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CPE Practice Tests 1

CPE Practice Tests is a set of six complete practice tests written in line
with the specifications for the revised Certificate of Proficiency in English
(CPE) examination (introduction March 2013). This set of tests, written by
experienced examinations authors, provide comprehensive coverage of
the type of language points and individual skills focuses targeted in the
examination and, taken together, offer thorough practice in the tasks
contained in each of the four papers.

Student’s Book
Key features of Student’s Book:
• Six full practice tests for the revised CPE examination
• Introductory section providing a comprehensive overview of each
of the four papers
• Wide range of authentic texts drawn from a variety of sources in
line with CPE specifications
• Thorough coverage of discrete language and skills focuses
targeted in the examination across the six tests
• Full colour visual prompts for each Paper 4
• Audio CDs containing all Paper 3 material in test simulation
format

Bob Obee – Virginia Evans

Features of Key:
• Complete answers and suggested answers to all sections including
Speaking Paper 4
• Model answers to all Paper 2 writing questions

Components:
• Student’s Book
• Key
• Audios (downloadable)

Express Publishing

ISBN 978-1-4715-7590-7
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Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4

CPE TEST
PRACTICE TEST 11 Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ....................................................................... 6
Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................... 18
Paper 3 - Listening ................................................................................................ 20
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................... 25

PRACTICE TEST 2
Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ..................................................................... 26
Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................... 38
Paper 3 - Listening ................................................................................................ 40
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................... 45

PRACTICE TEST 3 Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ..................................................................... 46

Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................... 58
Paper 3 - Listening ................................................................................................ 60
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................... 65

PRACTICE TEST 4 Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ..................................................................... 66

Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................... 78
Paper 3 - Listening ................................................................................................ 80
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................... 85

Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ..................................................................... 86

PRACTICE TEST 5
Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................... 98
Paper 3 - Listening .............................................................................................. 100
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................. 105

PRACTICE TEST 6 Paper 1 - Reading & Use of English ................................................................... 106

Paper 2 - Writing ................................................................................................. 118
Paper 3 - Listening .............................................................................................. 120
Paper 4 - Speaking ............................................................................................. 125

Visual material for the Speaking Paper ......................................................................................... 127

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Introduction
CPE Practice Tests 1 contains six complete tests About CPE
designed to help students to prepare for the University
CPE is at the fifth level in the UCLES five-level series
of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES)
of examinations and is designed to offer an advanced
Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
qualification, suitable for those who want to use
examination. The tests offer comprehensive practice in
English for professional or academic study purposes.
all four papers of the examination and reflect the
At this level, the learner is approaching the linguistic
revised exam which will be introduced from March
competence of an educated native speaker and is able
2013, thus providing students with the tools to develop
to use the language in a wide range of culturally
the skills required to succeed in this examination and
appropriate ways. CPE is recognised by the majority
obtain the CPE qualification.
of British universities for English language entrance
CPE Practice Tests 1 includes a wide range of requirements. It is also widely recognised throughout
stimulating, authentic texts in examination format, the world by universities, institutes of higher
listening texts with authenticated recordings and a education, professional bodies as well as in commerce
variety of accents, and full-colour visual material for and industry as an indication of a very high level of
the Speaking Test. competence in English.
The Student’s Book provides a detailed overview of
the CPE examination, with a description of all the Cambridge Level Five
sections of each paper. It also provides exam Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
guidance sections and guidelines on assessing and
marking each paper. Cambridge Level Four
Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
The Key contains answers to all the exercises in the
Student’s Book, model written answers for Paper 2 – Cambridge Level Three
Writing, tapescripts of the recorded material for the First Certificate in English (FCE)
Listening paper, and guidelines for the Speaking Cambridge Level Two
Test. Preliminary English Test (PET)
Cambridge Level One
Key English Test (KET)

In CPE there are four Papers as shown below:

Paper 1 (1 hour 30 mins)

Reading & Use of English 7 parts

Paper 2 (1 hour 30 mins)

Writing 2 parts

Paper 3 (approximately 40 mins)

Listening 4 parts

Paper 4 (16 mins)

Speaking 3 parts

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PAPER 1 Task types: essay, report, article, letter and review.

