CAE Preparation Thread

Discuss any questions in English. Practise your writing skills.

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IrinaS
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#1

Сообщение IrinaS »

It is for everyone getting ready for CAE. The aim of this thread is to practise everything related to this exam: vocabulary, phrasal verbs, grammar structures, writing clichés and so on. If you learn something useful for the exam, you can make up sentences including it and write here.
(I do apologise if this idea sounds a bit ambiguous. It’s my first experience writing here).
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#2

Сообщение IrinaS »

I am studying the topic of urban and country lifestyles. So my sentences are the next.
Demerits of urban and country lifestyles.
In a big city you can earn five-figures, and still find yourself getting by. Commuting to the work is rather frustrating. To be squashed next to someone who elbows you in an overcrowded subway car is a dismal experience.
Village is an unemployment hotspot nowadays. You can’t thrive in your chosen career here. Everything you do is scrutinized. It’s hard to maintain privacy. Backbreaking work including thankless chores.
Merits
City. It seems that the entire world is at your doorstep. It’s a great place to start up your business. Although office space is not cheap. You can learn tolerance here since compromise is in the very fabric of city living.
Village. You can actually identify constellations =). Going to the cinema can cost single digits. Less income inequality. Most things are within walking distance, taking away the stress of commuting.
(corrections are only welcomed)
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#3

Сообщение IrinaS »

Education (clichés)
There are a few people who are strongly in favour of homeschooling. They perceive the yawning gap between their expectations from schools and real matters. The widening gap between their expectations and educational system is most visible in terms of homework. Parents are struggling to help their children with myriads of tasks. The situation when all family members are struggling to finish the school project occurs alarmingly often.
The problem stems from a total formalization of the education. Teachers are often distracted by perennial changes in guidelines which are compulsory to be adhered. There is a mismatch between the perception that the lessons are important and the reality of the lack of time for getting them ready due to loads of paper work. So it is no surprise that parents are looking for alternative forms of education for their children.
(corrections are only welcomed)
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#4

Сообщение Olya »

Commuting to work.
You can commute on foot as well.)
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#5

Сообщение IrinaS »

Olya,
Olya пишет: 03 май 2019, 22:12 You can commute on foot as well.)
as long as your work is within walking distance. Otherwise you'll spend half of your life in commuting )
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#6

Сообщение IrinaS »

College. Is it a smart choice for 15 –year- olds to leave school and go to college?
Some youngsters opt for colleges for their more vocational aspects and myriad of practice. For others it is a way out to escape school where they have troubles fitting in. The latter are attracted by more congenial environment in colleges. Statistics indicate students experience fewer clashes with teachers or fellow pupils in colleges.
However, curriculums in some colleges are stuck in past. They deliver irrelevant courses, they do not track new trends in economy and technologies, especially in IT sectors. They possess meagre modern resources for studying. It is no surprise college graduates cannot boast being highly employable.
Nevertheless, there are some vocational colleges (I’m not sure whether it is possible to say – ‘vocational collage’?) where some inroads are being made. They try to keep up with the rapid changes in various professional areas. They continually adjust their curriculums to industry trends. Their students work on real-life projects and with genuine data. Their graduates are eligible to do a particular job.
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#7

Сообщение IrinaS »

Since the most daunting task for me is writing, I have come up with the following scheme: r+l+w (read, learn, write). I read the task, then read some articles about this or similar issues underlining and writing out some useful words and set phrases. After that I try to memorise them. Finally, I do the written task. It’s possible that I don’t use any of my new words or phrases but at least I feel more confident about the topic and can produce ideas more effectively.
Apart from writing, I work with the coursebook Ready for Advanced. Recently I did some tasks in section “Use of English” and made enough mistakes to feel dismayed. I wish I didn’t make them anymore and learnt the correct options. So there are some sentences including them.
1. I can’t find some kitchen utensils. They may well have gone missing.
2. There is no need to keep hold of a ticket on a bus in my city since nobody checks it.
3. When my friends and I have a meeting without our spouses we usually feel more uninhibited.
4. Her job is all that she ever talks about.
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#8

Сообщение Eager Beaver »

IrinaS пишет: 05 май 2019, 21:41 I have come up with the following scheme: r+l+w (read, learn, write). I read the task, then read some articles about this or similar issues underlining and writing out some useful words and set phrases.
Do you mean you take a writing task from past exam papers or a textbook and build on from there? Btw, your writing has significantly improved since I last read your posts (a few months back, I guess). I mean it's not impeccable - [mention]tourist[/mention] and others can definitely point out a few blunders - but you are getting there.

What do you do to improve your speaking skills?
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#9

Сообщение IrinaS »

Eager Beaver пишет: 05 май 2019, 21:59 Do you mean you take a writing task from past exam papers
Well, yes. I take a writing task and then I read articles about the mentioned issues. It is not a mere reading but meticulous underlying, writing out and, finally, a review of the article or their combinations.
As for speaking, at the moment I barely have any practice. However, I’m not too concerned about it. Firstly, I’ll be satisfied with grade C. Secondly, I feel that if I can write, I can speak too. It’s only my intuition though. But I sometimes talk to an imaginary interlocutor and at least I have no lack of words. At the same time I know the ropes how to describe/ compare the pictures and so on. I’ve got some lessons.
Thanks for good words about my English but I think you overestimate my progress.
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#10

Сообщение tourist »

IrinaS, I'm here because Eager Beaver, paged me.)
I'm assuming you wouldn't mind me correcting your sentences and/or suggesting some improvements?
Am I right or am I right ? )
Here goes..

