Advanced trainer 2nd ed six practice tests with answers 2nd edition felicity o'dell 2024 scribd down
Advanced Trainer 2nd ed Six Practice Tests with Answers 2nd Edition Felicity O'Dell
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Objective Advanced 4th ed Workbook with Answers 4th Edition Felicity O'Dell
A cataloguerecordforthis publication isavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN 978-1-107-47027-9 SixPracticeTestswithanswerswithAudio ISBN 978-1-107-47026-2 SixPracticeTestswithoutanswerswithAudio ISBN978-1 -107-47030-9 AudioCDs(3)
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Acknowledgements
TheauthorswouldliketothankAlison5ilverandCatrionaWatson-Brown for their painstaking editingandhelpfulfeedback.ThanksalsogotoKayGeorge, 5haronMeCannandLorrainePoulterandtherestoftheproduetionteamat CambridgeUniversityPressfortheir support andhardwork.
DevelopmentofthispublieationhasmadeuseoftheCambridgeEnglish Corpus (CEC) The CEC isaeomputer database ofeontemporaryspoken andwrittenEnglish, whieheurrentlystandsatoveronebillion words.It ineludesBritishEnglish, AmericanEnglishandothervarietiesofEnglish It alsoincludestheCambridgeLearnerCorpus,developedineollaborationwith CambridgeEnglishtanguage Assessment. CambridgeUniversity Presshas builtupthe CEC toprovideevideneeabout tanguage use that helpstoproduce betterlanguageteaehing materials.
Pieturereseareh : LouiseEdgeworth Text permissions: RebeeeaPratt-5mith DesignedandtypesetbyWildAppleDesign AudioproducedbyLeonChambersandrecordedatd50und,London
Introduction
Who is Advanced Trainer for?
Th isbook i ss uitable foranyonewho isprepar ing totake
Cambridge English: Advanced, alsoknownas Cert ifica te in AdvancedEng lish( CAE). You canuse Advanced Tra iner in class with your teacher or- ifyouhavethe ' withanswers ' edition ofthebook-onyourownathome.
What is Advanced Traine1?
Advanced Trainer contains sixpractice tests for Cambridge English: Advanced, eachcoveringtheReadingandUse of English, Writing, Listening andSpeakingpapers.The firsttwo tests are'gulded tests', which means that they contain extratra ining and support tohelpyouwitheach ofthetasksintheexam.Tests3to6arepurelypractice tests. AII six tests areat Cambridge English: Advanced level andmatchtheexamin format and standard.
In Test 1,eachpartofeachpaper consists ofaTraining section andanExam practice section. TheTraining sections give i nformation about eachpartoftheexam and have advice andpract ice tohelpyoupreparefor it. They focusongrammar, vocabulary and functional language directlyrelevantto particular task types.This is supported byworkbasedon correcting common grammar andvocabulary mistakes madeintheexamby Cambridge English: Advanced candidates, asshownby the Cambridge LearnerCorpus.(Formore information on the Cambridge LearnerCorpus , seepage7.)TheExam practice sections consist ofthe test itself accompanied by an Action plan,givlngstep-by-stepguidanceforeach task, withtipsongeneral strategy andadvicelinkedtothe specific questions.AFollow-up task attheendoftheExam practice sect ion invitesyoutoreflectonthe task and consider howyoucouldimproveyour performance.
Test 2also consists ofaTraining section andanExam practice sectionforeach part oftheexam.The Tra ining sections are shorter than those inTest1.Theyreviewthe information providedi nTest1andalsoinclude further practice for that partofthe test. TheExampractice sections provide additional tips andadvice.
Tests 3to6are complete practice tests without advice or training. Theygíve youthe opportunity to practise the advice andskillsyouhaveacquiredwhileworkingthrough Tests 1and2.
There isanExplanatoryanswerkey(seebelow)foreach test.
Featuresof Advanced Trainer
•Full-colour visual material fortheSpeakingpaperofall six tests.
• Explanatory answerkeys i nthe ' withanswers ' edit ion ofthebook , notonlygiving information about whichanswersareright , butalso,where appropriate , explaining why certain answersare correct andother options are noto
•Notesonal! writing tasks toexplainwhatisrequired, with , in addition, modelanswers foreach task typein the'withanswers ' edition
•Inthe ' withanswers ' edition, a L1stening transcript with underlining to indicate the sections that provide theanswerstotheexam questions.
• Photocopiable answer sheets fortheReadingand UseofEnglishandListeningpapers.Beforeyoutake theexam , youshouldstudy these so that youknow howtomarkorwriteyouranswercorrectly.InWriting, the question paperhasplentyofIinedpaperforyouto writeyouranswers.
•Foreach part ofeachpaper,youshouldbeglnby studyingthe Task information, which tells youthefacts youneedtoknow, suchaswhatthe task type tests and thek inds of question ituses.
•ThroughoutTest1 , youwillsee information marked Tipl These tips giveyoupract ical adviceonhowtotackle each task type
•Inallpapers, training exerc ises helpyoudevelopthe skills youneed , e.g.workingoutmeaningfromcontext, bywork ing throughexample items.
•Answersto all the training exercisesareinthe Explanatory answerkey inthe'withanswers ' edition.
Introduction I 5
• Throughout Test 1, there are Useful language sections, which present and practise grammatical structures, vocabulary or functional expressions that are often tested by particular task types.
•Many exercises involve focusing onand correcting common tanguage mistakes made by actual Cambridge English: Advanced candidates, asshownbythe CambridgeLearnerCorpus (seepage 7).
•In L1stenlng, youare prompted tousethe downloadable audiooroneofthe numbered COs: fl§ Ifyouare using the downloadable mp3 files, please note that the track numbers arethe same ason the COso Ifyouare using theCOs,youw ill needaCO player(ora computer that playsCOs).Inboth cases, youwill also needawatchor clock tomakesure that youkeeptothe time allowed foreach part ofthe test.
•In Writlng, the Explanatory answerkey conta ins model answers for the tasks. Although there aremany different waysof answering each question , itis worth studying these and thinking about the structure and languageofeaehofthe answers prov ided.
•In Speaklng, youare sometimes prompted tousethe audio recordlngs anddo tasks asyou listen. Youcan practise speaking onyourownorwitha partner, using what youhave learnt in Useful language and i n Tlps!.
Test 1 Exam practice
•Look first atthe Actlonplan , whichgivesyou clear step-by-step guidance onhowto approach each task type.
•Readany further Tipsl for that part oftheexam
•Work through an exam-style task, following the Action plan and making useofthe Advice boxes , which suggest waysof dealing with specific items.
•Answerstoall items are i nthe Explanatory answer key, which explains whythe correct answers areright and others arewrong.For L1stenlng, the parts of the Transcripts whichglvethe correct answers are underlined.
• Afier doing theexam task , look atthe Follow-up task and consider howyoucando better in this part ofthe examin future.
Test 2 Training
•Answerthe questions i nthe Revlew sect ion, as these willremindyou about this part oftheexam.Ifyouneed to,usethe cross-reference toTest1to check your answers.
•Lookatthe Tlpsl and work through theexerc ises whic h
focus on other useful exam techniques andlanguageto helpwith this part oftheexam.
•Thereis further work based on mistakes frequently madeby Cambridge English: Advanced candidates, as shownbythe CambridgeLearnerCorpus.
•Thereis also an emphasis on revision, withcrossreferences foreach task typetothe relevant Task Information and Actionplan inTest 1. Youcanrefer backto these before youbegin working through each section.
Test2 Exam practice
•Think about the Actionplan for this part oftheexam. Usethe cross-reference if youneedtoo
•Useany Tipsl on strategy and Advlce relating to specific questions tohelpyouwork through theexam task.
• 00 the task under exam conditions if possible, Le. not using a dictionary and spending an appropriate amount of time onthe task
•Checkyour answers inthe Explanatoryanswerkey.
Tests 3-6 Exam practice
•InTests3, 4 , 5 and 6, you should applytheski 115, techn iques andlanguageyouhave learnt inTests1 and 2.
•Youcando these tests andthe four papers within them inany order, butyou should alwaystrytokeeptothe time recommended foreach papero Forthe Listening paper, you must l isten toeach recording twice only.
•Itw ill be easier tokeeptotheexam instructions ifyou canfind somewhere qu iet towork,and ensure there areno interruptions.
•Forthe Speaking paper,itis better ifyoucanworkwith apartner,but,if not , youcanfo llow the instructions , anddoall four parts onyourown.
•Ifyouhavethe 'with answers ' edition ofthebook,you can check the answers and explanations for them, and also study the Listening transcripts , after youhave completed the tasks.