Task focus: writing one of the tasks from a number of
READING & USE OF ENGLISH (1 hour 30 mins)
possible text types based on either a contextualised writing
This paper has 7 parts with 53 questions drawn from texts
task or a question related to one of two set texts.
with between 2,900-3,400 words in total.
Part 1 PAPER 3
A modified cloze containing eight gaps followed by eight
4-option multiple-choice items. LISTENING (approximately 40 minutes)
Test focus: idioms, collocations, fixed phrases, complementation, This paper has four parts, each containing a recorded
phrasal verbs and semantic precision. (1 mark per question) text/texts with corresponding comprehension tasks. Each
part is heard twice.
Part 2
A modified cloze test containing eight gaps. Part 1
Task focus: awareness and control of grammar with some Three short texts of approx. 1 minute each, consisting of
focus on vocabulary. (1 mark per question) either monologues or dialogues with two multiple-choice
questions for each extract.
Part 3
Task focus: identifying speaker feeling, attitude, opinion,
A text containing eight gaps each of which corresponds to a
purpose, agreement between speakers, course of action, gist
word. The stem of the word is given beside the text and
must be changed to form the missing word. and detail. (1 mark per question)
Task focus: vocabulary, in particular the use of affixation, Part 2
internal changes and compounding in word formation. A monologue of 3-4 mins with 9 sentence completion questions.
(1 mark per question) Task focus: identifying specific information and stated opinion.
Part 4 (1 mark per question)
Six items, each containing a lead-in sentence followed by a Part 3
gapped second sentence to be completed with between 3 and An interview or conversation between two or more speakers of
8 words. The sentences must contain the given ‘key’ word. approx. 4 minutes with five 4-option multiple-choice questions.
Task focus: grammar, vocabulary and collocation. Task focus: identifying attitude, opinion, gist, detail and
(2 marks per question) inference. (1 mark per question)
Part 5 Part 4
A text followed by six four-option multiple-choice questions. Five short, themed monologues of approx. 30 seconds each
Task focus: detail, opinion, attitude, tone, purpose, main idea, with two tasks, each containing five questions requiring the
implication and text organisation features (exemplification, selection of the correct option from a list of eight.
reference). (2 marks per question) Task focus: identifying gist, attitude, main points and
Part 6 interpreting context. (1 mark per question)
A text with seven paragraphs removed and placed in jumbled (Total 50)
order after the text with one extra paragraph as a distractor.
Task focus: cohesion, coherence, text structure and global PAPER 4
meaning. (2 marks per question) SPEAKING (approximately 16 minutes)
Part 7 This paper contains three parts and is taken by the
A text or several short texts with ten multiple-matching candidates in pairs with two examiners present. One of the
questions whereby a prompt is matched to elements in the text. examiners acts as interlocutor and the other one as assessor.
Task focus: detail, opinion, attitude and specific information. (1 mark per question)
(1 mark per question) Part 1
(Total 72 marks) Conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate.
PAPER 2 The interlocutor encourages candidates to give information
about themselves and express personal opinions.
WRITING (1 hour 30 mins) Task focus: using general interactional and social language.
This paper has two parts. Each question in this paper
carries equal marks. Part 2
Two-way conversation between the candidates based on
Part 1
written and visual prompts.
A compulsory essay writing task of 240-280 words. The essay
Task focus: sustaining an interaction, exchanging ideas,
must summarise and evaluate the key ideas contained in two
expressing/justifying opinions, agreeing/disagreeing, suggesting,
texts of approximately 100 words each. The texts may have
speculating, evaluating, reaching decisions through negotiation etc.
complementary or contrasting opinions. They may also be
extracts from newspapers, books, magazines, online source Part 3
material or based on quotations from speakers in a discussion. Individual long turn by each candidate followed by a
Task focus: a discursive essay. discussion on topics related to the long turn. Each candidate
Part 2 is given a written question to respond to. The candidates then
One task of 280-320 words from a choice of four. Questions engage in a discussion to explore further the long turn topics.
2-4 are tasks with a clear context, topic, purpose and target Task focus: organising a larger unit of discourse,
reader. Question 5 is a choice between two tasks based on expressing/ justifying opinions and developing topics.
the set reading texts.
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PRACTICE TEST 1
Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English (1 hour 30 minutes)
Part 1
For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. Mark your
answers on the separate answer sheet.

There is an example at the beginning (0).

