CEPT forum - Secret of answering CEPT

CEPT forum

Question: What is the secret of answering the Reading and Listening exercises on CEPT correctly?

Answer: 
The correct answer to any question must be based on something that was written in the text or heard in the audio recording. This means that it does not allow you to interpret the meaning based on the following:

• any personal knowledge you may have of the subject
• your personal beliefs
• your own opinions about the subject
• something that may sound logical but is not actually mentioned or implied

The answer must be objective, meaning that it must be based only on what you read or what you heard.

This only allows for two possible answer types:

• repeating information directly from the text or audio, or
• restating the idea through paraphrased information (restating the information or idea using different words).

This is the secret! Almost every single correct answer in the Reading and Listening sections of the CEPT are synonyms and paraphrased ideas and information.

Knowing this, it makes it easier to identify the best answer as well as eliminate the distractors, or wrong answers. In a general sense distractors are wrong because they do not restate the idea or information from the part of a passage or audio that contains the answer to the question. The distractors are constructed by the test makers with this fact in mind.

The four things you must learn to do are the following:

1. Analyze the questions, the text, and the answer choices.
2. Look for paraphrases of key words from the questions of the text.
3. Look for paraphrases from the text in the answer choices.
4. Eliminate the wrong answer choices to help you find the best answer.

Share your CEPT Experience by commenting below to help other students taking the CEPT Test!

Check an example below.

1. Incomplete Sentence - Use of English (Vocabulary)

I've applied for the job but I don't really _____________ to get it.

a. expect
b. think
c. believe
d. suppose

Answer: The correct answer option is expect. The word 'expect' is the only verb that can be commonly followed by to + infinitive.

The words think, believe and suppose are not followed by to + infinitive.

2. Multiple-Choice Cloze

A Communication Problem

Dear Mr. Maddox,

I am writing in ______1_____ to your telephone conversation with my assistant about our new product lines, and to explain my failure to answer your enquiries.

I believe your difficulty in ___2____ me, and in getting information on our new lines, arose because of our recent ___3____ of premises. I sincerely regret any trouble you have had.

As my assistant promised, I have attached the new product details which you requested.

I hope I have ___4____ to explain the reason for problems you have had in contacting me recently, and that we can look ___5____ to continuing business with you.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Blakeney

1) response
    subject
    respect
    accordance

2) communicating
     speaking
     contacting
     corresponding

3) removal
    replacement
    change
    movement

4) got
    made
    managed
    succeeded

5) after
    on
    up
    forward

Multiple-choice cloze answer key

1) The correct answer is response. 'In response to' which means 'concerning'.

'With respect to' or 'in respect of' would also mean 'concerning' which would require changing a preposition in order for either choice to be correct. 'In respect to' is not a proper response.

2) The correct answer is contacting. 

Communicating, speaking and corresponding all require the preposition 'with'.

3) The correct answer is change. 

'Premises' are the buildings and land that a business or organization uses. 'Change of premises' means moving to a different location and is a commonly used expression.

4) The correct answer is managed. 'Managed' means 'To succeed in accomplishing or achieving, especially with difficulty.' It is commonly followed by the infinitive form. 

'Have got to' is used to express necessity and obligation and does not fit the context of the sentence.

5) The correct answer is forward. 'Look forward to' is a phrasal verb meaning 'to be thinking with pleasure about something that is going to happen because you expect to enjoy it.'

B2 level long reading practice 2 - answer key at ceptpractice.blogspot.com

The homes of the future viewed from today

Mark Finchley reviews TV series Tomorrow’s Homes

Having just watched the whole of Channel 8’s TV series Tomorrow’s Homes, I’ve been wondering about how

anyone can predict the future of domestic life. You’d imagine that if you knew what architects and technology

companies were developing now to make life easier, more exciting and more beautiful, you’d have a pretty

good idea of what to expect in tomorrow’s homes. In reality, it’s more complicated, and just as much about

what we’ll choose to hang on to from today’s – the things that are ‘future-proof’. In the 1950s, people

thought that in the twenty-first century household tasks would be done by labour-saving devices or robots – with

food pills for dinner. Yet people still wash up and cook, even though the technology exists that makes neither of

these tasks necessary.

Tomorrow’s Homes, however, dared to make predictions which it turned into reality using an average home

belonging to a family called the Forseys. Four miles of cable were installed in the house so that all the

electrics, from lights to the fridge, could be controlled via the internet, and various other devices and gadgets

were introduced in addition to this. The family were then filmed as they got used to their new home

life. Programme presenter Harry Thwaites is also a consultant who spends his work life imagining the

future, so testing out his ideas for the programme was a fascinating experiment for him. His approach was to use

technology that was not totally brand new, but had only recently become more affordable. CCTV cameras for

security have been around for years, for example, but they are no longer only an option for the mega-rich.