Audio
Inthe Cambridge English : Advanced Listening Test,the recordings arealwaysplayeda second time inallfour parts However,the Advanced Trainer recordings are repeated foronlyPart1of the Listening Test.ForParts 2 , 3and4 listen tothe recording twice. Youwillneedto replaythe track after a first listen
6 I Introductlon
The Cambridge learner Corpus (ClC)
The ClC isalarge collection of over 200,000 exam scripts writtenby candidates taking Cambridge ESOl exams aroundthe world. Itis growing all the time. It forms part of theCambridge International Corpus (CIC)andit has been builtupby Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English tanguage Assessment. The ClC currently contains scriptsfromover:
• 150 different first languages •200 different countries.
Exercises in Advanced Trainer which are based on the ClC areindicatedby this icon: (!l Find out more about the Cambridge learner Corpus at www.cambridge.orglcorpus.
Levelof CambridgeEnglish: Advanced
•CambridgeEnglish: Advanced is at level Cl on the CommonEuropean Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Achieving this level means that your Englishisgood enough for you to study or work in most situations whereEnglishis the main language used
•Apassmarkat Cambridge English: Advanced is given a grade:A,BorC.
•AchievingagradeA means that your English is consideredtobeatlevelC2on the CEFR.
•Ifyoudonotget enough marks for a grade Cin the examination,youmay get a certificate stating that your English isatlevelB2, provided youhave demonstrated thatisthecase.
Grading
• The grade that you receive is based on the marks that you receiveinall four papers.
• Each ofthe papers - Reading andUse of English , Writing, Listening and Speaking - has a maximum possibleweightedscore of 40 marks.
• There isno minimum score for each paper,soyou don't have topassall four papers to pass the exam.
• You receivea certificate ifyou pass the exam - grades A, B andCare passes , O andEare fails.
• Whatever yourgrade , youwill receive a Statement of Results.This includes a graphical profile showing how well youdidineach paper, illustrating your relative performanceoneachof the skills.
• For more information on gradlng and results, goto the Cambridge English tanguage Assessment webs ite (see Further information on page 9).
Content of Cambridge English: Advanced
Cambridge English: Advanced has four papers, each with several parts init.For details of each part, see the page reference under the Task information heading in the tables on the following pages,
ReadingandUseof Engllsh1hour 30 minutes
Thereareeight parts to this paperandtheyarealwaysinthesameorder.Parts 1-4 contain texts withaccompanying grammarand vocabulary tasks. Parts 5-8 containarangeoftextsandaccompanyingreading-comprehension tasks. Thetextsusedarefrom newspapers, rnagazines, journals, books, leaflets, brochures,etc.
A text witheightgapswhich must befilledwithone page 14 wordeach.
A text witheightgaps.Eachgap corresponds toa page 17 word.The stems ofthe missing wordsaregiven and must bechangedtoformthe missing word.
Six questions, eachwithagapped sentence which page 21 transformation must be completed inthreetosixwords, including agivenkeyword.
5 Multiple choice 6
6 Cross-text multiple 4
Areading text followedby multiple-choice questions. page 24
Four short texts, followedby multiple-matching page 29 matching questions. You must readacrosstextstomatcha promptto elements inthetexts.
7 Gappedtext 6
8 Multiple matching 10
Writing 1hour 30 minutes
A text with missing paragraphs, You must usethe page 33 missing extracts to complete the texto
A text (orseveral short texts)with multiple-matching page 38 questions.
You havetodoPart 1 (Question 1) plusany one ofthePart 2 tasks. InPart 2, youcanchooseoneof questions 2 to 4. The possible marksforPart1andPart2arethesame.Inall tasks, youaretoldwhatkindoftextyou must write,who youarewritingto.andwhyyouarewriting.
Part Tasktype
No.ofwordsFormat
Taskinformation
1 essay 220-260 You havetowriteanessaybased page 42 ontwopointsingiven information. You needtodecidewhichofthe two points ismore important, and toexplain why.
2 report 220-260 You aregivenachoiceof tasks page 46 review whichspecifythetypeof text you letterjemail havetowrite,yourpurposefor proposál writing,andthepersonorpeople youhavetowrite foro
8 I Introduction
Listening approximately 40 minutes
You willbothhearandsee the i nstructions for each task , andyouwi ll hear each of the four parts twice. Youwill hear pauses announced andyoucanuse this time toread the questions. Thereisone mark foreach question in this paper. Attheendofthe test , youw ill havef ive minutes tocopyyou r answers onto the answer sheet. Ifonepersonis speaking, youmay hear announcements , rad io broadcasts , speeches , talks , lectures or anecdotes, for example. If there aretwo speakers , you rnlght hear a radio i nterview, discussion or conversation, for example.
PartTask
1 Multiple choice 6
2 Sentence 8
You hear three short extracts andhaveto answer two page 51 multiple-choice questions on each. Each question has three options: A,SandC.
You hear a recording andhaveto write awordor page 54 completion short phrase to complete sentences.
3 Multiple choice 6
4 Multiple matching 10
You hear a recording andhaveto answer múltiple- page 56 choice questions, eachwith four optlons: A,S,C and D.
You hear five short extracts. Therearetwo matching page 59 tasks focusing on the gist and the main points of what is said , the attitude of the speakers and the context in which they are speaking, etc.
Speaking 15 minutes
You willprobablydo the Speaking test with one other candidate, although sometimes itis necessary to form groups of three. Therew ill betwo examiners, but one of them does not take part i n the conversat ion. The examiner will indicate who youshould talk toin each part of the test. Part
1 Three-way conversation between The examiner asks you both some questions about page 61 two students andone of the yourself andyour interests and experiences. examiners
2 Individual ' long turn' with brief Youareeachgiven some visual and written prompts ; page 63 responsefrom partner the examiner will ask youto talk about these for about a minute. Youare asked togivea short response after your partner has fir.ished their 'long turn'.
3 Collaborative task
Youaregiven some spoken instructions and written stimuli page 65 fora discussion or decision-making task andyou discuss these prompts with your partner.
4 Three-way interaction between Theexam iner asks youandyour partner questions relating page 67 studentsandoneof the to topics arising fromPart 3. examiners
Further information
The information about Cambridge English: Advanced contained in Advanced Trainer i s designed tobean overview ofthe exam. For afull description, including information about task types , testing focus and preparation for the exam, please use the CambridgeEnglish: Advanced Handbook , which canbe obtained from Cambridge English Language Assessment attheaddressbelowor from the website at www.cambridgeenglish.org.
Cambridge English l.anguage Assessment 1 Hills Road
Cambridge CB12EU
United Kingdom Introduction I 9
Test1 Training
Task information
Reading andUse of English (1 hour 30 minutes) Part 1
•In this task, there i sa text with eight gaps(plus one example).
•Foreachgap, there isachoice of four words or phrases:A,B, e andD.Youhave to choose the correct one to fill the gap .
•Youneed to read the text carefully and think about itsmean ing i n order to fill the gaps correctly.
Useful language: puttlng words in context
(!)
•Thegapsfocuson vocabulary items rather than grammar words
•To fill sorne of the gaps correctly, you will need to know how words often combine in collocations andsetphrases.
Explainwhy the underlined words donot fit in these sentences. Then suggest a wordwhichcould replace it without making any other changes tothe sentence
1 Jackiehas got a good work asPA to asuccessful novelist.
2Youcan count George to bew illing to help you out if you encounter any problems.
3 Don't worry to ask if youneedany help w ith your project
4The hotel receptionist will explain you how to get to the conference centre.
SThe train travel from Moscow to Beijing takesseveraldays.
6A police is questioning the person who they suspect of stealing mybike.
Useful language: identifying collocations
1 @ Threeof the words ineach set collocate with thegiven verbo Onedoesnot, Whicharethe three correct collocations?
1 give permission / someone a favour /a presentation / someone a hand
2lay c1aim to / the blame on/ the table /anexcuse
3 make a mistake /plans/anoise/ your best
4pay attention /a ticket / tribute to /a compliment
Srunanexercise/abusiness/arace/a campaign
6 shoot a film /past someone /an arrow /acamera
7standa possibility /achance/ trial / for parliament
8 take care/ measurements /a promise / the train
2 Nowchooseoneofthe collocations from Exercise 1 to complete each sentence.
1 It isn't fair that they you for other people's mistakes.
C TiP! Sometimesaword willnotfitbecause ofsomethinginthe grammararoundit.
C!¡P! Sometimeschooslng therlghtwordisa matter ofidentify ing therightcollocat ion.
2It says in the papers that four menare to next month for that robbery at our local bank
3Paul crept inat about 2am trying hisbest not to and wake his parents.
4I've got to about myresearchata seminar next week.
SThe engineer very careful before he cut the metal panel.
6 We've chosena new advertising agency to for our latest range of products.
7The Minister made aspeech to the soldiers who had fought for their country.
8Iwas winning the race until the veryend when Jo me.
3
@ Choosethe correct option to complete each sentence. [neachcase,the answerwilldependona collocation.