0 A holding B clinging C seizing D embracing

0 A B C D

APPALACHIA
B
Steep green wooded hills with alpine meadows (0) ...................... to their sides stretched away for as
far as the eye could see. Before me a sinuous road led down to a valley of rolling farms
(1) ...................... out along a lazy river. It was as perfect a (2) ...................... as I had ever seen. I
drove through the soft light of dusk, (3) ...................... by the beauty.
This was the heart of Appalachia, the most (4) ...................... impoverished region of the United
States. Known for its music, and also known historically, and largely unjustly, for its isolation, for coal
mining, and for the dearth of education of its inhabitants, it is also one of the most misunderstood
regions. But to my (5) ......................, above all else, it was simply inexpressibly beautiful.
It seemed strange to think that the urban professionals of the Eastern Seaboard cities hadn’t
(6) ...................... an area of such arresting beauty, filling the dales with rustic weekend cottages,
country clubs and fancy restaurants. At a second (7) ......................, however, there were a handful of
quaint cottages (8) ...................... among the farms. Perhaps Appalachia was on the cusp of
establishing a new identity.

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Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English

1 A spread B stacked C stood D sat

2 A set B scenery C setting D scenario

3 A digested B absorbed C dissolved D immersed

4 A severely B strictly C sharply D harshly

5 A nose B thought C eye D taste

6 A possessed B encamped C overtaken D colonised

7 A glance B take C attempt D glare

8 A brushed B tossed C concealed D dotted

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 2
For questions 9-16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in
each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the
separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 B U T

AUSTRALIA’S DOG FENCE

BUT
The dog fence is Australia’s version of the Great Wall of China, (0) ................. longer;
erected to keep (9) ................. hostile invaders, in this (10) ................. hordes of wild
dogs, called dingoes. The empire it preserves is (11) ................. of the woolgrowers.
They are sovereigns of the world’s second largest sheep flock after China’s, some 123
million head, and keepers of a wool export business worth four billion dollars
(12) ................. the national economy. It seems to (13) ................. little that more
and more people – conservationists, politicians, taxpayers and animal lovers – say that
the construction of such a fence would never be allowed today. With some sections of
it almost one hundred years old, built by bushmen travelling with camels, the dog fence
has (14) ................., as even most conservationists ruefully admit, ‘an icon of frontier
ingenuity’.
To appreciate this unusual outback monument and to meet the people (15) .................
livelihoods depend on it, I spent part of an autumn travelling the wire. For most of its
prodigious length, the fence winds like a river through a landscape that,
(16) ................. heavy rain has fallen, scarcely has rivers. It marks the traditional
dividing line. Outside, dingoes thrive; inside, legally classified as vermin, they may be
shot, poisoned and trapped.

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Paper 1 – Reading & 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 space 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 J U D G E M E N T S

JUDGEMENTS about people are formed on the basis of their

Most snap (0) .......................... JUDGE

(17) .................................... features. The eyes, regarded as clues to one’s true FACE

character, are said (18) ....................................... to be the windows of the soul: POETRY

closely positioned, they imply (19) ......................................; set wide apart they SLY

suggest (20) .............................. and directness. Thin mouths are equated with HONEST

meanness and full mouths with (21) ................................... . Unconsciously, we SENSUAL

make such instant judgements and they are made about us. There is no hiding

place for the face. Always exposed and vulnerable, it (22) ................................. VOLUNTARY

expresses happiness, desire and joy, anger, fear, shame and (23) ................. . LOATHE

Precisely for that reason, a masked face evokes fear and horror: once

someone’s distinguishing (24) ................................ are hidden, we cannot read CHARACTER

or recognise the person and fear of the unknown immediately arouses

suspicion.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

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 eight words, including the word
given. Here is an example (0).

Example:

0 I really wish I’d seen her before she left.

regret

I really ........................................................................................ before she left.

0 regret not having seen her

Write only the missing words on the separate answer sheet.

25 It won’t hurt to tell your boss how you feel.

lose

You have ........................................................................................ your boss how you feel.

26 It was only because of Sarah’s quick reactions that we weren’t injured.

it

If .............................................................................. Sarah’s quick reactions, we would have been injured.

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Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English

27 He did not pay any attention to the numerous warning letters he received.

notice

He ........................................................................................ the numerous warning letters he received.

28 The meeting wasn’t nearly as bad as I had anticipated.

turned

The meeting .............................................................................. be much better than I had anticipated.

29 A child will be expelled from the school only as a last resort.

else

Only if ........................................................................................ be expelled from the school.

