FCE真题练习(1)

FCE真题练习(一) PAPER1 READING(1hour)

Part1 The horse race

When the telephone rang on Friday evening and Rachel’s Kevin Huzzard, her mouth suddenly dried up with excitement. ‘Got a ride for you tomorrow in the race at Chesterfield ,’Kevin said.‘Oh great, is it Catch Boy? He’s a great horse.’

‘No sorry .Bryn’s down to ride him. This is a race for amateur riders. The horse is called Hay Days, trained by Billy Allaway. Seems this is a nice sort of a horse but he likes to do things his way. He’s been in a couple of race and took off like rocket, but finished near the back. He ran out of energy most likely. The thinking is he might settle down for a rider like you. OK?’

‘Yes, of course, thanks,’ said Rachel.

‘Good. Well, it’ll be useful experience for you. Just be there early.’

It was a long time before Rachel got off to sleep. The initial disappointment that she was not to ride Catch Boy quickly gave to excitement. Hay Days, she decided, was rather a happy name for a horse. As she was riding against fellow amateurs, the competition shouldn’t be so severe. If she made mistakes perhaps they wouldn’t be as noticeable as they would in a race dominated by professional male riders.

Her father, on hearing the news, had even offered to drive to Chesterfield to support her. Rachel, though grateful that her father had at long last accepted her ambitions, thought that it wasn’t a good idea. If she had a fall or made a disastrous error of judgement, she didn’t want any member of her family to observe it.

The following morning was moist and misty and Rachel’s first fear was that racing at Chesterfield might be abandoned because of fog. She listened to weather reports on her radio as she made breakfast but she learned little that helped to clarify the situation. In any case, local fog often disappeared rapidly when the sun broke through and that’s why, in such conditions, no decision about cancellation would be taken early.

At the stables a trainer called Allen Smith had some advice for her. ‘Let him know who’s boss right from the start, These unknown horses can be really awkward, so don’t let him get up to any tricks. Keep a real tight hold of his head. Then you’re likely to finish the race together, not separately. That’ll please the horse’s owner well.’

At the racecourse itself more advice was offered freely by other riders, and, more importantly. by Hay Days’ trainer Billy Allaway. ‘He’s not a bad little horse. I think perhaps he wants the gentle touch, the soft voice. He had a difficult time when he was young and so he’s liable to get upset if his rider sounds angry.’ That seemed to conflict with what she’d been told by Allen Smith, but she had to forget that.

The fluttering of nerves in her stomach wouldn’t die down and she desperately wanted some food. Even though she would have no weight problems whatsoever, for the horse was, according to race rules, due to carry a rider of 65 kilos (which meant putting a lot of lead in the saddle pockets to make up the difference between that weight and Rachel’s), she felt that it would be unwise to eat because she had difficulty concentrating with a full stomach.

To her delight, Hay Days turned out to be a very good-looking deep chestnut horse. Billy Allaway was already in the racing paddock, where all the racehorses were waiting.

‘Feeling a touch nervous?’ he enquired with one of his widest grins.

‘A bit,’ she admitted.

‘Just as it should be. That way you won’t get too cocky and think you know it all. Now just remember what I said. Take it easy and come back safe and sound.’

Rachel looked around at the other horses. A brown male called Ever-so-helpful was trying to show he’d been ill-named by throwing his head about in a very wild manner. She was thankful her own horse was so calm . It was undeniably embarrassing to have to fight for control in front of such a crowd spectators. And then came the announcer’s call to the staring line.

1.What do we learn about the horse Hay Day’s performance in previous races?

A.He was unlucky not to win.

B.He started too fast.

C.He seemed to make little effort.

D.He deliberately ran in the wrong place.

2.As she lay in bed, how did Rachel feel about the race.

A.worried that her horse was unfamiliar to her

B.convinced of the likelihood of her success

C.concerned about her horse’s reputation

D.aware the other riders might not be very talented

3.How did Rachel feel when she heard the weather forecast?

A.rather unclear as to whether she should risk racing

B.fairly hopeful that the race would go ahead

C.upset that the fog was interfering with her plans

D.resigned to unpleasant racing conditions

4.Who does ‘boss’ refer to in line 44?

A.the trainer

B.the rider

C.the horse

D.the owner

5.What was Billy doing when he spoke to Rachel at the racecourse?

A.attempting to calm her down

B.trying to correct Allen Smith’s opinion

C.warning her that the horse was not up to standard

D.offering an explanation for the horse’s character

6.Why did Rachel avoid eating any food in the period before the race?

A.She was concerned about meeting the weight limit for riders.

B.She wanted to use the time think about the race.

C.She thought this might affect her performance.

D.She felt too nervous to eat anything.

7.What does ‘cocky’ mean in line 74?

A.forgetful

B.worried

C.arrogant

D.cheerful

8.What point is made about the brown horse?

A.His actions intimidated Rachel.

B.His name gave no indication of his behaviour.

C.His actions were a source of amusement to the crowd.

D.His name proved difficult for the race announcer.

Part2

My first interview for the school magazine

My school publishes a magazine once a month which is written by the students. It’s run by a group of volunteers who contribute and collect articles. I volunteered to help last year.