- read some articles about this or similar issues -> possible but better: read some (issue) related articles
- writing out -> writing down/jotting down (potentially) useful words/phrases,which I then try to memorise
- can produce ideas more effectively .. not quite sure what you mean ...
- to feel dismayed -> to feel disappointed / made a lot of disappointing mistakes
- I wish I didn’t make them anymore and learnt the correct options. -> I wish I could write better...
- So there are some sentences including them. -> Here are some of my sentences.

1. They may well have gone missing ->
I've probably misplaced them /they have been misplaced/they have just disappeared into the thin air )

2. keep hold of/retain a ticket since nobody bothers to check/inspect it
3. without our spouses -> OK but I would say without our spouses present
we usually feel more uninhibited relaxed
4. All she ever talks about is her job.
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#11

Сообщение IrinaS »

tourist, I do appreciate your suggestions.
As for the sentences, there are state grammar structures and words from parts 1,2,3 and 4. to remember. They are in bold. (may well, gone missing, keep hold of, uninhibited - never come across such a word, is all that he/she ever talks about). Did I use them in a wrong context?
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#12

Сообщение IrinaS »

tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:04 can produce ideas more effectively .. not quite sure what you mean ...
- come up with ideas
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#13

Сообщение tourist »

state grammar structures what l are those ?
Are you saying those words must be included ?

come up with ideas.. what for ? What Ideas ?
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#14

Сообщение Eager Beaver »

tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:04 IrinaS, I'm here because Eager Beaver, paged me.)
That's because I don't feel it's my place to correct anyone here. I might miss something or, conversely, correct legitimate syntax or collocations just because I haven't yet encountered them (or came across them and blissfully forgot). Making edits would be too time-consuming as I would need to double-check everything against dictionaries and/or corpora, and the result would still be far from satisfactory.
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#15

Сообщение Eager Beaver »

tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:19 come up with ideas.. what for ? What Ideas ?
I guess what Irina means is that she feels more comfortable with generating ideas for her essays, reports, articles or whatever else she might be asked to write in the Writing section of the CAE test.
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#16

Сообщение tourist »

Eager Beaver, thanks for vouching for me.
As for I don't feel it's my place to correct anyone here
You've made remarkable progress over the short span of two years.
Confidence comes with experience. Just be patient.
Using your own words: you're getting there fast )
Последний раз редактировалось tourist 06 май 2019, 00:19, всего редактировалось 1 раз.
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#17

Сообщение tourist »

Eager Beaver,
Sorry. Didn't mean to sound condescending.
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#18

Сообщение Eager Beaver »

tourist пишет: 06 май 2019, 00:19 Eager Beaver,
Sorry. Didn't mean to sound condescending.
And you didn't. ))
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#19

Сообщение IrinaS »

tourist,
tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:19 come up with ideas.. what for ? What Ideas ?
for writing part. Eager Beaver is right. )
tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:19 Are you saying those words must be included ?
yes. For example: "Women in a group tend to feel .... and speak more openly than when men are around" INHIBIT
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#20

Сообщение IrinaS »

Eager Beaver,
tourist пишет: 05 май 2019, 23:51 You've made remarkable progress over the short span of two years.
I guess you've got lots of practice? Do you use English on your daily-basis? For work?
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#21

Сообщение tourist »

IrinaS,
I see
may I ask you then to provide the exact sentences they gave you because
Women in a group tend to feel .... and speak more openly than when men are around" INHIBIT
is not the same as
When my friends and I have a meeting without our spouses we usually feel more uninhibited.
or perhaps I completely misunderstood the task?
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#22

Сообщение IrinaS »

tourist, The aim of my sentences is to memorise the words / phrases/ patterns from the exercises where I have made mistakes. 'Uninhibited' - is from word formation task. (Women in a group tend to feel .... and speak more openly than when men are around" INHIBIT) Now I am bound to remember it! )
"Keep hold of" and "gone missing"- from Multiple-choice cloze (the options were control / property/ hold / hand and lost/missing/absent/misplaced)
"is all that he ever talks about" - from key word transformation (Steve's one topic of conversation is the time he spent as a pilot. EVER)
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#23

Сообщение Eager Beaver »

IrinaS пишет: 06 май 2019, 21:38 I guess you've got lots of practice? Do you use English on your daily-basis? For work?
Well, I wouldn't call it "a lot". I read and listen to stuff every day, and talk to native speakers whenever opportunity presents itself. In the past few months, I've been talking to them almost every day. These natives are my colleagues and teacher, but we talk about things that are not related to work most of the time.
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#24

Сообщение IrinaS »

Eager Beaver,
Eager Beaver пишет: 08 май 2019, 09:43 Well, I wouldn't call it "a lot".
anyway, it sounds cool! A huge discrepancy between my practice and yours )
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#25

Сообщение IrinaS »

The task only for learners! =)
Fill in the gaps
Sight
Just the sight …. him made her go all weak.
Marcie will faint …. the sight … blood.
The house is …. …. sight behind trees.
I ….. sight of her in the crowd.
Street dentists are a c…… sight in Pakistan.
I glanced around me quickly. There was no one … sight.
The boys get home and eat everything …. sight.
View
The argument happened on stage …. f… view of the audience.
The painting is currently …. view at the Tate.
Eye
Dust mites are tiny creatures, invisible to the ….. eye.
Out on the freeway, a billboard ….. his eye.
Every time she …. his eye, she would glance away embarrassed.
They will be tough with you, so that you go into self-employment with your eyes …...
….
twenty-twenty/20–20 v…
He had a clear v…. of how he hoped the company would develop.
The president outlined his v…. for the future.
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