30 He’s only just getting used to not having to go to work.

terms

He’s only just ........................................................................................ not having to go to work.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 5
You are going to read an extract from an article. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
you think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Britain on the Couch

T his book is about the angst of normal people, of
people like us. It offers an explanation of why we are
so much more likely to be miserable than our
grandparents, why we are so discontented and self-attacking,
why the moments of emotional richness and freedom of our
which results from these false ambitions and identities, by
selling pills and therapeutic services.
I am not suggesting that there is a conspiracy by a secret
society of top-hat-clad, black-coated bankers and blindly
materialistic retailers to make us miserable. Writing of
childhood are less frequent, why so many of us feel there is advanced capitalism as if it has volition is to make human an
something missing from life. abstract entity which has no will of its own, just as
It establishes that, compared with 1950, the general rise in describing genes as selfish is nonsense. But it has to be
aspirations has spawned depression and an epidemic of acknowledged that the way advanced capitalism happens to
compulsions like drug abuse, gambling and eating disorders. have evolved, it does very nicely at both ends (creating and
We compare ourselves obsessively and enviously, curing misery), with our inner lives footing the bill.
corrupting the quality of our inner lives. No sooner do we Nor am I suggesting that a spiritual renaissance is what is
achieve a goal than we move the goalposts to create a new required, and that we must eschew our materialism and
one, leaving ourselves permanently depleted. There is an return to the simple agrarian life of idealised noble savages;
outbreak of living in the future and a pathological re- rather, that we are suffering from a crucial delusion that we
enactment of the past. need to be richer as a nation in order to be happier.
People with most of these problems are more likely than Increased prosperity is the cornerstone of all major
those without to have low levels of the neurotransmitter political parties’ manifestos and yet, if studies of national
serotonin, the so-called ‘happiness brain chemical’. Given that well-being are to be believed, voters are mistaken in
there is a chemistry of despair, one might suppose that it has a supposing that greater national wealth will be accompanied
chemical, physical cause. Perhaps the problem is pollution. Is by greater happiness. Once a society passes beyond a basic
it something to do with the processing of the foods we eat or level of wealth, anything beyond that makes no difference to
the methods of cultivation of the raw materials? Maybe the overall contentment. Advanced capitalism has made most of
new technologies such as mobile phones and computers are us physically better off by meeting biological needs with
interfering with our brains? Though far from impossible that unprecedented efficiency, but it has actually made us more
some of these things are contributing, the strongest contender prone to low-serotonin problems such as depression and
by far for explaining what has gone wrong is the way we aggression.
organise society. I shall show that advanced capitalism, as New disciplines of evolutionary psychology and
currently organised, creates low-serotonin societies. Far from psychiatry suggest that advanced capitalism does not meet
being the product of other chemicals, serotonin levels in animal our primordial needs, evolved over millions of years, for
and human brains largely reflect what is happening around status and emotional attachment. Our genes were developed
them, socially and emotionally. to cope with completely different psychological and
Put crudely, advanced capitalism makes money out of technological circumstances than the ones facing us today.
misery and dissatisfaction, as if it were encouraging us to fill For example, most of our adult lives we fight against the
the psychic void with material goods. It can also profit from problem of being overweight. This a wholly new problem in
fostering spurious individualism by encouraging us to define the history of the world, caused in the first instance by
ourselves through our purchases, with ever more precisely technology creating diverse and abundant foods.
marketed products that create a fetishistic concern to have Unfortunately, like all animals, humans were designed to
‘this’ rather than ‘that’, even though there is often no assume that food would be scarce and not on the premise
significant practical or aesthetic difference. It can even make that there would be unlimited supplies of highly calorific
money from restoring the chemical imbalance in our brains food available at all times.
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Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English

31 The writer argues that people feel there is something missing in life because they
A exaggerate the freedom of their youth.
B no longer know what they want.
C are constantly aiming for what they do not have.
D do not possess sufficient depth of emotion.

32 What does the author suggest is a vehicle for advanced capitalism to profit from feelings of despair?
A work promotion
B marketing
C therapy
D aesthetic values

33 The writer makes it clear that

A advanced capitalism has no answers for the problems it creates.
B we need to reject materialism.
C particular groups are not directly responsible for the problems.
D the system governing society has a will of its own.

34 In the writer’s view, political parties aggravate the problem by

A setting out to achieve basic standards of wealth.
B thinking only of efficiency.
C depressing people further by enriching themselves.
D equating happiness with prosperity.

35 In the last paragraph, what does the writer suggest is the defining characteristic of our times?
A Evolution is speeding up.
B We no longer get what we most need from society.
C Machinery has displaced humans in certain fields of activity.
D Meeting primordial human needs is no longer enough.

