C1 Advanced

Progress Test 3

Section 1: Vocabulary
1 Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Since retail sales of our new product line have (1) _____ slightly in the last few weeks, we are going to ask
our customers to complete feedback forms to see why this is happening. I would particularly like to know if
our marketing (2) _____ has been alienating our (3) _____ customers. In all (4) _____ , it is the result of a
general economic dip but we need to make sure as several customers have raised objections about the (5)
_____ campaign we have been running. The fact that the campaign has been successful in attracting new
customers is of no (6) _____ because I do not want to lose the long-term ones. These customers are (7)
_____ the most valuable to the company so they need to be retained at all costs. This is especially true
given that social media can pose a great risk to a company’s reputation as it is very easy for one person (8)
_____ themselves, to publicly announce a company’s failings.

 1 A overtaken B reached C declined D risen

 2 A placement B technique C launch D strategy
 3 A loyal B rapport C intrinsic D reasonable
 4 A possibility B likelihood C prospects D tendency
 5 A advertising B promoting C selling D publicising
 6 A effort B consequence C worth D conclusion
 7 A adequately B doubtfully C remarkably D unquestionably
 8 A as B for C by D with

…….../8

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3

Section 2: Grammar
2 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 two and five words, including
the word given.

1 It was only because the salesperson was so persuasive that I bought the phone.
NOT
I __________________________ if the salesperson hadn’t been so persuasive.
2 ‘You’re going to get the promotion,’ his colleague said.
TOLD
His colleague __________________________ get the promotion.
3 You can contact him in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays if you wish to.
SHOULD
He is in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays, __________________________ him.
4 After much consideration, we decided to fly because it takes longer to go by train.
CONSIDERING
We __________________________ by train, but because of the time we decided to fly.
5 I have an invitation from them to travel to Australia with them.
INVITED
They __________________________ to Australia with them.
6 My boss claimed that I broke the photocopier.
ACCUSED
My boss __________________________ the photocopier.
7 Unfortunately, Claire didn’t have time to drive me to the station, despite her promise.
THAT
Claire promised __________________________ to the station, but she didn’t have time.
8 I’ll be very angry if I lose my job because of your mistake.
WERE
I’d be very angry __________________________ my job because of your mistake.

…….../8

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3

Section 3: Listening
3  03  You will hear five short extracts in which people are talking about forgetfulness. Listen to all five
extracts. While you listen, you must complete both tasks.

Task 1
For questions 1–5, choose from the list (A–H) what the result of each speaker’s forgetfulness is.

A being unable to do something

B failing to deal with a problem
C feeling very worried
D appearing to be stupid
E being unable to get a message across  
F disappointing someone
G ending a relationship
H infuriating someone

Speaker 1 (1)
Speaker 2 (2)
Speaker 3 (3)
Speaker 4 (4)
Speaker 5 (5)

Task 2
For questions 6-10, choose from the list (A-H) the way each speaker chose to deal with the problem.

A taking photos of what they wish to recall

B recalling something connected to what they wish to remember
C recollecting the original learning experience
D acquiring a technological aid
E writing lists on small pieces of paper  
F having short written reminders
G creating an image of what’s around them
H using a series of different techniques

Speaker 1 (6)
Speaker 2 (7)
Speaker 3 (8)
Speaker 4 (9)
Speaker 5 (10)
…….../10

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3

Section 4: Reading
4 Read the article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs
A–G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

 A In fact, it turns out that people do prefer ice creams with names including back vowels. In another
study researchers had participants read a description of a new ice cream.

 B They downloaded a list of eighty-one ice cream flavours and a list of 592 cracker brands from a dieting
website. For each list, the total number of front vowels and the total number of back vowels was
counted. The result was that the ice cream names indeed contained more back vowels and the
cracker names had more front vowels.
 
C In one study, for example, they created pairs of made-up product names that were identical except for
having front vowels or back vowels. People were then asked to say which of a number of hypothetical
products seemed bigger or smaller, or heavier or lighter.
 
D Unbelievable as it may seem, the sounds that human beings make when they are happy or contented
are very similar to the instinctive purring of a cat or the wagging of a dog’s tail. Of course, the sounds
and facial expressions which human beings produce are capable of expressing extremely subtle
nuances of meaning, unlike sounds in the animal world.

 E Of course, smiling in humans has evolved into a means of expressing many shades of enjoyment and
other emotional meanings, just as back vowels have become part of a rich system for expressing
complex meanings by combining sounds into words.
 
F This link of high pitch with deference or friendliness may also explain the origin of the smile. We make
a smile by retracting the corners of the mouth and this shrinks the size of the front cavity in the mouth,
just like the vowels in mint or bean.

G The vowels in words like cheese or bean, mint or slim are front vowels made by holding the tongue
high up in the front part of the mouth. By contrast, the vowels in large, cold, poor and butter are back
vowels.

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3
A product by any other name might not taste so sweet, creamy, rich or crunchy.