1The sales team avery successful time at the exhibition.
AspentBpassed(hadDmade
2Whenshewas transferred to the New York office, Sarah joined an evening c1ass in order to friends
AhaveB find ( meet Dmake
3 Theproud father wasvery excited when hisson his first steps.
AmadeB took (gaveD did
4The lecturer the c1ass's attention to an error in the calculations.
AdrewB attracted (put D showed
5Myparents contributed a amount of money to the fundo
Abig B large C grand D high
6Therewasa time when the person could not afford a mobile phone.
AusualB normal (regular D ordinary
7The(EO will a meeting with her management team this morning.
AvisitB join (attend D follow
8AIIthestudentson the courseare required to sport every afternoon.
Ago Bdo ( train Dpractise
Thinking about meaning
• Choose the correct optlon to complete eachgap.
1The graduation ballpromises to be the social of the year.
AeventB activity ( programme D festival
2 People often find it difficult when someone in their own family tries to
them how to dr ive.
AlearnBpractise(teach D qualify
3 Computer programming is certainly not my of expertise. Apart Bsection(systemDarea
4 The college offers a range of evening courses.
Awide B distinct ( changeable D various
5Atthe moment, the country hasa number of economic problems. AtrickyBserious( difficult Dhard
6 The students would find the flat more if it were closer to the university.
AreasonableB adequate ( convenient D helpful
Tofindthecorrect opt lon, youneedto think carefullyabout themeaningofallthe different options,
Test1 Exam practice
Action plan
Reading andUse of English Part 1
1Read the t itle and , if there isone, look at the pieture -these tell you the topie of the texto
2Read the whole text befo reyou start answering the questions.
3 When you answer each question, look at both what comes befo reand what comes after the gap.
4 Think of a word you might expect to fill the gap befo re looking at the options.
5Considereach of the options, eliminating those you know areincorrecto
6Check that the word youchoose for eachgap makessense.
7Check that the answer youchoose fits the sentence grammatieally.
8 When youhave finished, read through the whole text to makesure it makes sense.
Follow the exam instructions, using the advice to help you.
For questions 1-8, readthe text below and decide which answer (A,B, e orO) best fitseachgap.Thereis anexampleatthe beginning (O).
Thereseemtobethreemaintheories.Themost popular statesthatthe functions and(3) ofsleepare primarily physiological. Itclaimsthatwesleepinorderto(4) thehealthofour body Inother words , biological processes workhardaswesleeptorepairanydamagedoneduringtheday andtorestoreourselvesto(5) eff iciency. However , a second theoryplacesmoreemphasis onthelearning benefits ofsleep.Thistheoryholdsthatsleepallowsustoprocessthe information thatwe (6) duringtheday, andassertsthat , without sleep , learn ing wouldnottakeplace.Athird popular theory is(7) onideasaboutenergy, sayingthatweneed(8) ofsleep inorderto , inasense , rechargeour batteries andsohaveanadequate supply ofenergyforthecomingday.
1 A discussion B dispute e argument
1Onlyone of thesecol/ocates with'is still in ' andfitsin
2 A correctly B absolutely e actually D precisely terms ot meaning.
2One of theseadverbs col/ocates strongly with'why '.
3 A purposes B targets e intentions D points
3Onlyone of thesewordsis appropriate whendiscussing a physical functionotthe
4 Atake B maintain estay D keep body retner thanconscious behaviour
4 You need to think about both meaning andcol/ocationhere
5 A strong B utter e full Dentire to getthe correct answer.
5Only one of theoptions col/ocateswith 'etticiency' to
6 A achieve B complete e reach D acquire givetheidea of 'total'
6Onlyone of theseverbs col/ocateswith ' information'.
7 A rooted B supported e based D developed
7Onlyone of thesewordsfits withthe preposition 'on'.
8Al/thesewordsfitthe
8 A per iods B eras e moments D episodes grammar of thesentenceand col/oca te reasonablywel/, so think about the meaning here.
Follow-up
What procedure didyoufollowwhenyoudidthistask?
Test 1 Training Reading andUse of English Part 2
Task information
•In this task, there isa text with eight gaps(plusone example).
•Youhave to suggest an appropriate word to fill eachgap.
•Youneed to read the text carefully and think about its meaning in order to fill the gaps correctly.
•Themissing words are grammar words rather than vocabulary items.
•The answer will always bea single word. Remember that contractions (1'11, don't, etc.) count as two words.
• Sometimes there maybe more than onepossible answer and, if this is the case, the mark scheme allows for it.
•Youmustspelleach word correctly - US andUK spellings are both accepted.
Usefullanguage:uslng prepositions
1 Correct the errors made by exam candidates with prepositions.
1A number of customers complained for the after-sales service.
2AII the work will be done from volunteers.
C!iP! Thewords that youwill needtowriteinPart 2 areusuallyoneofthese types: prepositions; connectors ; auxiliary, modalorotherbasic verbs;determinersor articles; pronouns,basic adverbssuchas too, enough, more or noto
3 Delegates experienced a number of problems related at the broadband connection at the conference centre.
4 Alexandra was able to make good use of her knowledge in foreign languages.
5 Many people too k part to the anniversary festivities.
6Imust congratulate you for your excellent work.
7I hope my letter will be taken in consideration.
8The inspector drew the management's attention insome problems in the workshop.
9Thereisan urgent need of fresh water suppliesin the region.
10Haveyouseen the new advertisement of Lotus shampoo?
12 Many people don't havemuchmoney, just enough to get 2
@ Sometimes the preposition that is mlsslng is part ofa phrasal verbo
Findthe correct preposition to fill the gapin these sentences.
1The company always takes new staff for the summer periodo
2 Negotiations broke because of a disagreement about trading arrangements.
3The lecturer talks so fast -I justcan't keep with her train of thought.
4 lt was so noisyin the room that I couldn't make what Jillwassaying.
C!iP! Wheneveryounotedown aphrasalverbinyour vocabularynotebook, writeltdowninitsfull context , asthiswillhelp yourememberwhatit meansandhow it i s used
5The new management team plans to bring a number of changesin the company.
6Noone expected that the new fashion would catch as quickly as it has.
7The robbers made with a large amount of money
8 Wanda asked the bank for a loan in order to set a consultancy business.
9 However hard things mayseem, it is important not to give and stop trying.
10 Mark thinks there are problems in the contract andheisdeadset our signing it.
11Thenoisein the Iibrary immediately put me the idea of studying there.
Useful language: uslng connectors
1 Chooseaword from theboxto complete each sentence ina loglcal way. although becauseprovided unless untilwhateverwheneverwhereas
1 Ninais good atmaths, her twin brother is better at languages
2 Dan will go to university next year he passes allhisexams.
3 1'11 do you want me to do.
4 You'lIneverbeable to afford acarIike that - you win the lottery.
5 Sallyenjoysher work, she doesn't get verymuch free time.
6 Itwas not I got on the train that I realisedI'd left my laptop at home.
7 I'mreallylucky- I can take a coffee break I want one.
S llike mydesk Ihaveavery good view of the sea while I'm working.
2 Sorne eonnectorsare made upof more thanoneword.Choosethe correct phrase fromtheboxto complete each sentence. as ifaslongas in aecordance with assoonasdesp ite thefactthat incaseinordertonosooner eventhough soasnotto
1 Youmust fill in the form the instructions on the opposite page.
2 Ursula has taken on extra work earn enough money for a holiday.
3 My father said I could go to the party I'm home by midnight
4 Imanaged to complete the essay on time I was suffering from aheavycold
Didyou remember toread through the text at the endto make sureital! made sense?
9Readthewhole sentence before deciding whatis needed to fillthisgap.
10 Whichwordis most Iikel y to follow ' nevethe ability ' ?
11 Thewordyou need combines with 'that' to explain the purpose for an action.
12 If youignorethe phrase i n parenthesis rot course '), you may findit easier to fillth is gap.
13 Thisgap could be filled with either ' tess'or 'more ', but which matches the meaning in this context?
14 Thisis part of a fixed expression.
15 Thewordyou need bere otten followsonfrom a phrase beginning with 'eitner',
16 Thewordyou need is part ot a fixed phrase.
Te st 1 Training
Reading andUse of English Part 3
Task information
•Inthistask, there i sa text w ith e ight gaps(plus oneexample) .
•Attheend of eaeh li ne with agap,you will seea wordincapital letters, e.g. USE.
• You have to form a new word basedon the word incapitals to f ill the gap So from USE, you might form usefuI, usefully, usefulness,useless, user , usage, etc.
• You need to decide what kind of word goesin thegap - an adjective (e.g. strong), a verb (e.g strengthen), a noun (e.g. strength) or an adverb (e.g strongly).
• You mustspelleach word correctly to get the mark - US andUK spellings are both accepted.
