Free Cambridge English: Advanced (C1 Advanced/CAE) Exam Questions and Answers

In Part 4, the examiner asks: "Some people say that social media has destroyed real friendship. What do you think?" Complete the candidate's answer with ONE word to express a partial disagreement politely. "I'm not sure I'd go so ______ as to say that, but it has certainly changed the way people stay in touch."

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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. People say that the old mill was built in the 1700s. SAID The old mill ______ built in the 1700s.

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For the question below, think of the word which best fits the gap. Use only ONE word in the gap. "Not only ______ the festival attract record crowds last summer, but it also raised more money for local charities than ever before."

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For questions 1-3, read the extracts below, in which four adults talk about learning a musical instrument. For each question, write the letter (A, B, C or D) of the person who expresses the view described. The people may be chosen more than once. A Ines I picked up the cello at fifty-two, and the first year was humbling. At the open evening, a twelve-year-old played a piece I had struggled with for months, and I nearly gave up there and then. What kept me going was a teacher who set me small, achievable targets each week. B Tomasz Honestly, I'm no better on the guitar than I was in March. But I have never missed the Thursday class, because afterwards we all go for a meal and talk for hours. If the lessons ended, I would miss the people far more than the music. C Rhona I had piano lessons as a child and stopped at fourteen, which I have regretted ever since. Returning at forty has been easier than I expected, because my fingers seem to remember patterns that my brain has forgotten. I practise on a silent keyboard so as not to disturb the neighbours. D Kofi I bought a trumpet on impulse after a gig. Learning online suited me, as I could replay each video until I understood it. Yet I have come to think that a real teacher would have spotted my poor breathing habits much earlier. Which person 1 was nearly discouraged by seeing how much better a younger player was? 2 values the company of other learners more than musical progress? 3 feels that learning without face-to-face instruction led to a technical problem? Write your answers in the form: 1 = letter; 2 = letter; 3 = letter.

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1. 1
2. 2
3. 3

You will hear a woman called Hana Petrova talking about her work restoring old home-movie film for a local archive. For question 1, complete the sentence with a word or short phrase (no more than three words). The recording is played twice. Read the transcript extract below. Transcript: "When people bring me reels, the first thing they tell me is that the attic was damp, or that the loft got far too hot in summer. And yes, both of those do harm the film, so I'm not dismissing them. But after nearly twelve years of this, I can say that neither is the main culprit. What really ruins reels is the containers they are stored in. Families tend to keep them in the original tins, and those rust over time, flaking onto the film and making it stick together. A cardboard box would do far less damage. Fortunately, once the film is out of the tin and cleaned, most of it can still be saved." Question 1: Hana says that the main cause of damage to the reels she receives is the ______ in which they are kept.

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You will hear five short extracts in which people talk about changing their careers. TASK ONE For questions 21-25, choose from the list (A-H) the main reason each speaker gives for changing career. Speaker 3 Transcript: "I'd been in accountancy for almost a decade, and the salary was perfectly decent. Everyone assumes it was the hours that drove me out, and January was certainly brutal, but I'd got used to that long before I left. What wore me down was never being able to point to anything I'd actually achieved. Then a friend roped me into doing the books for a small charity that runs reading clubs in primary schools, and I sat in on one of their sessions. Going back to my spreadsheets that Monday felt pointless. My parents were horrified, and yes, I earn less now, but I've never enjoyed work so much." What is Speaker 3's main reason for changing career?

• AA. the advice of a family member
• BB. an offer of a post through a friend
• CC. a lack of any sense of achievement
• DD. a desire to develop a creative skill
• EE. the threat of losing her job
• FF. the chance to earn a higher salary
• GG. pressure from long working hours
• HH. a wish to work closer to home

Each of the extracts 1-4 below is the opening of a different answer to a Writing Part 2 task. Match each extract with the text type it belongs to (A-D). Extract 1: "The aim of what follows is to outline how the unused room on the second floor could be turned into a quiet study area, and what this would involve in terms of furniture and supervision." Extract 2: "The purpose of this document is to assess how far the changes made to the canteen in September have met students' needs, drawing on a survey of 150 students carried out last month." Extract 3: "Anyone expecting the gentle humour of the author's earlier novels may be taken aback by this one, though not, I suspect, disappointed." Extract 4: "Thank you for your message asking whether our walking club would welcome new members. I'm delighted to say that we would, and I've set out below what joining involves." Text types: A. Proposal B. Review C. Report D. Email

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In Part 1 of the Speaking test, the examiner asks a candidate: "Tell us about the place where you grew up." Which response is the most appropriate answer to this question?

• AA. Do you mean the village where I was born or the city we moved to when I was eight? I've lived in both, so I'm not sure which one you want.
• BB. That's an interesting question, because I believe the place where we grow up shapes our personality and our values more than almost anything else.
• CC. It's a town of about forty thousand people on the north coast, and its economy depends mainly on fishing and, during the summer months, on tourism.
• DD. A small seaside town in the north. It was quite quiet, to be honest, but I loved being so close to the beach, and I still go back whenever I can.

Two candidates have been discussing this question for two minutes: "How effective might these measures be in encouraging people to cycle to work?" The prompts are: new cycle lanes, free bike repairs, showers at workplaces, cheaper bike hire, cycling lessons for adults. The examiner then says: "Now you have about a minute to decide which measure would make the most difference." Which contribution from Candidate A would be the most helpful at this point?

• AA. Well, all of them would help in different ways, and it really depends on the city, so it's hard to say which one would be the most effective.
• BB. Cycle lanes would make the most difference, definitely. Safety is the key issue, there's no doubt about it, so that's our answer.
• CC. Before we decide, let's go back to the bike repairs, because I'm not sure we really talked about whether people would actually use them.
• DD. We both seem to think safety is the biggest worry, so maybe cycle lanes would make the most difference. How do you feel about that?

Read the four extracts below from articles about the future of public libraries. For questions 1-4, choose from the writers A-D. The writers may be chosen more than once. Writer A: Borrowing books is no longer the main reason people come through a library's doors, and it is time we admitted it. What keeps these buildings busy now is the job clinic, the language class and the toddlers' singing session, and no website can provide a warm, free room on a winter afternoon. Nor should councils keep asking libraries to prove their worth in spreadsheets. We do not demand figures from parks before we cut the grass, and libraries deserve the same trust. Writer B: Libraries are under pressure to become all things to all people, but lending remains at the heart of what they do. A child who carries a book home has started a habit that no workshop can replace, and for that child a local branch within walking distance matters enormously. Attempts to justify every library in terms of measurable outcomes miss the point. Some public goods are valuable precisely because their effects cannot be counted. Writer C: Lending books is still the core of a library's purpose, and a local branch offers something nothing else can to people without internet access at home. Yet libraries have been remarkably poor at showing what they achieve. Before asking for more public money, they should gather proper evidence of who uses them and with what result. Goodwill alone is no basis for funding decisions. Writer D: Readers today expect to find any title instantly, wherever they are, and queuing at a desk to borrow a single printed copy belongs to another era. A well-designed online service can offer a far larger collection than any branch, and the money spent heating and staffing buildings would be better spent on that. Whatever is decided should rest on hard data about what people actually use, not on nostalgia. Which writer 1. has a different view from the others on whether libraries still need physical buildings? 2. shares Writer B's view on the importance of lending books? 3. expresses a similar opinion to Writer C on what funding decisions should be based on? 4. has a similar view to Writer B on whether libraries should have to justify themselves with figures?

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