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You're listening to Luke's English Podcast.
Hello, listeners.
So a few episodes ago, I did a C1 grammar test, which I found online.
It was episode 949 called Let's Do a C1 Grammar Test.
And perhaps I didn't make this point clearly enough during the episode.
But part of the reason that I did that is because I wanted to show that the test that I did in the episode was basically a scam.
And I wanted to make the point that a lot of tests that you find online if you just Google something like English grammar test a lot of those tests are basically useless.
Some of those websites are just out to take your money.
And testing your level of English accurately is a complicated business which does get to the heart of what it really means to be good at English.
So that was actually the point I wanted to make.
And I probably didn't make it quite accurate. as clearly as I intended.
The test which I did in the episode wasn't really appropriate for a C1 level and in fact quite a lot of people made that point in the comments.
Lots of people were talking about how easy it was and how it wasn't really a genuinely C1 test.
It was more like an intermediate test with questions that covered language points more suited to yeah, an intermediate level, not enough range of English usage in the test and a multiple choice format that doesn't really test language level.
But also yes, the test was basically a scam, promising a certificate and detailed feedback on your results but then surprising you with a 10 charge when you completed the test.
Right.
But still, it did let me cover a few different grammar points, which was which was fine.
But in this episode today, I want to do another test which is much more reliable, more challenging and also subject to proper testing methodology.
So in this episode.
I'm going to do some parts of the CAE exam.
That's the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English.
This is a widely recognised test.
It's recognised by universities, employers, immigration authorities all around the world.
As its name suggests, it's a C1 level exam.
According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, this is a proper test developed by a respected academic authority on language testing.
So this episode by the way, although I'm going to be covering parts of the CAE exam, this doesn't really count as proper CAE preparation.
Maybe I will do other episodes or perhaps even an exam course about this later.
And I have taught lots of CAE courses, preparation courses, over the years, but this isn't really CAE preparation.
What we're going to do is just look at a sample of the test, and it will be a chance to learn some English from it too.
Proper exam preparation involves not just English skills, but exam skills too.
And I'm talking about strategies for taking each part of the test.
So, the CAE exam is long.
It's in four sections, listening, reading, and use of English, speaking, and writing.
It tests a wide range of skills and sub-skills across those four areas.
So it's not just about whether you know or can recognise specific grammar points on paper, but instead it does actually show how you can apply your skills in a variety of ways, both productive and receptive, as well as being able to control and manipulate language effectively and accurately.
So it's the real deal, basically the whole test.
If you do the entire thing, The whole test takes around four hours and is often done over several days, with the speaking part being done separately on a different date.
It's very challenging.
So in this episode, I'm just going to do half of one of those sections from the test.
I'm going to dip into the reading and use of English section and in fact just do the four use of English parts.
So, yeah, reading...
Reading and use of English, listening, speaking, writing.
So we're just going to look at use of English.
What is use of English?
So this is the closest that this test comes to being a grammar test, basically.
Similar kind of to the one I did before, but it's not just multiple choice.
It includes different types of exercise that show how well you can control your grammar and vocabulary.
There are four parts.
I'll introduce you to each part as we do the test.
The whole thing is probably supposed to take about 40 minutes.
The reading and use of English section as a whole is in seven parts four use of English parts and then three reading parts.
We won't be doing the reading parts today, but the whole thing takes about an hour and a half.
So if we do just the four use of English parts I think probably it would take you about 40 or 45 minutes to do that on the day.
But that section, the bit we're going to do today, only accounts for about 15 of the whole test, in fact.
So I'm going to use the sample test from the Cambridge English website for this.
There they have several tests which you can download and use, and there are digital versions too.
So this is the official Cambridge English website. website for the Advanced English Certificate.
I'll go through each question.
I'll read out the task.
I'll let you consider the answers and then I'll give my answers and comments and we'll see how many things I get right.
Although, of course, I'm going to get everything right.
Or will I?
We'll see.
Sometimes...
Even as an English teacher, I do get the questions wrong occasionally, which does show that you know, everyone gets challenged by a test like this.
So I try to follow along with me and think really clearly about each question.
I'll sum up the English that came up in the test at the end, so I'll go through Lots of phrases and bits of grammar and stuff at the end.
And I'm sure that there will be loads of lovely chunks of very useful English that come out of this.
So without further ado, let's go.
Let's get started.
So we're going to go to the Cambridge English dot org website for C1 advanced preparation.
Scrolling down to look at the sample tests.
There's a sample listening test and then sample reading and use of English.
Let's click on that and get started.
Okay, so part one then, and we're just going to do the first four parts.
Part one, we can see it says questions one to eight.
For each question, choose the correct answer for each gap.
Pretty simple stuff.
There's a text about studying black bears.
And if you ever do this test, there's a few different ways that you should approach it.
First of all, you've got to remember to look at the whole text and look at the meaning surrounding each gap.
This is really important because there are language clues on both sides of the gap and often those clues appear maybe later in the sentence.
I understand it's difficult if English is not your first language to do this, but I'm going to try and talk through my process.
So the text is about studying bears, studying black bears.
So it's going to be about a man's approach to doing scientific studies on bears.
So let's start reading.
After years studying North America's black bears in the conventional way, wildlife biologist Luke Robertson felt no closer to understanding the creatures.
Okay, You can see it's testing a few things.
First of all, your ability to understand the rest of the text, right?
So he studied black bears for years, but even after that, he felt no closer to understanding them.
So after studying them for years, he still didn't really understand them.
Then we've got the first gap, which is coming up.
He realised that he had to blank their trust.
He realised that he had to, hmm, their trust.
So he had to what?
He had to get their trust, right?
Now, I'm not even looking at the multiple choice options here.
I'm just considering what might fill that gap.
And this is a really important thing to do when you take a test like this.
You've got to look around the gap and just start to predict what you think should go in there.