Usef ullanguage: identifying parts ofspeech
•Youneed to know how prefixes and suffixes are usedin forming words -you might add the prefix im- to PERFECTto make imperfect, for example, or the suffix -ion, to make perfection, oreven both, to make imperfection.
•Youneed to know about compound words in English- kind-hearted, cold-hearted and hardhearted, for example, are compound adjectives (formed by combining two words)
•Youalsoneed to think about the meaning of the text - if the gapneedsan adjective , should it be positive (e.g comfortable, usefuI) or negative (e.g. uncomfortable, useless), for example?
1Whatpartofspeechis needed to complete eachgap-an adjective , anadverb, averboranoun?Howdoyou know? Suggest aword that could fill eachgap.
Camco isone of the most (1) companies in the country. A few years ago, it hit the(2) because of its controversial research programme. 5ince then,scarcelya month has gone by when it has not (3) inthenews for some(4) or another. But if youvisit company headquarters, there i severy Iikelihood that youw ill be (5) impressed by what yousee.
2 Completethis table. The first rowhasbeen completed asan example. noun verb adjective adverb comparison compare comparative comparatively (in)comparable (in)comparably (in)stability stabiliser
CliP! Learningaboutpref ixes andsuffi xes willalso somet imes helpyou workoutthemean lngs of wordsyoudonotknow, whichcanbeusefulfor t he ReadingandUseof EnglishandListening papers.
Useful Ianguage: understanding suffixes
1 Hereare just a few of the suffixes usedin English. Complete the table with sorne examples. suffix effect meaning examples
-er, -or makesa noun from averb •person who does computer , something commuter • object that does s o..i.Lor , Lnfiltnuor, something processor, compressor
-dornmakesa noun from another • state or condition noun oran adjective •realmor territory
-ee makesaperson noun from person affected by the verb a verb
-enmakesa verb from an cause to havea quality adjective
-hood makesan abstract noun the state of being a from aperson noun particular type of person
-Iess makesan adjective from a being without something noun
-ment makesa noun from a verb processor result of making or doing something -proof combines with a noun to cannot be harmed by form an adjective
2 Make new words from the words inCAPITALSat the endofeach line to complete the sentences. The words allusea suffix from Exercise1.
1The writer spent his ina quiet seaside village.
2We were sobusyat work that there wasno time to suffer from .
3Canyoulendme your penknife? I just need to my pencil.
4Wehad four good applicants for the job, so it washard to decide who would make the best
5 lt wasvery of you not to giveSueacallonher birthday.
6The presidential car will, of course,be completely
7The morning trains to the cityarealwayspacked with
8Weare looking for staff who will offer total to the company.
BOY BORE SHARP APPOINT THINK BULLET COMMUTE COMMIT
Useful Ianguage: understanding prefixes
1 Matchthe underlined prefixes in these sentences tothe rneanlngs of theprefixesinthebox.Then explain the rneanlngs ofthe words with the underlinedprefixes.
I again notagainstnotbelownotenoughnottoomuch
1 Luke's verylate-Iguesshemusthave again
2 Theteaeheraskedus to rewríte the exercise eorreeting all our mistakes.
3 We J.!.lliieIestimated the amount of money we would spendon holiday.
4 Therehavebeena number of 2.01l:government demonstrations in the lastyear.
5 The little boy excitedly .!.!.D.wrapped the parcel,
6 lt'svery irresponsible to goc1imbing without telling anyone your plans.
7 Unfortunately, this work is
8 Fleteher thought hehadseored, but the goal was disallowed by the referee.
2 Su ggestthreemore examples of words foreachofthe prefixes inExercise 1.
3 Makenewwords from the words in CAPITALS at the endofeachlineto complete the sentences.
Th ewordsallusea prefix from Exercise1.Youmayneedtoadda suffix aswell.
1 Wehadan unusually eold winter, with temperatures for two months.
2 Everyone his story - it just didn't seematall plausible
3 Teaehers sometimes eomplain of being and overworked
4 Students often tend to bea bit , but they usually become less radical withage.
5 I'msorrytobeso -l'd like to think things over for another dayor two
6 George means well, but his eontributions to our meetings are often rather
Test1 Training I 19
Reading and Use of English Part 3 Test .1 Exam practice
Actionplan
1Read the title and, if there isone, look at the picture -these tell you the topie of the texto
2Read the whole text through befo re filling any of the gaps.
3Foreachgap, think about what part of speech is needed -a noun, verb, adjective or adverb.
4 When youhave completed the task,read through the text to makesure it makessense.
5Checkyouhave spelt the words you write correctly Remember that US andUK spellings are both accepted.
6 At the end of the test, carefully transfer your answers(using CAPITAL LETIERS) to the answer sheet.
Follow the exam instructions, using the advice to help you.
For questions 17-24 , readthe text below.Usethewordgivenin capitalsattheendofsorneofthelinestoformawordthatfitsin thegap inthesameline. Thereisan example atthebeginn ing (O).
CTiP!Therea re oftenelues both befareand after thegap
CTiP!If anadjeetive oradverbi s needed, remember t oth ink abo utwhether it hasapos itive o r a negat ive mean ing Writeyouranswers INCAPITALLETTERSonthe separate answer sheet.
Example: @]
Exploring the world by sea
Peoplehavebeencarry ing out (O) byseafor thousands ofyears. EXPLORE
WhilePolynesianswere exploring thePacific , Vikings weresailing theAtlantic. VikingexplorersreachedNorthAmericabutd id notestablishapermanent (22) there Theyreturnedhomew ith talesofalandwheregrapes SETTLE grewinprofusionandf ish were (23) too Itis impossible nottofeel PLENTY greatrespectforthe (24) ofthese i ntrepidearlyexplorers. BRAVE
17 What part of speeehdo y ouneednere?
18 15 a positiveor a negativewordIikely to be neededhere?
19 Whieh suffix isrequired to formtheadjeetivehere?
20 15 a singular or a plural w ordneededhere?
21 Whiehsuffi x isneeded to makethe part of speeeh y ouneedhere?
22Do y ouneed a singular or a plural wordhere?
23Do y ouneedan adjeet ive oranadverb here?
24 Here y ouneed a relatively unusual suffixto: forming abstraet nouns. 20
Test 1 Training
Reading andUse of English Part 4
Task information
I Part 4consists of six questions (plusone example).
I Each question consists of an example sentence,a key word andasecond sentence with agapin the middle of it.
I You have to complete the second sentence using thekey word, so that it has the same meaning as theexamplesentence.
I You must not change the form of the key word.
•You will need to write between three andsix words to complete eachgap
•Part 4 tests the ability to expressanideain different ways,as well as knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. The mark scheme divides the answer into two partsandyou get a mark for each part that you write correctly.
•Youneed to spell the words correctly to get the marks. US andUK spellings are both accepted.
üseful language: correcting some common mistakes
1 @ Choose the correct alternative in these examples where exam candidates made mistakes.
1 I'msureyou won't haveany difficulties finding / to find the solution to the problem.
2 Didyouhave the chance of getting / to get to know any Native Americans when you were living in the States?
3 Everybody who work / works here get / gets a good salary.
4 Isuggestyou buy / to buy a telephone cardassoonasyou arrive in the country.
5 You either can / can either finish reading this book or choose another one.
6 Notonly wasthe food / the food was bad, but the sports facilities were not asyou stated in the brochure.
7 Thehotel offers French traditional/ traditional French cuisine.
8 Some ofthelessons that we attended in the lastcourse could be / could havebeen better prepared.
2 Complete thesecond sentence so that ithasa similar rneanlng to the first sentence. You must usebetween three andsixwords, including the wordin capitals, without changlng it.
1 llike allthe people working as managers in this company. WHO
Ilike everyone position in this company.
2 The service was first-c1ass and the rooms were excellent too. ONLY
Not the servicewasfirst-class too.
3 You have two possibilities - driving there or going by train. EITHER
You there by train
4AttheconcertI didn't playas well asI expected SHOULD I at the concert.
5 You'lI easilymanage to finish the work byFriday. DIFFICULTY
You the work byFriday.
6 The foodatthis restaurant is delicious, and the pricesarevery reasonable. MEALS
This restaurant very reasonable prices.
7I think this type of mobile phone would be the best choice for you. SUGGEST
I this type of mobile phone.
8I hope to be able to see the Bolshoi Ballet when I'm in Moscow. CHANCE
I hope I to the Bolshoi Ballet when I'min Moscow.
3 Thekey word for all the following transformation sentences is EYE. Chooseoneof the expressions from the boxto complete each sentence, making all the necessary changes, catch someone's eyeturnablindeyeto seeeyetoeyekeepaneyeoninthepubliceye
1 Although I love mysister,I don't always agree with her. Ilovemysisterdes pite with her
2The teacher pretended not to see what the children were doing. The teacher the children's behaviour.
