ESL C2 Level MCQ Test With Answers PROFICIENCY TEST 1

However much + subject + verb works like no matter how much. It introduces a concession: the amount of work makes no difference to the result. The clause keeps normal word order (he takes on), not question order. Not How much work does he take on, because that is a direct question and cannot introduce a clause like this.

A backlog is an amount of work, such as cases, orders or tasks, that has built up and is still waiting to be dealt with: a backlog of cases. A remainder is simply what is left over, and a reserve is something kept back for future use. Neither suggests a delay.

Hardly … when describes one past event happening immediately after another. It takes the past perfect. When Hardly begins the sentence, the subject and auxiliary are inverted: Hardly had he got under the shower when the phone rang. Not he got, because the negative adverb at the start requires inversion.

From time to time means occasionally, now and then. It fits because they no longer work together but still meet sometimes. In time means early enough, and on time means punctually. Neither describes how often something happens.

The double comparative the more … , the more … needs the + comparative in both halves, with the comparative at the front of the second clause: The more he does for her, the more dissatisfied she seems. Not she seems more dissatisfied, because the second half must also begin with the + comparative.

Might have + past participle can express reproach or annoyance about something someone failed to do in the past: You might have given a hand! means you could, and should, have helped. The first sentence (You had nothing better to do) shows the speaker is complaining. Not should give, because the complaint is about the past, so a perfect form is needed.

The future perfect shows an action completed before a future point (By the time she realizes…). The money does not spend itself; someone spends it, so the passive is needed: will have been spent. Not will have spent, because that active form would mean the money did the spending.

This is a mixed conditional. It joins an unreal past condition (past perfect: If his boss hadn't caught him) with its present result (he would still have a job). Not didn't catch, because the catching happened in the past and cannot be changed, so the past perfect is required.

On behalf of someone means representing them or speaking for them: On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank you. Do not confuse it with on account of, which means 'because of'.

A rough estimate is a fixed collocation for an approximate calculation of cost, size or time: Can you give me a rough estimate? Esteem looks similar but means respect or admiration.

Out of doors means outside, in the open air, the opposite of working in an office. The other options are incomplete or wrong idioms: the correct forms are in the open (air), and off limits means 'forbidden to enter'.

Had it not been for + noun is the inverted, formal form of If it hadn't been for … It means 'without' in a third conditional: Had it not been for her support, he would have given up. Not If she hadn't been, because for her support only follows the impersonal it.

To be under the impression (that) means to believe something, often wrongly: I was under the impression you liked Indian food. Thinking would need a form like I thought, and off the idea is not an English expression.

Out of stock means the shop has none available at the moment, so it has to be ordered. Not on order, because the assistant is offering to order it, so it has not been ordered yet. Out of sale is not an English expression.

To be well aware of something means to know about it fully. The preposition of is the key clue. Acquainted takes with, and knowledgeable takes about, so they do not fit of the problems.

To underrate someone's intelligence means to think they are less clever than they really are. Depreciate and devalue are mainly used for the value of money or property. Despise means to hate or look down on someone, not to misjudge them.

Come up (intransitive) means to be mentioned or discussed: Your name came up in our conversation. Not brought, because bring up (= mention) needs a person as the subject and an object: Someone brought up your name.

To have seen better days is an idiom meaning something is old and worn out. That is why the speaker suggests a new pair. Gone off is used for food that has become bad, and expired for documents or products with a date limit.

Single-handed (or single-handedly) means without help from anyone else: She did it single-handed. With one hand is only literal, and sleight of hand means skilful trickery.

Face up to facts or reality means to accept an unpleasant truth and deal with it. It fits someone living in a world of make-believe. Not come up to, which means to reach a standard or approach someone.

Get your own back (on someone) is an informal British idiom meaning to take revenge. Go round the bend means to go mad. Give them back means to return something, not to take revenge.

Dress up means to put on smart, formal clothes for a special occasion. Get dressed just means putting on clothes. Wear our birthday suits is a joke idiom meaning to be naked.

Fly into a rage is a fixed collocation meaning to suddenly become very angry. Not blew up, because blow up (= get angry) is used without an object: She blew up when she saw the mess.

Once in a blue moon means very rarely, which matches She never comes here now. When the cows come home means 'for a very long time' or 'never'. Time and time again means often.

When news gets round (or gets around), it spreads from person to person and many people hear it. Break out is used for wars, fires and diseases. Spread out means to move apart over a large area.

On the verge of + noun means very close to something, usually something bad: on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Not closed to: it means 'not open to' (e.g. closed to the public), so it cannot mean 'almost having'. On edge means nervous but cannot be followed by a noun, and nearby is used for places, not states.

Put someone off doing something means to discourage them from doing it, and it is followed by the -ing form. Not stop you to try or prevent you to try, because stop and prevent also need (from) + -ing, not to + infinitive.

Out of character means not typical of the way a person usually behaves: Her rudeness was very out of character. The idiom uses only character, not personality.

The first sentence links outsiders to the influx of wealthy owners of second homes. Paragraph 2 describes them as wealthy outsiders, looking for second homes or holiday cottages. So they are people who live elsewhere and can afford an extra property in the Dales. Not 'people who settle permanently', because the problem is second homes, not new permanent residents.

Paragraph 1 says the Authority claims that the ban will mean new properties selling at a discount of thirty per cent. This is a belief about the effect on prices, not a discount the Authority itself will give. Not 'will give a 30% discount', because the lower price is expected to follow from the ban, not to be offered by the Authority.

Paragraph 2 says the aim is to reverse the trend of young people being forced to move out because they cannot afford to live locally. In other words, it is to help local young people stay. The option 'to reverse the trend of the young people' leaves out what the trend is, so it does not make sense.

Paragraph 2 says national park houses average £228,000, which is £100,000 more than elsewhere in the region. That makes them far more expensive. Not '£128,000 more', because £128,000 is the average price outside the park, not the difference.

Paragraph 2 says other national parks, including Exmoor and the Lake District, are facing similar problems. Paragraph 3 says about twenty per cent of properties there are second homes. So wealthy outsiders buy in other parks too. The text says outsiders push prices up; it does not say they force locals out in order to buy their houses.

Paragraph 3 says that in the most popular villages, second homes and holiday cottages make up as high as sixty-five per cent of properties. That leaves only about 35% for local people. The 15% figure refers to all properties in the Dales, not to outsiders living there.

Paragraph 4 says large-scale development would destroy the landscape the parks were created to protect, so it would spoil the natural beauty of the Dales. The text gives this reason, not a lack of buyers, for why mass building is not feasible.

Paragraph 5 says new homes can be sold only to people who have lived within the 684 square miles of the national park for at least three years or to outsiders who have full-time employment in the area. The thirty-three villages are where new homes may be built; being located there is not a condition for buying one.

Paragraph 7 says the new policy was welcomed by local residents and parish councils, so it is appreciated by local inhabitants. Not 'will apply to existing homes', because paragraph 4 says it will not affect the sale of existing homes.

The café owner says about three-quarters of the people I grew up with here have gone to the cities and towns, so he has seen a sharp fall in the local population. Not 'is desperate', because he says the housing situation had become desperate, not that he himself is.