C1 Advanced

Progress Test 1

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

I love going to talks and discussions by inspirational speakers. Last month I heard that my university was
going to (1) _____ a debate on the psychological effects of social networking. I was amazed to find such a
large audience already seated when I arrived; it was standing (2) _____ only. I squeezed in and stood at the
back eagerly awaiting the event to begin. The host of the debate introduced the speakers, all of whom are
(3) _____ academics in their field. Before the debate started the host reminded the speakers not to interrupt
each other and explained the (4) _____ of the conversation. In other words, the participants were told not to
stray off the topic. As the discussion started, the audience fell silent and listened attentively. The first
speaker explained her opinions clearly and with great (5) _____, which made me wish that I could speak so
skilfully. She highlighted the fact that those of us who approach social networking with a (6) _____ attitude,
are less likely to have it negatively impact their happiness. The second speaker disagreed with her, but in my
view his outburst was quite rude and (7) _____. He could have made his point more politely rather than
speaking in such a (8) _____ tone of voice. Anyway, I think the audience felt the same way as he received a
much less (9) _____ round of applause at the end of the discussion. Overall, it was an extremely thought-
provoking debate and I am glad I went. (10) _____, when the talk was over, we were asked to give our
feedback via the university’s social media!

1 A set B make C hold D give

2 A space B room C expanse D capacity
3 A run-down B far-fetched C built up D highly-regarded
4 A dimension B parameters C vicinity D restrictions
5 A eloquence B banter C gossip D unease
6 A juvenile B grown C childish D mature
7 A uncharitable B reticent C monotonous D meaningful
8 A ineffective B witty C harsh D soothing
9 A expected B enthusiastic C exclusive D unrealistic
10 A Actually B Generally C Appallingly D Ironically

…….../10

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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 They started building their house ten months ago.

HAVE
They __________________________ ten months.

2 I share my parents’ belief that education is extremely important.

IN
Like my parents, __________________________ of education.

3 Despite their promise, the council has not built a new rail station.
AS
Although the council promised to build a new rail station, __________________________
has not been built.

4 When I went to university I met people from other countries for the first time.
HAD
Before going to university__________________________ from other countries.

5 Some children’s verbal skills are very poor and it’s important to spend time with these children.
WHOSE
It’s important to spend more time with __________________________ very poor.

6 The children that did well had had more interaction with their parents in the early years.
THOSE
The children that did well __________________________ more interaction with their

parents in the early years.

7 When you arrive, my neighbour will let you in because I have to work at that time.
BE
When you arrive I __________________________ so my neighbour will let you in.

8 Expressing himself clearly is difficult for him.

FINDS
He __________________________ himself clearly.

9 It upsets me when you shout at me!

STAND
I __________________________ when you shout at me!

10 Lina didn’t forget to do her homework, Sara did.

WAS
__________________________ who forgot to do her homework.

…….../10

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Progress Test 1

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Section 3: Listening
3 01 You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B or C) which
fits best according to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.

Extract 1
You hear someone talking about moving house.
1 How did the speaker feel about the move?
A He doubted whether downsizing would be achievable.
B He found the experience completely overwhelming.
C He was relieved to dispose of many of his belongings.
2 How does he feel about his new flat?
A He hates the uncluttered space.
B It can seem very enclosed and cramped.
C He enjoys spending time in it.

Extract 2
You hear someone talking about their dream house.
3 How did the speaker feel about her dream home?
A She had nightmarish dreams about it.
B She was horrified by the size.
C It made her feel nervous at times.
4 What is the best thing about the house for the speaker?
A Being able to accommodate some heirlooms.
B Being able to get rid of some of the larger furniture she owned.
C Having the room to store away larger possessions.

Extract 3
You hear someone talking about moving house.
5 What is the speaker’s opinion about city centre living?
A It can be unexpectedly quiet.
B He loves the range of amenities.
C He can’t wait to escape from it.
6 What does the speaker say about the proximity of other buildings?
A It gives him the sensation of feeling trapped.
B It doesn’t spoil the other benefits of city life.
C It makes him want to move out of the inner city.

…….../6

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Section 4: Reading
4 Read the article. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best
according to the text.