3 lt must be hard for celebrities never to haveanyprivacy, mustn't it? It must be hard for celebrities always , mustn't it?
4We 'lI pay the bill and leaveassoonas the waiter notices we're waiting. Assoonas. ...• we'lI pay the bill and leave.
5Sarah watched the children while they were playing in the garden. Sarah children while they were playing in the garden.
Test1 Exam practice Reading andUe of Englih Part 4
Actionplan
1Read the first sentence carefully
2 Make sure the second sentence conveys exaetly the same meaning as the first one and that you have not .added any new ideas or left anything out.
3 Write your answer inCAPITAL LETTERS.
4Use the key word exactly as it is written - do not change it inanyway.
5Check that what you write fits with both what goes befo re and what comes after the gap.
6 Count the number of words to make sure you have not written more than six or less than three.
7 Remember that contractions (1'11, don't, etc.) count as two words.
8Check your spelling.
9 At the end of the test, carefully transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
Follo\'!
Forqu rneanu given. Here i Exam
Follow the exam instructions, using the advice to help you.
Forquestions 25-30, complete the second sentence sothat ithasasimilar meaning tothefirstsentence , usingthewordgiven . Do not change the word given. You mustusebetween three and six words, including thewordgiven. Hereisanexample (O).
Example:
O MarktoldPattihe thought herdresswas beautiful. ON
Mark dress . Thegapcanbefilledwiththe words ' complimentedPattionher beautiful ', soyouwrite:
Example: o I COMPLlMENT ED PATI I ON HER BEAUTIFUL
Q:iP! If YOU arenotsu re of theanswer , writewhat youcan-youmayget onemark.
C liP! Check that (a)you havenotusedtoo manyo r toofewwords , (b)yourspellingis eorreet,and (e)what youhavewrittenfits grammatieally.
Wr ite onlythemissing words IN CAPITAL LETTERSon the separate answer sheet.
27 Here youneedanexpression with 'te//' meaning 'fromwhat / have notieed or understood'.
28 Whiehidiom based on 'teet' means 'retex'?
29 Whieh phrasa/ verbis often used withwords/ike 's uggestion , or 'idea ' to mean 'think of'?
30Which tense isused after 'in case ' whenyou're thinking about ·the future?
Test1 Training
Task information
Reading andUse of English Part 5
•InPart5, youw ill readate xt followed by six fou r-opt ion multiple-choice questions.
•The text maycome from a r ange of sourcessuchas a newspaper, a magazine or journa l, ora book of fiction or non-fiction
•The questions will focuson things suchas the main i deaand details of the content of the text, the writer 's opinion and attitude, the purpose and i mplications of the text, and features of text organisation, e.g. the use of examples , comparisons or r eference words.
Choosethebest option (A , B orC)to complete the tips for Reading andUseof Engllsh Part 5.
1 You will find the answer to each question
Ain your own knowledge of the topie.
B only i n the tex t itself
e ina combination of A and B.
2 Titles, sub-headings and,occasionally,visuals should all Abe ignored as they are only there to make the page look better
B be looked at after read ing the ma in body of the texto e giveyou useful information about the content of the texto
3 The context will often help you to work out the
A origin of a word.
B meaning of a word. e pronunciation of a word.
Usingthe title
Titles are important asthey glve readers anidea of what the text is likely tobe about. What doyou think articles with the following titles will be about?
Example: Blizzards bring country to standstill- about snowstorms causingserious transport problems
1 Getting a ir traffic under control
2 Worlds collide at the National Gallery's new exhibition
3 Diary of a teenage millionaire
Working out meaning from context
4 Fashion to cheeryouup
5 Secrets of stunning photography
6 How to eat well: it's allin the presentation
You almost certainly will not know everywordinthetext.However, often itis possible to understand roughly what it means from the context. What helpsyou guess what the underlined wordsin these sentences mean? Note that youneedto think about the whole context , not just the sentence in which theword appears
Example: Many of usshare elements of a globalised culture, at least, perhaps watch ing Japanese movies, listening to or eating Indian food. -I t is clearthat K-popis something that people listen to andisgoing to besomekind of popularmusic.The context suggests that the 'K'islikely to refer to somearea oft he world (South Korea,in fact)
1 Why isit, then , that somany of ustussle with the basics of global communication?
2Asan artificial l anguage,itis appreciated as being devoid of ideological or political connotat ions.
3Esperantomay well be the answer that second-Ianguage learners havebeen seeking.
4Themain criticism of Esperanto is that, despite its10ftyideals, the language never really caught on.
5ltmayevenbe considered as maintaining a primarily Western point of view, something the creator of Esperanto initially set out to mitigate.
6However, advocates of Esperanto would counter this criticism by maintaining that alllanguagescanbe considered as artificial.
7Proponents of the language assert that it hassucceededinareas where English might have failed.
8The global uptake of Esperanto may not eventually English from its percho consigning it to a status similar to that of modern-day Latin.
Useful language: paraphrasing
Texts oftenuse different words to refer tothe same thlng rather than repeatlng the same word. Inatext,adance mlght alsobe referred to, more generally, asa party ora social event or, more specifically, depending on the context , asaballoradisco. Similarly, options in Reading andUseofEnglish Part 5 will usually use different words toconvey the ideas in the texto
1 Put thewordsinthebox into pairs of synonyms.
B6veeBtes atfirstbeawareconnect ions consequencefascinat ing I for certain haveincommoninitiallyintend interesting keymain realise resultshare SUl5l5efters tiesundeniablewish
Example: advocates - supporters
2 Rewrite these sentences so they donotuseanyofthe underlined words.
Example: Whyisit, then, that so many of ustussle wíth the basícs of global cammuníca tion?
Why isit.then, that somany of us struggle with even simple aspects of global communicat ion'?
Whatis interesting is that, over a hundred yearsago,aDr Ludwig Zamenhof published a boa k about a new language that hehad developed.
2Itis c1aimed to beeasy to master.
3Itisappreciatedas being devoid of the ideological or political connotations that accompany languages of former colonial powers.
4 The languagenever really caught on among the global population in the way its creator intended.
5WhatEsperantolacksin culture it makesup for in efficiency.
6 Esperanto has built upa history of its own, onesharedby the thousands who speak itanduse it asan international means of communication.
Test1 Exam practice Reading andUse of English Part 5
Actionplan
1Read the title. This will give yousomeidea of the topie of the texto
2Read the text first, then readeach question very carefully inturno Underline key words in the question.
3Remember that questions follow the order of the textoFind the part of the text the question referstooCheck the text carefully before answering.
4Areyou confident about the answer?Ifso, note it down andmoveon.
5If the answer is not obvious, eliminate the options youaresureare wrong.
6Ifyou find one question difficult, moveon to the next one.
7 When youhave finished, go back to any questions that you left out and look at them again. Theymayseemeasiernow.If they do not, just chooseone of the options youhave not eliminated. Do not leaveany questions blank.
Follow the exam instructions, using the advice to help you.
You aregoingtoreadan article about Esperanto.For questions 31-36, choosetheanswer(A,B, e orD)whichyou think fitsbest according tothetext.
Markyouranswerson the separate answer sheet.
Breaking down the language barrier?
A lookatEsperanto
Wearesupposedtoliveina 'globalised' world,orsoweareincreasingly taughtinschool.Manyofusshareelementsofa globalised culture,at least,perhaps watching Japanese movies,listeningtoK-pop,oreating Indianfood.Whyisit,then,thatsomanyofustusslewiththebasicsof global communication inthisageofinstantmessaging,emailandvideo conferencing?Englishmaycertainlybethe (self-appointed) linguafranca oftheglobalisedworld,withmillionsof students struggling dailytolearn itsphrasalverbsand idioms. ButEnglishisthe mother tongue ofonly arelativelysmall percentage oftheglobal population, so wouldn't itbe easierifweallspokea simpler language?Perhapswhatisneededisan internationallanguage.
Whatisinterestingisthat,overahundredyearsago,aDrLudwig Zamenhof published a book aboutanewlanguagethathehad developed,withthe intention of providing an appropriate international meansof communication. Hecalledthislanguage 'Esperanto', andit issaidthat hundreds of thousands ofpeoplehavelearnedtospeakit, withaboutone thousand today evenusingitastheirfirstlanguage.It isciaimedtobeeasytomasterand,moresignificantly,asanartificial language,itis appreciated asbeingdevoidofanyofthe ideological orpolitical connotations that accompany languagesofformercolonial
Theanswer must saythesame aswhatisinthetext-donot chooseanopt íon just because it states somethingtrue,ifthat truthisnotinthe texto Anddonot chooseanoption just becauseit usessomewordsfromthe texto
powers, suchasEnglish.ItissaidtobelearntmuchfasterthanEnglish,withaonesymbol-one-sound writing system(makingspellingeasier)anda grammar witha Iimited numberofrules.Vocabularyeven borrows a number of words thatarealready shared internationally,suchas te/efono (telephone)and matematiko (mathematics).In short, Esperantomaywellbethe answer that second-Ianguage learnershavebeen seeking.
