C2 Proficiency (CPE) Reading and Use of English Practice Tests

Part 1 — Reading & Use of English Part 1 — Multiple-choice cloze

For questions 1-8, read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

1. (1) (A) merely (B) slightly (C) evenly (D) nearly
2. (2) (A) bear (B) stand (C) keep (D) face
3. (3) (A) equal (B) even (C) level (D) square
4. (4) (A) seize (B) capture (C) clutch (D) snare
5. (5) (A) missed (B) spent (C) gone (D) lost
6. (6) (A) ushered (B) heralded (C) beckoned (D) portended
7. (7) (A) roughshod (B) slipshod (C) barefoot (D) headlong
8. (8) (A) pointless (B) useless (C) needless (D) harmless

Part 2 — Reading & Use of English Part 2 — Open cloze

For questions 1-8, read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.

In Praise of Marginalia

Librarians may wince, but writing in the margins of books is a habit (0) ___ a distinguished pedigree, and one that says as much about the reader (1) ___ it does about the text. Coleridge's annotations were so prized that friends would lend him their volumes expressly (2) ___ that he might deface them. (3) ___ a pencilled note strike you as an act of vandalism, consider what it preserves: the trace of one mind in conversation with another. Many a scholar has reconstructed a thinker's development from little (4) ___ than such jottings. There is, mind (5) ___, a line to be drawn between annotation and graffiti; a row of indignant exclamation marks scarcely (6) ___ as criticism. Nor should one ever annotate what one does not own — library books least of (7) ___. But our own copies invite it: a margin left blank is an invitation declined, and a book, (8) ___ all is said and done, is not a shrine but a conversation.

1. (1) ___
2. (2) ___
3. (3) ___
4. (4) ___
5. (5) ___
6. (6) ___
7. (7) ___
8. (8) ___

Part 3 — Reading & Use of English Part 3 — Word formation

For questions 1-8, read the text. 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.

Part 4 — Reading & Use of English Part 4 — Key word transformations

For questions 1-6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, using the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between three and eight words, including the word given.

Part 5 — Reading & Use of English Part 5 — Multiple choice

For questions 1-6, read the text and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best.

1. The comparison with a reef in the first paragraph suggests that Halloran's seminars were (A) genuinely capable of ending an academic career (B) so intimidating that most students avoided them entirely (C) an ordeal students later took a perverse pride in retelling (D) far less daunting in reality than her reputation implied
2. The image of 'a stone in my shoe' conveys that the narrator (A) was persistently nagged by the comment (B) felt physically unwell after reading the remarks (C) resolved to confront the professor about her verdict (D) dismissed the criticism almost immediately
3. The narrator eventually came to regard the words 'Almost a thought here' as (A) evidence that the professor had barely read the essay (B) a private joke being shared with other tutors (C) a fair judgement on work that deserved no better (D) an invitation to go further rather than a dismissal
4. The word 'anaesthetic' suggests that the narrator's comments (A) are administered with almost clinical precision (B) are intended to prepare students for harsher criticism later (C) exhaust students with their excessive length (D) soothe their readers without producing any real effect
5. What does the narrator imply about their own style of marking? (A) It has proved more effective than Halloran's methods. (B) Its kindness may conceal a reluctance to engage deeply. (C) It represents a principled rejection of her cruelty. (D) It leaves students more confused than encouraged.
6. In the final paragraph, the narrator's prevailing tone is one of (A) rueful admiration (B) lingering resentment (C) detached amusement (D) unqualified guilt

Part 6 — Reading & Use of English Part 6 — Gapped text

You are going to read an article. Seven paragraphs have been removed. Choose from paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is one extra paragraph you do not need.

Part 7 — Reading & Use of English Part 7 — Multiple matching

You are going to read five translators' comments on the art of literary translation. For questions 1-10, choose from the translators A-E. The translators may be chosen more than once.

1. Which translator argues that a strictly literal rendering can misrepresent the original more than a free one?
2. Which translator believes the economics of publishing pose the real threat to high standards?
3. Which translator rejects the notion that certain texts simply cannot be translated?
4. Which translator demands that their profession receive the same critical attention as authors do?
5. Which translator predicts that technology will take over routine work rather than replace human translators?
6. Which translator suggests that a translation may occasionally surpass the work it is based on?
7. Which translator condemns translations that draw attention to their own brilliance?
8. Which translator regards repeated revision as the heart of the craft?
9. Which translator believes literary meaning often resides in what a text leaves unsaid?
10. Which translator aims to reproduce the experience the original gave its first readers?