So it's probably something like get their trust.
But you've got to think in English, what verb collocates with the word trust?
Do we always get someone's trust or get something's trust?
Well, we probably gain someone's trust, win someone's trust, maybe earn someone's trust.
So this is really about collocations.
What verbs go with the word trust, meaning to get someone's trust?
Let's have a look at the options.
So we have catch their trust, win their trust, achieve their trust, or receive their trust.
Now, the tricky thing about this is that they all have a very similar meaning.
So we're talking about shades of meaning.
They all have a similar meaning, but it's actually about collocations.
And collocations, this is really about frequency.
What typically is the verb that goes with the word trust?
I said before gain, earn, win.
Well, the answer is win.
Even though all of these things essentially mean the same thing, they mean obtain.
Basically, win is the answer because this is the word that is frequently used with the word trust.
We win someone's trust, gain someone's trust.
But win is the option we're given.
So that's the answer.
Abandoning scientific detachment, he took the daring step of forming relationships with the animals, bringing them food to gain their acceptance.
OK, number two the something this has given him into their behaviour has allowed him to dispel certain myths about bears.
So the something this has given him into their behaviour.
So making friends with them, offering them food and so on.
This has given him something into their behaviour.
So it's probably helped him to.
Again, you can see that you've got to look at the general meaning in order to guess something accurately, what the word might be.
And before we look at the multiple choice options, let's just consider what the word might be.
So the understanding this has given him into their behavior.
It could be understanding.
Let's see what options we've got.
So the perception, the awareness, the insight, the vision.
Again, You can see how similar these words are in terms of their meaning.
Perception, the perception this has given him into their behaviour.
Now you've also got to think about.
So there's meaning clues like the specific meaning, but also there are other clues that tell you the right answer as well.
In this case, we've got the preposition into.
OK, and you've got to think about what prepositions go with these nouns.
Now, we normally would say the perception of something, your awareness of something, your vision of something.
But it's your insight into something.
So insight is the right answer because of the preposition into something right, the in the insight this has given him into their behavior.
We you, you get insight into something.
That's why that's the right answer.
Um, so you can see, there's definitely english to pick up from this.
We've got, you know, to win someone's trust, to gain someone's trust, to gain someone's acceptance and uh, to give someone insight into something.
This is how english works.
It is a really a system of these patterns.
Third sentence.
Something to popular belief.
So the first word is the missing word.
Something to popular belief.
So blank to popular belief.
He contends that bears do not blank as much for fruit as previously supposed.
So something to popular belief.
Now, this, I would say, is a fixed phrase.
OK, this is this is a fixed phrase.
Something to popular belief.
Have you ever heard this phrase?
The answer is it's contrary to popular belief.
Again, I would just describe that as a fixed phrase opposite to popular belief.
It means the same thing.
So it's essentially it means this is what most people believe.
This is popular belief.
But the actual fact is different to that.
And it's a fixed phrase, contrary to popular belief.
There it is a very common fixed phrase meaning when something is different to what most people think.
Contrary to popular belief, he contends, so he believes.
He says he thinks that bears do not as much for fruit as previously supposed.
Right.
It's quite difficult to understand this, isn't it?
Potentially.
It's quite complex language.
But you have to understand that this means that he thinks that bears don't like fruit, as previously supposed.
They don't like fruit as much as we first thought.
So now we're looking for an expression which means that bears don't like fruit.
They don't like it as much as we thought before.
So they do not, again, we've got the preposition here and it's for.
So they don't for fruit.
Now you would say, I don't like fruit, but I don't for fruit.
I don't care for fruit.
Okay, that's the phrase.
It's not, I don't bother for fruit.
I don't bother about fruit.
I don't desire fruit.
I don't hope for fruit.
But that doesn't mean what we want.
We want something that means like, and the answer is care for.
OK, they don't care as much for fruit as previously supposed.
How are you doing, listeners?
Are you able to follow this?
I understand it's quite difficult sometimes to follow a language test.
When I'm just reading it out and how are you getting on with the answers?
You can see this one is certainly more challenging and more appropriate for a C1 English test.
Let's continue.
Number five.
He also claims that they are ferocious.
He also says.
Something claims that they are ferocious.
The claims are that bears are ferocious.
Ferocious meaning very aggressive and fierce and dangerous.
So he something claims they are ferocious.
So he disagrees with claims.
He disputes claims.
He disagrees with or disputes claims.
What is it?
Well, there it is.
The answer is there is disputes.
But why not the others?
He concludes claims that they're ferocious doesn't really mean anything.
Especially when you read the rest of the text, which goes on to say how we shouldn't misunderstand the behaviour of bears.
Behaviour that looks aggressive in fact isn't really aggressive.
So we do need something similar to disagrees and it's disputes.
He reasons, claims that they are ferocious.
Reasons means thinks, but the sentence wouldn't be complete if we used reasons.
It would be he reasons, claims that they are ferocious are wrong.
That would be correct.
Similar with argues and concludes.
He concludes claims that they're ferocious are wrong.
He argues claims they are ferocious are wrong.
It's disputes, which means he disagrees with.
He also disputes claims that they are ferocious.
He says that people should not be by behaviour such as swatting paws on the ground, as this is defensive rather than an aggressive act.
So people should not be by behaviour. such as swatting paws on the ground.
You can see, there's a complex interplay between understanding the overall meaning of this and looking at the specific wording which is used.
And you're constantly shifting between looking at the general meaning And looking at the structures and words that are used to convey that.
Which, again, shows me that this is a proper test.
So, people should not be what?
By behaviour such as swatting paws on the ground.
Swatting paws on the ground.
This is, I suppose, something that bears do when they are defensive.
It means hitting their feet on the ground.
Paws are the...
A paw is a word we use to describe a bear's foot, right?
Swatting paws on the ground is sort of like hitting their paws on the ground.