The problemisthatitislikelythat,befarereadingthisarticle,you might neverhave heard ofEsperanto,andyou would almost certainly notbealoneonthatpoint.The main criticismofEsperantoisthat, despite itsloftyideals , thelanguageneverreally caught onamongthe global population inthewayits creator intended. Whether there was avestedinterestin preventing thelanguagefrom spreading ishardtosayoThe key factoristhatthelanguagedoes,infact,lookrathersimilartoRomancelanguages such asFrench,SpanishorItalian,atthe expense of other popular languagessuchas Arabic orMandarin.Assuch,the 'international' languageis perhaps not international enough, andmayevenbe considered as maintaining a primarily Westernpointof view, somethingthe creator of Esperanto initially setouttomitigate.
As mentioned, Esperanto iswhatisknownasan 'artificiallanguage'. Thoseinvolved with thedevelopmentofits vocabulary and structures werewellawarethatthe language theywerecreatinghadfewtieswithlanguagesofthepast , andsoone ofthebasicfeaturesofany other language-thatofaculturalheritage-canbe considered missingforspeakersofEsperanto.However, advocates ofEsperanto would counterthis criticism by claiming thatalllanguagescanbe considered as artificial, inthesensethatthe creators ofanylanguagewerehuman.WhatEsperanto lacks inculture, itmakesupforinefficiency,andaslanguagelearnersinthebusy modern worldare constantly underpressureoftime,itis possible that,forsome,it is worth developing communicative efficiency attheexpenseofacertainprestige. In addition, asEsperantoitselfisnowaovera century old , one might arguethatthis language, too,hasbuiltupa history of itsown , onesharedbythe thousands who speak itanduseitasan international meansof communication
Whether weconsidertheEsperanto experiment a success orfailure,onethingisfor certain: aninternational language shouldreflectall aspects ofglobal society, whileat the same timebeeasytolearn,freefrom ambiguity, andneutralintermsofideology. Critics of Esperanto c1aim itsfailureineachofthese aspects, while proponents ofthe language assertthatithas succeeded inareaswhereEnglish might havefailed.While there may notbeenoughglobal uptake ofEsperantoto eventually topple English from its perch, thereisno doubt thatithas provoked increasedinterestinthe debate fine 5 6 on language inthe shadow of globalisation , andthis debate isfarfrom overo
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THE PEAK IN DARIEN: THE RIDDLE OF DEATH.
It is somewhat singular that the natural longing to penetrate the great secret of mortality should not have suggested to some of the inquirers into so-called “Spiritual” manifestations that, before attempting to obtain communication with the dead through such poor methods as raps and alphabets, they might more properly, and with better hope of gaining a glimpse through the “gates ajar,” watch closely the dying, and study the psychological phenomena which accompany the act of dissolution. Thus, it might be possible to ascertain, by comparison of numerous instances, whether among these phenomena are any which seem to indicate that the mind, soul, or self of the expiring person, is not undergoing a process of extinction, but exhibiting such tokens as might be anticipated, were it entering upon a new phase of existence and coming into possession of fresh faculties. It is at least conceivable that some such indications might be observed, were we to look for them with care and caution, under the rare conditions wherein they could at any time be afforded; and, if this should prove to be the fact, it is needless to dilate on the intense interest of even such semblance of confirmation of our hopes. I must earnestly protest, however, at starting, that, in my opinion, to regard anything which could be so noticed as being more than such a confirmation, or, as if it could constitute an argument for belief in a future life, would be foolish in the extreme, seeing the great obscurity and the evanescent nature of all such phenomena. Our faith in immortality must be built on altogether different ground, if it is to be of any value as a part of our religion or of our philosophy. But, assuming that we are, individually, already convinced that the quasi-universal creed of the human race is not erroneous, and that “the soul of a man never dies,”[36] we may not unreasonably turn to the solemn scene of dissolution, and ask whether there does not sometimes occur, under one or two perhaps of its hundred forms,
some incidents which point in the direction of the great fact which we believe to be actually in process of realization? According to our common conviction, there is a moment of time when the man whom we have known in his garb of flesh casts it aside, actually, so to speak, before our eyes, and “this mortal puts on immortality.” As in Blanco White’s beautiful sonnet, he is, like Adam, watching his first sunset, and trembling to lose sight of the world, and the question to be solved is whether darkness has enshrouded him, or whether
“Hesperus with the hosts of heaven came, And, lo! Creation widened in his view”; and he may have asked himself,—
“Who would have thought such darkness lay concealed Within thy beams, O Sun? or deemed, While flower and leaf and insect stood revealed, That to such countless orbs thou mad’st us blind?” and life, like light, had been only a deception and a veil.
We have walked in company with our brother, perchance for years, through the “wilderness of this world,” over its arid plains of toil and through its sweet valleys of love and pleasure; and then we have begun to climb the awful Andes which have always loomed before us at our journey’s end,—their summits against the sky,—and beyond them the undiscovered land. Onward, a little before us, as chance may decide, our companion perhaps mounts the last acclivity; and we see him slowly approach the mountain’s crown, while our lagging steps yet linger on the slopes below Sometimes, ere he reach the hill-top, he is enveloped in cloud, and then we see him no more; but again, sometimes, he remains in the full sunlight, and though distant from us, and beyond the reach of our voice, it is yet possible for us to watch his attitude and motions. Now, we see him nearing the summit. A few steps more, and there must break on his vision whatever there may be of the unknown world beyond,—a howling wilderness or a great Pacific of joy. Does he seem, as that view bursts on him, whatsoever it may be,—does he seem to be inspired with hope or cast down with despair? Do his arms drop in consternation, or does he lift them aloft with one glad gesture of
rapture, ere he descend the farther slope, and is lost to our sight forever?
It appears to me that we may, though with much diffidence, answer this question as regards some of our comrades in life’s journey, who have gone before us, and of whom the last glimpse has been one full of strange, mysterious, but most joyful promise. Let us inquire into the matter calmly, making due allowance both for natural exaggeration of mourning friends, who recall the most affecting scenes, and also for the probable presence of cerebral disturbance and hallucination at the moment of physical dissolution.
Of course, it is quite possible that the natural law of death may be that the departed always sink into a state of unconsciousness, and rather dip beneath a Lethe than leap a Rubicon. It is likewise possible that the faculties of a disembodied soul, whatever that may be, may need time and use, like those of an infant, before they can be practically employed. But there is also at least a possibility that consciousness is not always lost, but is continuous through the passage from one life to another, and that it expands rather than closes at the moment when the bonds of the flesh are broken, and the man enters into possession of his higher powers and vaster faculties, symbolled by the beautiful old emblem of Psyche’s emancipated butterfly quitting the shell of the chrysalis.[37] In this latter case there is a certain prima facie presumption that close observation ought to permit us occasionally to obtain some brief glimpse, some glance, though but of lightning swiftness and evanescence, revealing partially this transcendent change.
In a majority of deaths, the accompanying physical conditions hide from the spectators whatever psychological phenomena may be taking place. The sun of our poor human life mostly sets behind an impenetrable cloud. Of all forms of death, the commonest appears to be the awful “agony” with its unconscious groans and stertorous breath. The dying person seems to sink lower and lower, as if beneath the waters of an unfathomable sea; a word, a motion, a glance, rising up at longer and longer intervals, till the last slow and distant sighs terminate the woful strife, and the victory of Death is complete. When this is the mode of dissolution, it is of course
hopeless to look for any indication of the fate of the soul at its exodus; and the same holds good as regards death in extreme old age, or after exhausting disease, when the sufferer very literally “falls asleep.” Again, there are deaths which are accompanied by great pain or delirium, or which are caused by sudden accidents, altogether hiding from our observation the mental condition of the patient. Only in a small residue of cases, the bodily conditions are such as to cause neither interference with nor yet concealment of the process of calm and peaceful dissolution in the full light of mental sanity; and it is to these only we can look with any hope of fruitful observation. I ask whether in such cases instances have ever been known of occurrences having any significance taken in connection with the solemn event wherewith they are associated. Does our forerunner on the hill-top show by his looks and actions, since he is too far off to speak to us, that he beholds from his “Peak in Darien” an Ocean yet hidden from our view?
