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Listening &
Speakinq
Skills
For the revised
Cambridge ESOL FCE
examination

Virginia Evans - James Milton - Jenny Dooley

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Express Publishing
 Contents
Introduction 4
A. Listening Tests
Listening Test 1 7
Listening Test 2 11
Listening Test 3 15
Listening Test 4
19
Listening Test 5 23
Listening Test 6 27
Listening Test 7 31
Listening Test 8 35
Listening Test 9 39
Listening Test 10 43

B. Speaking Sets
Preparation 1: a Dwellings b Holidays 49
Speaking Test 1
53
Preparation 2: a Work b Forms of entertainment 55
Speaking Test 2
59
Preparation 3: a Eating out b Free-time activities and hobbies 61
Speaking Test 3
65
Preparation 4: a Fashion b Lifestyles 67
Speaking Test 4
71
Preparation 5: a Pollution b Wildlife 73
Speaking Test 5
77
Preparation 6: a Advertising b Spending money 79
Speaking Test 6
83
Preparation 7: a Sports and games b Education 85
Speaking Test 7
89
Preparations: a Technology b Means of transport 91
Speaking Test 8
95
Preparation 9: a Healthy living b Disasters 97
Speaking Test 9 101
Preparation 10: a Cinema b Newspapers/Magazines 103
Speaking Test 10
107
Speaking Test 11
109
Answer Sheet 111
3
 Word power

Use the vocabulary to describe the houses in the pictures.

small, cramped,
medium-sized, spacious,
three-bedroom, huge
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garage, garden, central
heating, thatched roof,
balcony, lift, stairs,
fireplace, nice view

traditional, old, modern

terraced, bungalow,
mansion, flat, cottage
cheap, a bargain , semi-detached,
reasonably priced , low/ detached , villa,
average/high-priced, townhouse
expensive

In picture A, I can see a modern semi - detached home . It looks quite spacious and probably has
two or three bedrooms. It has a small front garden and a garage . I think it’s reasonably priced .

49
 Developing your speaking skills
•Preferences/Comparisons
Use the ideas from the table and the useful language below to talk about the pros and cons of
houses and flats.

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economical, cheap to heat, easy to lack of space, no garden, offer no

clean, comfortable, cosy , low security privacy, thin walls, noisy, no
risk, conveniently located for public individuality
transport, easy to maintain

lots of storage space, pleasant expensive to maintain, less secure,

surroundings, good investment, roomy
houses isolated, costly to heat, difficult to
clean

О Useful language
a good thing about, one advantage is, one important thing is, the
listing advantages
best thing about

adding advantages/disadvantages moreover, in addition, furthermore, also, as well, too

a bad thing about , one disadvantage is, the worst thing about , it’s
listing disadvantages a bit/rather
contrasting advantages/disadvantages but, however, on the other hand

The best thing about flats is that they are economical. They are cheap to heat and quite easy to maintain.
Often, flats are conveniently located for public transport such as buses and trains. On the other hand , they
can be small and have a lack of space . Also, they have no garden so they are not really suitable for families
with children.

In pairs, discuss which type of dwelling you would and wouldn’t like to live in and why. Use the
ideas from Ex. 2 and the useful language below.

О Useful language
Expressing Preferences Making Comparisons
I’d prefer, I’d rather, I’d like, I’d fancy, I’m keen on, I more (expensive) than, as (expensive) as, less
(don’t) think I’d, I wouldn’t like, I wouldn’t fancy , If I (expensive) than, twice/three times as (expensive) as
had a choice I’d ...

A: I ’d like to live in a flat, as they are economical . They are cheap to heat and easy to maintain.
B: Really? I ’d prefer to live in a house because they ’re usually in pleasant surroundings .

50