William Shakespeare’s Juliet was only partially correct when she observed ‘a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet’. Sounds don’t generally tell you what a word means but they do influence how people
perceive things. Known as ‘sound symbolism’, this phenomenon has been most closely studied in relation to
the difference between two kinds of vowels, front vowels and back vowels.

1 _____

Linguists have noted that these often occur in words that refer to big, fat, heavy things. They do not, on the
other hand, appear in words that refer to small, thin, light things. This is not always true but it’s a tendency
that researchers have found in many words in many different languages.

2 _____

In each case, the participants in the study tended to choose those named by back vowels as larger, heavier,
thicker and darker, a finding with important implications for marketing executives. Logically it would be better
for them to give their ice cream brands names with these vowels and thus convey the idea that their
products are heavy and rich.

3 _____

Half the participants read a version where the ice cream was called Frish (front vowel) and the other half
read a version where it was called Frosh (back vowel), but the descriptions were otherwise identical. Asked
their opinions, the ‘Frosh people’ rated their ice cream as smoother, creamier and richer than the ‘Frish
people’, and were more likely to say they would buy it. But does this hold true for real brand names?
Researchers came up with a clever way of finding out whether it does or not.

4 _____

So, what’s going on? Is there any reason why front vowels should be associated with small, thin, light
things? By the same token, why do back vowels make us think of big, solid, heavy things? The most widely
accepted theory, the Frequency Theory, suggests that low frequencies (low pitch) and high frequencies
(high pitch) are associated with particular meanings.

Mammals and birds tend to use low-frequency sounds when they are aggressive or hostile but use higher-
frequency sounds when frightened, appeasing or friendly. Since larger animals naturally make deeper
sounds and smaller animals naturally make high-pitched sounds, the idea is that animals try to appear larger
when they are competing or aggressive but try to appear smaller and less threatening when they are not.

5 _____

In fact, the similarity in mouth position between smiling and the vowel i explains why we say cheese when
we take pictures; I is the smiling vowel.

The theory is thus that smiling evolved as a way for mammals in competitive situations to make the voice
sound more high-pitched, so as to make the smiler appear smaller and less aggressive, and hence friendlier.

6 _____

Something similarly beautiful was created as saltpetre, snow, sherbet and salt were combined to create the
sweet lusciousness of ice cream, something that makes us all smile on a hot summer day.

…….../6

Section 5: Writing

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3
5 Choose the correct alternatives to complete the report.

Employee satisfaction with training courses

Introduction
The principal (1) points/purposes/aims/targets of this report are to provide an overview of employee opinions
about the company training scheme over the past year, to identify areas that (2) must/want/need/desire
improving and to recommend other courses which employees would find useful in the future.

Survey results
Employees were
(3) responded/enquired/demanded/requested to complete questionnaires about their training courses and
were also interviewed by my colleagues about their experiences.
(4) While/During/Despite/Yet the majority of those (5) that/whose/which/where opinions we sought found the
courses satisfactory, around ten percent (6) commented/uttered/ expressed/articulated total dissatisfaction
with the courses they had attended. Just under twenty percent were somewhat dissatisfied with their course,
stating that it was not relevant to their current position in the company. Nearly half of those
(7) reviewed/surveyed/scanned/queried, who had participated in external training courses, believed that the
course not only wasted valuable working time, but also could have been shorter and still just as effective.

(8) With regard/Concerning/Bearing in mind/As far to in-house training, a third of the participants felt these
courses were less effective because they were often contacted by members of their teams about problems
during course breaks, which made it difficult to concentrate. Just over half of the respondents requested
more comprehensive IT training, especially since the roll-out of the new system a month ago.

Recommendations
(9) Anyhow/Moreover/In addition/Notwithstanding the fact that the majority of staff were satisfied with their
courses, several problems have been highlighted and need to be addressed. (10) Coincidentally/In all
likelihood/Bear that in mind/I am of the opinion that the company should:

● ensure that all courses are relevant to the staffing requirements.

● investigate the possibility of offering staff more online, instead of external, courses to reduce the time
spent away from work.

● assess the value of the in-house programmes with a view to limiting interruptions.

…….../10

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 3
Section 6: Speaking

6 Talk to your teacher about some of your experiences and opinions. You should:
• give your views on the benefits of travelling for young people
• say if you agree with people who believe that advertising is a form of brainwashing and give reasons.
• describe the kind of advice you would give someone who is bad at remembering people’s names.
• outline the advantages and disadvantages of working alone rather than in a team.

Your teacher will mark your presentation using the scorecard below. The teacher circles 1 mark if a
student includes the area and circles 2 marks for communicating it accurately and effectively. There is a
maximum of 8 marks.

The student:

gave their views on the benefits of travelling for young people. 1 2

said if they agreed that advertising is a form of brainwashing and gave reasons. 1 2

described the kind of advice they would give someone with a poor memory. 1 2

outlined the advantages and disadvantages of working alone rather than in a team. 1 2

……../8

TOTAL………/50

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