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How to have a conversation
Is conversation a dying art, struck down by text, email and messaging? And do we really need to be taught
how to talk to each other? I enrolled in a class at the School of Life, an academy of ‘self-help’, to find out.
The topic was ‘How to have a conversation’.
The basics of this were first described by the ancient Roman writer Cicero, which can be summarised as
follows: speak clearly, do not interrupt, be courteous, never criticise people behind their backs, stick to
subjects of general interest, do not talk about yourself and, above all, never lose your temper.
I had arrived about twenty minutes early but the rest of the class was already there. One woman kindly
invited me into her circle. She was finding it hard to have meaningful relationships. Technology was partly to
blame: ‘Sometimes you feel the smartphone is like a third person,’ she said. Another new acquaintance
agreed and described how immediate access to Google had blocked off avenues of conversation with her
boyfriend. ‘Before we would argue about this or that but now we just look it up on Wikipedia,’ she said.
There was general unease about how email, instant messaging and texting had crept into the space formerly
occupied by conversation. ‘What was the point,’ asked a young man, ‘of asking how someone’s day was
when you’ve been emailing them from the office?’ My classmates also spoke of more personal reasons for
their attendance. An IT worker in her fifties had found that her conversations with her husband ‘wandered’
and wanted to learn ways to become a better partner. A man in his late twenties said he wanted to have
fewer rows with his girlfriend. These aims seemed disappointingly unambitious to me. I had hopes of
becoming a witty and intellectual conversationalist. But none of my new friends shared this desire. It was the
simple act of talking and listening and learning that my classmates sought. Our discussion was interrupted
by the arrival of our teacher, Cathy Haynes. Haynes flicked to the first slide in her PowerPoint presentation
and we sat attentively as she talked about how the nature of conversation had changed over the past 300
years.
Then we were told to break off into pairs and answer the question: Which three words describe your
conversations with (a) friends, (b) family and (c) colleagues? My partner said banter, sarcastic and sporadic
were the words he would use to describe all three types of conversation. Before I had a chance to share my
three words, it was time for a break.
After an enjoyable ten minutes spent chatting to my classmates and discovering more about their motives for
joining the class, we were told to retake our seats. Haynes continued her PowerPoint presentation, asking us
to reflect on a René Magritte painting, a comedy sketch and a book about marriage. All of these examples
were meant to encourage us to stop seeing conversations as a means to an end and to avoid stereotyping
the other person.
Some useful advice followed on the ‘six ways to have a better conversation’. These, according to the school,
are: (1) Be curious about others. (2) Take off your mask. (3) Empathise with others. (4) Get behind the job
title. (5) Use adventurous openings. (6) Have courage.
Then it was time to put some of these ideas into practice. In groups, we had to try out ideas for unusual
openings. A man in his early twenties, who joked that he had thought of this before, suggested as a chat-up
line: ‘Tell me something I want to know.’ A more challenging opener came from another group member: ‘If
you were coming to the end of your life, what would you have wanted to have achieved?’
After this enjoyable burst of role play, Haynes put up a slide that said: What conversation are you not
having? and then it was all over. Once the class structure had been dismantled, conversation seemed to
dwindle.
Despite our excellent teacher, I suspect the class was too abstract to be useful. Nearly three-quarters of the
session were spent listening to theories of conversation. Genuine discussions were stopped in mid-flow, with
the class asked to return its attention to the presentation. There was a touching eagerness to share ideas
but frustration grew as our time ran out. What I suspect my classmates had hoped to find was that most
basic thing: human connection. But I doubt the class had made this any more achievable.

Read the article. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best
according to the text.

1 The writer joined the course in order to

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A develop an ability to talk about anything.
B learn about the history of the art of conversation.
C understand the skills required for conversation.
D see if people can learn how to converse more effectively.

2 The other course participants

A were attending for a variety of reasons.
B had similar reasons to the writer for attending.
C felt that technology had ruined their lives.
D needed to regain confidence when talking to other people.

3 How did the writer feel about the other participants?

A He thought their ambitions were seriously flawed.
B He thought their personal reasons were ridiculous.
C He was disillusioned by their lack of ambition.
D He was uninterested in their personal relationships.

4 After the initial presentation by Cathy Haynes, the writer

A enjoyed discussing styles of conversation with another participant.
B told his partner that his conversations were somewhat sarcastic.
C had further informative discussions with other participants.
D was energised by the break from the presentation.

5 The writer found the ideas presented for improving conversation

A challenging to apply to his own conversation.
B involved more interesting ways to start conversations.
C were unlikely to work successfully in reality.
D were most effective during the group work.

6 What was the writer’s final verdict on the course?

A It would have been more useful if there had been fewer interruptions.
B It had not addressed fully enough most people’s aims.
C It should have focused more on human connections.
D Its theoretical approach helped to clarify problems encountered by participants.

…….../6

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 C1 Advanced
Progress Test 1

Section 5: Writing
5 Complete the proposal to improve tourist facilities in a town with the phrases in the box.

by recommending could be increased established go on to must be encouraged

should be the majority of them therefore suggest to be addressed will assess would
seem to be

Introduction
In this proposal I (1) _____________________ the current facilities for tourists in our town, then
(2) _____________________ identify areas which can be enhanced and conclude
(3) _____________________ some improvements.

Current situation
Feedback from visitors to our town indicates that (4) _____________________ feel there are certain areas
which are deemed to be rather unattractive, and as such they would not recommend our town to their
friends. Most of their complaints seem to concern the lack of parking spaces and the high cost of parking in
the town centre. The second biggest problem (5) _____________________ that the quay and harbour
areas, which were previously considered our main selling points, are rather dilapidated with many vacant
shops, which makes these areas highly unappealing to visitors. Visitors’ also comment that there is a
complete shortage of quality cafés and restaurants, and, as for the museum, people say that it is
predominantly closed and is home to only one gift shop which is largely stocked with outdated and
expensive souvenirs. As long as this situation persists, it is likely that visitors will continue to be dissatisfied
and visitor numbers will, as a result, diminish further.

Key points (6) _____________________

The parking problems and the quay area are the two factors which are having a particularly negative effect
on our visitors and discouraging them from returning or recommending our town to others.

Recommendations
I would (7) _____________________ the following to the Council Tourist Committee:

• A free out-of-town park-and-ride service

(8) _____________________ immediately to alleviate the parking problems.
• More businesses (9) ____________________ to open up in the quay area by offering more attractive
rental deals to entice new businesses to relocate to the area.
• Ensure that the museum has regular opening hours, which will inevitably mean recruiting more staff.
• The number of visitors to key sites of interest (10) _____________________ by introducing a town
sightseeing and discount card.

…….../10

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Section 6: Speaking
6 Talk to your teacher about yourself. You should:
• say whether you prefer living in a small town or a large city and why.
• describe how you would feel if you had no telephone or internet connectivity.
• say how you think your life has changed over the past five years.
• say if you would like to live to be 100 or not and why.

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:

said whether they prefer living in a small town or a large city and why. 1 2

described how they would feel without a telephone or internet connectivity. 1 2

said how they think their life has changed over the past five years. 1 2

said if they would like to live to be 100 or not and why. 1 2

…….../8

TOTAL…….../50

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