The Forsey family consists of a husband and wife with four children and two grandchildren. They appear to

be very natural and ordinary on the programme, and it was always interesting to see how they reacted to

the technology they were testing. One example that sticks in the mind is when Janine, the mother, enters

her reconstructed, all-white home (after successfully unlocking her new front door by using her thumb print

as a key), and she immediately bursts into tears – quite understandably it has to be said. A short while later,

her husband Ben gets locked out because the skin on his thumb is too rough. As the series progresses,

however, they slowly come to accept the technology, and even start to believe it could have some value in

their lives.

I was keen to see during the show if anything emerged as potentially future-proof, and there were some great

examples. To help Janine deal with various worries, she was provided with a mind-controlled relaxation tool. This

was a kind of headband connected to a DVD, which, incredibly, she could control with her thoughts. When

she relaxed mentally, she made an image of the sun go down, as it would at night, on the DVD. When she

had tried the gadget and achieved the sun set, she was asked how effective the gadget had been. Janine

commented, ‘Nothing can compare to a nice cup of tea and a good soap opera!’

1. The writer makes the point in the first paragraph that predicting how homes will be in the future 
A requires detailed study of architectural trends.

B is impossible if you only look at new developments.

C has been very difficult until now.

D is made easier by programmes and articles about them in the media.

2. What does ‘today’s’ refer to in the first paragraph?

A current ideas

B the present reality

C the homes we currently live in

D modern architecture

3. According to the second paragraph, the technology installed in the Forseys’ house

A was chosen to match the specific needs of the family.

B was previously only used by a limited section of the population.

C was still too expensive for anybody except the wealthiest.

D was tried out by experts before the family used it.

4. What does ‘sticks’ mean in the third paragraph?

A blocks something

B remains there

C corrects an error

D highlights something

5. According to the third paragraph, how did the family members react to the new technology?

A Their attitude towards it became increasingly positive.

B Some of them adjusted more quickly to it than others.

C The parents struggled with it throughout the series.

D Some of their responses to it were surprising.

6. How did Janine feel about the mind-controlled relaxation tool?

A She was amazed at what it was capable of.

B She thought it would work if used with other things.

C She found it totally useless.

D She preferred more traditional methods of relaxation.

B2 level open cloze test 2 - Answer key at ceptpractice.blogspot.com

Keep on learning!

It doesn’t matter (0)whether you are still at school or in full-time employment, making the effort to learn new things is very important. Most of us have a few subjects on (1)which we focus. These may be associated (2)with our study or job, or sometimes a hobby. (3)Although it is obviously important to develop a deep understanding of (4)what matters to us most, it is equally worthwhile to extend our range of knowledge beyond what we are familiar with, and that is true at (5)any age.

So the best advice is to find the time to (6)take on new challenges and learn new skills outside the areas where we feel most comfortable. People often choose subjects (7)such as new languages, computer skills, or painting. If you can’t get to a class, then you can go online. Online courses can easily (8)be found, and learning online means you put in as much time as you want each day.

B2 level multiple choice cloze test 2 answer key at ceptpractice.blogs...

Off the beaten track

The expression ‘getting off the beaten track’ is used to (0) _________________to the experience of avoiding famous tourist attractions and choosing instead to explore less well-known places when travelling.

For many people the whole (1) _______________of travel is to visit cities such as Paris or Venice that have a great (2)_________________ as places of beauty and historic importance. Furthermore, they are not particularly (3)____________________ by the crowds that are usually found in such locations. But for others who have more of a (4)_____________ of adventure, a good holiday must (5)_________________ unfamiliar experiences, even taking some risks.

Travelling off the beaten track may be done by some students who don’t (6)______________ to a rigid plan, but make decisions about what to do depending on how they feel. Other travellers prefer to spend money on guided tours to unusual locations. Such tours are designed to (7)_______________ their particular needs, and all the arrangements are made for them. However people choose to get off the beaten track, the hope is always the same: to have a special, often unique (8) ______________ of a different culture.

1 A worth                  B point                      C aim                D profit

2 A favour                 B approval               C reputation       D opinion

3 A bothered             B interrupted            C offended         D disturbed

4 A feeling               B impression             C mood              D sense

5 A possess              B consist                   C involve           D concern

6 A fix                     B stick                        C fasten             D attach

7 A please               B fit                            C agree               D meet

8 A experience        B understanding         C awareness       D knowledge

Short listening - text answer B2 level

Short listening - text answer B2 level

1. You hear a woman telling her son about her favourite schoolteacher.
What did the woman like about her history teacher?
A his acting skills
B his sense of humour
C his passion for the subject

2. You hear a girl talking about maths.
What does the girl enjoy most about maths?
A getting clear answers
B applying it to everyday life
C solving difficult questions

3. You hear a man telling a friend about being unable to study art at school.
He says that he would have liked to study art in order to
A know more about art history.
B learn some techniques.
C follow a career in art.

4. You hear two students discussing a sports class they have just attended.
What do they agree on about the class?
A how relevant the information was for them
B how knowledgeable the teacher was
C how inspiring the new ideas were

Click slides here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yAaTjU6I_4Ud5xqiLwOuy8WUM-K1fheb