When the editor contacted me with an idea for an article, my initial was annoyance. I’d been ill for a week, and I’d fallen behind on schoolwork, debate team assignments, and college application essays. [9][ ] My first thought was, ‘Oh great, another thing to deal with!’

When I discovered, however, that the thing was an invitation to interview the journalist Nicholas Kristof, my irritation vanished completely. What an opportunity! I’d always been an enthusiastic reader of his articles in The New York Times. [10][ ] I was fascinated by his humanitarian and journalistic career, and I was very much looking forward to meeting him and writing an article about him for the school magazine.

Although I am a native New Yorker, I’d never been to the New York Times building. I found the modern design attractive, and also discovered that the cafeteria served excellent food. [11][ ] Even though I know a single computer could hold all that information and more, seeing them was a reminder of the incredible volume of information and analysis that goes into writing newspaper articles.

I’d spent a few hours preparing with my classmate Eliza, who’d also been invited to take part in the interview. We’d discussed what questions to ask Nicholas Kristof and I’d written them on separate pieces of card. Although I felt ready, it was still a relief to be sharing the interview with Eliza [12][ ] As it turned out, I shouldn’t have been so nervous.

When Nicholas Kristof welcomed us into his office, he was charming, and throughout the meeting he seemed genuinely interested in talking to us. He didn’t hurry us and gave us the chance to ask our questions. [13][ ] As it progressed, things got better and it felt less like a volley of questions and answers and more like a normal conversation.

The interview was filmed and it was interesting for me to learn exactly how this was done. When we arrived, we were told that we would have to do the interview twice. The first time the cameraman filmed Nicholas Kristof only. [14][ ] We weren’t able to see the final result that day but Nicholas Kristof has promised to send the film to us when it’s finished.

By the end of the day. I’d learned a lot about interviewing people. [15][ ] In particular, I’ll have to try and make the conversation seem more natural. But, overall, it was an incredible experience, and I’m very grateful to the school magazine for having given me such an amazing opportunity –despite how long it took me to respond to their initial phone call.

A.Not only was he a very friendly person, but also the idea of having a partner helped calm

the butterflies in my stomach.

B.I honestly enjoyed every moment and his responses about these particular issues really

made me laugh.

C.Admittedly, I’m going to have to work on some aspects of my interview skills.

D.My excitement was mixed with anxiety, though, especially after I went online and read up

on his extraordinary achievements.

E.I realised later it would have been better if I’d spent less time reading directly from the

material I’d prepared, but fortunately the interview wasn’t a complete disaster.

F.Then, I’d turned on my cell phone and there was a message waiting for me.

G.Afterwards, when we asked our questions again, he just focused on the two so us.

H.But my favourite aspect was the sheer number of books piled and shelved around the

different offices.

Part3

In which section does Stacey mention

no longer having much time to practice her part? [16][ ]

trying not let her hopes get too high? [17][ ]

the professionalism of the entire cast? [18][ ]

a strange feeling of familiarity? [19][ ]

occasions when her attitude displeased her bosses? [20][ ]

an actor who took a while become friendly? [21][ ]

being required to do some quick thinking? [22][ ]

the way some of the cast dealt with their fame? [23][ ]

reacting in a negative way to something she saw? [24][ ]

being thrown into confusion? [25][ ]

a change in the scheduling of the programme? [26][ ]

an individual who tried to make her laugh? [27][ ]

being surprised by an individual’s reaction? [28][ ] understanding that she’d made a mistake about the cast members? [29][ ]

an occasion when she got embarrassed? [30][ ]

My life in Silver Street

[A]

I’d played a couple of very minor TV parts, so I went along to the audition for a part in Silver Street. There I met up with an old friend, Lucy Parvin, who was also auditioning and we were messing about and couldn’t stop laughing. When they told me to act a scene based on a line they gave me, which was, ‘I know that’s a lie,’ I was rather taken by surprise, but I did my best. I knew my old school friend Bob Copperfield had been in the cast for the past five years. I loved watching him in action and now I stared to think: could I really be about to get a part alongside him? It was too incredible to imagine-so I avoided thinking about it as I didn’t want to get disappointed. [B]

When I heard I’d got the part, I spent the next few days not knowing what to think, going from feeling wildly happy to being absolutely terrified! When I got to the film set, the security guard on the gate asked me who I was. I was sure he wouldn’t believe me when I said, ‘I’m in Silver Street,’ but he didn’t laugh. He just waved me in politely. Immediately I saw famous faces from the cast: Martin Vicars, Hilary Moss. I was completely in awe of them, but they came over to say ‘hello’ as I went in. My first ever scene was a huge row in the market square with Mary, my screen mother. After we had finished filming, everyone on set and the crew clapped. I had got so completely involved that I didn’t realise they were all watching. And I blushed bright red.