36 In the writer’s general view, a possible way forward for society lies in
A further prosperity creating time for reflection.
B our capacity to find remedies for compulsions.
C restoring the way of life of pre-industrial times.
D a reassessment of the value of material wealth.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 6
You are going to read an extract from an article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from
the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (37-43). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

The as
The unsolved crime is usually hailed as the perfect
40
crime. More often than not, however, a crime remains
unsolved thanks to a combination of poor planning, luck With trucks painted to resemble those of the phone
on the criminal’s part and a faulty police investigation. company, Schneider would hijack the equipment and
It remains unsolved because it is unrecognised and then return home to tap into the computer once more to
undetected as a piece of villainy. give it instructions to wipe the whole transaction from
its electronic memory. The whole process, from the
37 initial order being sent to it being erased, would take just
a few hours.
At the beginning of the 1980s it was estimated that there
were 300,000 large computers at work in businesses in
41
the United States, Europe and Japan juggling enormous
amounts of commodities. Unlike human clerks and bank The embarrassing extent of the losses was only admitted
tellers, with all their frailties and temptations, computers to once police investigators had physically gone round
could never get their sums wrong and do not possess to the warehouse and totalled up items with old-
sticky fingers to stick into the till. fashioned pen and paper. No-one had been prepared to
concede that a computer insisting everything was as it
38 should be might be wrong.

Small wonder then that it did not take long for criminals
42
to realise the potential of getting computers onto their side.
For the computer’s infallibility is a double-edged sword. If Schneider subsequently set himself up in a new business
crooked information is fed in at the start of the process, as one of America’s highest paid computer security
impeccably crooked instructions are produced at the other consultants. For fat fees, he would reveal that clients’
end and no-one doubts the orders the machine gives them. systems contained flaws like the ones he had exploited,
which enabled crooked computer operators to steal by
39 remote control.

A twenty-one-year-old high school graduate who was

43
struggling to form his own telephone equipment supply
business, Schneider discovered secret codes which A typical opening sales pitch to prospective clients
allowed him to tap into the computer controlling the would go something like this : ‘Who needs to take the
stocks in the warehouse of Pacific Bell in California. risk of leaping over a counter with a sawn-off shotgun
Using his own modified computer terminal at home, he when they can sit in the comfort of their own home and
persuaded the electronic stock controller that he was a do the same thing with a computer terminal or a
legitimate installation contractor for the phone company telephone?’
and he began to order costly wiring and exchange
equipment from the warehouse.

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Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English

A The decision of the almighty computer is E Accepting illicit instructions, the computer
final, whether it is sending a demand for dispatched expensive goods to destinations
payment to a customer who is vainly throughout the region. A typical order, for
disputing a bill or releasing vast amounts of example, would be sent to a pavement beside
hard cash on invoices it has cleared for a manhole cover where delivery drivers
payment. The computer is above suspicion. dumped the bulky crates, assuming another
crew would arrive later and begin installation.
B The case never reached the courts. It was, after
all, a huge embarrassment to an organisation F In the criminal’s quest for illegal perfection,
that needed to convince its public that their many have found a willing new accomplice
electronically calculated phone bills were who never gets nervous about being caught
accurate and Schneider, even under lock and and punished, who leaves no fingerprints
key, still posed a considerable threat. All and never demands a share of the loot. The
charges were dropped after he gave the phone computer, an electronic brain without morals
company a secret briefing on the loopholes in or scruples, is the perfect partner in crime.
their system.
G Business boomed until an employee,
C The legend of Jerry Schneider lives on in the angered at not being given a pay rise, tipped
corporate memory of every major US firm, off the police. Even with a red-handed
haunting them when noughts are added to the suspect in custody, however, officials of the
paychecks of imaginary staff. His picture also phone company simply could not conceive
hangs on the walls of hundreds of hackers that Schneider had milked them of $1 million
operating in clandestine cyber-space. worth of stock in less than a year.

D The case that brought the potential for H Those who took advantage of such peculiar
computer fraud to the attention of an insight from first-hand experience were soon
unsuspecting public was that of Jerry to discover that they had already been
Schneider. He became a millionaire by robbed blind, losing millions through
defrauding the master computer of the Pacific computer manipulation to culprits who could
Bell Telephone company in Los Angeles. never be traced. All evidence of these crimes
Schneider’s crime is still unsolved. It remains had long since been erased.
a mystery as to exactly how he fooled the
electronic brain.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 7
You are going to read some opinions from an article about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For questions 44-53,
choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Which person gives each of these opinions about health?

