Urban Development

Respuesta correcta: C) exacerbate

• A) alleviateIncorrect. 'Alleviate' means to make something less severe, which is the opposite of what's needed.
• B) mitigateIncorrect. 'Mitigate' means to make something less severe, which doesn't fit the negative consequence implied.
• C) exacerbateCorrect. 'Exacerbate' means to make a problem or bad situation worse, which fits perfectly here.
• D) facilitateIncorrect. 'Facilitate' means to make an action or process easy or easier, which is not appropriate for a social divide.

Respuesta correcta: B) erode

• A) galvanise'Galvanise' means to inspire people to take action, which is the opposite effect. Nothing in the sentence suggests the authority gained support; the trust described is being spent, not built.
• B) erode'Erode' means to wear away gradually, which is what repeated broken promises do to confidence. The word carries the slow, cumulative loss implied by a pattern of announcements rather than one dramatic failure.
• C) consolidate'Consolidate' means to strengthen something already in place, and the sentence describes trust being spent down over repeated cycles. A word for reinforcement cannot fit a pattern of lost announcements.
• D) expedite'Expedite' means to speed up a process, and the sentence is about credibility rather than about the pace of construction. Nothing in it describes delay being reduced.

Respuesta correcta: B) undercuts

• A) reinforces'Reinforces' is the opposite of what the sentence claims, since the eviction is presented as damaging the case rather than supporting it. The clause 'not only' sets up a cost, not a gain.
• B) undercuts'Undercuts' means to weaken a claim from beneath, which is what an unconsulted eviction does to the moral justification for the programme. The word takes an argument as its object, exactly as the sentence requires.
• C) foresees'Foresee' means to predict what will happen, and nothing in the sentence is about prediction. The eviction is described as an action already taken with consequences for a particular argument.
• D) consolidates'Consolidate' means to strengthen a position, and the sentence presents the eviction as damaging the case for the scheme. A word for reinforcement runs against the direction the clause establishes.

Respuesta correcta: B) aggravate

• A) alleviate'Alleviate' means to make something less severe, and the sentence describes an unintended consequence rather than relief. Nothing in the clause suggests the peripheral neighbourhoods benefited.
• B) aggravate'Aggravate' means to make a situation worse, and the sentence warns that solving a problem in one place can worsen it elsewhere. The clause about shared air supplies the mechanism that makes the word fit.
• C) redistribute'Redistribute' would fit if traffic and its effects were being spread differently without changing the total, but the sentence concerns the quality of the air itself. Nothing indicates a mere change in distribution.
• D) circumvent'Circumvent' means to go around an obstacle, and the sentence describes a consequence for air quality. The ring road is not being presented as a way of avoiding a restriction.

Respuesta correcta: B) How a transport project improved daily life in a hillside neighbourhood.

• A) Why tourists prefer Medellín to other Colombian cities.Incorrect. Tourism is mentioned as one effect of the escalators, but the text never compares Medellín with other cities.
• B) How a transport project improved daily life in a hillside neighbourhood.Correct. The text explains the problem (a long climb), the solution (the escalators) and its effects on residents, from older people to children and local businesses.
• C) The engineering problems of building escalators on steep hills.Incorrect. The text does not describe how the escalators were built or any technical difficulties; it focuses on their impact on residents.
• D) How the escalators solved all the social problems of Comuna 13.Incorrect. The writer says directly that the escalators "did not solve every problem of the area", so this option exaggerates the text.

Respuesta correcta: B) The Ciclovía has become a model that other cities consider successful.

• A) Cars are not allowed in Bogotá on any day of the week.Incorrect. The roads are closed only on Sundays and holidays, and only from seven to two, so cars are normally allowed on other days.
• B) The Ciclovía has become a model that other cities consider successful.Correct. The text says that several cities in Latin America and other parts of the world "have copied the idea"; cities copy a programme because they see it as successful, so this can be inferred.
• C) The Ciclovía has become smaller since it started in 1974.Incorrect. The text suggests the opposite: it began with "a few kilometres" and now covers more than 100 kilometres.
• D) Street vendors are not allowed to work during the Ciclovía.Incorrect. The text says vendors selling juice and repairing bicycles "have become part of the experience", which shows they are present.

Respuesta correcta: A) The new bus route is expected to reduce travel times.

