Modelo 1 · C2 Proficiency: Use of English completo (partes 1 a 4)

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Examen completo de Use of English con el formato del C2 Proficiency: las cuatro partes seguidas, treinta preguntas y una hora corta. Se corrige solo aquí y te lo puedes descargar en PDF, con soluciones o sin ellas.

Parte 1 · Multiple choice cloze

Elige la palabra que encaja en cada hueco. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

The trouble with plain language

Campaigns for plain language tend to (1) ___ on a single assumption: that a difficult sentence is a badly written one. For the most part this holds. Tax forms, insurance policies and hospital letters have all been improved (2) ___ recognition by editors who simply asked what each sentence was for.

The assumption (3) ___ down, however, at the point where the subject itself is genuinely complicated. A contract that is easy to read may be easy to read precisely because it has (4) ___ over a distinction that will matter a great deal later. Clarity, in that case, is not a service to the reader but a (5) ___ played on one.

Good editors know this, which is why their work is slower than it looks. They spend less time (6) ___ out long words than deciding which of the difficulties in a text are real. The real ones have to be (7) ___ ; the rest can go. What cannot be done, although it is endlessly promised, is to make a complicated idea simple without (8) ___ something behind.

  1. 1. Campaigns tend to ___ on a single assumptionrestsitliestandrest. Rest on an assumption es apoyarse en una idea de partida. Stand on y sit on son físicos, y lie on te llevaría a tumbarse encima.
  2. 2. have all been improved ___ recognitionbeyondoutsideoverpastbeyond. Beyond recognition es hasta el punto de no reconocerlo. Es una expresión cerrada, como beyond repair o beyond doubt.
  3. 3. The assumption ___ downgoesfallscomesbreaksbreaks. Break down es que un razonamiento deja de funcionar. Fall down se usa para un argumento en inglés hablado, pero con assumption lo natural es break down.
  4. 4. because it has ___ over a distinctionpassedbrushedskippedglossedglossed. Gloss over es pasar por encima de algo incómodo sin tratarlo. Brush pediría aside, y skip no lleva over.
  5. 5. not a service to the reader but a ___ played on oneturnjokegametricktrick. Play a trick on somebody es engañar a alguien. Play a joke existe, pero un chiste no engaña, y el párrafo habla de engaño.
  6. 6. They spend less time ___ out long wordsweedingstrikingcuttingtakingweeding. Weed out es ir quitando lo que sobra, como quien quita malas hierbas. Strike out es tachar de un plumazo, que es justo lo contrario del trabajo lento que describe el texto.
  7. 7. The real ones have to be ___leftkeptheldsavedkept. Se contrapone a the rest can go: unas dificultades se quedan y otras se van. Saved suena a rescate y held a sujetar algo.
  8. 8. without ___ something behindholdingkeepingputtingleavingleaving. Leave something behind es dejarse algo atrás, que es la idea: al simplificar se pierde algo por el camino.

Parte 2 · Open cloze (una palabra en cada hueco)

Escribe UNA sola palabra en cada hueco. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

On being early

Punctuality is the one virtue that nobody admits to finding difficult. To be late is, at worst, rude; to be early is, (9) some reason, faintly absurd, and so the person who arrives twenty minutes before an appointment walks around the block (10) than admit it.

This is odd, (11) that being early is the only reliable way of not being late. Anybody who plans to arrive exactly on time has, (12) effect, assumed that every single thing will go right, which over a lifetime it will not.

What lies (13) the embarrassment, I suspect, is status. Waiting is what the less important party does. The consultant is not kept waiting; the patient (14) . To arrive early is therefore to volunteer for the lower position, and few of us do that (15) we have to.

The cure, if there is (16) , is to bring something to read.

  1. 9. to be early is, ___ some reason, faintly absurdfor. For some reason es por alguna razón. Es una expresión fija y no admite by ni with.
  2. 10. walks around the block ___ than admit itrather. Rather than introduce la alternativa que se descarta, y por eso el verbo que viene detrás va en infinitivo sin to: admit.
  3. 11. This is odd, ___ that being early is the only reliable waygiven. Given that es teniendo en cuenta que. Considering valdría igual de bien, pero solo given encaja con la coma y el that en el registro del texto.
  4. 12. has, ___ effect, assumed that every single thing will go rightin. In effect es en la práctica. Cuidado con in fact, que significa otra cosa, y con into effect, que va con come o put.
  5. 13. What lies ___ the embarrassment, I suspect, is statusbehind. Lie behind something es estar detrás de algo, ser su causa oculta. El verbo lie ya te está diciendo que se busca una posición, no una cantidad.
  6. 14. The consultant is not kept waiting; the patient ___is. Es una elipsis: the patient is [kept waiting]. Se repite solo el auxiliar y en afirmativo, porque contrasta con el is not de la primera mitad.
  7. 15. few of us do that ___ we have tounless. Equivale a if we do not have to. Con if la frase diría lo contrario, y por eso este hueco cae tanto.
  8. 16. The cure, if there is ___ , is to bring something to readone. One sustituye a a cure para no repetirlo. It no vale porque no hablamos de una cura concreta ya mencionada, sino de si existe alguna.