I should hesitate altogether to affirm positively that such is the case; but, after many inquiries on the subject, I am still more disinclined to assert the contrary. The truth seems to be that, in almost every family or circle, a question will elicit recollections of death-bed scenes, wherein, with singular recurrence, appears one very significant incident,—namely, that the dying person, precisely at the moment of death, and when the power of speech was lost, or nearly lost, seemed to see something; or rather, to speak more exactly, to become conscious of something present (for actual sight is out of question) of a very striking kind, which remained invisible to and unperceived by the assistants. Again and again, this incident is repeated. It is described almost in the same words by persons who have never heard of similar occurrences, and who suppose their own experience to be unique, and have raised no theory upon it, but merely consider it to be “strange,” “curious,” “affecting,” and nothing more. It is invariably explained that the dying person is lying quietly, when suddenly, in the very act of expiring, he looks up,—sometimes starts up in bed,—and gazes on (what appears to be) vacancy with an expression of astonishment, sometimes developing instantly into joy, and sometimes cut short in the first emotion of solemn wonder and awe. If the dying man were to see some utterly unexpected but
instantly recognized vision, causing him a great surprise or rapturous joy, his face could not better reveal the fact. The very instant this phenomenon occurs, death is actually taking place, and the eyes glaze even while they gaze at the unknown sight. If a breath or two still heave the chest, it is obvious that the soul has already departed.
A few narrations of such observations, chosen from a great number which have been communicated to the writer, will serve to show more exactly the point which it is desired should be established by a larger concurrence of testimony. The following are given in the words of a friend on whose accuracy every reliance may be placed:
“I have heard numberless instances of dying persons showing unmistakably by their gestures, and sometimes by their words, that they saw in the moment of dissolution what could not be seen by those around them. On three occasions, facts of this nature came distinctly within my own knowledge; and I will therefore limit myself to a detail of that which I can give on my own authority, although the circumstances were not so striking as many others known to me, which I believe to be equally true.
“I was watching one night beside a poor man dying of consumption. His case was hopeless, but there was no appearance of the end being very near. He was in full possession of his senses, able to talk with a strong voice, and not in the least drowsy. He had slept through the day, and was so wakeful that I had been conversing with him on ordinary subjects to while away the long hours. Suddenly, while we were thus talking quietly together, he became silent, and fixed his eyes on one particular spot in the room, which was entirely vacant, even of furniture. At the same time, a look of the greatest delight changed the whole expression of his face, and, after a moment of what seemed to be intense scrutiny of some object invisible to me, he said to me in a joyous tone, ‘There is Jim.’ Jim was a little son whom he had lost the year before, and whom I had known well; but the dying man had a son still living, named John, for whom we had sent, and I concluded it was of John he was speaking, and that he thought he heard him arriving. So I answered, —
“‘No. John has not been able to come.’
“The man turned to me impatiently, and said: ‘I do not mean John, I know he is not here: it is Jim, my little lame Jim. Surely, you remember him?’
“‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I remember dear little Jim who died last year quite well.’
“‘Don’t you see him, then? There he is,’ said the man, pointing to the vacant space on which his eyes were fixed; and, when I did not answer, he repeated almost fretfully, ‘Don’t you see him standing there?’
“I answered that I could not see him, though I felt perfectly convinced that something was visible to the sick man, which I could not perceive. When I gave him this answer, he seemed quite amazed, and turned round to look at me with a glance almost of indignation. As his eyes met mine, I saw that a film seemed to pass over them, the light of intelligence died away, he gave a gentle sigh and expired. He did not live five minutes from the time he first said, ‘There is Jim,’ although there had been no sign of approaching death previous to that moment.
“The second case was that of a boy about fourteen years of age, dying also of decline. He was a refined, highly educated child, who throughout his long illness had looked forward with much hope and longing to the unknown life to which he believed he was hastening. On a bright summer morning, it became evident that he had reached his last hour He lost the power of speech, chiefly from weakness; but he was perfectly sensible, and made his wishes known to us by his intelligent looks. He was sitting propped up in bed, and had been looking rather sadly at the bright sunshine playing on the trees outside his open window for some time. He had turned away from this scene, however, and was facing the end of the room, where there was nothing whatever but a closed door, when all in a moment the whole expression of his face changed to one of the most wondering rapture, which made his half-closed eyes open to their utmost extent, while his lips parted with a smile of perfect ecstasy. It was impossible to doubt that some glorious sight was visible to him;
and, from the movement of his eyes, it was plain that it was not one, but many objects on which he gazed, for his look passed slowly from end to end of what seemed to be the vacant wall before him, going back and forward with ever-increasing delight manifested in his whole aspect. His mother then asked him, if what he saw was some wonderful sight beyond the confines of this world, to give her a token that it was so by pressing her hand. He at once took her hand, and pressed it meaningly, giving thereby an intelligent affirmative to her question, though unable to speak. As he did so, a change passed over his face, his eyes closed, and in a few minutes he was gone.
“The third case, which was that of my own brother, was very similar to this last. He was an elderly man, dying of a painful disease, but one which never for a moment obscured his faculties. Although it was known to be incurable, he had been told that he might live some months, when somewhat suddenly the summons came on a dark January morning. It had been seen in the course of the night that he was sinking; but for some time he had been perfectly silent and motionless, apparently in a state of stupor, his eyes closed and his breathing scarcely perceptible. As the tardy dawn of the winter morning revealed the rigid features of the countenance from which life and intelligence seemed to have quite departed, those who watched him felt uncertain whether he still lived; but suddenly, while they bent over him to ascertain the truth, he opened his eyes wide, and gazed eagerly upward with such an unmistakable expression of wonder and joy that a thrill of awe passed through all who witnessed it. His whole face grew bright with a strange gladness, while the eloquent eyes seemed literally to shine, as if reflecting some light on which they gazed. He remained in this attitude of delighted surprise for some minutes, then in a moment the eyelids fell, the head drooped forward, and with one long breath the spirit departed.”
A different kind of case from those above narrated by my friend was that of a young girl known to me, who had passed through the miserable experiences of a sinful life at Aldershot, and then had tried
to drown herself in the river Avon, near Clifton. She was in some way saved from suicide, and placed for a time in a penitentiary; but her health was found to be hopelessly ruined, and she was sent to die in the quaint old workhouse of St. Peter’s at Bristol. For many months, she lay in the infirmary, literally perishing piecemeal of disease, but exhibiting patience and sweetness of disposition quite wonderful to witness. She was only eighteen, poor young creature, when all her little round of error and pain had been run; and her innocent, pretty face might have been that of a child. She never used any sort of cant (so common among women who have been in Refuges), but had apparently somehow got hold of a very living and real religion, which gave her comfort and courage, and inspired her with the beautiful spirit with which she bore her frightful sufferings. On the wall opposite her bed, I had hung by chance a print of the “Lost Sheep”; and Mary S., looking at it one day, said to me, “That is just what I was and what happened to me; but I am being brought safe home now.” For a long time before her death, her weakness was such that she was quite incapable of lifting herself up in bed, or of supporting herself when lifted; and she, of course, continued to lie with her head on the pillow, while life gradually and painfully ebbed away, and she seemingly became nearly unconscious. In this state she had been left one Saturday night by the nurse in attendance. Early at dawn next morning,—an Easter morning, as it chanced,—the poor old women who occupied the other beds in the ward were startled from their sleep by seeing Mary S. suddenly spring up to a sitting posture in her bed, with her arms outstretched and her face raised, as if in a perfect rapture of joy and welcome. The next instant, the body of the poor girl fell back a corpse. Her death had taken place in that moment of mysterious ecstasy.
A totally different case again was told me by the daughter of a man of high intellectual distinction, well known in the world of letters. When dying peacefully, as became the close of a profoundly religious life, he was observed by his daughter suddenly to look up as if at some spectacle invisible to those around, with an expression of solemn surprise and awe, very characteristic, it is said, of his habitual frame of mind. At that instant, and before the look had time
to falter or change, the shadow of death passed over his face, and the end had come.
In yet another case, I am told that at the last moment so bright a light seemed suddenly to shine from the face of a dying man that the clergyman and another friend who were attending him actually turned simultaneously to the window to seek for the cause.
Another incident of a very striking character was described as having occurred in a family united very closely by affection. A dying lady, exhibiting the aspect of joyful surprise to which we have so often referred, spoke of seeing, one after another, three of her brothers who had long been dead, and then, apparently, recognized last of all a fourth brother, who was believed by the bystanders to be still living in India. The coupling of his name with that of his dead brothers excited such awe and horror in the mind of one of the persons present that she rushed from the room. In due course of time, letters were received announcing the death of the brother in India, which had occurred some time before his dying sister seemed to recognize him.
Again, in another case, a gentleman who had lost his only son some years previously, and who had never recovered from the afflicting event, exclaimed suddenly when dying, with the air of a man making a most rapturous discovery, “I see him! I see him!”