• A) The new bus route is expected to reduce travel times.Is expected to converts the reporting verb into a passive structure while retaining the predicted reduction in travel times.
• B) The new bus route is expected to have increased travel times.This changes the prediction into an earlier increase, reversing both the direction and timing of the original claim.
• C) The new bus route expects planners to reduce travel times.This makes the bus route the source of the expectation and assigns the reduction to planners, changing the original roles.
• D) The new bus route is expected reducing travel times.This passive reporting construction requires to reduce after is expected, not the participle reducing.

Respuesta correcta: B) Because it is cooler at that time of day.

• A) Because the warehouses close and the area becomes quieter.Incorrect. The warehouses belong to the river's past use; the text does not say they close in the evening or that this is why families come.
• B) Because it is cooler at that time of day.Correct. The text says families go there in the evening "when the temperature drops", so the reason given is the cooler weather.
• C) Because the restaurants are cheaper at night.Incorrect. Restaurants are mentioned as part of the walkway, but the text gives no information about their prices at any time.
• D) Because concerts take place there every evening.Incorrect. The text says the city organises concerts and festivals, but not that they happen every evening or that this is the reason for the evening visits.

Respuesta correcta: C) Because the neighbourhood did not have legal status.

• A) Because the houses were built with bricks and metal sheets.Incorrect. The building materials are described, but the text does not present them as the reason why pipes could not be installed.
• B) Because the residents did not want a sewage system.Incorrect. Nothing in the text says the residents refused the service; the obstacle was legal, and residents seem happy with the changes.
• C) Because the neighbourhood did not have legal status.Correct. The text uses "because" to give the reason directly: "because the neighbourhood was not legal, the city could not install water pipes or a sewage system".
• D) Because the families could not get a loan from the bank.Incorrect. Loans are mentioned at the end as a new possibility after legalisation, not as the reason for the missing water pipes.

Respuesta correcta: A) is believed to be

• A) is believed to beIs believed to be correctly reports the engineers' belief through a passive verb followed by an infinitive.
• B) is believed beingThe subject-based passive reporting pattern uses to be after is believed, not being.
• C) believes to beBelieves makes the bridge the holder of a belief; the original sentence reports the engineers' belief about it.
• D) is believing to beIs believing is an active progressive form and incorrectly presents the bridge as performing the mental action.

Respuesta correcta: C) did

• A) had'Had' would form a past perfect and need the participle 'withdrawn', placing the withdrawal before another past point. The sentence reports the decision as an event following the publication.
• B) must'Must' expresses obligation or deduction about the present, and the clause describes a completed past action. Nothing in the sentence states an obligation or supports a deduction about now.
• C) did'Not until' is a fronted negative that inverts the main clause, and 'did' carries the simple past: 'not until the assessment was published did the company withdraw'. The main verb returns to its base form 'withdraw'.
• D) should'Should' expresses obligation or expectation about what ought to happen, and the withdrawal in the sentence is a completed fact rather than a recommendation. No advice is being given.

Respuesta correcta: B) did

• A) had'Had' would form a past perfect and need the participle 'challenged', placing the challenge before another past point. The sentence describes the challenge as following the legal decision.
• B) did'Only when' fronted inverts the main clause, and 'did' carries the simple past: 'only when the association was granted standing did the residents challenge'. The main verb returns to its base form 'challenge'.
• C) would'Would' belongs to a conditional or reported structure, and neither is present. The clause states a completed past action, which takes a finite past auxiliary.
• D) may'May' expresses permission or possibility in the present, and the challenge described has already happened. Nothing in the sentence is about what residents are allowed or able to do now.

Respuesta correcta: B) is

• A) areIncorrect. "Are" is plural, but the subject "a pedestrianisation scheme" is singular, so the verb does not agree.
• B) isCorrect. "Seldom" inverts subject and auxiliary; the present passive "a scheme is reinstated" becomes "Seldom is a scheme reinstated", and "is" agrees with the singular subject.
• C) doesIncorrect. "Does" must be followed by a base verb; with the past participle "reinstated" the result "does... reinstated" is ungrammatical. The passive needs a form of "be".
• D) doIncorrect. "Do" is plural and requires a base verb, so it fails twice: agreement with "a scheme" and the form of "reinstated".

Respuesta correcta: D) were

• A) didIncorrect. "Did" needs a base verb after the subject, but "eligible" is an adjective; the clause would have no main verb. With "be" the verb itself moves: "were its residents eligible".
• B) wasIncorrect. "Was" is singular, but the subject "its residents" is plural, so the verb must be "were".
• C) doIncorrect. "Do" is present tense and needs a base verb; the sentence is in the past ("was regularised") and "eligible" is not a verb.
• D) wereCorrect. "Only after..." at the start inverts the main clause; the original clause "its residents were eligible" becomes "were its residents eligible", with "were" agreeing with the plural "residents".