This is a defensive rather than an aggressive act.
People should not be distracted by this behaviour.
They should not be put off by this behaviour.
They shouldn't be made to misunderstand something.
So we're looking for a word that means that, like made to think the wrong thing.
So let's look at the options.
It's either they shouldn't be misguided by this behaviour, they shouldn't be misled by this behaviour, they shouldn't be misdirected by this behaviour, or they shouldn't be misinformed by this behaviour.
That's pretty difficult.
Again, shades of meaning.
Let's look at each option.
They shouldn't be misinformed by this behavior.
That's wrong, because normally misinformed, you're misinformed by news, by information that you read, by fake news.
Right, misdirected is more about your attention.
So when a magician does a magic trick okay, a lot of what that involves is misdirection.
So they make you look at one hand while they do something quickly with their other hand.
So you're being misdirected.
Misled is actually the right answer.
This means that you're made to think the wrong thing.
And misguided means that you are given the wrong advice.
OK, so you can see very subtle shades of meaning, but misled is the right one.
People shouldn't be misled by bears behaviour.
Made to think the wrong thing.
Moving on.
However, Robertson is no sentimentalist, meaning he's not sentimental about bears.
He doesn't think that they're warm, fluffy teddy bears.
After devoting years of his life to the bears, he is under no about their feelings for him.
He's under no about their feelings for him, meaning he understands the way they really feel about him.
And he's not a sentimentalist.
So he understands that they they you know, they don't they're not friendly towards him.
He understands that they're wild animals, maybe predators.
So he's under no about their feelings.
So, again, this is another fixed expression.
He's under no misunderstanding.
Is that the right phrase?
He is under no misbelief.
It's going to be something like that.
Here are the options.
He's under no error about their feelings.
He's under no doubt about their feelings.
He's under no illusion about their feelings.
Or he is under no impression about their feelings.
So...
He's under no error.
That's not the right answer, because, first of all, that is not a phrase in English.
You will have never heard that phrase in your life.
To be under no error about something is just not a phrase.
We'd say in error about something, maybe.
Under no doubt.
Now, that's closer to the right answer, isn't it?
He's under no doubt about it, but he's still not right because it's not under doubt.
It's in doubt, isn't it?
He is in no doubt about their feelings.
That would be correct.
Illusion is the correct answer.
He's under no illusion about something, which means that you don't misunderstand anything.
You know the truth about something.
You know, learning English is difficult.
I am under no illusion about the challenge that faces me means that I know the reality.
I know the truth.
So there's the phrase to be under no illusion about something.
And impression.
Again, it's similar, but it's not quite right, because in English we'd say to get the right impression or to get the wrong impression.
I didn't get the wrong impression about these bears.
I'm under no illusion about how they feel about me.
I know that they see me as maybe a prey or an aggressor or something.
So to be under no illusion about something.
Hmm.
I hope that, as you listen to this, that you are at least learning some phrases in the process, right?
To be under no illusion about something.
And number eight, the sentence is this.
It is clear that their interest in him does not beyond the food he brings.
Their interest in him does not beyond the food he brings.
It doesn't go beyond the food he brings, meaning that they're not interested in him any further than just the fact he's bringing food.
So they don't want to be his friend.
You've always got to focus on the meaning of the sentence first, and then you can get a better guess about what the gapped word is.
So is it, their interest in him doesn't go beyond the food he brings?
But then the options are it doesn't expand beyond the food he brings, it doesn't spread beyond the food he brings, it doesn't widen beyond the fruit he brings, or it doesn't extend beyond the food he brings.
That's a difficult one, isn't it?
It doesn't extend beyond the food he.
Sorry, it doesn't expand beyond the food he brings is not the right answer, but it's difficult to explain why.
The answer is it doesn't extend beyond the food he brings.
Your interest doesn't extend beyond.
Spread and widen.
I can explain why those aren't right.
Spread out normally.
Spread out.
Widen.
Normally we'd say widen the gap.
Widen the gap between things.
To widen the gap between the rich and the poor, for example.
Spread beyond, maybe.
Spread out.
Expand.
Well, spread beyond, yes.
But interest doesn't spread beyond.
You know?
Maybe the limits of a city spread beyond a certain area.
My knowledge of something spreads beyond just English teaching.
Expand beyond.
It's extend beyond.
Basically, interest extends.
It doesn't expand.
It doesn't go further.
Your interest doesn't go further than just the food.
So we're talking about going further down a road, for example.
Expand means get wider and wider.
And really we're talking about.
You know, the word that I used before was their interest doesn't go beyond the food he brings.
So that's really more of a going further than a certain point.
You know extend beyond a certain point.
That's why it's extend, because it's closest to that idea of interest, going further than a certain point, which is a sort of linear idea, like it going along a road rather than something becoming bigger and wider and broader, and extend, expanding across a different, a wider area.
That's not what we're talking about.
It's not something spreading out, but just something going further, like going further down a road.
So that's why it's extend.
That was a difficult one.
So that's, that's part one.
The first eight questions, um, I mean, I'm sure I've got the answers right.
I can check.
Yes, I have just checked and I'm happy to report that I got them all right.
So let's continue.
All right, part two then.
So this is questions nine to 16.
For each question, write the correct answer.
Write one word for each gap.
So what's happening here is that it's basically the same thing as in part one, but you don't get multiple choice.
So there are no words given.
You just have to come up with a word from your own head and put it in the gap.
So it's kind of testing, not just shades of meaning but going deeper into your depth of, for example collocations, fixed phrases, phrasal verbs and also your ability to understand the way conjunctions work, prepositions work and other different features of sentence structure.
So this one is about the origin of language.
Let me start reading.
The truth is nobody really knows how language first began.
Did we all start talking, at around the same time, of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop?
Did we all start talking at around the same time, blank of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop?
Oh, it's quite difficult.
