Future Cities

Respuesta correcta: A) exacerbate

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

Respuesta correcta: A) deprives

• A) deprives'Deprive' means to prevent from having or receiving, and the sentence describes the residents losing access to what the scheme was supposed to give them.
• B) deceive'Deceive' means to mislead, and the clause is about losing a neighbourhood amenity rather than being misled about a fact.
• C) depicts'Depict' means to portray, and the sentence reports an effect on the people living there rather than a description in words or images.
• D) deposit'Deposit' means to place or leave a layer, and the clause concerns an absence rather than anything being laid down.

Respuesta correcta: A) obscures

• A) obscures'Obscure' means to make unclear, and the sentence states the point at which privacy disappears, which is the loss of distinction described here.
• B) obeys'Obey' means to comply with a rule or order, and the clause is about the point of no return rather than compliance.
• C) occludes'Occlude' means to block from view, and the sentence is about the loss of privacy rather than anything physically hidden from sight.
• D) occupies'Occupy' means to take up space or time, and the clause identifies a threshold rather than describing anything being filled.

Respuesta correcta: C) Infrastructure.

• A) Population.'Population' refers to the people living in an area, not the pipes, roads, or networks serving them.
• B) Forecast.A 'forecast' is a prediction about future conditions, not a city's physical systems.
• C) Infrastructure.'Infrastructure' refers to the basic physical systems and facilities that allow a city to function.
• D) Legislation.'Legislation' refers to laws; it does not name the physical facilities listed in the question.

Respuesta correcta: B) They help keep classrooms cooler.

• A) They make the school buildings bigger.Incorrect. Green roofs add soil and plants on top of existing buildings; the text never says the schools grow in size.
• B) They help keep classrooms cooler.Correct. Teachers report that classrooms under the green roofs 'feel noticeably cooler in the afternoon'.
• C) They replace science classes.Incorrect. The roofs are used for science classes, so they support the classes instead of replacing them.
• D) They produce food for the school cafeteria.Incorrect. The text mentions plants and insects for study, but not growing food.

Respuesta correcta: A) Bus journeys are likely to become shorter if the dedicated lanes are introduced.

• A) Bus journeys are likely to become shorter if the dedicated lanes are introduced.'Likely' expresses an outcome that is more probable than not while preserving the condition and the model's uncertainty.
• B) Bus journeys are guaranteed to become shorter, whatever the city does.A 70% estimate is not a guarantee, and the prediction depends on introducing the dedicated lanes.
• C) Bus journeys cannot become shorter after the dedicated lanes are introduced.'Cannot' expresses impossibility, which contradicts the model's estimated 70% chance of shorter journeys.
• D) Bus journeys have already become shorter because the lanes were introduced.The model predicts a conditional future outcome; it does not report a completed change or confirm that the lanes exist.

Respuesta correcta: C) Cable cars can solve transport problems that the mountains create for buses.

• A) Cable cars are cheaper to build than any road.Incorrect. The text never compares construction costs, so this conclusion is not supported.
• B) Tourists asked the city for more cable cars.Incorrect. Tourists are not mentioned; the text presents cable cars as public transport for residents.
• C) Cable cars can solve transport problems that the mountains create for buses.Correct. The text says steep, narrow streets limit buses and that the cable car is much faster, so a valley is a logical place for a new line.
• D) The city wants to stop using buses completely.Incorrect. Cable cars are described as 'part of' public transport, and the existing line connects with the bus terminal.

Respuesta correcta: B) Directed into channels so that the water flows in a controlled way.

• A) Marked with warning signs.Incorrect. Warning people is mentioned earlier, but 'canalised' is linked to the underground tunnels, not to signs.
• B) Directed into channels so that the water flows in a controlled way.Correct. The city built tunnels, and canalised arroyos send the rainwater through them instead of along the streets.
• C) Closed permanently to all traffic.Incorrect. The aim of the works is to remove the water from the streets, not to close the streets.
• D) Cleaned by volunteers after each storm.Incorrect. No volunteers or cleaning are mentioned; the word refers to engineering works.

Respuesta correcta: D) To inform residents about a car-free day and its rules.

• A) To sell bicycles to residents of Pereira.Incorrect. The notice does not mention bicycles or any product for sale.
• B) To complain about the noise made by buses.Incorrect. Buses will operate normally; noise is something the city will measure, not a complaint.
• C) To announce the results of an air quality study.Incorrect. The results will be published after the car-free day; the notice does not give them.
• D) To inform residents about a car-free day and its rules.Correct. It gives the date, hours, which vehicles can circulate, the aim of the day and the fine for breaking the rule.

Respuesta correcta: D) Planting vegetation along avenues brings several benefits to the city.

• A) Medellín has banned cars from its main avenues.Incorrect. The avenues are still busy with traffic; plants were added along their sides.
• B) Birds are causing problems for pedestrians in Medellín.Incorrect. Birds are mentioned as a benefit, since the plants give them homes, not as a problem.
• C) Climbing plants are too expensive for the city.Incorrect. Cost is never discussed in the text.
• D) Planting vegetation along avenues brings several benefits to the city.Correct. The text lists shade, wildlife habitat, less pollution and calmer residents, all results of the green corridors.

Respuesta correcta: D) had

• A) hasIncorrect. The sentence refers to a past sequence, requiring the past perfect in inversion.
• B) wasIncorrect. 'Was' does not fit the past perfect structure required by 'Hardly'.
• C) didIncorrect. 'Did' would require the base form of the verb, not the past participle 'been'.
• D) hadCorrect. 'Hardly had...' is a classic C1 inversion structure used for sequential events.