It’s a good idea to be a bit sceptical. 44 ..........

The current interest in health is not completely genuine. 45 ..........

There is a lot of contradictory information. 46 ..........

Modern options may be too complicated. 47 ..........

The best way to be healthy requires considerable sacrifices. 48 ..........

There is nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in some bad foods. 49 ..........

The mental aspects of health are as important as the physical. 50 ..........

Some interventions may do as much harm as good. 51 ..........

We must wait some time to know an outcome. 52 ..........

A similar behaviour could benefit most living things. 53 ..........

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Paper 1 – Reading & Use of English

How can we live a healthy life?

A Louise
From what I’ve read, we can do a myriad of things to improve our health. Keeping fit is important in keeping the
weight down and keeping active. Eating a healthy diet is vital too, naturally; some people say going vegetarian is
healthy, but I don’t think I could do it. I do try to cut back on red meat and processed meats like sausages and
such to once or twice a week. Of course, smoking and drinking is detrimental. It’s becoming incredibly confusing
though, because there’s such a glut of information out there. One week they tell us we must drink eight glasses
of water every day, then they tell us water is irrelevant, but tea drinkers live longer than non-tea drinkers. They tell
us chocolate will make us fat and the fat will kill us, then they tell us that chocolate can lower blood pressure and
prevent heart disease. They tell us running is critical to heart health, but it will wreck our knees. I’ve read all manner
of things. I try to take it all with a grain of salt.

B Anna
I’m not a doctor, but I do work in biological research, and I must say that some of the work they’re doing with
calorie restriction is very interesting. You see, they have quite reliably established that all sorts of animals, from
worms to fruit flies to rats, all the way up to primates, have extended healthy lifespans if their calorie intake is
restricted considerably – I mean, something like thirty percent below general recommendations – while they
continue to get enough nutrients by eating only very high quality foods. Of course, it’s easier for laboratory
animals. This would be very difficult to implement for most humans. It’s not an easy diet to follow, for sure – no
more pizza. Some people are trying it already, though, I’ve read. I think they’re part of a study, but it’s early days
still. We’ll have to wait a lifetime, quite literally, to see how they get on.

C Alan
There’s a saying, several maybe, about moderation being the key to this and that. The way I look at it, this is also
the key to having a healthy life. Everything in moderation. There’s nothing wrong with a piece of chocolate cake
once in a while; eating a chocolate cake every day – not so good. Too much coffee is not healthy at all, while
some say a cup or two is actually good for you. Conversely, exercise is so important, as everyone knows, but if
you get too much, well, the body gets worn out long before it should. So really I think, the way I look at it, a bit
of anything is fine, and too much of anything is foolhardy. A varied diet is important, and doing various activities
throughout the day. Try new things; if the mind is alert and interested, health follows. And being happy is the
most important of all, I think.

D Ronald
I think our whole search for the healthy lifestyle is a bit contrived. It comes from an overabundance of leisure
time and a tendency to hypochondria. For most of human history, we were content to have a meal on the table,
and escape dying from the plague, and maybe procure a new suit of clothes once in a while. Now, we have
choices. We have antibiotics, we have the supermarket, and we have all sorts of vitamin pills and supplements.
Does it really matter what brand of multivitamin supplement you take? Will one extend your life by six months
and the next by two years? I doubt it. I think, in general, people need to stop dwelling on their health so much
and just get on with it and live their lives. That pharmaceutical product you’re taking to lower your risk of heart
disease might just end up increasing your risk of cancer. We really don’t know, but worrying about it will surely
lower your quality of life!

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PRACTICE TEST 1
Paper 2 – Writing (1 hour 30 mins)
Part 1
Read the two texts below.

Write an essay summarising and evaluating the key points from both texts. Use your own words throughout as
far as possible, and include your own ideas in your answers.

Write your answer in 240-280 words on the separate answer sheet.

1 Self-Reliance is the Way Forward

When disaster strikes, it is only natural for individuals and nations to want to help victims of floods, drought
and earthquakes by sending food and medical aid. The countries affected the hardest are normally the
poorer, less developed nations of the world. Already burdened by poverty and debt, these acts of charity can
be true life-savers at times of crisis. However, providing charity on a regular basis or even going as far as
cancelling third world debt would only be detrimental to their future development and social progress. What
these countries need is to learn to rely on themselves and act on their own initiatives rather than depend on
a continuous flow of handouts.

