Integrated Skills

Respuesta correcta: A) That an alternative option was used

• A) That an alternative option was usedIt introduces the other choice people made when the buses were not running.
• B) That the situation was better than beforeIt marks a substitution of actions, not an improvement.
• C) That the number of workers increasedNothing in the text says anything about how many workers there were.
• D) That the strike lasted a long timeThe word marks an alternative, not the duration of the strike.

Respuesta correcta: B) had...started

• A) has...startedThe present perfect links a past action to the present, not to a past moment.
• B) had...startedThe past perfect pairs the earlier action of starting with the later arrival.
• C) was...startingThe past continuous would describe an action in progress, not a completed earlier one.
• D) will...startThe future simple cannot describe an action that preceded the arrival.

Respuesta correcta: C) The students planted trees and passed the care of them on after a month

• A) Trees are important for the environment in many placesThis is a general claim the text never makes.
• B) The younger students did not want to look after the saplingsThe text says the opposite, since the care was handed to them.
• C) The students planted trees and passed the care of them on after a monthThis covers the action, the period and the result that the text reports.
• D) The class planted trees but nothing came of the projectNothing in the text suggests the project ended without result.

Respuesta correcta: D) I am writing to report a problem with the noise from the hall, which begins before eight in the morning.

• A) Your school is a terrible place and everything about it is awfulThe language is insulting rather than factual, which is unacceptable in a formal letter.
• B) I cannot write a formal letter because I do not know what one isThe sentence is a comment about the writer rather than part of the letter.
• C) Please stop making noise in the early morning near the hallThe command is too direct and lacks the formal opening a letter needs.
• D) I am writing to report a problem with the noise from the hall, which begins before eight in the morning.It states the problem with dates and times and keeps the tone factual.

Respuesta correcta: D) Then

• A) HoweverA contrast would be wrong here, because the two sentences agree rather than oppose.
• B) AlthoughA concession would signal a surprising or opposing point that is absent.
• C) UnlessA condition is not what relates these two statements about the journey.
• D) ThenThe word marks the sequence of two events in the same journey.

Respuesta correcta: C) Before half past eight

• A) After half past eightArriving after the departure would mean missing the last bus of the evening.
• B) At seven in the morningThat is the closing time of the shop, not the departure of the bus.
• C) Before half past eightThe departure time is half past eight, and the shopper must reach the stop by then.
• D) Any time after nineNo bus is mentioned after half past eight in the text.

Respuesta correcta: B) compared with

• A) comparingThe gerund cannot stand alone here, since the sentence needs a preposition after the figure.
• B) compared withThe expression marks the comparison between this year and the previous one.
• C) compareThe bare verb would need a subject, and none fits after the figure in this sentence.
• D) comparisonThe noun would require a form such as 'in comparison', not the bare word given.

Respuesta correcta: A) The pipe is too narrow to drain the yard quickly

• A) The pipe is too narrow to drain the yard quicklyThe text identifies the size of the pipe as the cause of the standing water.
• B) The garden receives too much rainThe text says the rainwater is collected, not that there is too much of it.
• C) The roof is in poor conditionNothing in the paragraph mentions the condition of the roof.
• D) The yard is too small for the houseThe paragraph concerns drainage, not the relative size of the yard.

Respuesta correcta: B) approves

• A) will approvePutting a future auxiliary in the if clause makes the construction non-standard in English.
• B) approvesThe present simple in the condition clause points to a real future possibility.
• C) approvedThe past simple would place the condition in a past context with a present result.
• D) has approvedThe present perfect would suggest the approval has already happened.

Respuesta correcta: D) Commuting by car is on the decline and is expected to keep falling

• A) Nobody drives to work and there are no cars at allThe paraphrase exaggerates the situation far beyond what the text says.
• B) Ten years ago people drove more often than they will in futureThe paraphrase drops the expectation and states the trend in the wrong direction.
• C) Driving will disappear completely within the next ten yearsThe prediction is much stronger than the gradual trend the text describes.
• D) Commuting by car is on the decline and is expected to keep fallingThis preserves both the present trend and the expectation about the future.

