The agent was made that the interlocutor

A growing economic crisis that winter

that winter grown economic crises

a growing economic crises during that winter

I am at your service

I shall do my best to offer you one

another advice will be hard to except

I’ll do my best to offer you a couple of them

A multi-dimensional phenomenon

a multi-dimensional phenomena

were respectful of the speakers opinion

were respecting the speaker opinions’

was respectful of the opinion of speaker’s

Was respectful of the speaker’s opinion

28 The authors of the articles … distribute their published works across platforms … reference to the respective Journal.

are let to … providing they acknowledged

are allowed … only if they’ll acknowledge

are permitted to … provided they acknowledge

permit to … conditional on them will acknowledge

29 The journal …, efficient and secure internet services.

Collects your data only to provide you with user-friendly

collect your data just to supply you with user-friend

collected your datum so that to offer to you like a user friendly

collecting your data to suggest you friendly user

30 … productive and earn more money than workers with poorer training.

Appropriate-trained employees tend to be most

Well-trained workers tend to be more

Good-trained worker tend to be more

Proper-trained workforce tends to be

31 Why … workers with college degrees earn so … than those without?

do most … much more

do the most … many more

32 It’s a generally known fact that, …, the less … to be unemployed.

the better educated one is … likely one is

the better educated one will be … likely one is

a better educated one is … likely is one

more educated is one … one is likely

33 After he … his research, he found … for his paper.

completed … some farther material

having completed … other material

had completed … some further information

has completed … another information

am going to have a lunch … like usual

‘ll have early lunch … like always

am having lunch … as usually

‘ll be having lunch … as usual

35 In developed countries today … jobs which require unskilled, manual labour.

There are fewer and fewer

there is less and less

it is fewer and fewer

36 Families that rely on the earning power of one … families where both parents work.

parent had less divorces then

Parent have had a lower divorce rate than

of the parents have had a lowest divorce rate than

of parents have a lower divorce rate then

has risen … have changed

has raised … have changed

38 The family model of a male breadwinner and female homemaker … an ideology.

come under substantial inquiry as a practice as well as

Came under significant challenge both as a practice and

has come under suspicion both as a practice as well as

have come as a major challenge like a practice or

39 … employees earn more … year.

A very small number of …than £50,000 per

A very small amount of … than £50,000 in a

Only a few … then fifty thousand pounds per

Just a few … than fifty thousand pound sterlings in a

have been worked

Am working

41 Today, the Internet … sending messages.

become the important media aimed at

became the chief medium meant for

is becoming the mainly media used for

Has become the major medium for

42 I’ve … problems with my computer lately, and it … fixed today.

had … is alike not being

been having … looks like it won’t be

some … look like it will not be

been upset by … is looking as if it can’t be

43 The manager … the notification warned the client that … the overdraft promptly.

was sending … later had to cover

sent … he had covered

who had sent … the latter was to cover

who have sent … it was necessary to cover

he’ll understand … explain it to him clearly

he understood … explain the whole thing to him

he will understand … ‘ll explain him all

he’ll understand … explain him everything

21 I … this … survey two weeks ago.

have seen … discouraged

had seen … discouraging

saw … discouraging

22 … some months ago, the taxes still remain too heavy for small businesses.

Though reduced

Through having reduced

Thoroughly were reduced

23 The student … the sums … yet.

never did … of question

wasn’t doing … questioned

didn’t do … with question

hasn’t done … in question

24 Since you … use your computer to finish my presentation?

planned to be out this afternoon, can I be able

absent yourself in this afternoon, may I

Are going to be out this afternoon, could I

intend being out this afternoon, will you allow me to

25 Let me know if it is OK with you and what time … available.

will your abstract be

Your abstract will be

will be your abstract

your abstract be

26 If individuals … be no spare money to lend to other people.

wouldn’t save, it might

don’t save, it would

Didn’t save, there would

not save, there could

to understand … didn’t need his advice

understand … needn’t any pieces of advices

understanding … needn’t ask for advise

understood … doesn’t need advise

drives … many more careful

is driving … far careful

has driven … so careful

is going to drive … too much careful

29 Maria … in calculating since she … a little girl.

’s been interesting … is

has been interesting … was

is interested … has been

has been interested … was

Are used

31 The counterpart stated that he didn’t want … the money.

risking to lose

To risk losing

to risk to lose

bearing any risk of loss

Shall we

us to finance new project as an immediate means of improving

to finance a new project as a means of improving

to finance new projects, that are means of improving

Помогите с английским Rewrite the sentences which use the wrong past tense.

