Learn English Professionals

This lesson provides practice for FCE Paper 3, the Use of English paper. There are five e-m@il lessons practising the five parts of Paper 3. Each lesson should take approximately 90 minutes. In part 1 of the Use of English paper you fill the gaps in a text by choosing the correct word or phrase from 4 possibilities. The emphasis is on vocabulary. In this lesson you practise for part 1 by doing two examples of this type of question and looking at some of the aspects that are being tested, such as words with similar meanings, prepositions, multi-word verbs and gerund and infinitive collocations.

Do you like eating out or do you prefer to eat at home? If you like eating out, how do you choose where to go? What happens if you go on holiday to somewhere new? Have a look at some of our suggestions for choosing a place to eat out.

Word of mouth, personal recommendation
Newspaper or magazine review
Advertising
Location
Menu outside the restaurant
Tour or city guide recommendation

Read this restaurant review for the Quick Fly Airlines in-flight magazine. It is about a new pub in Sydney. It is written by Lizzie McTosh, a regular Quick Fly customer. Unfortunately, she has mixed up the order of paragraphs in her article. Put the paragraph numbers in the correct order in the box below. Don’t worry about the gaps in the text at this stage.

Correct paragraph order

The James Cook Pub

The dessert menu looked tempting but we were already quite full. The bill came to $33 per head, which was not too bad considering it included drinks. My ______ is that if you are looking for somewhere cheap with large ______ this is not the place. If, on the other ______, you are looking for good quality food in interesting surroundings then the ‘James Cook Pub and Cafe’ is the place to go next time you are in Sydney.
Our meal ____________ off with complimentary croutons and a bread plate, garnished with garlic butter. First, I ordered the “Zebra salad”, which luckily contained chicken as the main ingredient. My companion ordered poached eggs served ____________ toast. Both items were very tasty although the portions were rather small.
When you are next in Sydney there’s a new ____________ option in town to try, the James Cook Pub and Café, named ____________ the famous British explorer who discovered, among many places, Australia and New Zealand. The pub and cafe are divided into two separate sections, with coffee to the left, beer to the right, and several adverts further tempt us by boasting that on ____________ side, “there are things to try.”
My dining companion and I opted to head right, to the pub section, which, with low brick ceilings and wood and brass fixtures, is styled in the ____________ of a British or Irish pub. Our table was interestingly decorated with small piles of the restaurant’s ____________ cards and even courtesy matchboxes, which came in handy when our table started to wobble. We also noticed a few small artefacts, which were hanging in cases on the walls. Behind our table, for example, was an encased set of antique fishing rods and fishing nets.
Moving on to the hot snacks I decided to try the beef barbecue. It was a tasty choice but a bit messy. The barbecue sauce was delicious. My companion, who was not as worried as me about ____________ on weight, ____________ for the pork chops from the “Let’s eat hot” section on the menu.
For drinks, we ____________ from the beer menu, which is a bit pricey, with local beers at $2 for ½ litre. Imported beers were more expensive, ranging ____________ $4 to $6. After dinner we ordered coffee. I had an Irish coffee and my companion had a cappuccino. Both were excellent, though heavy on the whipped cream. Coffee drinks ____________ on the menu ranged in price from around $2 to alcoholic coffee drinks at around $6.

Now read the article again. Choose the most appropriate word from the choice given. Remember there is only one correct answer. For some advice, read the box below.

Multiple choice gapfill 1

	In part 1 you have to complete a text by choosing the correct word or phrase. For each gap there is a choice of four words or phrases. This task tests your vocabulary.
	It is good idea to look at the words before and after the gap to help you choose the correct word as it may be part of a fixed phrase, a preposition that goes with a verb or part of a phrasal verb.
	Sometimes the alternatives are words with similar meanings. In this case look at the context of the text.

