C1 Practice Exam 1

INSTITUTO DE IDIOMAS February 2024

1. READING COMPREHENSION (NUMBERS 1-21)

Task A: Read the text and choose the option—a, b, c, or d—which best fits in each gap. There is an
example at the beginning (0).

Stop, Look, Listen Before You Buy…

Essential Pre-purchase Reading

 The best judge of your ideal hi-fi is you yourself. Trust your ears.
 Independent hi-fi shops tend to have knowledgeable staff who are willing to spend time helping you
choose. Most have special areas where you can try out equipment before buying. Why not book these
by phone so the equipment you want is ready when you arrive?
 Don’t ignore retailers that lack dem rooms, but check whether there’s another (Ex) branch that has them.
Or can you try equipment at home? Multiple chains can offer good prices and some have reasonable
demonstration (1) _____.
 Unauthorized dealers are best (2) _____; they may be getting the products from a (3) _____ party which
can cause problems later for servicing. Check ads for ‘Authorized Dealers’, or phone the
manufacturer/distributor to check. You’ll find phone numbers just before the Buying Guide. Shops
advertising membership of BADA (the British Audio Dealers Association) (4) _____ to certain standards
of conduct.
 Extended warranties can make (5) _____, but are sometimes a complete waste of money. Check
carefully that the (6) _____, conditions and price are realistic.
 ‘Ex-demo’ models can save money if the unit is merely (7) _____ or briefly used in-store, but beware of
retailers using the term to get rid of returned or substandard kit.
 When a product is at a ridiculously low price, check that it’s covered by a manufacturer’s full UK warranty.
Grey imports (imported through unofficial channels) can appear good value, but have (8) _____ with
warranties, voltages and servicing. They can also sound different.
 Pay by credit card, particularly for (9) _____ order. You’ll get automatic insurance for goods over 100
pounds.
 Don’t buy from white vans offering remarkable speaker (10) _____. They’re rubbish.

Example
Ex. a) branch b) offshoot c) section d) chain

1. a) abilities b) faculties c) facilities d) aptitudes

2. a) eluded b) avoided c) evaded d) dodged
3. a) remote b) third c) neutral d) second
4. a) stay b) hold c) attach d) adhere
5. a) meaning b) sense c) reason d) significance
6. a) terms b) points c) clauses d) concessions
7. a) grazed b) scraped c) defaced d) scratched
8. a) traps b) hazards c) pitfalls d) snares
9. a) mail b) post c) printed d) standing
10. a) scoops b) occasions c) snips d) bargains
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Task B: You are going to read an article from an online newspaper. Six sentences have been removed
from the article. Read the article and decide which of the sentences (A – I) best fits each of the gaps (11-
16). There are two extra sentences that you do not need to use. There is an example in the first paragraph.

Dogs Aren’t Just Man’s Best Friend – They’re Man’s Least Honest Friend

Man’s best friend has been getting some bad press. As the New Scientist reported, “Dogs use deception to
get what they want from humans.” (Ex) A. The researcher behind this story, Marianne Heberlein of the
University of Zurich, had been studying the willingness of dogs to lead humans to food. She found that
they were significantly more likely to direct humans who did not have a history of sharing treats with them
to a box containing a dull, dry dog biscuit than to one containing a juicy sausage. (11) ______. “They
showed an impressive flexibility in behaviour,” she said.

Heberlein professed herself amazed not just by the readiness of dogs to trick humans they perceived as a
threat to their food supply but also the speed at which they learned to do so. (12) ______.

Without wishing to upset Heberlein, the fact that dogs will happily deceive you for a sausage will come as a
surprise only if your sole experience of the canine race comes from watching re-runs of Lassie. Indeed, it
will have barely registered with owners frantically googling “Are laundry tablets poisonous to Labradors?”
while on hold to the vet’s for the third time in a week.

Where anyone got the idea that these animals were loyal companions, as incapable of dissemblance as
they are of playing the piano, is unclear – though the famous wee scamp Greyfriars Bobby no doubt played
a part. The crowd of tourists around the statue of this stout little Skye terrier on Edinburgh’s George IV
Bridge always makes me snort with laughter. (13) ______. It turns out these scruffy mutts aren’t as stupid
as they look.