2. Z40, the new drug developed by Pharmatek, marked a turning point in the treatment of cancer.

3. Their competitors failed to see the gap in the market and so missed a great opportunity.

4. The agency was not believing that the machine would save so much time.

5. Zirkon already made good profits when it introduced its new digital camera in 2000.

6. The story goes that he was having the idea for the electric shoebrush while he was washing up.

7. I was planning to visit the International Inventors’ Fair but I did not have time.

Первые три грамматически верны.
А вот дальше будет так:
4. The agency did not believe that the machine would save so much time.

5. Zirkon already made good profits when it had introduced its new digital camera in 2000

6. The story goes that he had the idea for the electric shoebrush while he was washing up.

7. I planned to visit the International Inventors’ Fair but I did not have time

Перепишите предложения, которые используют неправильное прошедшее время.
2. Z40, новый препарат, разработанный компанией «Фарматек», ознаменовал поворотный момент в лечении рака.

3. Их конкуренты не заметили разрыва на рынке и поэтому упустили прекрасную возможность.

4. Агентство не верило, что аппарат сэкономит столько времени.

5. Зиркон уже получил хорошую прибыль, когда представил свою новую цифровую камеру в 2000 году.

6. История гласит, что у него была идея электрической щетки для обуви, когда он мылся.

7. Я планировал посетить Международную ярмарку изобретателей, но у меня не было времени.

B. Make the following sentences negative.

1. It should not be unclear whose job it is.

2. After a short certain period of employment the employee cannot qualify for a pension.

3. She’s a good people person who cannot motivate a team.

4. He can’t have known some of the interns.

5. He cannot be very tired.

6. You should not work more less energetically.

7. You should not take into account everything he says.

8. You must not apologise for the absence.

9. The applicant cannot speak French very well.

10. It may not be true.

11. You may not be late for the interview.

12. You must not go there to see the senior manager.

13. We ought not to hire this man. His qualifications are undisputable.

P. 195

Exercise 1

Complete the sentences using can, could or be able to in the affirmative or negative form.

1. In the mid-1980s only 80% of all teenagers who wanted to work were able____ find a job.

2. Governments will be able_________ take legal actions to restrict or halt business activities of monopolies through anti-trust laws.

3. Though he was a good engineer he _could not/ was not able __ find a job.

4. I _cannot________ understand why you want to meet the manager face-to-face.

5. How long have you __been able to_______ control the collective bargaining process?

6. The manager wasn’t in the office for very long, but we _were able___ speak to him for a few minutes.

7. Be careful when you fill out an application, because this step ___can______ be critical.

8. He always bought a lot of newspapers and thus ____was able to_____ read all ads. It didn’t take him long to find a job.

9. As public job agencies __ could not/ were not able _______ help you, try a private firm.

10. John cannot cope with the increasing public relations work. He needs somebody to help him.

11. The company were looking for a people person who __was able to/could____ join their team.

Exercise 2

If the word or words in bold type are used incorrectly, write the correction in the space.

