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Introduction to
FCE Paper 3 Part One |
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a 200 word
article |
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12 gaps in
the article |
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multi-choice
answers A, B, C or D for each gap |
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10 minutes
to do Part One |
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Typical Questions |
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5
collocations (e.g. a brief
glimpse) |
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4 vocabulary
questions, especially words with similar
meaning but different uses (e.g.
advantage, benefit, gain, profit) |
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1-2 phrasal
verbs (e.g. bring about) |
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0-1
preposition combinations (e.g. keen on,
interested in) |
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0-1 linking
words (e.g. although, despite) |
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Training
Exercises |
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COLLOCATIONS |
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What are collocations? |
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Collocations are words which
typically go together. For example we typically
"admire a painting" as opposed to "watch". Learning
to recognise and adopt the use of collocations helps
people learning English as a foreign language to
make their written English easier to read. |
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How can we study collocations
for the exam? |
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Remember that on average 5 out of
the 12 gaps are collocations. I have prepared a list
of typical collocations from Part One. Study the
list and then do the online exercise. There is also
an exercise about "do & make" collocations which are
very common. Lastly, we have to remember that the
texts are articles, very often with a travel or
historical theme. In the exam, we have to recognise
the collocations, not reproduce them - which is much
easier of course. So, the best way to become
familiar with collocations is to read articles.
First Certificate uses British English so I have
included three links where you can find articles in
British English full of collocations. Only read
articles that really interest you, otherwise you
won't remember the collocations. |
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VOCABULARY |
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What kind of vocabulary
questions? |
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These questions are about
synonyms and words with a similar meaning but
different use. And example would be "recognise,
recommend, remember and remind". There are normally
five questions like this. |
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How can we study these
for the exam? |
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How can we prepare ourselves for
these? I have made an exercise of typical questions
below, plus two more exercises on specific words.
Also, I have a web page of notes and exercises on
more than forty sets of words with similar meaning.
If you did three of these exercises a day, you would
soon have an impressive knowledge about words with
similar meanings. |
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PHRASAL VERBS |
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What are phrasal verbs? |
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Phrasal verbs are the combination
of a verb with a preposition resulting in a big
change in meaning e.g. "bring" means to take
something with you whereas "bring about" means to
make something happen.They are very difficult to remember because their
meanings are not clear from the words. |
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What are phrasal verbs do I
need to study? |
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Fortunately, phrasal verbs are
most frequently used in speech and informal English.
Only a limited number are used in articles. I have
prepared below an exercise of typical Part One
phrasal verbs. I have also provided a link to my
phrasal verbs page where you can find notes, a list
of common phrasal verbs and 18 exercises on
different phrasal verbs. |
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PREPOSITION
COMBINATIONS |
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You may or may not get a question
on prepostion combinations in Paper 3 Part 1. Do the
two exercises below and you should be okay. |
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LINKING WORDS |
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You may or may not get a question
about linking words. Do the three exercises below
and you should be okay. |
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Example
question-timed! |
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