1.	a. dining	b. diner	c. eating	d. dinner
2.	a. for	b. by	c. after	d. from
3.	a. both	b. one	c. either	d. neither
4.	a. way	b. fashion	c. regard	d. imitation
5.	a. Christmas	b. birthday	c. business	d. credit
6.	a. finished	b. started	c. began	d. took
7.	a. by	b. from	c. to	d. on
8.	a. putting	b. taking	c. lifting	d. gaining
9.	a. chose	b. opted	c. looked	d. took
10.	a. asked	b. ordered	c. informed	d. took
11.	a. about	b. apart	c. from	d. for
12.	a. listed	b. read	c. written	d. put
13.	a. decision	b. verdict	c. outlook	d. saying
14.	a. portions	b. dinners	c. options	d. plates
15.	a. foot	b. hand	c. side	d. boot

Now check how well you understood Lizzie Mctosh’s article by answering these questions. Are they True or False? Put T or F at the end of the sentence.

Sentence	True or False
1. The pub is named after a famous British explorer who discovered Australia.
2. The pub is divided into three sections.
3. The James Cook Pub looks like a British/Irish pub.
4. Fishermen especially like the pub.
5. The croutons and bread were free.
6. Lizzie ate zebra for her first course.
7. Lizzie thinks there was not enough to eat for the first course.
8. Lizzie’s companion wants to lose weight.
9. Lizzie thinks that the beers were expensive.
10. There was too much whipped cream in the coffee.

In her review Lizzie says, “My companion, who was not as worried as me about putting on weight...”. This is the multi-word verb ‘to put on’ which means here ‘to gain weight’. Here are some more commonly used multi-word verbs with ‘put’. Match them with the correct definition on the right.

1. put somebody through	a) to communicate an idea
2. put up with	b) to suggest an idea
3. put forward	c) to make somebody seem unimportant, to ridicule them in front of others
4. put across	d) to tolerate something or somebody
5. put away	e) to delay doing something
6. put down	f) to connect through a telephone switchboard
7. put off	g) to tidy up, organise neatly

Now write the correct multi-word verb with ‘put’ into the gap. Remember to make any appropriate changes if necessary.

1. What a mess! Would you please __________________ some of this stuff __________________.

2. Good morning. Could you ____________ me __________________ to extension 145, please?

3. His behaviour is awful. I really don’t think I can __________________ it any longer.

4. He obviously knows a lot about his subject - he just doesn’t know how to __________________.

5. Would anyone like to ____________ an alternative suggestion __________________ for this year’s Christmas party?

6. I thought that journalist __________________ the politician ____________ very well.

7. She __________________ going to the dentist until it was too late._________.

Multiple choice gapfill 2

	First read the title of the text, this will tell you what the text is about.
	Read through the whole text once, without looking at the choices for each gap.
	For each gap, look at the words surrounding it. Then look at the choices.
	Make sure that the word you choose fits with the meaning of the sentence and fits grammatically.
	Answer every question. Where you are not sure use a process of elimination and guess if necessary. Don’t leave any blanks!

For questions 1-15, read the text below and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0).

The history of the magazine

Look in any newsagents and you will see an enormous 0 _range_ . range of magazines catering to all tastes and interests. The magazine industry has 1. _____ since the 17th century and is still going from strength to strength. Our appetite for these weekly or monthly publications 2._____ steadily.

The word 'magazine', which comes 3. ______ the French word 'magasin', meaning 'storehouse', first appeared on the cover of the Gentleman's Magazie, published in London in 1731. This was not, 4. ____, the first publication of this type. The French 'Journal des Scavans' is generally considered to be the first actual magazine.

There are two broad categories of magazine: those 5. _____ at the general public, and trade and technical magazines giving specialised information. The first magazines were not widely read as low circulation and high production 6. ____ kept them relatively expensive. Most early magazines had short lives, and it wasn't until the late 19th century that technological advances in printing, together with a 7. _____ in advertising resulted in lower cover prices.

The first half of the 20th century 8. ____ the publication of many magazines 9. ____ popular today, 10. ______ as the weekly news magazine Time. A new type appeared in 1922 with the founding of the Reader's Digest, which reprinted shortened versions of articles from other magazines. As the century progressed, new titles such as Playboy and Cosmopolitan mirrored the 11. _____ social changes taking 12. _____. There was also a massive growth in the number of magazines devoted to extremely 13. _____ areas of interest, particularly in scientific and technical fields.