Of is an important thing there.
So, we've got this preposition of.
So, it's something of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop.
It's basically, it's because of, right?
Explaining why we all started to talk around the same time.
Because of the manner in which our brains had begun to develop.
Okay.
Okay.
Moving on.
Although there is a lack of clear evidence, people have come up with various theories about the origins of language.
One recent theory is that human beings have evolved in a way that we are programmed for language from the moment of birth.
So human beings have evolved in a way that we're programmed for language from the moment of birth. right something happens in a way that we are programmed for language the answer is such right in such a way that so there's there's another key little structure in english something happens in such a way that we are in this case a program for language at the moment of birth for example I prepare my episodes in such a way that I'm able to record with a script, but also to improvise while I'm recording.
Okay.
In such a way that you can do something.
OK, number 11, the next sentence.
In words, language came about as a result of an evolutionary change in our brains at some stage.
In words.
So it's obviously in other words.
In other words, which is a very common fixed phrase, and you can see the function of this.
So it's in other words.
The function of this is essentially to restate or paraphrase what was previously said.
One recent theory is that human beings have evolved in such a way that we are programmed for language from the moment of birth.
In other words, language came about as a result of an evolutionary change in our brains at some stage.
So, in other words, that's a phrase that you should definitely know.
It's just a way of restating rewording, paraphrasing what you've just said, which is a really important thing to be able to do in English.
When you're explaining something, you say it, it might be complicated.
Then you say well, in other words, and then you say it again in a slightly different way.
It's really a good way of being clear.
Moving on.
Language, mm, well be programmed into the brain.
Language mm well be programmed into the brain, but mm this, people still need stimulus from others around them.
Mm.
Yeah, that's going to be tricky if you're not familiar with the way we use the word well as an emphasis.
If we remove the word well, we end up with this.
Language be programmed into the brain.
But in this, people still need stimulus from others around them.
Okay, it might not be interesting to listen to me just reading out the gaps.
So I'll just give you the answer here.
It's going to be a modal verb.
It's going to be could or might or may.
Language could well be programmed into the brain, meaning that there's a good chance that it is right.
Language might well be programmed into the brain or language may well be programmed into the brain.
So any of those could, may, might.
I've said before that they, when you're talking about possibilities like this, they mean the same thing.
Language could well be programmed into the brain, but in this people still need stimulus from others around them.
So this is going to be, it should be obvious that this is going to be a word to express contrast.
So we're looking for one of those contrasting words.
So that's going to be, but, although, despite, even though.
However, right?
It's not going to be but because we've already got but.
Language could well be programmed into the brain.
But this, no, that doesn't work.
But however this, no, that doesn't work either because it's grammatically doesn't work.
Although this...
No, because although is followed by a clause.
The answer is despite or in spite of this.
Can you put more than one word?
No, you can't.
One word.
So it's got to be despite this, despite which is followed by a noun or a pronoun in this case, and not a clause.
So despite this, people still need stimulus from others around them.
This is difficult, isn't it?
This is a proper C1 test.
You can see the way it involves a complex series of skills.
And this is only, as I said, a small portion of the test.
There's the listening, the speaking, the writing and the reading section too.
From studies we know that children are isolated from human contact and have not learned to construct sentences before they are 10.
It is doubtful they will ever do so.
Okay, the whole sentence is going to help you here.
The whole sentence is really important for working out that word.
Let's read that sentence again.
What kind of word is missing here?
What is the function of that gap?
From studies we know that children are isolated from human contact and have not learned to construct sentences before they are 10.
It is doubtful they will ever do so.
Is it if?
If children are isolated from human contact and have not learned to construct sentences, it's doubtful they will ever do so.
Yes, that works, doesn't it?
And it means something and it works.
So it could be if.
It could also be when.
And similarly, it could be whenever as well.
So all of those are possible.
Let's just put if.
Moving on, this research shows, if else, that language is a social activity, not something invented in isolation.
All right, so number 16, I'll deal with that one first.
This is actually easier, I think, than number 16, because...
I think it's easier.
Anyway, I don't know about you, but that's just a very common sort of prepositional phrase, invented isolation, it's in isolation, something happens in isolation, meaning it's it happens on its own and not connected to anything else.
You know like to live in isolation would be to to live remotely, cut off from the rest of the world.
Or something happens in isolation like, for example, i don't know.
Social problems don't just happen in isolation, they have causes, Right.
Like, you know, high school shootings in America.
These things don't happen in isolation, meaning they don't just happen separately or without any causes, but they happen as part of a complex social process.
There are reasons why these things happen.
They don't just happen in isolation.
So in isolation is, I think, quite a common phrase.
Going back to number 15, this research shows, if else, that language is a social activity, not something invented in isolation.
Well, I guess you just have to know the phrase, if nothing else, right?
The research shows, if nothing else, that language is a social activity.
Meaning the research shows.
Maybe it doesn't show us anything, or maybe this is the only thing it shows us.
So it shows us, if nothing else, that language is a social activity.
You could say similarly.
Episode 949, which was the other grammar test I did, that episode showed.
If nothing else, that episode allowed me, if nothing else, to teach you a few grammar points.
Okay, that's a difficult section.
Let's move on to part three.
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OK, the screen is a little bit complicated here.
All right.
So what happens in part three, questions 17 to 24?
So it says for each question, use the word in capitals.
On the right to form a word that fits in the gap.
So this is really about word formation.
You have sentences on the left there's a missing word, but on the right you've got a word in capital letters and you have to use that word as the sort of root or base word and you have to change the form of that word to make it fit the sentence.
So this is really all about your ability to understand words across word families, across different parts of speech, like the verb noun adjective, adverb forms of words, but also their opposites, how they use prefixes that's little bits at the beginning, like un or in d, you know, and suffixes, those are little bits at the end, like less or full or ly, if it's an adverb, and different forms of words and the morphology of words.
