In part 4 of the FCE Reading and Use of English exam, we are given a set of 6 sentences. For each sentence we are given another sentence with a space in it, and we are also given a key word. We are required to use the second sentence and the key word to construct a sentence which means exactly the same as the first sentence.
We are required to use between 2 and 5 words for each sentence.
Let's have a look at a typical exam question:
(1) Would you like to go shopping with me next Sunday?
HOW
..........................................................me next Sunday?
(2) 'Does this salad have any olives in it?' asked Mary.
THERE
Mary asked ............................................in that salad?
(3) My parents decided to go to the cinema by themselves.
ON
My parents decided to go to ...............................................
(4) I really needed a massage after driving that far.
DONE
I ...........................................massage after that drive.
(5) The nanny is cooking lunch because his mother isn't well.
IS
Lunch .......................nanny, because his mum isn't well.
(6) This is the most I have ever paid for a hotel room.
AS
I have never .........................................for a hotel room.
The method:
1 READ THE FIRST SENTENCE CAREFULLY
2 THINK OF OTHER SENTENCES WHICH SAY THE SAME THING
3 USE THE SECOND SENTENCE TO INSPIRE YOU
4 USE THE GIVEN WORD AS A CLUE
5 IDENTIFY ANY OBVIOUS CONCEPTS BEING TESTED
6 THEY USE SPECIFIC TRANSFORMATION STRUCTURES
Let's apply these steps to our exam question.
Looking at the first set of sentences:
(1) Would you like to go shopping with me next Sunday?
HOW
..........................................................me next Sunday?
Before we start, this is an example of making suggestions, and there are several ways of doing that:
Would you like to...
Why don't we ...
Wouldn't it be a good if we ..
Do you want to ...
How would you like to ...
How about ....
The key word being HOW acts as a clue, so other ways of saying the first sentence are:
Why don't we go shopping together next Sunday.
Wouldn't it be good for us to go shopping together next Sunday.
Do you want to go shopping with me next Sunday?
How would you like to go shopping with me next Sunday?
How about going shopping with me next Sunday?
By comparing the last sentence with the given sentence with a space, we can see that it is the correct answer.
Notice that both of the last two alternative sentences would be suitable, but the first one has too many words. So the only acceptable sentence must be:
How about going shopping with me next Sunday?
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(1) Would you like to go shopping with me next Sunday?
HOW
....HOW ABOUT GOING SHOPPING WITH.....me next Sunday?
Note that sometimes this process gets very close to the sentence we are looking for, but then further manipulation may be needed.
Looking at the second set of sentences:
(2) 'Does this salad have any olives in it?' asked Mary.
THERE
Mary asked ............................................in that salad?
Before we start, the inverted commas suggestd this is an example of REPORTED SPEECH', which uses specific transformation structures.
Let's look at different ways of saying the first sentence:
'Does this salad have any olives in it?' asked Mary.
Are there any olives in this salad?' asked Mary.
Mary asked if that salad had any olives.
Mary asked whether that salad had any olives.
Mary asked whether there were any olives in that salad.
Mary asked if there were any olives in that salad.
We can see that the last two sentences match the sentence with the space, so they must be the correct answers. Either one is acceptable.
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(2) 'Does this salad have any olives in it?' asked Mary.
THERE
Mary asked ...IF THERE WERE ANY OLIVES....in that salad?
Mary asked ...WHETHER THERE WERE ANY OLIVES....in that salad?
Looking at the third set of sentences:
(3) My parents decided to go to the cinema by themselves.
ON
My parents decided to go to ...............................................
By looking at the part of the sentence which changes and the part which stays the same, the part that needs to be transformed is TO THE CINEMA BY THEMSELVES
The concept being tested is BY THEMSELVES = ON THEIR OWN
We can use this information to help us make equivalent sentences:
My parents decided to go to the cinema by themselves.
My parents decided not to go to the cinema with other people.
My parents chose to go to the cinema by themselves.
My parents chose to go to the cinema on their own.
My parents decided to go to the cinema on their own.
We can see that the last sentence matches the sentence with a space we are given, so it must be the correct answer.
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(3) My parents decided to go to the cinema by themselves.
ON
My parents decided to go to .....THE CINEMA ON THEIR OWN......
Looking at the fourth set of sentences:
(4) I really needed a massage after driving that far.
DONE
I ...........................................massage after that drive.
The part of the first sentence that doesn't change is MASSAGE AFTER THAT DRIVE. So, the part that needs changing is I REALLY NEEDED A MASSAGE. This information helps us identify the direction to take.
Let's construct some alternative sentences:
I really needed a massage after driving that far.
I had to have a massage after driving that far.
I was desperate for a massage after driving that far.
I could really have done with a massage after driving that far.
I could have done with a massage after driving that far.
Notice that both of the last two alternative sentences would be suitable, but the first one has too many words. So the only acceotable sentence must be:
I could have done with a massage after driving that far.
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(4) I really needed a massage after driving that far.
DONE
I ...COULD HAVE DONE WITH A....massage after that drive.
Looking at the fifth set of sentences:
(5) The nanny is cooking lunch because his mother isn't well.
IS
Lunch .......................nanny, because his mum isn't well.
The second part of the sentence because his mother isn't well doesn't change, so that isn't part of the transformation.
Here the concept being tested is the PASSIVE because the object of the verb LUNCH becomes the subject of the second sentence.
The PASSIVE has a specific transformation structure:
The nanny is cooking lunch.
Lunch is being cooked by the nanny.
So the transformed sentence is:
Lunch is being cooked by the nanny because his mum isn't well.
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(5) The nanny is cooking lunch because his mother isn't well.
IS
Lunch is being cooked by the nanny because his mum isn't well.
Looking at the sixth set of sentences:
(6) This is the most I have ever paid for a hotel room.
AS
I have never .........................................for a hotel room.
Here the concept being tested is the PRESENT PERFECT, as well as EVER and NEVER.
So, other ways of saying this sentence are:
This is the most I have ever paid for a hotel room.
I have never paid this much for a hotel room.
I have never paid more for a hotel room.
I have never paid as much as this for a hotel room.
The only possibility which uses the key word AS is the last one, so the correct answer must be:
I have never paid as much as this for a hotel room.
This gives us the corrected set of sentences as follows:
(6) This is the most I have ever paid for a hotel room.
AS
I have never ......AS MUCH AS THIS....for a hotel room.
The finished exercise would then be:
(1) Would you like to go shopping with me next Sunday?
HOW
HOW ABOUT GOING SHOPPING WITH....me next Sunday?
(2) 'Does this salad have any olives in it?' asked Mary.
THERE
Mary asked ....IF THERE WERE ANY OLIVES..in that salad?
(3) My parents decided to go to the cinema by themselves.
ON
My parents decided to go to ....THE CINEMA ON THEIR OWN...
(4) I really needed a massage after driving that far.
DONE
I ....COULD HAVE DONE WITH A......massage after that drive.
(5) The nanny is cooking lunch because his mother isn't well.
IS
Lunch ....IS BEING COOKED BY THE...nanny, because his mum isn't well.
(6) This is the most I have ever paid for a hotel room.
AS
I have never .....PAID AS MUCH AS THIS....for a hotel room.
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