The Poor are Subsidising the Rich

Debt has crippled many developing countries. It is often the result of loans taken out by prior, often corrupt,
rulers. The people have not benefited, and now face poorer and poorer living standards as precious resources
are diverted to debt repayment, at very high interest rates. These countries are repaying billions of dollars
that could be going to developing infrastructure, healthcare and education. In addition, environmental issues
and debt are closely related. Not only do indebted countries cut back on social, health, and other important
programs, but they also feel that they need to exploit the earth’s resources for the cash that is so desperately
needed. Resolving debt-related issues would therefore indirectly help mitigate environmental damage.

Write your essay.

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Paper 2 – Writing

Part 2
Write an answer to one of the questions 2-4 in this part. Write your answer in 280-320 words in an appropriate style
on the separate answer sheet. Put the question number in the box at the top of the answer sheet.

2 A monthly guide to local entertainment and cultural events is looking for articles from its readers for its
‘Eating Out’ section. It has asked readers to contribute articles on a different and enjoyable eating out
experience, giving reasons why the restaurant would appeal to readers with similar tastes.

Write your article.

3 You work as a volunteer in your spare time for a local environmental campaign group. A documentary was
recently shown on national TV which was critical of your local government’s environmental record. Write a
review of the documentary for the next monthly issue of your organisation’s magazine.

Write your review.

4 You have just been appointed social events organiser for the Social Club of your language school. Write a
letter to students to be published in the school magazine praising the work done by the previous holder of
the post and describing the kinds of activities and events you hope to run throughout the year. Your letter
should include details of the charities chosen to benefit from money raised by the events.

Write your letter.

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PRACTICE TEST 1
Paper 3 – Listening (approx. 40 minutes)
Part 1
You will hear three different extracts. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B or C) which fits best according
to what you hear. There are two questions for each extract.

Extract One

You hear a man talking about some of the problems he has because of his short-sightedness.

1 What are his misreadings sometimes related to?

A words in small print
B his prejudices
C how he feels

2 How does he feel about his problem?

A concerned
B amused
C insecure

Extract Two

You hear the introduction of a documentary on the world of robots.

3 The presenter implies that people often associate robots with

A amateur enthusiasts.
B large industrial towns.
C lazy scientists.

4 In contrast to developments in the rest of the world, Japan is developing robots which
A are of a much smaller size.
B are designed for domestic use.
C do not require large capital investment.

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Paper 3 – Listening

Extract Three

You hear a historian describing an epic voyage of the British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

5 The crew survived the first phase of the ordeal by

A breaking up the ship.
B maintaining their morale.
C building up their supplies.

6 The presenter ironically implies that

A nowhere was explored.
B the crew resorted to cannibalism.
C the story has been exaggerated.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 2
You will hear a radio feature on the origins of common words in English. For questions 7-15, complete the
sentences with a word or short phrase.

Pamela suggests that words similar in so many languages originate in a common source dating from

approximately 7 .

These words are used in languages in every corner of the world regardless of a people’s

8 .

A common language which predates 9 is thought to be

the source of these words.

Grimm’s contribution was to show that both 10

characterise the process of historical change in language.

It is the efforts of linguists rather than those of 11

that has led to our understanding of our Indo-European roots.

Research into the words used in ancient times gives insights into the kind of

12 that had evolved.

The existence of an ancient word for plough suggests our ancestors were not

13 .

Pamela suggests that 14 led to the migration

of Indo-Europeans.

It is likely that our early ancestors speculated about 15

as we do today.

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Paper 3 - Listening

Part 3
You will hear an interview with Simon Lessing, a leading expert on the phenomenon of modern piracy. For
questions 16-20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.

16 What distinguishes modern pirates from those of previous generations is

A the degree of advanced planning.
B that they use more than one form of weaponry.
C that victims are often murdered.
D the targeting of ships with a certain type of crew.

17 Common sources of information for pirate gangs are people who

A work for shipping companies.
B operate computer networks.
C work for multinational corporations.
D handle the payroll.

18 In Lessing’s view, the problem with ‘flags of convenience’ is that they

A are bought for a low registration fee.
B can be used at open sea.
C make hijacked ships harder to identify.
D help pirates identify easy targets.

19 Lessing implies that piracy is a more widespread problem than it used to be because
A of the forms of disguises pirates now adopt.
B it affects more than just merchant vessels.
C the method of counting and recording incidents has changed.
D pirates have stopped targeting major sea lanes.

