Urban gardening has seen a remarkable (17) ________ in recent years. Once considered a minor hobby, it is now a major (18) ________ movement in many cities. The benefits extend beyond fresh produce; green spaces improve mental well-being and foster a sense of (19) ________ among residents. Some cities have introduced (20) ________ policies to encourage rooftop and balcony planting. However, (21) ________ remain, such as limited space and soil contamination. Innovative solutions, including vertical gardens and hydroponics, offer a (22) ________ future for city farming. Community-led projects have proven particularly (23) ________ in reducing food deserts. With continued investment, urban agriculture could become a (24) ________ feature of sustainable cities.
I’ve included the question types, a full sample text, and authentic-style tasks. Reading and Use of English – Sample Paper Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Number of parts: 8 Number of questions: 56 Part 1 – Multiple-Choice Cloze For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
Ultimately, while children may achieve native-like accents more easily, adults can reach high levels of fluency and even surpass children in certain areas. (46) ____
47 A 48 B 49 C 50 D 51 B 52 A 53 C 54 D 55 A 56 D cambridge c1 test example
A. This is because their existing knowledge provides a framework for organising new words, much like adding leaves to a pre-existing tree rather than growing a new one. B. For example, adults can consciously learn grammar rules that children pick up only implicitly, allowing faster initial progress in structured settings. C. This is largely because the adult brain, while less plastic in some ways, has developed cognitive skills that children lack. D. The key is to accept realistic goals and leverage adult strengths rather than lamenting lost childhood flexibility. E. The reason for this difference is that pronunciation relies on motor patterns formed in early childhood, which are difficult to alter later. F. Moreover, such an approach reduces anxiety and builds confidence, both of which are known to facilitate second language acquisition. G. Interestingly, older adults over 60 show slower vocabulary gains but superior ability to understand complex texts. You have a text about four people who changed careers. For questions 47–56, match the statements to the people (A–D). Some people may be matched more than once.
17 growth 18 significant 19 community 20 innovative 21 obstacles 22 promising 23 effective 24 permanent
One key advantage is metalinguistic awareness—the ability to think about language as a system. (42) ____ Urban gardening has seen a remarkable (17) ________
31 B 32 B 33 C 34 C 35 B 36 B
For centuries, people have advised those facing difficult choices to “sleep on it”. But is there scientific evidence to support this intuition? A growing body of research suggests that sleep plays a crucial role in complex decision-making, particularly when it involves integrating multiple pieces of information.
Nevertheless, adults often struggle with pronunciation and automatic grammar use. (44) ____ Some cities have introduced (20) ________ policies to
Other researchers warn against overstating the case. Professor James Hartley of Cambridge University notes that sleep does not guarantee better decisions; it merely improves the probability of insight. “If your initial information is biased, sleeping won’t fix that,” he says. Moreover, he adds, extreme fatigue impairs decision-making, so a short nap may be more helpful than a full night of broken sleep.
41 C 42 B 43 A 44 E 45 F 46 D
A powerful call to action. Unlike many environmental documentaries, this one focuses on economic incentives for recycling, which I found refreshing. My only criticism is the overly dramatic narration.
47. I found that my previous job lacked emotional reward. 48. My current role uses my analytical skills from my old career. 49. I had to overcome a fear of failure in a completely different field. 50. I initially worried about the pay cut but have no regrets. 51. My past experience helps me communicate complex ideas simply. 52. I was drawn to a career with more tangible results. 53. The transition required formal retraining in my spare time. 54. I value the flexibility that my new job offers. 55. Colleagues in my old field thought I was making a mistake. 56. I now feel my work directly benefits the community. Answer Key (for self-assessment) Part 1: 1 A 2 B 3 A 4 A 5 D 6 C 7 A 8 C
Dr. Rebecca Klein, a neuroscientist at the University of Lübeck, conducted a landmark study in which participants were asked to learn a complex card game with hidden rules. After a period of training, one group slept for eight hours, while another group stayed awake. The following day, the sleep group was twice as likely to have deduced the underlying pattern, even though they could not explicitly state the rule. Klein argues that sleep allows the brain to reorganise information, extracting meaning from raw data without conscious awareness. This process, known as “implicit learning”, is particularly active during slow-wave and REM sleep.