That's the way that words are constructed with little bits um.
So what are the abilities?
So this is about training sports champions, training sports champions.
So sports training.
What are the abilities that a professional sports person needs to guarantee that opponents can be?
Speed, stamina and agility are essential, not to mention outstanding natural talent, and the word is come Right.
To guarantee that opponents can be, can become, speed, stamina and agility are essential.
So opponents can be something.
Now it's a, so let's look at this from a grammatical point of view.
It needs to be a past participle, right?
Because this is part of a passive form.
Either that or it's an adjective.
But it's got to be a passive form to guarantee that opponents can be something.
Right.
So come, came, come.
All right.
It's not come.
It's overcome. to guarantee that opponents can be overcome because it's opponents.
We are going to overcome these opponents.
We're going to defeat them.
We're going to beat them.
That's another way of saying to defeat or to beat, to overcome obstacles, to overcome challenges, to overcome opponents.
Overcome, overcame, overcome.
Because it's come, came, come.
Overcome.
You see, that's... You can see the way the word is formed.
First of all, you've got to turn it into a verb.
You've got to know that the word over can be added to the word come as a prefix to mean overcome.
Right?
Okay.
To guarantee that opponents can be overcome speed, stamina and agility are essential, not to mention outstanding natural talent.
Both a rigorous and comprehensive something regime...
And the word is fit.
So both a rigorous and comprehensive fit regime.
This one's not difficult.
You just got to know that the word fit, the adjective fit is turned into a noun with fitness, right?
Fitness is the answer.
Both a rigorous and comprehensive fitness regime and a highly nutritious diet are vital for top level performance.
It is carbohydrates rather than proteins and fat that provide athletes with the they need to compete.
So it's endure.
Endure is the word Right.
So it's carbohydrates that provide athletes with the endure they need to compete.
So we need a noun because we know we've got the word the.
At the beginning.
So we need a noun here.
So what is the noun that comes from the verb endure?
Well, it's endurance, isn't it?
It's carbohydrates, rather than proteins and fat, that provide athletes with the endurance they need to compete.
This means that pasta is more than eggs or meat.
What's the word?
Benefit is the word.
Pasta is more benefit than eggs or meat.
So we need an adjective.
Whoops.
You should be able to work out that you need an adjective here.
Benefit is the noun or a verb.
What's the adjective form?
To be bene, what?
Beneficial.
Okay.
This means that pasta is more beneficial than eggs or meat.
Such a diet enables them to move very energetically when required.
Failure to follow a sensible diet can result in the mm to maintain stamina.
The word we're looking for is able, able.
So what other words are there in the word family for able?
Able, to be able, ability, right?
Is that the right word?
Failure to follow a sensible diet can result in the ability to maintain stamina.
No, it's not, is it?
That doesn't work.
We need the negative form of ability.
We need the opposite of ability, ability.
What's the opposite of ability?
We need to use a prefix.
It is, of course, inability.
Right.
Failure to follow a sensible diet can result in the inability to maintain stamina.
We know it's a noun because of the.
OK, these are the last two.
No, last three.
So regular training to increase muscular something is also a vital part of a professional's regime.
To increase muscular what?
To increase muscular... What's the word we're looking for?
It's strong.
So the root word is strong.
To increase muscular strong.
To increase... We need a noun.
To increase something.
It's a noun.
Muscular strong.
What's the noun of strong?
Well, as you know, it is strength.
Strength. to increase muscular strength is also a vital part of a professional's regime.
And this is done by exercising with weights.
This is something done by exercising with weights.
What effectively done?
Usually done?
What's the root word?
This is type.
So type is the word.
Usually was, we were on the right track with usually.
This is typically done, right?
OK.
By exercising with weights, sports people are prone to injury.
Meaning they often get injuries.
But a quality training regime can ensure that the of these can be minimised.
The effect of these, the impact of these.
What's it going to be?
Severe.
OK.
Severe is the root word.
So again, what are we looking for?
Noun, verb, adjective.
A quality training regime can ensure that the something of the.
So we're looking for a noun.
Severe was the word.
What's the noun form of severe?
It is severity.
Severity.
The severity of these can be minimised.
Okay.
And let's move on then to the final part of the test.
So this is part four, questions 25 to 30.
For each question, complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first.
Do not change the word given.
You must use between three and six words, including the word given.
So what we've got is we've got a sentence, then we have a given word, and then we have another sentence with a big space in the middle and we have to make the second sentence mean the same thing as the first sentence and we have to use the given word.
Now in this section each gap is worth two points.
The reason for that is because there are at least two language points that you need to use in order to complete the sentence successfully.
So, there's two bits of language.
So it might be a passive form here, followed by, I don't know, transforming a noun into an adjective here, or something like that.
So, there's...
Each one is worth two.
Right.
So let's look at the first one, number 25.
My brother now earns far less money than he did when he was younger.
Right.
This is the original sentence.
My brother now earns far less money than he did when he was younger.
The word we need to use is nearly.
And it's my brother something, something, something much now as he did when he was younger.
Nearly.
Now, are you familiar with the phrase not nearly as much?
Not nearly as much.
So we've got to have not nearly as much in there.
My brother now earns far less money.
My brother does not earn nearly as much, so we've got the word now already.
It's as much now as he did when he was younger, so we don't need to worry about that part.
It's just we've got to make this comparison with the word nearly and it's done like this.
My brother does not earn nearly as much.
Don't need to say much twice.
My brother does not earn nearly as much now as he did when he was younger.
Okay.
Moving on.
Next one.
They are demolishing the old bus station and replacing it with a new one.
They're demolishing the old bus station and replacing it with a new one.
The word we need to use is pulled.
Pulled.
Okay, so you've got to know two things here.
You've got to know the phrase pull down, meaning demolish.