20 Lessing feels that romantic notions of pirates

A have never been accurate.
B still apply to modern piracy in some of its forms.
C are appropriate to those who used riddles to indicate the location of their loot.
D persist in modern times because of hidden treasure.

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PRACTICE TEST 1

Part 4
You will hear five short extracts in which veterinary students talk about issues involving the health and well-being
of animals.

Task One Task Two

For questions 21-25, choose from the list (A-H) what For questions 26-30, choose from the list (A-H) what
issue the speaker is most concerned about. problem each speaker identifies.

While you listen, you must complete both tasks.

A abandoned animals A a lack of profit

B exploitation of strays B a lack of responsibility

C sterilization of pets Speaker 1 21 C a lack of personal Speaker 1 26

relevancy
D extinction Speaker 2 22 Speaker 2 27
D unethical profits
E the spread of disease Speaker 3 23 Speaker 3 28
E social controversy
F factory farming Speaker 4 24 Speaker 4 29
F poor living conditions
G invasive medical Speaker 5 25 Speaker 5 30
treatment G insufficient medical
knowledge
H vegetarianism
H prolonging suffering

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PRACTICE TEST 1
Paper 4 – Speaking (approx. 16 minutes)
The speaking test involves two candidates and two examiners. One examiner, the Interlocutor, will speak to you
while the other, the Assessor, will just listen.

Part 1 (2 minutes)
You will be asked questions in turn about where you live and where you are from, your work, studies and interests,
and your views on certain things.

Part 2 (4 minutes)
You will be asked to discuss the photographs on page 129 together. There are two stages in this part.

Stage 1
Here are some advertisements of products. Look at pictures 2 and 4 on page 129 and talk together about the kind of
people each advertisement is targeting.

Stage 2
Now look at all the pictures. Imagine that these advertisements have been brought to the attention of the Advertising
Standards Authority by people who object to their content. Talk together about what people might find objectionable
in them. Then decide which advertisement you find the most objectionable.

Part 3 (10 minutes)

You will be asked to talk on your own, comment on what your partner says and join in a three-way discussion
with your partner and the Interlocutor around a certain theme.

Our World
Candidate A will be asked to look at prompt card (a) and Candidate B will then be given prompt card (b) and asked
talk about it for two minutes. to discuss it for two minutes.
There are also some ideas on the card to use, if the There are also some ideas on the card to use, if the
candidate wishes. candidate wishes.
Prompt Card (a) Prompt Card (b)
In what ways are human activities harming the planet? How have advances in science and technology improved the
– deforestation quality of life?
– waste – communication
– industry – public health
– transportation
Candidate B will then be asked a question related to the
topic: Candidate A will then be asked a question related to the
• Is the world a safer place today than it was fifty years ago? topic:
Then, the Interlocutor will invite Candidate A to join in using • What new technology do you find most useful?
the following prompt: Then, the Interlocutor will invite Candidate B to join in using
• What do you think? the following prompt:
• How about you?

The test will then be concluded with a number of general questions about the topic:
• Are some countries right to regulate the Internet?
• What do you think poses the greatest danger to our natural environment?
• Do ordinary citizens in your country recycle things?
• Has people’s health generally improved over the last decades?

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CPE Practice Tests 1

CPE Practice Tests is a set of six complete practice tests written in line
with the specifications for the revised Certificate of Proficiency in English
(CPE) examination (introduction March 2013). This set of tests, written by
experienced examinations authors, provide comprehensive coverage of
the type of language points and individual skills focuses targeted in the
examination and, taken together, offer thorough practice in the tasks
contained in each of the four papers.

Student’s Book
Key features of Student’s Book:
• Six full practice tests for the revised CPE examination
• Introductory section providing a comprehensive overview of each
of the four papers
• Wide range of authentic texts drawn from a variety of sources in
line with CPE specifications
• Thorough coverage of discrete language and skills focuses
targeted in the examination across the six tests
• Full colour visual prompts for each Paper 4
• Audio CDs containing all Paper 3 material in test simulation
format

Bob Obee – Virginia Evans

Features of Key:
• Complete answers and suggested answers to all sections including
Speaking Paper 4
• Model answers to all Paper 2 writing questions

Components:
• Student’s Book
• Key
• Audios (downloadable)

Express Publishing

ISBN 978-1-4715-7590-7