CAE Reading and Use of English – Practice Test 4

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 1

For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (А, В, C or D) best fits each gap. There is
an example at the beginning (0).

High notes of the singing Neanderthals

Neanderthals have been misunderstood. The early humanoids traditionally 0characterizedas ape-like brutes
were deeply emotional beings with high-pitched voices. They may 1__________ have sung to each other.
This new image has 2__________ from two studies of the vocal apparatus and anatomy of the creatures that
3__________ Europe between 200,000 and 35,000 years ago.
The research shows that Neanderthal voices might well have produced loud, womanly and highly melodic
sounds - not the roars and grunts previously 4__________ by most researchers. Stephen Mithen, Professor
of Archaeology and author of one of the studies, said: ‘What is emerging is a picture of an intelligent and
emotionally complex creature whose most likely 5__________ of communication would have been part
language and part song.’
Mithen’s work 6__________ with the first detailed study of a reconstructed Neanderthal skeleton.
Anthropologists brought together bones and casts from several sites to re-create the creature. The creature
that emerges would have 7__________ markedly from humans, Neanderthals seem to have had an
extremely powerful 8__________ and no waist.
Example:

0 A characterized B indicated C detailed D accounted

1 A further B just C even D so
2 A revealed B resulted C concluded D happened
3 A resided B dwelt C filled D occupied
4 A judged B assumed C considered D taken
5 A sort B practice C approach D form
6 A coincides B occurs C relates D co-operates
7 A differed B distinguished C compared D contrasted
8 A assembly B formation C build D scheme

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 2

For questions 9-16, read the text below and think o f the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word
in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet
Example: (0) PLACE

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World Book Day

This year’s World Book Day (WBD), which is taking 0__________ on March 2, hopes to encourage
everyone, and especially children, to discover the joy of reading.
Schools and libraries are getting involved, with a packed schedule of events designed 9__________ bring
books to life. There will be writers popping 10__________ schools to read from their books and answer
questions, and story-telling events. Children will also be able to take part in readings 11__________ that
they really have a chance to engage with the books.
As 12__________ as hoping to encourage children to catch the reading bug, WBD also hopes to
13__________ reluctant adults hooked on books. So, 14__________ the first time, World Book Day will
also have an adult focus, with the launch of Quick Reads, 15__________ selection of short, fast-paced
stories by well-known authors. The first set of Quick Reads will be published on World Book Day,
16__________ a further collection of books being released later in the summer.

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 3

For questions 17-24, read the text below. 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. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.
Example: (0) EFFECTIVE

Nordic Walking
Nordic walking is an 0__________ technique that uses poles to bring the upper body 0 EFFECT
into more use and boost the calorie-burning effects of walking. It was 17__________ 17 ORIGIN
devised in Finland by elite cross-country skiers as a way to keep their fitness levels up18 SEE
during the summer. 19 TRAIN
20 WORK
At first 18__________, Nordic walking may look like skiing without the skis - or the 21 NECESSARY
snow. But although, to the 19__________ eye, striding around the local park with a 22 MAXIMUM
pair of poles may look a bit silly, it actually offers a serious 20__________ for people 23 STRONG
of all ages and abilities. You don’t 21_____ have to go faster to get more out of it - 24 ENTIRE
just put in more effort with the poles. The poles, which can be made from aluminium
or carbon fibre, are specially designed to 22__________ the work done by the upper
body. And because Nordic walking is also a weight-bearing exercise, it's great for
23__________ bones and joints. But the best news is that because the effort is spread
across the 24__________ of the body, Nordic walking can actually feel easier and less
tiring than normal walking.

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CAE Reading and Use of English Part 4

For questions 25-30, 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.
Example:(0):I didn’t know the way there, so I got lost.
GET
Not_____________________ there, I got lost.
Answer: KNOWING HOW TO GET
25 Can anyone solve this problem?
COME
Can anyone_____________________ to this problem?
26 I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t contacted you for so long.
HAS
You must_____________________ so long since I contacted you.
27 Are you saying that I’m lying about what happened?
TRUTH
Are you accusing _____________________ about what happened?
28 He made a very quick decision and he didn’t think about the matter enough.
WITHOUT
He made a very quick decision _____________________ to the matter.
29 Recently, the number of people who are out of work has gone down.
DECREASE
Recently, _____________________ the number of people who are out of work.
30 It doesn’t matter how badly he behaved, you shouldn’t have been so rude to him.
HOWEVER
You shouldn’t have been so rude to him, _____________________ was