You pull down a building, meaning demolish it.
So pull down, and there's a passive form.
So the old bus station is being, because it's continuous, they are demolishing.
The old bus station is being pulled down.
And so they're demolishing the old bus station.
The old bus station is being pulled down and replacing it with a new one.
And so the old bus station is being pulled down and replaced. with a new one.
The old bus station is being pulled down and replaced with a new one.
Okay.
We've just got a few left.
The number of students now at university has reached an all-time high, apparently.
The number of students now at university has reached an all-time high, apparently.
You have to use the word the.
The number of students now at university is...
The something been apparently.
I'm just going to give you the answer, because it's probably too complicated to think about it, especially if you're just listening to this without looking.
By the way, I forgot to say this earlier.
There is, of course, a PDF for this and you'll find all of these tasks and stuff on the PDF with with the correct answers and stuff as well.
So the number of students now at university is the?
Well, of course it's gonna be.
We've got to use the adjective, and if we're using the, we need a superlative form.
The highest, the number of students now at university is the highest something something been.
The highest it has ever been.
How many words can we use?
Between three and six.
The highest it has ever.
That's five words.
That's okay.
The number of students now at university is the highest it has ever been, apparently.
There you go.
That's the answer.
So we've got the, you've got two things there.
You've got the superlative form, the highest and also the it has ever been.
Is that this present perfect form as well with the use of ever.
Yeah, this is a proper test.
Again, I'll say it again.
It's a proper test, not like the other one I did before.
We've got just how many more?
Three more.
So I'm disappointed with the Fishers new album when I compare it with the previous one.
So the Fishers must be a band now.
We're talking about a music album.
I'm disappointed with the Fisher's new album when I compare it to the previous one.
So another comparison.
In fact, the word we need to use is comparison.
So I think the Fisher's new album is something comparison their previous one.
Hmm.
This is is is disappointing.
In comparison with.
So there's that.
You need to know in comparison with.
You also need to change disappointed to disappointing.
I'm disappointed.
That's my feeling.
It's disappointing.
The album is disappointing.
That's my opinion.
Right?
In comparison with.
So...
That's the part of the sentence about compare.
We have to change it to this prepositional phrase with a noun in the middle in comparison with.
I think the Fishers' new album is disappointing in comparison with their previous one.
Yep.
And moving on.
The penultimate question.
Anna got the job even though she didn't have much experience in public relations.
Anna got the job even though she didn't have much experience in public relations.
So the word we need is in spite.
Now we've got in the original sentence, we've got even though.
OK, even though.
And then we've got spite in. which is the given word we need to use.
I mentioned before phrases for contrast however, but although, even though despite, in spite, of right.
So we've got to use in spite of because spite is the word that we've been given.
And look, we've got in the second sentence.
We have of right.
Hmm.
Anna got the job in, right, in spite of is the first part.
Anna got the job in spite of something of experience.
And in the original sentence, we've got she didn't have much experience.
So we need the word lack in spite of her lack of experience.
Anna got the job in spite of her lack of experience in public relations.
How are you doing, everyone?
Are you surviving this episode?
I really hope so.
We're nearly done.
The next one is the last question and it goes like this.
I must warn you how dangerous it is to cycle at night without any lights, said the police officer to Max.
I must warn you how dangerous it is to cycle at night without any lights, said the police officer to Max.
The word we need to use is dangers.
Max received a at night without any lights from the police officer.
So I must warn you.
So Max received a, what's the noun of the verb warn?
A warning.
What's the next preposition?
Of something, how dangerous it is.
So we need a noun for this max received a warning of.
Now we need the word dangers.
You need to know the dangers of of cycling.
You see the way you've got to um Manipulate the sentence, where how dangerous it is to cycle becomes the dangers of cycling.
I must warn you how dangerous it is to cycle.
Max received a warning of the dangers of cycling.
The dangers of something.
The dangers of cycling without a helmet.
Yeah.
The dangers of walking through certain areas at night.
There you go.
That's it.
I'm sure I've got those right.
It now moves.
The test now moves to reading.
And there are three reading parts, part five, six and seven, all based around reading a text.
And I'm not going to do that now on the podcast.
That's another episode for another time where you have a text and then different different tasks.
You know, different types of reading skills being tested.
I'm sure I got the answers right in the use of English section.
I will check just to make sure, but let's assume I got the answers right.
I wanted to add actually that I did check all the answers to those tests and I got them all right.
So I got everything right, 100%.
I'm very pleased with myself.
But actually, in the answers, you can see that in some cases, there's more than one possible answer.
There's quite a lot of cases like that.
For example, in comparison with or in comparison to, they're both considered to be acceptable collocations.
In comparison with or to.
So you can check out the answers yourself if you want.
I'll put them on the PDF for the episode so you can have a look there and see if, for example, you thought there was another possibility.
You can see if that would would be considered an acceptable answer by Cambridge.
So there you go.
Just in case you were wondering.
All the things I put were correct, but there are some other possibilities.
So check the PDF for the other possible answers.
OK, nice one.
So there you go.
That was the use of English section of a Cambridge C1 exam.
And you can see that it's a proper test and a thorough test of your control and manipulation, your range of grammar and vocabulary and your ability to apply it, not just to identify the correct way to complete a sentence from a series of options, where some of those options are just total rubbish.
Um, the last one was a joke really and yeah, a scam, especially when it charges you ten dollars to get the results and to get your certificate and stuff.
So yeah, a scam.
But surprise surprise, cambridge exams are the real deal.
Now what i'm going to do at this point is i'm going to go through, back through the test and i'm going to copy the answers, copy the um, the bits of English.
And I'm just going to summarise some of the useful phrases and useful bits of grammar that we encountered in those parts of the test.
Okay, so let's do a little language roundup, a language recap now.
Here we go.
Okay, so now what we can do is look at 20 bits of English that you can pick up from this episode.
