Test your English at Proficiency level
Global English exists (0) ….as…… a political and cultural reality. Many misguided theories attempt to explain why the English language should have succeeded internationally, whilst (1) ………. have not. Is it because there is (2) ………. inherently logical or beautiful about the structure of English? Does its simple grammar (3) ………. it easy to learn? Such ideas are misconceived. Latin was once a major international language, despite having a complicated grammatical structure, and English also presents learners (4) ………. all manner of real difficulties, (5) ………. least its spelling system. Ease (6) ………. learning, therefore, has little to (7) ………. with it. (8) ………. all, children learn to speak their mother tongue in approximately the same period of time, (9) ………. of their language.
English has spread not so (10) ………. for linguistic reasons, but rather because it has often found (11) ………. in the right place, at the right time. (12) ………. the 1960s, two developments have contributed to strengthening this global status. Firstly, in a number of countries, English is now used in addition to national or regional languages. As (13) ………. as this, an electronic revolution has taken (14) …….. . It is estimated that (15) ………. the region of 80% of worldwide electronic communication is now in English.
For questions 26-31, think of one word only which can be used appropriately in all three sentences.
16 It is very difficult to fully ……………………. certain pieces of jazz music until you’ve heard them a good few times.
Although I’m always ready to lend a hand, Marta never really seems to ……………………. the things I do for her.
Given the market for decorative antiques, I’d say that the value of that beautiful vase is set to ……………………. considerably in the next few years.
17 James is able to ……………………. an enormous amount of factual information in his head.
Although the old house has been completely renovated, care has been taken to
……………………. as many of the original features as possible.
When you’re buying outdoor adventure clothing, the thing to look for is material that does not ……………………. a lot of moisture.
18 With less than a minute of the football match to go, Phil managed to ……………………. the ball into the back of the net.
I think the best course of action would be to jump into the car and ……………………. for Bristol as soon as possible.
Louise has been asked to ……………………. an investigation into what went wrong on the night of the accident.
19 Initially, few companies saw any potential in computers designed for the ……………………. rather than the office environment.
Although extremely independent, and well able to look after themselves, cats are generally classified as ……………………. animals.
Over the years, the proportion of foreign stories in this newspaper has declined as people have become more engrossed in ……………………. issues.
20 The chess champion held off a serious ……………………. from his younger opponent in the last match of the tournament.
The chairman of the meeting seemed to regard questions from the audience as some kind of ……………………. to his authority.
You’ll find some aspects of the job a real ……………………. , but we’re confident that you can cope.
21 Melanie practised her lines each day after school, getting increasingly nervous as the date of her audition ……………………. even closer.
Although Tim had been in the lead for most of the race, as they reached the final bend, Graham ……………………. level and threatened to overtake him.
On an impulse, Laurie ……………………. all the money out of his bank account and went to London, intending to spend every last penny of it.
These examples came from the official Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English Handbook 2002.