about the past, expressed with ‘can’t/couldn’t have + past participle’. ‘Know’ becomes ‘be aware (that)’. ‘Mustn’t have been’ is wrong: ‘mustn’t’ is not used for negative deductions.

26. is said to have written — marks: is said (1) | to have written (1) — The impersonal passive with the person as subject is ‘is said to …’. Because the writing happened before the saying, the perfect infinitive ‘to have written’ is needed.

27. came as a surprise to (also accepted: came as a complete surprise to, came as a great surprise to, came as a big surprise to, came as quite a surprise to, came as a real surprise to) — marks: came as (1) | a surprise to (1) — The fixed expression is ‘come as a surprise to someone’. Answers that leave out ‘as’ or ‘to’, such as ‘came a surprise for’, lose a mark.

28. rather you didn’t mention (also accepted: rather you did not mention, rather that you didn’t mention, rather that you did not mention) — marks: rather you (1) | didn’t / did not mention (1) — When the subject changes, ‘would rather’ is followed by a past tense with present meaning: I’d rather you didn’t. ‘Rather you not mention’ and ‘rather you don’t mention’ are not correct.

29. was out of the question — marks: was (1) | out of the question (1) — ‘Out of the question’ means ‘impossible, not to be considered’. ‘Was beyond question’ is wrong because it means ‘certainly true’, the opposite idea.

30. matter how hard he tried (also accepted: matter how hard he had tried, matter how much he tried, matter how much he had tried) — marks: matter how hard (1) | he tried (1) — ‘No matter how + adjective/adverb + clause’ expresses a concession. ‘Very’ has to go, because ‘how hard’ already carries the degree.

Answer key

0 (example). relentless — Example. An adjective is needed before the noun ‘stimulation’; ‘relentless’ means never stopping.

17. universal — An adjective is needed before ‘distaste’. ‘Universal distaste’ means a dislike shared by everyone.

18. inexhaustible — The sense is ‘endless’, so the negative prefix and the suffix -ible are both needed. ‘Exhaustive’ means thorough or complete, which does not fit ‘supply’.

19. unwillingness — A noun follows ‘our’, and the meaning must be negative: it is our refusal to tolerate tedium that ‘may come at a price’. ‘Willingness’ would contradict the argument.

20. deliberately — An adverb is needed to modify the adjective ‘monotonous’: the task was made dull on purpose.

21. inventive — An adjective is needed after ‘more’ and before ‘answers’; ‘inventive’ means creative and original.

22. unexpected — An adjective with a negative prefix is needed: surprising connections, not predictable ones, are ‘the raw material of original thought’.

23. heighten — A verb is needed after ‘may actually’. The stem changes internally (high → height) and takes the suffix -en, meaning ‘increase’; ‘to the point where we go looking for it’ shows that the appetite grows, which rules out ‘highlight’.

24. dissatisfaction — A noun is needed after ‘linked to’, and the context of harm requires the negative prefix dis-. ‘Unsatisfaction’ is not a word.

Answer key

25. come to terms with the fact that (also accepted: come to terms with the fact) — marks: come to terms with (1) | the fact that (1) — ‘Come to terms with’ means ‘accept something painful’. Because a clause follows, ‘the fact (that)’ is needed to link the phrasal expression to ‘his business had failed’.

26. until I started it did I realise (also accepted: until I had started it did I realise, until I’d started it did I realise, until I started the job did I realise, until I started did I realise, until I had started did I realise, until I’d started did I realise) — marks: until I (had) started it (1) | did I realise (1) — ‘Not until …’ at the start of a sentence requires inversion in the main clause, so the auxiliary ‘did’ comes before the subject: ‘did I realise’. ‘I’d’ counts as two words, giving eight.

27. on the grounds that it was too (also accepted: on the grounds that it would be too, on the grounds that it was considered too, on the grounds that they considered it too, on the grounds of being too, on the grounds of its being too) — marks: on the grounds (1) | that it was / would be / was considered too OR of (its) being too (1) — ‘On the grounds that’ is a formal way of giving a reason, followed by a clause with its own subject and verb; ‘on the grounds of (its) being’ is also possible. ‘Too’ must be kept before ‘expensive’.

28. at a loss as to what to (also accepted: at a loss what to, completely at a loss as to what to, at a complete loss as to what to, at a total loss as to what to, at a loss as to what I should) — marks: at a loss (1) | (as to) what to / what I should (1) — ‘Be at a loss’ means not know what to do or say. It is followed by ‘(as to) what to’ plus the infinitive already given, ‘say’.

29. bore the brunt of the (also accepted: took the brunt of the) — marks: bore / took the brunt (1) | of the (1) — ‘Bear the brunt of something’ means suffer the worst part of it; the past tense ‘bore’ matches the original. The definite article is needed before ‘damage’ because it is defined by ‘caused by the storm’.

30. on no account will (also accepted: on no account would) — marks: on no account (1) | will / would (1) — ‘On no account’ means ‘under no circumstances’. When it begins a clause, the auxiliary is inverted, so ‘will’ comes before ‘jobs’, which is already given.