Not to multiply such anecdotes too far,—anecdotes which certainly possess a uniformity pointing to some similar cause, whether that cause be physiological or psychical,—I will now conclude with one authenticated by a near relative of the persons concerned. A late colonial bishop was commonly called by his sisters “Charlie,” and his eldest sister bore the pet name of “Liz.” They had both been dead for some years, when their younger sister, Mrs. W., also died, but before her death appeared to behold them both. While lying still and apparently unconscious, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked earnestly across the room, as if she saw some one entering. Presently, as if overjoyed, she exclaimed, “O Charlie!” and then, after a moment’s pause, with a new start of delight, as if he had been joined by some one else, she went on, “And Liz!” and then added,
“How beautiful you are!” After seeming to gaze at the two beloved forms for a few minutes, she fell back on her pillow and died.
An instance—in many respects especially noteworthy—of a similar impression of the presence of the dead conveyed through another sense besides sight is recorded in Caroline Fox’s charming Journals, Vol. II., p. 247. She notes under date September 5, 1856, as follows:
“M. A. Schimmelpenninck is gone. She said just before her death, ‘Oh, I hear such beautiful voices, and the children’s are the loudest.’”
Can any old Italian picture of the ascending Madonna, with the cloud of cherub heads forming a glory of welcome around her as she enters the higher world, be more significant than this actual fact—so simply told—of a saintly woman in dying hearing “beautiful voices, and the children’s the loudest”? Of course, like all the rest, it may have been only a physiological phenomenon, a purely subjective impression; but it is at least remarkable that a second sense should thus be under the same glamour, and that again we have to confront, in the case of hearing as of sight, the anomaly of the (real or supposed) presence of the beautiful and the delightful, instead of the terrible and the frightful, while Nature is in the pangs of dissolution. Does the brain, then, unlike every known instrument, give forth its sweetest music as its chords are breaking?
Instances like those recorded in this paper might, I believe, be almost indefinitely multiplied, were attention directed to them, and the experience of survivors more generally communicated and recorded. Reviewing them, the question seems to press upon us, Why should we not thus catch a glimpse of the spiritual world through that half-open portal wherein our dying brother is passing? If the soul of man exist at all after the extinction of the life of the body, what is more probable than that it should begin at the very instant when the veil of the flesh is dropping off to exercise those spiritual powers of perception which we must suppose it to possess (else were its whole after-life a blank), and to become conscious of other things than those of which our dim senses can take cognizance? If it be not destined to an eternity of solitude (an absurd hypothesis), its
future companions may well be recognized at once, even as it goes forth to meet them. It seems indeed almost a thing to be expected that some of them should be ready waiting to welcome it on the threshold. Is there not, then, a little margin for hope, if not for any confident belief, that our fondest anticipations will be verified; nay, that the actual experience of many has already verified them? May it not be that, when that hour comes for each of us which we have been wont to dread as one of parting and sorrow,—
“The last long farewell on the shore Of this rude world,”
ere we “put off into the unknown dark”,—we may find that we only leave for a little time the friends of earth to go straight to the embrace of those who have long been waiting for us to make perfect for them the nobler life beyond the grave? May it not be that our very first dawning sense of that enfranchised existence will be the rapture of reunion with the beloved ones whom we have mourned as lost, but who have been standing near, waiting longingly for our recognition, as a mother may watch beside the bed of a fever-stricken child, till reason reillumines its eyes, and with outstretched arms it cries “Mother.”
There are doubtless some to whom it would be very dreadful to think of thus meeting on the threshold of eternity the wronged, the deceived, the forsaken. But for most of us, God be thanked, no dream of celestial glory has half the ecstasy of the thought that in dying we may meet—and meet at once, before we have had a moment to feel the awful loneliness of death—the parent, wife, husband, child, friend of our life, soul of our soul, whom we consigned long ago with breaking hearts to the grave. Their “beautiful” forms (as that dying lady beheld her brother and sister) entering our chamber, standing beside our bed of death, and come to rejoin us for ever,—what words can describe the happiness of such a vision? It may be awaiting us all. There is even, perhaps, a certain probability that it is actually the natural destiny of the human soul, and that the affections which alone of earthly things can survive dissolution will, like magnets, draw the beloved and loving spirits of the dead around the dying. I can see no reason why we should not
indulge so ineffably blessed a hope. But, even if it be a dream, the faith remains, built on no such evanescent and shadowy foundation, that there is One Friend,—and He the best,—in whose arms we shall surely fall asleep, and to whose love we may trust for the reunion, sooner or later, of the severed links of sacred human affection.
FOOTNOTES:
[36] There is an argument which, I believe, now influences more or less consciously the minds of many intelligent persons against the belief in the immortal life. It amounts to this: Granted that there is a God, and that he is absolutely benevolently disposed toward mankind, it does not follow (as commonly assumed) that He will bestow immortality on man, because it is quite possible that there may be an inherent absurdity and contradiction in the idea of an immortal finite creature, it may, in short, be no more within the scope of divine power to create an immortal man than to make a triangle with the properties of a circle If we could be first assured that the thing were possible, then arguments derived from the justice and goodness of the Deity might be valuable, as affording us ground for believing that He will do that possible thing. But, while it remains an open question whether we are not talking actual nonsense when we speak of an ever-living created being, such reflections on the moral attributes of God are beside the mark. No justice or goodness can be involved in doing that which, in the nature of things, is impossible.
Now, of course, there is a little confusion here between a future life a mere post-mortem addition of so many years or centuries to this mortal existence—and an immortal life, which, it is assumed, will continue either in a series of births and deaths or in one unbroken life forever and ever. In the former idea, no one can find any self-contradiction. It is only the latter notion of immortality, strictly so described, which is suspected of involving a contradiction. Practically, however, the two ideas must stand or fall together; for almost every argument for the survival of the soul after death bears with
double force against its extinction at any subsequent epoch of its existence.
Taking then the future life of a man as, to all intents and purposes, the immortal life, we are bound to confront the difficulty, “What right have we to assume that immortality and creaturehood are compatible the one with the other?”
A priori argument on such a matter is altogether futile We know and can reason literally nothing about it For anything we could urge antecedent to the observation of a man’s actual state, it was, apparently, just as probable that he could not be made immortal as that he could be made so by any conceivable power in the universe. But we are not quite in the position of lacking all such a posteriori assistance to our judgment. We can see how God has actually constituted the human race, and the problem is consequently modified to this: “Are there any signs or tokens that man is meant for something more than a mere mundane existence?” It is obvious that, if immortality were an attribute which in the nature of things he could never share, nothing in his mental or moral constitution would have been made with any reference to such an unattainable destiny. If, on the other hand, there be in his nature evidences of a purpose extending beyond the scope of this life, and stretching out into the limitless perspective of eternity, then we are authorized to draw the inference that the Author of his being planned for him a future existence, and, of course, knew that he might enjoy that divine heritage
Here, then, the argument lies in manageable shape before us. It is true we only see a small portion of humanity, as it has yet been drawn out; but just as mathematicians can determine, from any three given points, the nature of the curve to which they belong, so we have enough indications to guide us to a conclusion respecting the character of our race In every department of our nature, save our perishable bodies, we find something which seems to point beyond our threescore years and ten,—something inconsistent with the hypothesis that those years complete our intended existence Our busy intellects, persistently wrestling with the mysteries of eternity; our human affections craving for undying love; our sense of justice, born of no past experience of a reign of Astrea, but resolutely prophesying, in spite of experience, a
perfect judgment hereafter; the measureless meaning which moral distinctions carry to our consciences; the unutterable longing of our spirits for union (not wholly unattained even here) with the living God, the Father of spirits, all these things seem to show that we are built, so to speak, on a larger scale than that of our earthly life The foundations are too deep and wide, the corner-stones are by far too massive, if nothing but the Tabernacle of a day be the design of the Architect In brief, then, we may admit freely that, for aught we know, “God could not give to a triangle the properties of a circle,” and yet, nevertheless, hold our faith undisturbed, since we find that the line which His hand has actually drawn is a already, a few degrees of the circumference of a stupendous circle.
[37] There is an insect, the Lunar Sphinx Moth, which exhibits, in its first stage, not only the usual prevision for its security while in the helpless chrysalis state, but a singular foresight of its own requirements when it shall have become a winged moth Having made, by eating its way upward through the pith of a willow, an appropriate hiding-place, it finds itself with its head in a position in which, were it to become a moth, it could never push itself down, and escape at the aperture below. The little creature accordingly, before it goes to sleep, laboriously turns round, and places its head near the entrance, where, as a moth, it will make its happy exit into the fields of air. There seems something curiously akin in the unaccountable foresight of this insect, of a state of existence it has never experienced, and the vague and dim sentiment of immortality, common to mankind since the days of the cavedwellers of the Stone Age
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A COURSE OF LECTURES
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CRITICAL NOTICES.
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A YEAR OF MIRACLE.
A Poem in Four Sermons.
BY WILLIAM C. GANNETT.
CONTENTS.
s u r r e c t i o n . 3 . F l o w e r s . 4 . T h e H a r v e s t S e c r
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