The result is that nowadays you can be overwhelmed by choice. Whether you are 14. _____ in restoring old cars or playing computer games, there are magazines competing for your custom. Other magazines are aimed at almost every stage of life, from adolescence, through parenthood to retirement. If you 15. ____ to a large house in the country, a designer wardrobe or a luxury yacht, there are magazines for you to dream over.

0.	a) choose	b) option	c) range	d) pick
1.	a) existed	b) lived	c) been	d) stayed
2.	a) swells	b) advances	c) gains	d) increases
3.	a) from	b) to	c) for	d) of
4.	a) therefore	b) however	c) although	d) so
5.	a) intended	b) aimed	c) meant	d) designed
6.	a) costs	b) prices	c) fares	d) charges
7.	a) increase	b) flood	c) rise	d) advance
8.	a) watched	b) viewed	c) saw	d) looked
9.	a) yet	b) still	c) even	d) already
10.	a) like	b) as well	c) for example	d) such
11.	a) rapid	b) fast	c) quick	d) speedy
12.	a) part	b) up	c) over	d) place
13.	a) thin	b) narrow	c) fine	d) tight
14.	a) keen	b) amused	c) interested	d) fond
15.	a) hope	b) would like	c) aspire	d) want

In the last activity there were several examples of questions where the possible answers were words with similar meanings, for example:

Our appetite for these weekly or monthly publications _________ steadily.

a) swells b) advances c) gains d) increases

All these words are grammatically possible, but only one word fits in the context of the text.

Here are some more words with similar meanings. Put them into the correct form in the gaps in the short text below.

Make

Construct

Build

Commit

Jason knew immediately that he had _____________ something wrong. It wasn't as if he had _______________a crime, but he had _______________ a terrible mistake. Without realising it he had ____________________ a web of lies and if he wasn't careful the business he had ___________________ up would collapse around him.

This part of the Use of English paper also tests your knowledge of prepositions and multi-word verbs. Here is an example from activity 7:

Whether you are ____________ in restoring old cars or playing computer games...

a) keen b) amused c) interested d) fond

Here you have to recognise which adjective is followed by the preposition 'in', so the correct answer is c) interested. It also helps if you know that we say 'keen on', 'amused by' and 'fond of'.

Now choose the correct word to complete the following sentences.

Although the illness was quite serious she got ....... it very quickly.
a) round
b) through
c) over
He was ........... up by his aunt, and never knew his real parents.
a) grown
b) raised
c) brought
They arrived ......... good time for the flight.
a) with
b) in
c) on
The deputy manager is .......... of the regional sales teams.
a) in charge
b) responsible
c) accountable
I'm really ...... with people parking outside my house.
a) tired
b) sick
c) fed up
Should we stop studying now or go ….... for another hour?
a) away
b) on
c) back
The police are looking ...... the possibility that he was murdered.
a) after
b) for
c) into
Because of changes in the climate the area is in .......... of flooding.
a) danger
b) risk
c) threat

It's important to make sure that the word you choose fits the sentence grammatically. In this exercise you have to decide whether the verbs are followed by a gerund or an infinitive, and then choose the correct option.

I think she would ............................. to go to the cinema.
a) enjoy
b) prefer
c) rather
They didn't ................................... to open the box.
a) remember
b) regret
c) mind
We ................................. going to India on holiday.
a) considered
b) arranged
c) decided
I can't ................................ to buy that sports car.
a) imagine
b) risk
c) afford
I ....................................... doing the exam.
a) refused
b) avoided
c) didn't want
They .......................... not to visit the museum.
a) chose
b) suggested
c) regretted
I really ................................... living by the sea.
a) desire
b) hope
c) miss
The teacher ....................... to give the class extra homework.
a) threatened
b) enjoyed
c) kept

In this lesson you have:

	developed a technique to deal with part 1 of Paper 3
	practised some multi-word verbs with put
	reviewed which verbs are followed by infinitives or gerunds

The next lesson focuses on part 2 of the Use of English paper. It develops your familiarity with the Open Cloze exercise through a series of graded activities.