1. Newspaper ads were able to become a good source of openings, but there were no newspapers in that area. __could have become____

2. He could have got the job, but he didn’t even try to. _____+____

3. The employer wasn’t able to look through all the applications at once._____+____

4. We could have known all about prices for that commodity in the market as we studied the problem closely. __were able to know_______

5. They could have contacted him, but he didn’t leave his name and address. __+_______

6. You were able to read the instructions if your wife didn’t throw them away. ____could have read_____

7. Peter couldn’t have believed that the managing director had really appointed the female applicant advertising manager. ___couldn’t believe______

8. She didn’t speak very frankly, but I could understand that I was quite high on her list. ____+_____

9. He could only brief the agency on the kind of advertising campaign we want because the new advertising manager turned out to be quite efficient. ___+______

10. She could have become a facilitator a year ago, but decided to join a training scheme for a year. _____+____

11. A lot of people thought the manager could resolve issues, but he didn’t. ___(was able to)______

12. The firm could have negotiated salaries and raises, but they didn’t plan to do so. ___+______

P. 197-198

Exercise 1

Complete the sentences using one of the words or word combinations.

1. If things are faulty when you first use them, you… go back to the shop

and ask for complete refund. (A) can

2. … I ask you to show me that shredding machine in operation? (B) Could

3. All troubles arose from the fact that Fox & Co…. import their produce. (B) were allowed to

4. Could I look through your magazine? – Of course, you…. (A) may

5. Now everybody… use these copiers in the hall but for some fee.(A) is allowed to

6. Until the 19th century people… travel freely between most countries without a passport.

7. After talking to the director we… make a special bulletin board for ads. (B) were allowed to

8. Applicants… to present details of referees who could attest to the quality of their work.

9. The firm… hire their own expert in PR as it was much too expensive. (B) couldn’t

P. 200-201

Exercise 1

Choose the correct form.

1. You mustn’t/needn’t present the documents in person.

2. Your decision mustn’t/haven’t to depend on your tastes, but of the necessity.

3. You mustn’t/don’t need to look through all these advertisements. Here is a letter from Mr. B., he is hiring you.

4. You mustn’t/don’t have to write to Bell & Co., they have just phoned.

But we must (have to) send our agent there as they insist on it.

5. You mustn’t/don’t need to negotiate with the supplier, he must (has to) provide a replacement by law.

6. Robert didn’t need to sell/needn’t have sold his car when he didn’t have any money, because a few days later he won a lot of money in a competition.

7. – What sort of advertising campaign are you planning? Television? – Well, it mustn’t/needn’t be television – it’s too expensive. But it must/need to be efficient.

9. This is very important. You must (have to) study it carefully and mustn’t/needn’t ignore it

10. You needn’t have sold/didn’t need to sell your house to the first bidder. I know several people who would have paid more for it.

11. Customs needn’t have checked/didn’t need to check all the boxes as they found what they were looking for in the first one.

12. You needn’t have made/didn’t need to make any changes in your office, you wasted your money.

sharon’s@home

A. USE

We use the passive voice when we are interested in the activitity rather than in who or what does it.

e.g. This television has been made in Japan.

The important thing is that the televison has been made, not who made it.

e.g. The deficit should be reduced.

In this phrase we give importance to the deficit.

The passive is used when the agent is unknown or not important.

e.g. Thousands of people are feared dead.

We may not know how or where these people died, however, in this phrase we put emphasis on the possible number of people that are feared dead.

e.g. A Japanese nuclear plant was damaged yesterday.

We might not know why until we read the whole news report.

Note: The passive is often used when the action is more important than the agent as in newspaper reports, headlines, advertisments, formal notices and in scientific experiments or processes.

B. FORM

In passive sentences we use:

To be ( in the correct form ) + the past participle of the verb.

e.g. They will resolve the problem in the Nuclear plant.

The problem in the Nuclear plant will be resolved.

e.g Technicans are repairing the Nuclear Plant.

The nuclear plant is being repaired.

1. PASSIVE WITH AN AGENT.

e.g. A team of nuclear experts solved the problem.

The problem was solved by a team of nuclear experts.

e.g. A Tsunami hit Japan.

Japan was hit by a Tsunami.

2. PASSIVE with the preposition “with” for contable and uncontable objects.

Be careful! There are always exceptions! We will use with + instrument or material to say what instrument or material the agent used.

e.g. Fortunately the houses were built with wood.

e.g. Sushi is made with raw fish and other products.

e.g. Paella is made with lots of ingredients.

e.g. He was hit with a handbag.