In fact, I reckon there’s a strong case to be put for the dog being the greatest confidence trickster in
history, having evolved from those canny wolves who realised the advantages of scavenging from human
waste as opposed to hunting their own food. (14) ______. Few of the millions who watched an arctic wolf
snapping at the heels of the caribou on Planet Earth II last year will have been rooting for the poor old
hungry canid – “Oh my God, so cute!” – even those with one of the canid’s relatives snoozing at their feet,
having enjoyed a hearty dinner they’d done nothing to merit.

My own dog, Wilf, is only too happy to manipulate the facts to his advantage: having been fed, and
scoured the bowl clean, he’ll wait patiently until someone new enters the room, then drag it towards
them, whimpering piteously. (15) ______. And he’s definitely not above pretending he wants to get up on
my lap for a cuddle, only to make a move on my lunch.

Paradoxically, every owner I speak to seems almost proud of their dog’s greedy cunning. When Wilf mugs
strangers for a bit of their bacon sandwich, they often respond with something like “Well, at least he’s a
character” – and despite my profuse and genuine apologies for the state of their trousers, I have to agree.
(16) ______.

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 A. The researcher behind this story, Marianne Heberlein of the University of Zurich had been studying
the willingness of dogs to lead humans to food.

B. Far from the heartbroken animal that kept watch at his master’s grave for 14 years, evidence suggests
that this little dog hung around the churchyard because his fans came there to feed him.

C. The opposite was true with those they perceived to be more generous with food.

D. It seems dogs have pulled off the ultimate scam: the naughtier they are, the more we love them.

E. He’ll shy away theatrically if I tell him off in public – so much so that I can almost see strangers wiping
away the tears as they speed-dial the RSPCA – but bark defiantly at a similar ear-bashing at home.

F. A friend’s dachshund fakes a stage limp when it begins to rain while another claims her childhood
dog would create a diversion in another room just to gobble up unattended birthday cake.

G. While other animals, such as monkeys, could take dozens of repetitions before they worked out the
secret of maximum rewards, some dogs got it first time.

H. Another admits her dogs have learned to feign doing a poo in order to get a treat.

I. The appearance of the average adult dog, with the large eyes, snub nose and floppy ears
characteristic of a wolf puppy, is designed to take maximum advantage of our weakness for those
physical traits we consider appealing.

Task C: Read the following text. Clearly indicate the option—a, b, c, or d—which best completes the
sentence or answers the question according to what you’ve read.

More Than Just Streetwise

London is not a good place for fans of right angles. People who like the methodical grid system of Manhattan
are baffled by the bewildering network of knotted streets. It’s entirely possible to take two right turns and
end up in the same place. Even with a map, some people manage to get lost. And yet there are thousands
of Londoners who have committed the city’s entire layout to memory - cab drivers. Piloting London’s
distinctive black cabs is no mean feat. To earn the privilege, drivers have to pass an intense intellectual
ordeal, known charmingly as The Knowledge. Ever since 1865, they’ve had to memorise the location of every
street within six miles of Charing Cross. Today this implies familiarity with all 25,000 of the capital’s arteries,
veins and capillaries. They also need to know the locations of 20,000 landmarks -museums, police stations,
theatres, clubs and more - and 320 routes that connect everything up.

It can take two to four years to learn everything. To prove their skills, prospective drivers do oral
examinations called ‘appearances’ at the licencing office, where they have to recite the best route between
any two points. Incredible as it may seem, they have to do this without any reference to maps aside from
the mental map they have in their head. They have to narrate the details of their journey, complete with
passed landmarks, road names, junctions, turns and maybe even traffic lights. Only after successfully doing
this several times over can they earn a cab driver’s licence.

Given how hard it is, it shouldn’t be surprising that The Knowledge changes the brains of those who acquire
it. Eleanor Maguire from University College studied those changes and showed that the brains of London

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taxi drivers do indeed undergo a change which makes them very different from those of mere mortals like
us. Doctors, for example, with their extensive knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, don’t exhibit
the change Maguire found. You don’t see it in memory champions who have trained themselves to
remember seemingly impossible lists and who go on to win quizzes and competitions. You don’t see it in
London’s bus drivers who have similar driving skills but work along fixed routes. Among all of these groups,
only the London cabbies, with their heightened spatial memories, have the change Maguire was looking for.