So we've got things like this to win someone's trust, to be contrary to popular belief, to dispute claims, to be misled by something, to be under no illusion about something.
Something is done in such a way that, in other words, could well be, or might well be, or may well be despite just the word despite now it's used, as well as in spite of, if nothing else to be overcome by.
Endurance beneficial, the severity of something not nearly as much as to be pulled down, the highest it's ever been or the superlative it has ever been in comparison with, in spite of a lack of.
And the dangers of doing something.
Right.
So this is the target language that we can look at.
Let me just go through all that stuff with you now.
Right.
Just to kind of help you get it all.
OK.
Right.
So starting with the first one to win someone's trust.
Remember this to win someone's trust or to gain someone's trust.
The meaning here being to win.
Basically, to gain or get someone's confidence or trust by proving reliability or honesty.
In this case, he gave food to the bears and then they started trusting him.
You just have to remember, win trust, win someone's trust.
For example, it took months to win the trust of the local community.
Let me try and make the text that I'm using a bit bigger.
It took months to win the trust of the local community.
Yes.
A teacher must win the trust of their students.
This is true.
I know this from experience, that when you first start teaching a group of students, you do have to win their trust.
You have to prove to them that you know what you're doing.
So this phrase is usually followed by an object.
So to win something, to win someone's trust, to win someone's confidence, to win someone's support.
Okay, these are collocations.
Secondly, contrary to popular belief.
So, this is used to introduce a statement that goes against what most people think.
It's usually used at the beginning of a sentence and is followed by a comma.
For example, contrary, contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind.
You might have heard the phrase as blind as a bat.
In fact, despite what everyone thinks or contrary to popular opinion, bats are not blind.
They actually can see, but they do use sonar.
Is it sonar that they use as well?
Another example, contrary to popular belief, carrots don't improve your night vision.
That is something that people say.
Carrots.
I mean, I was always told as a kid to eat up my carrots because it helped.
They helped me see in the dark.
But apparently that's not true.
Third one, to dispute claims.
So to dispute claims.
I mean, partly that's just a collocation, right?
To dispute something.
But in this case, to dispute claims.
So this means to challenge or argue against statements made by others.
For example, scientists dispute claims that the drug has no side effects.
So people are saying, try this new wonder drug.
It's perfect.
It'll help you learn English 100% more effectively.
And there are no side effects.
But scientists dispute these claims.
Another example, the company disputed claims made in the press.
So, for example, claims have been made against the, the wonder drug company saying this this company is um corrupt and it's a scam and they've concocted uh fake evidence to prove that their system works.
This was, these are claims made in the press.
And the company say no, we dispute these claims and we'll be taking such and such a person to court over this matter.
They went to court.
They lost.
By the way, the court proved that the company was a scam anyway.
Um dispute claims that right.
To dispute claims that the drug has no side effects.
To dispute charges that the company is corrupt.
To dispute allegations Right.
To dispute allegations, that means things that have been said against someone.
Fourth, to be misled by something.
To be misled means to be deceived or given a false impression, made to think the wrong thing.
Many voters were misled by fake news, meaning they were made to think the wrong thing.
You could also say they were misinformed by fake news, meaning given the wrong information.
But if you're misinformed, you're given the wrong information.
If you're misled, you are made to think the wrong thing and you go in the wrong direction.
Don't be misled by his calm appearance.
He's actually a very aggressive, angry man.
Passive structure is common, to be misled by something.
Number five is to be under no illusion about something.
For example, if you remember, the guy said he was under no illusion about the way the bears felt about him.
So this means to be fully aware of a difficult or unpleasant reality.
So you're fully aware of the truth, even if that truth is not very nice.
If you're under an illusion, it means you believe the wrong thing because you're living in a fantasy world.
But if you are aware of the cold, hard truth, you are under no illusion about it.
For example, she was under no illusion about the challenges ahead.
I know how difficult this is going to be.
I'm under no illusion about the challenges.
Or I'm under no illusion that this will be easy.
So you can be under no illusion about something or under no illusion that something, something.
To be under no illusion that this will be easy.
Number six, in such a way.
This describes how something is done leading to a result.
It's done in such a way that this happens.
He explained it in such a way that everyone understood.
The film ended in such a way that it left us speechless.
It's in such a way that and then the clause of result.
The clause there gives the result.
Luke explained everything so clearly, or Luke explained everything in such a way that everyone was completely confused as a result.
And they all walked off a cliff and fell 100 feet onto the rocks below.
But everyone survived miraculously.
But they were so confused by his instructions that they all fell off a huge cliff.
He explained it in such a way that everyone got confused, or he explained it in such a way that everyone understood.
Number seven, in other words, I mean this is pretty simple, this one.
This is used to rephrase or clarify a point, of course.
She's a polyglot.
In other words, she speaks many languages.
Or the plan failed.
In other words, we need to start again.
So this is often used as a sentence connector.
You've got one sentence full stop, and then the beginning of a new sentence, in other words, and then you say the same thing in different words.
Could well be or might well be or may well be.
This suggests something is quite likely or possible.
There's a good chance this is the case.
For example, this could well be the best decision you've ever made.
Listening to Luke's English podcast.
Subscribing to Luke's English podcast could well be the best decision you've made all day, if not in your entire life.
Listening to this episode all the way up until this bit could well be the best decision you've ever made.
Listening to Luke's episodes from start to finish could well be the best way to use this podcast.
And, you know, it could well be true or it may well be true.
It might well be true.
Number nine is despite, which is just an expression of contrast.
For example, the road was icy.
Despite this, he drove quickly.
It was raining heavily.
Despite this, they continued the march.
So it's interesting.
We can just say despite this, which is equivalent to saying however.
The road was icy.
However, he drove quickly.
It was raining heavily.
However, they continued the match.
So you could just say, despite this, the road was heavy.