If the passive agent is a person that performed the action we use by. Take a look at the exception.

e.g. The houses were destroyed by a tidal wave.

e.g. Sushi is made by the best Japanese chefs.

e.g. The best paella in town is made by Sharon.

e.g. He was hit by a car.

Thus, when we are talking about natural disasters or transport, we will use “by”.

3. PASSIVE WITH MODALS VERBS

When we have a modal verb (can, must, will, should, might……..) in the active sentence, we have to leave it in the passive too. So the form will be as follows:

Modal + Be + Past participle of the verb.

Let’s see an example.

e.g. Sharon should contact Kaoru. (active)

Kaoru should be contacted. (passive)

4. PERFECT PASSIVE MODAL VERBS

Modal + Have + Been + Past participle of the verb.

e.g. Ventura must have bought the newspaper that I like today.

The newspaper that I like must have been bought today.

5. VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS

Some verbs have two objects. For example; Offer.

e.g. Kaoru offered Sharon the job in Japan.

(the two objects are Sharon and the job)

Therefore we have two possible ways of putting this phrase in the passive.

e.g. The job was offered to Sharon. (by Kaoru) e.g. Sharon was offered the job. (by Kaoru)

It is more usual for the passive sentence to begin with the person and we put the person who performs the action into the passive only if it adds information.

Other verbs like offer which can have two objects are:

ask tell give send show teach pay

Here are some examples of passive sentences with these verbs:

Kaoru gave me two hours to make my decision. (active)

I was given two hours to make my decision. (passive)

Two hours were given to me to make my decision. (passive)

Has anyone shown you the newspaper today? (active)

Have you been shown the newspaper today? (passive)

Has the newspaper been shown to you today? (passive)

6. STRUCTURE WITH INTRODUCTORY IT: IT IS SAID THAT…

These structures are rather formal but can also be used.

a) It is + passive + that + clause. (impersonal construction)

Many people believe the climate is changing.

e.g. It is believed that the climate is changing.

They claim Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

b) Subject (person) + passive + to infinitive. (personal construction)

Many people believe the climate is changing.

e.g. It is believed to be changing.

They claim Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

e.g. It is claimed to be one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Other verbs can be used in these passive patterns:

agree, allege, announce, assure, believe, consider, decide, discover, expect, feel, find, explain, hope, know, mention, propose, report, say, suggest, suppose, think, understand

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): Everything You Need to Know

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): Everything You Need to Know

Cambridge B2 First: Everything you need to know

When I moved to Spain I found that there are a lot of English schools and I started wondering why. What I found out is really interesting. Many parents send their children to get extra lessons because at secondary school classes are pretty bad. The teachers are not properly qualified and the children don’t learn as much as they could. On top of that, several states in Spain are changing the law and students have to show B2 level in a second language to graduate from university. Therefore, Cambridge B2 First has become more and more important, not only in Spain, but in many countries in the world. Have a look at this search map for the search term ‘FCE’ which I found online. You can see that people almost everywhere are interested in the exam.

Source: Google Trends

In this article, I’m going to show you what passing the FCE exam means, who should take the exam, who shouldn’t, what the exam looks like and how you can find a preparation centre close to you. This is the perfect place for you to get started if you want to find out more about Cambridge tests like B2 First or if you have already decided that you need to take the exam.

To find general information and motivation to improve your English, check out my other articles here.

What does B2 stand for?

B2 is a level on the CEFR scale designed by the Council of Europe. CEFR is an international framework that describes different English levels and what someone at this level is able to do in that language. In short, B2 means that you are an independent user of the language so you can live in foreign country without the need for much help. First of all, though, let’s have a look at the CEFR to make everything a little bit clearer (You can click here to get more information:

Source: Council of Europe

You can see that B2 is already a pretty high level, but it is often not clear what exactly a student at A2, B2 or C1 can actually do in their second language. To understand the skills that a student at B2 level possesses we can check again with the Council of Europe:

Source: Council of Europe

This is a detailed description of the the different skills reading, speaking, writing and listening at level B2. If you think you can do all of these things without too many problems, you might be able to take the Cambridge B2 First exam with some preparation soon. However, if you don’t think your skills are good enough, yet, you should probably wait a little longer and join classes to get you to the right level before thinking about taking the FCE exam.