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 5

You are going to read a newspaper article about trees and leaves. For questions 31-36, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Those brilliant autumn outfits may be saving trees

As trees across the northern areas of the globe turn gold and crimson, scientists are debating exactly what
these colours are for. The scientists do agree on one thing: the colours are for something. That represents a
major shift in thinking. For decades, textbooks claimed that autumn colours were just a by-product of dying

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leaves. 'I had always assumed that autumn leaves were waste baskets' said Dr. David Wilkinson, an
evolutionary ecologist at Liverpool John Moores University in England. 'That’s what I was told as a
student.'
During spring and summer, leaves get their green cast from chlorophyll, the pigment that plays a major role
in capturing sunlight. But the leaves also contain other pigments whose colours are masked during the
growing season. In autumn, trees break down their chlorophyll and draw some of the components back into
their tissues. Conventional wisdom regards autumn colours as the product of the remaining pigments, which
are finally unmasked.
Evolutionary biologists and plant physiologists offer two different explanations for why natural selection
has made autumn colours so widespread. Dr. William Hamilton, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford
University, proposed that bright autumn leaves contain a message: they warn insects to leave them alone.
Dr. Hamilton’s 'leaf signal' hypothesis grew out of earlier work he had done on the extravagant plumage of
birds. He proposed it served as an advertisement from males to females, indicating they had desirable genes.
As females evolved a preference for those displays, males evolved more extravagant feathers as they
competed for mates. In the case of trees, Dr. Hamilton proposed that the visual message was sent to insects.
In the autumn, aphids and other insects choose trees where they will lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch the
next spring, the larvae feed on the tree, often with devastating results. A tree can ward off these pests with
poisons. Dr. Hamilton speculated that trees with strong defences might be able to protect themselves even
further by letting egg-laying insects know what was in store for their eggs. By producing brilliant autumn
colours, the trees advertised their lethality. As insects evolved to avoid the brightest leaves, natural selection
favoured trees that could become even brighter.
'It was a beautiful idea' said Marco Archetti, a former student of Dr. Hamilton who is now at the University
of Fribourg in Switzerland. Dr. Hamilton had Mr. Archetti turn the hypothesis into a mathematical model.
The model showed that warning signals could indeed drive the evolution of bright leaves - at least in theory.
Another student, Sam Brown, tested the leaf-signal hypothesis against real data about trees and insects. ‘It
was a first stab to see what was out there,’ said Dr. Brown, now an evolutionary biologist at the University
of Texas.
The leaf-signal hypothesis has also drawn criticism, most recently from Dr. Wilkinson and Dr. H. Martin
Schaefer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Dr. Wilkinson and other critics
point to a number of details about aphids and trees that do not fit Dr. Hamilton’s hypothesis. Dr. William
Hoch, a plant physiologist at the University of Wisconsin, argues that bright leaves appear on trees that have
no insects to ward off. ‘If you are up here in the north of Wisconsin, by the time the leaves change, all the
insects that feed on foliage are gone’ Dr. Hoch said. In their article, Dr. Schaefer and Dr. Wilkinson argue
that a much more plausible explanation for autumn colours can be found in the research of Dr. Hoch and
other plant physiologists. Their recent work suggests that autumn colours serve mainly as a sunscreen.
Dr. Hamilton’s former students argue that the leaf-signal hypothesis is still worth investigating. Dr. Brown
believes that leaves might be able to protect themselves both from sunlight and from insects. Dr. Brown and
Dr. Archetti also argue that supporters of the sunscreen hypothesis have yet to explain why some trees have