Respuesta correcta: C) To inform applicants of a deadline they must meet

• A) To describe the whole scholarship programmeOnly the closing time is given, not a description of the programme.
• B) To persuade applicants to choose a different scholarshipNo alternative is suggested anywhere in the text.
• C) To inform applicants of a deadline they must meetThe notice states the closing time and the result of missing it.
• D) To explain how applications are assessedNothing is said about the assessment of the forms.

Respuesta correcta: A) had been finished

• A) had been finishedThe perfect passive fits the report being complete before the meeting takes place.
• B) has been finishedThe present perfect would place the completion at the present, not before the meeting.
• C) will be finishedThe future simple does not fit a report that should already be complete.
• D) is finishThe passive needs the past participle 'finished', not the base form 'finish'.

Respuesta correcta: D) A school replaces its heating with solar power

• A) The history of solar panels in the worldThat would be a global history, far broader than this single-school text.
• B) Fuel prices in the year of the installationThe text covers the savings, not the general price level of the year.
• C) Three reasons nobody installs solar panelsThe text describes a school that did install them and reports the benefits.
• D) A school replaces its heating with solar powerThe title names the actor, the action and the change, which is what the text describes.

Respuesta correcta: B) The second stage of the project involved rebuilding two classrooms.

• A) Nobody knows what the second stage of the project involved at all.The sentence states ignorance rather than the content the reader needs.
• B) The second stage of the project involved rebuilding two classrooms.The sentence states the subject of the paragraph in clear, specific terms.
• C) This paragraph is the second one in the document being written.That describes the position of the paragraph, not its content.
• D) As explained above in the previous document, and again below.The sentence points elsewhere instead of stating what the paragraph covers.

Respuesta correcta: A) Before the holidays

• A) Before the holidaysThe text sets the sharp rise in the period immediately before the holidays.
• B) During the summerPrices fell during the summer, which is the opposite of a rise.
• C) At the start of the summerThe beginning of the summer is not associated with any rise in the text.
• D) After the holidays endedThe text says nothing about a rise after the holidays finished.

Respuesta correcta: C) due to

• A) due at'At' cannot follow 'due to' when naming a cause, and the preposition here is fixed.
• B) due of'Of' is not the preposition used in 'due to' when a cause is named.
• C) due to'Due to' introduces the cause and is followed by the noun phrase naming the shortage.
• D) due from'From' expresses a starting point or a source, not the cause of a delay.

Respuesta correcta: B) Positive but balanced

• A) Entirely negativeNothing in the sentence criticises the scheme as a whole.
• B) Positive but balancedThe praise for a smooth year is qualified by the admission of two repairs.
• C) Completely neutralThe sentence evaluates the scheme, so it is not neutral.
• D) Highly emotionalThe wording is measured and factual rather than emotional.

Respuesta correcta: A) Due to

• A) Due to'Due to' introduces the cause of the delay before the subject of the main clause.
• B) Due of'Due of' is not an expression; 'due to' names a cause.
• C) Due with'Due with' is not standard usage for a cause and would be understood as owing to a thing.
• D) Due in'Due in' would refer to a time limit rather than the cause of the delay.

Respuesta correcta: C) cut

• A) cuttingThe gerund cannot follow 'to' here, since the verb needs the base form.
• B) cuted'Cut' is irregular, and its past form is 'cut' rather than 'cuted'.
• C) cut'Cut costs by half' is the standard collocation for reducing an amount of spending.
• D) cut off'Cut off' means to disconnect or interrupt, not to reduce an amount.

Respuesta correcta: D) We have checked with the courier and a replacement will be sent this week.

• A) Many parcels are delayed and this is a common problem for everyone.A general remark excuses the delay without offering any solution.
• B) You should have ordered the parcel earlier than you did.The reply blames the customer instead of addressing the failure.
• C) The competition rules are published and available on the website.Pointing to the rules does not answer the complaint about the missing parcel.
• D) We have checked with the courier and a replacement will be sent this week.It gives the action taken and the next step, which resolves the complaint.