Respuesta correcta: B) did

• A) had'Not until' inverts the main clause, placing the auxiliary before the subject 'the commute'. 'Had the commute stopped' would leave the subject first, which the pattern forbids.
• B) did'Not until the tram line reached did the commute stop being decided by car alone'. The auxiliary is fronted to invert the clause.
• C) was'Was' would suggest a passive or a singular subject. The subject is singular but the verb is active, so a passive reading is not available.
• D) do'Do' is present tense and cannot invert a past sequence in which the tram line had already reached the estates.

Respuesta correcta: B) does

• A) do'Do' agrees with plural subjects, and 'a street' is singular, so the base form with 'does' is required.
• B) does'Rarely does a street cope'. With a singular subject the inversion uses 'does', and the main verb reverts to the base form 'cope'.
• C) have'Have' would give the perfect aspect, but the bare inversion with 'rarely' and a singular subject takes 'does' before the base form.
• D) are'Are' cannot invert with a singular subject and would require a plural or a collection for agreement.

Respuesta correcta: A) If affordable housing near stations is not expanded, displacement farther from reliable transport is possible.

• A) If affordable housing near stations is not expanded, displacement farther from reliable transport is possible.'Unless' means 'if not', and 'may' expresses possibility rather than certainty; this paraphrase preserves both meanings.
• B) If affordable housing near stations is expanded, displacement farther from reliable transport is certain.This reverses the stated condition and replaces the possibility expressed by 'may' with certainty.
• C) Residents have already been displaced because affordable housing was expanded.The report describes a possible future consequence, not an event already completed, and it does not blame housing expansion.
• D) Without housing expansion, residents will definitely remain close to reliable transport.This predicts the opposite outcome and adds certainty, whereas the report warns of possible displacement.

Respuesta correcta: A) had

• A) had'No sooner had the cycle lane opened than traffic appeared'. The structure pairs a completed past action with the immediate consequence that followed it.
• B) did'Did' with a bare infinitive would need 'no sooner had'; the participle 'opened' shows that the perfect auxiliary is required rather than the do-form.
• C) has'Has' would give the present perfect and place the action in unfinished time, whereas 'no sooner ... than' needs a bounded past sequence.
• D) was'Was' cannot combine with a past participle in this active construction, and the clause clearly states that the lane was opened.

Respuesta correcta: A) should

• A) should'Under no circumstances should a planning authority approve'. A modal inverts exactly as the auxiliary of an ordinary verb does, so fronting 'should' produces the emphatic reading.
• B) must'Must' states obligation, and in this negated frame the modal that carries the contrast is 'should'; 'must' would change what the sentence claims.
• C) would'Would' belongs to the conditional or the reporting sequence here, not to the emphatic inversion the negative adverbial demands.
• D) ought'Ought' takes 'to' plus an infinitive, so it could not fill the gap directly after the negative adverbial in this construction.

Respuesta correcta: D) The current strategy is directed towards the wrong objective.

• A) They are literally looking for something in the trees of Pereira.Incorrect. This reads the idiom literally; nobody in the debate is searching real trees, because the expression is figurative and describes a mistaken line of action.
• B) The approach is too noisy and aggressive.Incorrect. 'Barking' here does not describe a loud or aggressive tone; the idiom is about choosing the wrong objective, not about how people speak.
• C) A new environmental project involving trees should be started.Incorrect. The word 'tree' belongs to a fixed expression, so the speaker is not proposing a project with trees; the speaker is criticising the approach under discussion.
• D) The current strategy is directed towards the wrong objective.Correct. 'Bark up the wrong tree' means aiming your effort at the wrong cause or target, so the speaker is saying the current plan on future cities points in the wrong direction.

Respuesta correcta: D) There will be no more available space left.

• A) Some space will be used for running tracks.Incorrect. This reads 'run' literally; 'run out of' has nothing to do with running as a sport.
• B) People will run away from the city.Incorrect. 'Out' does not describe people leaving; the phrasal verb refers to a supply finishing.
• C) The city will build more houses than it needs.Incorrect. The planner describes a shortage, which is the opposite of having too many houses.
• D) There will be no more available space left.Correct. 'Run out of something' means to use it all until none is left, which explains building upwards.

Respuesta correcta: C) The project will have both positive and negative effects.

• A) The port will use weapons for security.Incorrect. This interprets 'sword' literally; the idiom is not about weapons.
• B) The port will bring only benefits.Incorrect. The expert mentions trucks and pollution, which are disadvantages.
• C) The project will have both positive and negative effects.Correct. 'A double-edged sword' is something with good and bad consequences, like jobs on one side and pollution on the other.
• D) The port will be divided into two parts.Incorrect. 'Double-edged' describes two kinds of effects, not a physical division of the port.

Respuesta correcta: D) will arrive very soon.

• A) are parked at a station nearby.Incorrect. 'Around the corner' is used here about time, not about a physical place near the speakers.
• B) will never arrive in Bogotá.Incorrect. The experts think they are coming soon; even the engineer only expects a longer wait.
• C) only work in narrow streets.Incorrect. Nothing in the dialogue refers to the type of street; 'corner' is part of an idiom.
• D) will arrive very soon.Correct. 'Just around the corner' means about to happen, and the engineer contrasts it with his own idea of 'several more years'.