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bright colours and some do not. 'This is a basic question in evolution that they seem to ignore' Dr. Archetti
said. 'Idon’t think it’s a huge concern,' Dr. Hoch replied. 'There’s natural variation for every characteristic.'
Dr. Hamilton’s students and their critics agree that the debate has been useful, because it has given them a
deeper reverence for this time of year. 'People sometimes say that science makes the world less interesting
and awesome by just explaining things away' Dr. Wilkinson said. 'But with autumn leaves, the more you
know about them, the more amazed you are.'
31 What is stated about the colours of autumn leaves in the first two paragraphs?
A There has previously been no disagreement about what causes them.
В The process that results in them has never been fully understood.
C Different colours from those that were previously the norm have started to appear.
D Debate about the purpose of them has gone on for a long time.
32 The writer says that Dr Hamilton’s work has focused on
A the different purposes of different colours.
В the use of colour for opposite purposes.
C the possibility that birds and insects have influenced each other’s behaviour.
D the increased survival rates of certain kinds of tree.
33 Dr Hamilton has suggested that there is a connection between
A the colours of autumn leaves and the behaviour of insects.
B the development of brighter leaves and the reduced numbers of certain types of insect.
C the survival of trees and the proximity of insects to them.
D the brightness of leaves and the development of other defence mechanisms in trees.
34 What is said about the work done by former students of Dr Hamilton?
A Neither of them was able to achieve what they set out to do.
В Mr Archetti felt some regret about the outcome of the work he did.
C Both of them initiated the idea of doing the work.
D Dr Brown did not expect to draw any firm conclusions from his work.
35 Critics of Dr Hamilton’s theory have expressed the view that
A it is impossible to generalise about the purpose of the colours of autumn leaves.
В his theory is based on a misunderstanding about insect behaviour.
C the colours of autumn leaves have a different protective function.
D his theory can only be applied to certain kinds of insect.
36 In the debate between the two groups of people investigating the subject, it has been
suggested that
A something regarded as a key point by one side is in fact not important.
В further research will prove that Dr Hamilton’s theory is the correct one.
C both sides may in fact be completely wrong.
D the two sides should collaborate.

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CAE Reading and Use of English Part 6

You are going to read four extracts from articles on freelance work. For questions 37-40, choose from the
reviews A-D. The extracts may be chosen more than once.

The world of freelance work

Four writers look at the working life of freelancers
A
Anyone contemplating going freelance should bear in mind that to make a real go of it may well involve
working harder than in an employed position. The life doesn't suit everyone and many employed people see
freelancers as a totally different breed of worker, doing something that they couldn't do and wouldn't want
to. Freelancers can find that they have less free time than they used to and that they take on more than they
should out of a reluctance to turn down any offer. Furthermore, they may find themselves working for less
money as they go along, as any rise in the number of freelancers in their field can drive fees down as a
result of competition - some freelancers will be willing to accept low fees just to get work. There are
dangers for companies too: using a large proportion of freelancers can mean that knowledge that is crucial
to the company's operations lies outside the company itself.
В
As more and more people join the freelance workforce, it is perhaps time for an appraisal of this
development. For the freelancers themselves, this means that a higher proportion of the working population
consists of people who are free to decide on their own destinies, surely no bad thing. For companies, the
development allows them ever-increasing flexibility, enabling them to adapt to changing circumstances
quickly rather than having permanent staff who are underemployed at times. Freelance life, as anyone who
does it knows well, is tough in some ways and to do well you need to be highly disciplined and organised,
as well as hard-working and reliable - qualities that not everyone has when they are left to their own
devices. A lot of employed people don't see things that way at all, tending to assume that freelancers have an
easy life in which they can 'pick and choose’ what they do, and may choose to do little.
C
An interesting by-product of companies relying on a significant number of freelancers is that a gap can open
up between those freelancers and the employed personnel on the premises. This can be problematic, for
example with key personnel in a project not on hand immediately if something urgent comes up. On the
other hand, the increasing number of freelancers has big advantages for everyone involved, in a wide range
of areas including flexible hours, child care arrangements and matching personnel to specific requirements.
It is common for employed people to envy freelancers their, perceived freedom compared to their own
situation, but this is largely a myth. To maintain a regular and viable income in freelance work takes effort
and the equation is a simple one of effort and reward - your income depends on how hard you are prepared
to work.
D
Freelancers often take more responsibility for their work than employed staff, who can become bored and

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demotivated, and in this regard it can be said that the more freelancers there are out there, the better it is for
companies. To ensure the smooth running of this set-up, companies need to manage carefully their
relationship with the freelance workforce - a coherent and mutually acceptable attitude needs to be
developed for dealing with people who cannot be treated in the same way as permanent employees. For
freelancers, making a sustainable career can be a nerve-racking business, as it can largely depend on chance
encounters, word-of-mouth information from other freelancers and unexpected approaches from potential
clients. It is this high-risk factor that puts many employees off the idea of going freelance.
Which writer ...
37 expresses a similar view to writer C on the consequences for companies of employing a large number of
freelancers?
38 takes a different view from the others on the desirability of an increase in the number of people
becoming freelancers?
39 takes the same view as writer В on the attitude of employed people to freelance work?
40 has a different opinion from the others on the extent to which freelancers are in control of how
successful they become?