If you would like to get the same information in your native language, you can click here.

Should you take Cambridge B2 First?

The FCE exam is very useful in many countries around the world and it can help you to get higher education or better employment. As a result, it has become more and more popular to take the exam in order to stand out from the crowd. Here are some specific reasons why you should take the B2 First:

1. University

If you live in a part of the world where you need to show proof of B2 level in a second language to get a university degree, then, of course, you should do it. In so many different industries and areas, for example marketing and advertising, film and music, communication, information technology and many more, English is still the number-one language in the world. Studying English from an early age and taking Cambridge B2 First can be a big advantage if you want to go to university and, later, get a good job, which leads us to the next reason.

2. Employment

As described above, English can help you obtain a university degree and with higher education come better job opportunities. However, a second language can help even in jobs which don’t require university level education. In our globalised world more and more companies do business abroad and need employees with a good level of English or other second languages. The FCE exam is proof that you have level of English which you can easily communicate in. If I had to choose who to hire for my transportation and logistics company, I would definitely check language abilities. So, if you are looking to improve your career prospects, then yes, take Cambridge B2 First.

3. Challenge yourself

Many people want to see the world, go travelling and meet new people in the process. Others want to be able to watch American or English films in the original version without having to use subtitles or voice over. The FCE exam can be a challenge to prove to yourself that your English is good enough to survive in another country, to enjoy English-speaking art forms or to do whatever else you want to use English for. Taking an exam can be a goal to work towards and to stay motivated and, therefore, push yourself to make progress continuously. If you are one of those people, then, again, take Cambridge B2 First and show the world and yourself how good you are.

Prove to the world who’s the king of the jungle

Why you shouldn’t take the exam

Even though it is a great idea for many people to take Cambridge B2 First, there are also a few reasons not to take it. Let’s have a look at what these are:

1. Your English level

Many people have experience with exams even before they decide to take FCE. At school, university, work or even for your driving licence you need to pass some kind of test before you get what you want. Unfortunately, it is possible to squeeze through many of those tests and barely pass, and as they say, ‘A good horse jumps only as high as it needs to’.

With Cambridge B2 First this is definitely not the case. I have seen a lot of students who, after speaking to me, didn’t take my advice and ended up unhappy with their results. To pass you almost have to be too good for the level. The exam is exhausting, difficult and really tests your English level. If you are not a true B2 level English student with the right strategies, you won’t pass.

For this reason, don’t take the test if you are not sure about your level or if your teacher advises against it. It will be in your best interest.

2. It is simply not important enough to you

If you read this article you probably don’t fall into this group, but some people study English simply for pleasure and without any higher goals. They don’t need or want to challenge themselves too much, but instead enjoy the learning experience and study at their own pace. They might be studying English to be able to order food when they are on holidays or have a conversation with their son or daughter-in-law from the US.

I have absolutely no problem with this group of English students because very often they are more relaxed and enjoy the little success stories more than others. Taking an exam like B2 First, however is probably not the right thing for them. First of all, the exam is not cheap (more about that later) and the stress level is pretty high.

So, for all my casual English students out there, don’t worry about FCE too much. Enjoy the English journey as much as possible and good luck. :). For all the others, keep reading.

What does Cambridge B2 First look like?

Cambridge B2 First is an exam that tests the four language skills reading, writing, listening and speaking as well as grammar and vocabulary. It is broken up in four papers which I’m going to describe below:

1. Reading & Use of English

In the past the two parts were separate, but with the last FCE update in 2015 students take them together in one exam paper. In this part of the exam students have to show how well they can control different grammar and vocabulary and also deal with a variety of texts, for example newspaper articles, magazines or fiction.