[C]

In past acting jobs I’d got to know the other actors gradually over the first few days of filming. But with Silver Street it was different. I felt as though I know everyone already because I’d seen them so often on screen-it was very odd-but when I began work I realised that I didn’t know them at all. The actors were often so different from their screen characters, and I had to undo any image I had of them and start all over again. I felt very shy with most of the cast, although I made an effort to appear confident and cheerful. Some of them took longer to get to know than others. Norma Steel, who played Mrs Rocket, warmed to me slowly, but eventually we got quite close. [D]

I was given a dressing room of my own, next to Bob’s. So we saw a lot of each other and, sometimes when were on set together, we used to get the giggles so badly that we were called to the production office and told off like naughty children. No doubt we deserved it, but despite our fooling around we both worded hard and never got a line wrong. I watched the first ever scene I appeared in at home on TV with Mum and the family. They loved it but I hated watching myself, and thought my voice was awful. At first Silver Street was only on twice a week, and we had time for rehearsals. But six months after I arrived the number of episodes was increased to three so we were too busy to have rehearsals – we just had to learn the script and go straight to filming. [E]

Despite the enormous press interest in Silver Street, there were no star egos there. We were actors wanting to do a good job, and that’s how we saw ourselves. Impressed by everyone else’s attitude, I was determined not to let any of them down. I could see that the actors who coped best were the ones who kept their feet on the ground and went home to their families rather than going off parting. One really funny guy on the cast was Mark Pointer. Often just before I was due to film a scene he’d deliberately give me a funny look, and that would set me off giggling again. It was a really happy time in my life.

PAPER3 Part1

Houdini, the great escape artist

The magic tricks of Harry Houdini still (0) ( ) some of the top magicians in the world today. In the early twentieth century, before the invention of television, Houdini attracted audiences in huge(1)( ) to his shows. His (2)( ) to escape from seemingly impossible situations made him a legend.

Born Erik Weisz in Hungary, he moved to the USA with his family in 1878. As a nine-year-old boy, he called himself ‘prince of the air’ and (3) ( ) acts in his neighbourhood, swinging high above the ground on a bar and ropes. He later (4)( ) a living doing magic tricks and began experimenting with escape acts. He also changed his name to Houdini in (5) ( ) of a French magician he (6) ( ) admired. His early tricks (7) ( ) escaping from boxes while his hands were chained together, and over the years, his acts (8)( ) increasingly ambitious. In one lf his most famous tricks the great magician was chained up inside an underwater cage, and somehow (9) ( ) to free himself while his spectators(10)( ) on in amazement.

(11) ( ) to all this, Houdini acted in films and wrote several books. Although he shared some of his secrets, many of his tricks (12) ( ) a mystery.

1. A amounts B volumes C numbers D sizes

2. A skill B ability C quality D gift

3. A played B appeared C performed D exhibited

4. A received B gained C collected D earned

5. A credit B mark C respect D honour

6. A highly B greatly C widely D significantly

7. A contained B related C involved D concerned

8. A grew B developed C advanced D improved

9. A succeeded B realised C managed D achieved

10. A looked B saw C viewed D regarded

11. A As well B In addition C Along with D In excess

12. A maintain B remain C survive D endure

0. A inspire B dream C persuade D imagine

My Arctic adventure

Try something different for your next holiday – join ‘Students on lce’, a scientific expedition to the Arctic. Last year I did just (0) ( ) , and it was absolutely fantastic!

(13) ( ) was lots to do before I was ready to set (14) ( ) on my journey, though. I had to organise(15)( ) number of fundraising events and ask companies in advance for sponsorship in (16) ( ) to get enough money together. But a (17) ( ) months later, I was heading to the Canadian Arctic, excited about seeing the snow. ‘In the Arctic there (18) ( ) bound to be snow!’ I told myself.

Well I discovered something straightaway –the Arctic does(19) ( ) usually get much snow in the summer. Lots of mud and ice, but very little snow! We learned much more than this though. We(20) ( ) taught all about the Arctic environment by the team of scientists(21)( ) led the expedition. Their lecture subjects ranged(22)( ) bird life to history. They made all of (23) ( ) work hard – it was a real scientific expedition after all, but we still had lots of fun and made friends (24) ( ) life.

And now, where to next? The South Pole, of course!

The history of surfing

Nowadays surfing tends to be associated with (0)( ) [FASHION] young people, but it’s actually one of the oldest sports on earth. It was (25) ( ) [ORIGIN] developed over three thousand years ago by fishermen in the Pacific Ocean who made the(26)( ) [DISCOVER] that riding waves was a quick way of getting back to land. At some point, they also decided that surfing was worth doing just for(27) ( ). [ENJOY]

Over time, it acquired(28)( )[IMPORTANT]for many South Pacific people, and, interestingly, it was often linked to(29) ( )[SOCIETY] position so that kings and queens were sometimes expected to be expert surfers. The earliest (30) ( ) [HISTORY] evidence of surfing comes from 18th century European travelers who described, with(31)( ),[ADMIRE]the skills of the board riders they saw in Tahiti and Hawaii. However, Europeans who settled in the South Pacific in the 19th century (32)( )[APPROVE]of surfing and persuaded most local people to stop doing it. By 1900, very few islanders still rode the waves but, fortunately, as the 20th century went on, there was considerable (33) ( ) [GROW] in the popularity of surfing once again. It is now, without doubt, a (34) ( ) [TRUE] international sport.