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 7

You are going to read a newspaper article about a space programme. Six paragraphs have been removed
from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A -G the one which fits each gap (41-46). There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use.

How I Became a British Astronaut

May 18, 2009 was a sunny evening - a night that I have good cause to remember. I had recently retired from
the Army Air Corps after an extremely rewarding career of nearly 18 years as a helicopter pilot and the
future looked good - I’d been fortunate to secure a dream job working as a senior test pilot for a private
firm. I had also just completed a year-long selection process for the European Astronaut Corps - an
incredible experience that had opened my eyes to the world of human spaceflight.
41 …
A privately funded multi-million dollar seat as a ‘spaceflight participant’ was unattainable for most. And
opportunities such as the commercially sponsored Project Juno, which launched the first Briton, Helen
Sharman, into space in 1989, were extremely rare.
42 …
This was designed to identify natural ability in various cognitive skills. In reality, this meant around eight
hours of individual computer-based exercises, becoming progressively harder and with only short breaks in
between. Skills such as memory retention, concentration, spatial awareness and coordination were

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evaluated, alongside psychological questionnaires that were to become the benchmark of this selection
process - hundreds of repetitive questions, aimed at ensuring consistency of answers over a long duration.
43 …
Historically, around 50 per cent of candidates fail the exacting medical requirements. Although good
physical fitness is a strong attribute, the medical selection was not looking for potential Olympians. Instead,
it was intended to select those individuals who pose the least risk of having a medical occurrence during
their career. Space is no place to become ill.
44 …
As it happens, the medical selection caused exactly 50 per cent attrition, with failure to meet cardiovascular
and eyesight requirements being the two main causes. Having endured the most gruelling week of my life, I
was delighted to be among the 22 remaining candidates.
45 …
The remainder of the selection process consisted of formal interviews, culminating in the final 10 being
invited to meet ESA’s Director General, Jean Jacques Dordain. That was one month before that sunny
evening in 2009, and I wondered who the lucky few would be. I suspected that I would not be one of them:
an ESA press release had already announced that the new candidates would be presented at ESA
headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. It was Monday night, I had not been contacted and time was getting
tight.
46 …
This was a decision that would affect not just me but also my family. Thankfully, there was no time to dwell
- I had to book a flight to Paris for the following day.
A It was also good to find that there were five British people in the group. Considering that, at the time, the
UK was still in the shadow of a historical government policy not to participate in human spaceflight, it was
encouraging to see the high level of interest regarding this astronaut selection.
В Other skills include being trained to perform spacewalks for external science and maintenance tasks and
to manipulate the robotic arm in order to capture and berth visiting resupply vehicles. Then there is the
medical training, communications skills training, emergency training - the list goes on.
C So when the phone rang and I was offered an opportunity to join the European Astronaut Corps, there
was what can only be described as a wild mix of emotions - elation, excitement, shock and trepidation, due
to an overwhelming realization that I was about to take my first steps down one of life’s major forks in the
road.
D It was interesting to meet the other candidates from all over Europe and to acknowledge the plethora of
diverse career paths that had led us to this common goal. While it is fair to say that the best chances of
success are to have a solid foundation in the core sciences or experience as a pilot, there really is no single

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route to becoming an astronaut - it has more to do with being passionate about what you do and being as
good as you can be.
E Yet that situation changed when the European Space Agency (ESA) announced a selection for a new class
of astronauts in 2008, and UK citizens were eligible to apply. My application joined the pile of nearly
10,000 others, and soon there followed an invitation to Hamburg to begin the testing process.
F During the previous five years working as a military test pilot, I had become much more involved in the
space sector - aviation and space are intrinsically linked and share many similar technologies. However, I
had not seriously contemplated a career as an astronaut, since the options to do so were extremely limited.
G Although the Soyuz spacecraft offers an emergency return to Earth in less than 12 hours from the
International Space Station, this is an absolute last resort. Also, it is not available once a spacecraft has
reached out beyond low Earth orbit.