There are seven parts to Reading & Use of English for which you have 75 minutes to complete. The time limit is one of the biggest reasons why many students have problems here as you get around 10 minutes for each task. You have to read quite a lot in a short time (ca. 2,200 words) so you have to be ready. Because this paper includes Reading AND Use of English it counts for 40% of your final mark.

The different parts of the Reading & Use of English paper

2. Writing

The challenge in the FCE writing paper is that you have to write quite a lot in a fairly short time. There are two parts and you get 80 minutes to complete them, which means that you have around 40 minutes for each writing task.

The first task is always an essay and the second one a choice from three options. Possible types of writing tasks in the second part are articles, reports, reviews, emails or letters.

Each writing task has to be between 140-190 words long, which makes 280-380 words in total. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but there are also specific requirements for each task. Students have to show that they can answer complex questions, choose the correct layout, use appropriate language, organise their text in a logical way and show a wide range of grammar and vocabulary.

For me, writing is one of the best papers in Cambridge B2 First to get good marks. You can find lots of example tasks online and practise each one of them until your fingers bleed and you run out of ink in your pens.

Quick note: If you need some writing motivation, check out this article and if you want to see an example, you can download it here from the Cambridge website (no virus, I promise).

3. Listening

The listening paper in Cambridge B2 First is another difficult one that quite a few students hate. The problem, however, is not so much the level of difficulty itself, but rather the fact that you listen for 35-40 minutes without breaks. For a lot of people it can be exhausting and with time, attention and focus become more and more difficult to keep up.

In the FCE listening test there are four parts. Each part is a little bit different in what kind of recording you listen to and what exactly you have to do and, as with the other parts, you can have a look at an example by clicking here. You listen to each recording twice so you don’t have to panic if you can’t hear an answer during the first round.

The different parts of the Listening paper

4. Speaking

The fourth and last part of Cambridge B2 First is speaking. In my opinion, the speaking exam, like writing, is another good way to get a lot of marks as it is always the same structure. This means that you can practise a lot to become better quickly and feel confident and relaxed on the day of the exam.

The FCE speaking paper is done in pairs or groups of three and takes around 14-15 minutes in total. In some parts you speak alone, but in others you interact with your partner(s). There are two examiners in the room with you – one is the interlocutor (That’s the person who asks you all the questions) and the other one stays in the background and takes a lot of notes to make sure that you get the right marks.

The different parts of the Speaking paper

There are a lot of example speaking exams online for free. You can watch them on YouTube to get a good idea of how it all works. Here’s one for you:

For tips on how to improve your speaking and great ways to practise, read my article here.

Are there other B2 First exams?

There are two more FCE exams which are very similar to the traditional one. The papers are the same, but they might have different content or a different mode of delivery.

1. B2 First for Schools

This version of the exam is basically the same as the one described in this article. The only difference is that the contents for preparation and in the exam itself are more suitable for teenagers and schoolchildren. You can find more information on Cambridge B2 First for Schools here.

2. B2 First (computer-based)

For a few years now Cambridge English has been offering the B2 First exam in a paper-based and a computer-based version. The contents are exactly the same, but the delivery method is obviously different. Have a look at this tutorial video to see what the computer-based version looks like so you can make an informed decision.

Where can I find a test centre for B2 First?

There are a lot of centres all over the world where you can sign up for the exam and also book classes to prepare. Very often these centres have something in the window or on their website that identifies them as an official preparation centre:

These schools usually offer good-quality classes to get you ready for the exam, but do your research in your area and ask the schools what their classes look like. Many schools offer free trials where you can have a look and see if you like it or not.

On the official website of Cambridge English there is also a search tool to find test centres for Cambridge B2 First in your area. Click here to get to their site.

Enjoy the journey

I know that this is a lot of information, but Cambridge B2 First (FCE) is an important exam for many people. If you decide to go on this journey and prepare for it, you need all the information you can get. I wish you all the best and success.