One reason this might be is that London, as a cluster of what were once villages, simply demands higher
order skills. Cab drivers in Paris and Chicago face similar challenges when it comes to traffic and navigation
and also have to get through a test that demands an in-depth knowledge of the city concerned. Strange as
it may seem, though, when researchers looked at drivers in these cities in a bid to replicate Maguire’s London
study, they found none of the same changes in brain structure. Even among cabbies, the Londoners who
pass The Knowledge are unique. But it’s not just their skills and the ways in which these have changed their
brains that set the London cabbies apart.

Their passengers generally trust them and can even be somewhat in awe of their navigation skills. Their
colleagues elsewhere in the world do not fare so well when it comes to passenger attitudes. Rudeness,
impatience and poor driving skills are among their many sins if the many customer complaints on the
internet are to be believed.

Cabbies in other countries also find themselves to be accused of possessing too limited a knowledge or no
knowledge whatsoever of the cities where they ply their trade. Stories abound of drivers making frantic
appeals on their radios for guidance or relying too heavily on GPS. Believe these tales if you choose to but
should you find yourself going round in circles in the labyrinth that is London for many a foreign visitor, don’t
hesitate to hail a cab. The cabbie may not ooze charm but will certainly know the quickest and most direct
way of getting you where you want to go.

Example
Ex. The writer suggests that it is difficult to find your way round London _____.
a. if you are from the USA
b. if you are used to cities that are laid out differently
c. if you don’t have a good map or street directory
d. if you are not familiar with the one-way system

17. The writer’s view of people who pass The Knowledge is that they _____.
a. are very fortunate
b. are very studious
c. deserve the right to drive a taxi
d. should learn even more about their city

18. What aspect of The Knowledge does the writer find most surprising?
a. Candidates cannot use anything but their visual memory during the test.
b. Candidates have to describe a number of different routes.
c. The length of time it takes candidates to prepare for the test.
d. The quaint name that has been given to the oral examination.

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 19. The writer gives three examples of groups of people whose brains have not changed _____.
a. to show how surprised she is that a person’s brain can change
b. to highlight the results found in similar studies
c. to show that cabbies have a very special ability
d. to show that cabbies have superior intelligence

20. The writer suggests studies done on Paris and Chicago cab drivers are surprising because the
researchers _____.
a. copied what Eleanor Maguire had done
b. chose to study two such different cities
c. didn’t check to see if the cabbies had passed a test
d didn't find what they had expected

21. What is the writer’s attitude to stories about taxi drivers around the world?
a. She is appalled that such poor drivers could exist.
b. She is uncertain how far the stories can be relied upon.
c. She thinks these criticisms of drivers are without justification.
d. She thinks potential passengers should take them as a warning.

2. LISTENING COMPREHENSION (NUMBERS 22-49)

Task A: You will hear James talking about his decision to become a vegetarian. For items 22-26, choose
the best answer – A, B or C – according to what you hear. You will hear the recording twice.

Vegetarianism: A Way of Life

Example
Ex. The speaker stopped eating meat _____ .
a. six months ago
b. six weeks ago
c. six years ago

22. The speaker admits that he _____.

a. sometimes eats a bit of meat.
b. is often tempted to eat meat.
c. never really liked meat that much.

23. The speaker learned how animals are treated on farms from a _____.
a. radio show
b. documentary
c. magazine

24. According to the speaker, animals are forced to eat _____.

a. antibiotics
b. genetically-altered crops
c. substances that make them gain weight

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25. The speaker says that going vegetarian has helped him to _____.
a. eat more fruit
b. lose weight
c. fight cancer

26. According to the speaker, one drawback of being a vegetarian is that _____.
a. people stop inviting you to dinner
b. there aren’t many suitable places to eat
c. it’s hard to get enough protein

Task B: You will hear a radio program about getting children to eat healthy food. For items 27-31,
choose the best answer – A, B or C – according to what you hear. You will hear the recording twice.