Respuesta correcta: A) The demolition occurred before the reporting reference point.

• A) The demolition occurred before the reporting reference point.To have demolished is a perfect infinitive, which presents the demolition as earlier than the reporting reference point.
• B) The demolition is scheduled for a future inspection.The perfect infinitive refers to an earlier action, and before the inspection explicitly places demolition ahead of that inspection.
• C) The contractor is demolishing the warehouses while the report is being written.An ongoing action would normally use to be demolishing; to have demolished presents the action as prior.
• D) The report orders the contractor to demolish the warehouses.Is reported introduces a claim about an event, not an instruction or obligation to carry it out.

Respuesta correcta: D) The first marks displacement as an allegation, while the second states it directly.

• A) Both headlines explicitly identify the allegation as a judicial finding.Neither headline mentions a judicial finding, and alleged signals a claim whose truth is not established by the wording.
• B) The first headline denies that any residents were displaced.Is alleged reports an accusation; it does not deny the event.
• C) The second headline expresses greater uncertainty through a reporting verb.The second headline has no reporting verb and presents the displacement as a direct assertion.
• D) The first marks displacement as an allegation, while the second states it directly.Is alleged distinguishes a reported claim from the direct factual assertion made by the second headline.

Respuesta correcta: A) The group is focusing on the wrong solution to the problem.

• A) The group is focusing on the wrong solution to the problem.Correct. "Barking up the wrong tree" means looking for an answer in the wrong place; Daniela says that the real issue is public transport, not the number of lanes.
• B) They are literally looking for something in the trees of the city.Incorrect. This reads the idiom literally; the meeting is about traffic, and no trees are involved.
• C) The meeting has become too noisy and aggressive.Incorrect. "Barking" here does not refer to noise; the idiom is about choosing the wrong target, as her second sentence shows.
• D) The city should plant more trees along the avenues.Incorrect. This takes the image of the tree as a proposal; Daniela proposes better buses, not an environmental project.

Respuesta correcta: B) The building is expensive to keep but not useful.

• A) The building is painted white and looks like an animal.Incorrect. This is a literal reading of the idiom; Raúl is describing the cost and use of the building, not its colour or shape.
• B) The building is expensive to keep but not useful.Correct. "A white elephant" is something that costs a lot to maintain but brings little benefit; Raúl adds that the city pays maintenance and nobody uses it.
• C) The building is very popular with tourists.Incorrect. Elena says it "has been closed most of the year" and Raúl says "nobody uses it", which contradicts popularity.
• D) The building is beautiful and worth the money.Incorrect. Raúl's comment is critical: he complains about the cost of maintenance for a building nobody uses.

Respuesta correcta: C) She is asserting a recurring pattern while marking it as an observation rather than proven evidence.

• A) She is retracting a claim she had already proved.Nothing withdraws a proven claim; a retraction would say it proved false. She is qualifying a claim she never presented as established, so nothing is taken back.
• B) She is demanding that the city hire residents as consultants.The final clause describes what she is doing with her own statement. There is no imperative, no question and no reference to any hiring decision in the quotation.
• C) She is asserting a recurring pattern while marking it as an observation rather than proven evidence.The final clause separates a rule she has noticed from a finding she can demonstrate. She states the pattern and simultaneously limits its authority, which is what the two phrases together accomplish.
• D) She is insisting the plans have been useful.The sentence identifies who writes the plans, not what they achieve. No judgement about usefulness appears anywhere in the quotation.

Respuesta correcta: D) He is stating a pattern of uneven effects while marking it as an observation rather than proven evidence.

• A) He is retracting a claim he had already proved.Nothing withdraws a proven claim; a retraction would state that the claim proved false. He is qualifying a claim he never presented as established.
• B) He is insisting that buses are the only beneficiaries.The sentence says the opposite: buses benefit while pedestrians are disadvantaged. The two groups are set against each other precisely to show the effect is uneven.
• C) He is asking the city to close the avenue.The final clause describes what he is doing with his own statement. There is no imperative, no question and no recommendation about closing anything in the quotation.
• D) He is stating a pattern of uneven effects while marking it as an observation rather than proven evidence.The final clause separates a rule he has noticed from a finding he can demonstrate, and the sentence before it already describes benefits and costs falling on different groups. Naming the pattern and limiting its authority are both present.