Despite this, he drove quickly.
Now, we also use it in another way.
Just despite.
And in spite of is exactly the same.
Despite the road being icy, he drove quickly.
Despite... the heavy rain, so despite is followed by a noun or an ing clause.
Despite the road being icy, he drove quickly.
Or despite the ice on the road, he drove quickly, okay.
Okay, I'm just skipping through these fairly quickly.
Number 10 out of 20, if nothing else, which means at least it's used when something isn't great.
But there's still one positive aspect.
For example, the film was, if nothing else, entertaining.
Or if nothing else, you'll learn from the experience.
It's a set phrase, usually at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
Okay?
So, this episode will be, if nothing else, useful for your English.
To be overcome.
Ah, right.
So we've got to be overwhelmed emotionally or physically.
Yes.
To be overwhelmed emotionally or physically in the example sentence is if your opponents are going to be overcome or if your opponents are overcome.
I think it was to overcome an opponent, meaning to beat an opponent or if your opponent is overcome.
You can also be overcome with emotions, where the emotions are too strong for you.
For example, she was overcome with emotion and she started crying.
Or the firefighters were overcome by smoke, meaning the smoke came and sort of hit the firefighters and they couldn't breathe.
So to be overcome with something, normally an emotion overcome with happiness, or to be overcome by something.
If your opponents are overcome, meaning beaten Twelve.
It's endurance, which you know.
When we're talking about sport, we're talking about endurance, being able to keep going for a long time.
So that's the ability to withstand hardship or continue despite difficulty.
For example, marathon running requires great endurance, or his endurance during the climb impressed everyone.
So it's a noun.
We often say show endurance, have endurance, display endurance or require endurance.
Beneficial to be beneficial means to be helpful or advantageous.
Just remember benefit and beneficial.
Regular exercise is beneficial to your health.
A short break can be beneficial for concentration.
It can benefit your health.
It can be beneficial to your health.
It's an adjective followed by to and a noun.
It's beneficial to something.
It's beneficial to your English, beneficial to your health, beneficial to your concentration.
Also beneficial for the severity of something, meaning the seriousness or intensity.
For example, the severity of the storm shocked the residents.
The strength, the seriousness of the storm.
Doctors were worried about the severity of her injuries.
So she was injured very severely.
She had severe injuries.
They were worried about the severity of her injuries, the severity of something.
Number 15 was not nearly as much as meaning far less than.
Right.
Far less than.
And it emphasizes a large difference.
So we can say, you know, let's say I am as tall as my brother means we are the same height.
I am not as tall as my brother means I'm shorter than him.
And I am not nearly as tall as my brother.
It's the same thing, but emphasizes a much larger difference, means I'm much shorter.
Examples, he doesn't earn nearly as much as his brother.
So he earns far less than his brother.
This car doesn't cost nearly as much as the other one.
So it's far cheaper than the other one.
So it is not nearly as expensive as the other one.
So we've got not nearly as adjective normally as something.
16.
To be pulled down means to be demolished or to be removed.
The old theatre was pulled down last year.
The authorities pulled down the unsafe building.
So it's passive and active.
They pulled the building down.
The building was pulled down.
Number 17 was the highest it has ever been.
It works with any superlative.
The most expensive it has ever been.
The best it has ever been.
It's a superlative expression describing a record level.
So in this case, the highest in all of history.
Inflation is the highest it has ever been.
It has never been higher than this before.
It's the highest it has ever been.
The temperature was the highest it had ever been.
In that case, the past, right?
The highest it had ever been.
Or it is now the highest it has ever been.
So it's a superlative with it has or had ever been.
Often used with statistics.
Very useful phrase.
Hopefully you can see that all of these phrases, all these structures, these bits of English are really useful and easy and important to be able to apply to your English right now.
You know, this is exactly the sort of thing you need to be able to use, control and apply to your English, your use of English, right here, right now.
We've got just three left.
18 is in comparison with or compared with, in comparison with, when considering differences.
Essential English, I would say.
For example, in comparison with last year, sales are lower.
Or his work looks poor in comparison with hers.
It's a prepositional phrase followed by a noun.
You know, this test is much more challenging in comparison with the other test.
Number 19, in spite of a lack of, in spite of a lack of. meaning despite not having something.
A lack of something is when you don't have something, right?
In spite of a lack of sleep, he finished the marathon.
So he didn't sleep at all, but he still the next day managed to finish the marathon.
In spite of a lack of sleep, he finished the marathon.
In spite of a lack of... In spite of a lack of preparation, the presentation was brilliant.
She succeeded in spite of a lack of resources.
So she didn't have many resources available to her, but she still succeeded.
She succeeded in spite of a lack of resources.
And then finally, number 20, the dangers of doing something.
The risks involved in a particular action.
For example, they warned about the dangers of driving too fast.
The dangers of smoking are well known.
So we have the dangers of doing something or the dangers with an S, the dangers of something.
OK, for example, I don't know what.
How could I apply that to the podcast?
The dangers of you know.
Beware of the dangers of of taking an English test without being a long-term listener to Luke's English Podcast first.
Just be careful of the risks of trying to use English without having prepared yourself fully by listening to this podcast on a regular basis.
That's the end of the episode, okay?
Leave your comments in the comments section.
You could mention something about danger or dangers, the dangers of doing something um, you could leave a comment in the comment section about that.
But i hope you listened all the way to the end and that you enjoyed this episode and that you learned some things from it.
I'm very curious to know what you think of this one.
What do you think of this test in comparison to the?
Uh, to the other one that we did in episode 949?
Uh, Have you ever done a Cambridge exam?
How did it go?
What did you learn from it?
And any other comments that you would like to leave in the comment section would be most welcome.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for watching.
And I will speak to you on the podcast again soon.
But for now, it's just time to say goodbye.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to Luke's English Podcast.
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