CAE Reading and Use of English Part 8

You are going to read an article about the design of new stations on the London Underground railway
system. For questions 47-56, choose from the sections of the article (A-D). The sections may be chosen
more than once.
In which section of the article are the following mentioned?
47 the previously unattractive nature of the locations of most of the stations
48 a comparison Paoletti made to illustrate his approach to the JLE project
49 the immediate and massive effect that one of the stations had on its surroundings
50 a description that Paoletti considered not to be wholly accurate
51 a fundamental question concerning the function of station in underground systems
52 an explanation Paoletti gave for why certain comments about the new buildings were incorrect
53 Paoletti’s desire to unite elements that had previously been seen as wholly different from each other
54 personal qualities that enabled Paoletti to tackle the JLE project successfully
55 parts of a station architects were not responsible for in the past
56 Paoletti’s opinion of those previously responsible for designing stations

Roland Paoletti
An architect who revolutionized the lives of London's commuters
A Roland Paoletti was the driving force behind the dramatic, award-winning stations on the ?3 billion
Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) to the London Underground system, the most ambitious building programme
on the Tube for many decades. An irascible Anglo-Italian, Paoletti possessed the persuasiveness and
tenacity to take on the vested political interests at play in the planning of the 10-mile Jubilee Line Extension
to ensure good design and innovation. Historically, architects employed on Tube projects had been restricted
to ‘fitting out’ the designs of railway and civil engineers with few or no aesthetic concerns, and whom

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Paoletti dismissed as visionless ‘trench-diggers’. The Jubilee line would be unique in that for the first time
the architects would be responsible for designing entire underground stations.
В As the commissioning architect in overall charge, Paoletti’s approach was to let light flood down into the
stations along the line. The project’s centrepiece was the extraordinary huge new station at Canary Wharf,
designed by Norman Foster and Partners to handle up to 40,000 passengers an hour at peak times.
‘Everybody keeps saying that it’s like a cathedral,’ complained Paoletti. ‘They’re wrong. It actually is a
cathedral.’ Explaining his approach to designing underground stations, Paoletti likened the Jubilee line to
architectural free-form jazz, the stations responding to their different contexts as dramatic variations on a
theme. Instead of uniformity, Paoletti envisaged variety achieved in the beauty of raw materials like
concrete, and the architectural power of simple, large spaces for robust and practical stations.
C He procured the most talented individual architects he could find to design 11 new stations along the line,
creating a unique variety of architectural statement pieces - notably different but all beautiful - in what had
been a largely desolate stretch off urban east London. ‘For the price of an underground ticket,’ he promised,
‘you will see some of the greatest contributions to engineering and architecture worldwide.’ Paoletti’s
sweeping vision did not disappoint. With their swagger and individualism, the stations have been widely
acclaimed as a tour de force in public transport architecture.
D In pressing for a seamless marriage between architecture and engineering, Paoletti was concerned to
make the stations pleasing to the eye, and the daily grind of commuters using them as uplifting an
experience as possible. The result was generally reckoned to be the finest set of stations since the classic
designs for the Piccadilly line by Charles Holden In the 1930s. In Holden’s day, design stopped at the top of
the escalators leading down to the platforms, a symptom of the Tube’s tradition of treating architecture and
engineering as separate disciplines. From the start Paoletti promised ‘a symbiosis of architecture and
engineering’ throughout. This is particularly evident at Westminster station, where Michael Hopkins solved
structural difficulties by designing fantastic supporting structures redolent of science-fiction - what Paoletti
called ‘engineering that expresses itself as architecture ... in which people can delight’.
E He wanted the designs of the JLE stations to have a uniformity of voice, or, as he put it, ‘a philosophical
uniformity’. Paoletti contrasted the drama of MacCormac Jamieson Prichard’s design for Southwark station
with the vast glass drum of Ron Herron’s Canada Water station, intended as a response to the area’s
bleakness, ‘a big, splendid beacon that has transformed the area from a wasteland almost overnight’. To
critics who complained about the expense of these grand designs, Paoletti pointed out that the same cut-and-
cover, box-station design that allowed his architects a free hand with their various structures also saved
London Underground millions in tunnelling costs. ‘In any case,’ he noted, ‘you have to decide at the
beginning whether you’re going to see an underground station as a kind of vehicular underpass that happens
to have people in it, or whether it’s a building; a building with some other kind of job to do, like making
people comfortable.

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