Parte 3 · Word formation

Escribe la palabra que falta, formada a partir de la palabra en mayúsculas. Ocho preguntas, un punto cada una.

The myth of the natural speaker

Few ideas about languages are as (17) ___ (RESIST) to evidence as the belief that some people are simply born with an ear. It is a (18) ___ (COMFORT) idea, because it explains failure without asking anybody to change anything.

The research points the other way. The (19) ___ (DISTINGUISH) between the fast learner and the slow one is rarely a matter of raw talent; it is the (20) ___ (WILLING) to be understood badly for several months. Learners who protect themselves from (21) ___ (EMBARRASS) progress more slowly, and the effect is big enough to show up in almost every study.

This is not an (22) ___ (ENCOURAGE) conclusion for adults, who have more dignity to lose than children and fewer (23) ___ (OPPORTUNE) to lose it safely. It is, however, a (24) ___ (HOPE) one, because effort is something a person can decide on, and an ear is not.

  1. 17. as ___ (RESIST) to evidenceresistant. Detrás de as y delante de to hace falta un adjetivo. Resistant to es la pareja fija: resistente a algo.
  2. 18. It is a ___ (COMFORT) ideacomforting. Describe el efecto que produce la idea, así que toca el participio en -ing. Comfortable se refiere a estar cómodo uno, que no es lo que hace una idea.
  3. 19. The ___ (DISTINGUISH) between the fast learner and the slow onedistinction. Después de the y antes de between va un sustantivo. Distinguishing sería gerundio y no admitiría el artículo delante.
  4. 20. it is the ___ (WILLING) to be understood badlywillingness. Otra vez sustantivo por el artículo, y de un adjetivo acabado en -ing se saca el sustantivo con -ness. Va seguido de infinitivo con to.
  5. 21. who protect themselves from ___ (EMBARRASS)embarrassment. Detrás de una preposición va sustantivo. Ojo con la ortografía: dos erres y dos eses.
  6. 22. This is not an ___ (ENCOURAGE) conclusionencouraging. Describe cómo es la conclusión, no cómo se siente ella, así que -ing y no -ed. El artículo an te confirma además que la palabra empieza por vocal.
  7. 23. and fewer ___ (OPPORTUNE) to lose it safelyopportunities. Fewer exige un sustantivo contable en plural. El sustantivo de opportune es opportunity, con el plural en -ies.
  8. 24. It is, however, a ___ (HOPE) onehopeful. Adjetivo, porque acompaña a one, que sustituye a conclusion. Hopeless diría justo lo contrario de lo que explica la frase siguiente.

Parte 4 · Key word transformation

Completa la segunda frase con entre tres y ocho palabras, usando la palabra en mayúsculas sin cambiarla. Seis preguntas, dos puntos cada una.

  1. 25. I had no idea that the job would be so demanding. LITTLE
    Little ___ the job would be.did I know how demanding. Cinco palabras. Little al principio con valor negativo obliga a invertir: auxiliar antes del sujeto. Y detrás va una pregunta indirecta, así que how demanding the job would be mantiene el orden normal.
  2. 26. Marta says she was not responsible for the mistake. DENIES
    Marta denies ___ the mistake.having been responsible for. Cuatro palabras. Deny lleva siempre -ing, y como lo que se niega es anterior, el gerundio va en perfecto: having been. La preposición de responsible es for.
  3. 27. The door must not be opened under any circumstances. ACCOUNT
    On no account ___ be opened.should the door. Tres palabras. On no account es negativo, así que también hay inversión. Should es el modal que se usa en estas estructuras de prohibición formal.
  4. 28. Nobody expected the strike to end so quickly. SURPRISE
    The speed with which the strike ended ___ everybody.came as a surprise to. Cinco palabras. La expresión es come as a surprise to somebody. Fíjate en que el sujeto ya está puesto y es singular, the speed, de ahí came y no come.
  5. 29. I regret not telling her the truth. WISH
    I ___ her the truth.wish I had told. Cuatro palabras. Un arrepentimiento sobre el pasado se dice con wish más past perfect. Si pusieras wish I told, estarías hablando del presente.
  6. 30. People say that the bridge was built in under a year. SAID
    The bridge ___ in under a year.is said to have been built. Seis palabras. Pasiva impersonal: is said. Como la construcción del puente es anterior a lo que se dice ahora, hace falta infinitivo perfecto y además pasivo: to have been built.

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