Children and Healthy Food: A Positive Approach

Example
Ex. Nutrition experts say parents can improve their children’s diet by _____.
a. forcing them to eat veggies
b. never letting them eat sweets
c. using a positive approach

27. According to the reporter, Jessica Leichsenring is like many other parents because_____.
a. her children don’t get dessert every night
b. her children don’t like milk very much
c. she tells her kids what they can and can’t eat

28. Kelly Brownell says that forcing children to eat vegetables before they get dessert _____.
a. makes children like vegetables less
b. makes children want desserts more
c. makes vegetables taste like medicine

29. The “no-thank-you bites” approach often works because _____.

a. it gets children to try new foods
b. it can make eating an adventure
c. the whole family does it together

30. According to the program, a good way for parents to get kids to eat their vegetables is _____.
a. to buy fresh vegetables
b. to eat vegetables themselves
c. to cook vegetables on the grill

31. Parents think that having only healthy foods in the house will cause their kids to _____.
a. be overweight in college
b. eat less when they’re young
c. indulge in junk food when they can

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Task C: You will hear a record collector answering questions about his hobby. Match the questions
(A-M) to his answers (items 32-41). Use each question only once. An example—question E—has
been provided for you. There are two extra questions that you do not need to use. You will hear
the recording twice.

Interview with a Record Collector

QUESTION ITEM QUESTION

Example E
A. Can you tell us what your most valuable record is?
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B. Do you remember what the first records you bought were?
33
C. Do you still mostly buy house and techno music, or have your tastes

changed? 34

D. How did you first become interested in the music you collect? 35

E. How long have you been collecting vinyl records? 36

F. I’m sure many people have asked you this one—what’s your favorite 37

record? 38

G. In your opinion, what’s the best new release this year? 39

H. What are some of the drawbacks of record collecting? 40

I. What’s currently at the top of your wishlist? 41

J. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a record?

K. Why are people going back to vinyl?

L. You also sell records, right? What’s the most you’ve ever sold a record for?

M. You must have been to a lot of record shops. What’s your favorite?

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Task D: You will hear a writer talking about his new book on the subject of routine. Fill in the
blanks (42 - 49) with the exact word or words you hear in the recording. Use from one to three
words in each blank. You will hear the recording only once.

Routine

Example:
Ex. He wanted to see if there were helpful lessons to be drawn from the working methods of
successful creative people.

42. The people examined all had a regular ______________________________ routine and
stuck to it strictly.

43. Beethoven’s habit of drinking a cup of strong coffee with exactly 60 coffee beans was not
the ______________________________ ritual the author discovered.

44. Without routines for day-to-day activity, nothing much would

______________________________ in today’s society.

45. There is a growing ______________________________ research which suggests that too

much routine is bad for personal well-being.

46. When nothing new is happening, we just don’t notice the days and weeks slipping
______________________________.

47. What a lot of people accept as natural forgetfulness is really that their lives are becoming
______________________________.

48. When you are young, everything is new and your brain is working
______________________________ to take everything in.

49. We need to recapture the sense of newness by ______________________________

routines and seeking out new experiences.

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 Please do not write in this space.
Written Expression Composition A (___ /10) + Composition B ( ___ /10) = ____ /20 ÷ 2 =

3. WRITTEN EXPRESSION

COMPOSITIONS

Part I. Write 225-275 words in an appropriate style on the following topic.

• Essay:

When studying, mobile phones are more distracting than helpful. Do you agree?

In your essay you must:

 say how mobile phones can be a helpful resource when studying
 mention some ways in which mobile phones can break students’ concentration
 give some ideas about how students can avoid online distractions

Part II. Write 225-275 words in an appropriate style on ONE of the following topics.

• Letter of complaint:

You bought a year’s membership to an exclusive gym, but the cleanliness, the quality of the
classes and equipment, and the manner in which members are treated have all deteriorated
in recent months. Write a letter to the management with your complaints and ask them for
a solution.

In your letter you must:

 give your reasons for signing up for this particular gym
 mention at least two specific problems you’ve had
 say what you expect the management to do

• Article:

You’ve been asked to submit an article for your school’s online magazine with the following
title: My Biggest Mistake and What I Learned from it. Write your article.

In your article you must:

 say what your mistake was and how you made it
 mention some of the consequences
 say what you learned from the experience