The objective:
In part 3 of the FCE Reading and Use of English exam, we are given a piece of text with eight spaces and a set of eight words which we need to modify to generate suitable words for each space.
The objective is to understand how to identify the kinds of words a text requires and to generate those words using the correct prefixes and suffixes.
Let's look at a typical exam question:
Text
Pearls are formed when an (1) ..............., such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk. To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed.
The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2) ............ quality wild pearls have been (3) ..............., valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) ..............., The most (5) ...............,pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are (6) ...............,rare. These wild pearls are sometimes referred to as
(7) ..............., pearls, and often have (8) ...............,
Words
(1) IRRITATE
(2) FINE
(3) HEIGHT
(4) ADMIRE
(5) VALUE
(6) EXTREME
(7) NATURE
(8) PERFECT
The Method:
1 READ THE TEXT QUICKLY TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT IT'S ABOUT.
2 LOOK AT THE FIRST SENTENCE WITH A SPACE.
3 IDENTIFY THE KIND OF WORD THE SPACE NEEDS - NOUN, ADJECTIVE, ADVERB OR VERB.
4 IDENTIFY IF THE NOUNS SHOULD BE SINGULAR OR PLURAL.
5 IDENTIFY IF THE ADJECTIVE SHOULD BE POSITIVE - HAPPY, OR NEGATIVE - UNHAPPY.
6 LOOK AT THE FIRST WORD AND ADD APPROPRIATE PREFIXES OR SUFFIXES TO GENERATE THE CORRECT WORD FOR THE SPACE.
7 THEN LOOK AT THE SECOND SENTENCE WITH A SPACE.
8 REPEAT THE PROCESS UNTIL ALL THE SPACES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
Applying these steps to our exam questions.
The first sentence is:
Pearls are formed when an (1) ...............,(IRRITATE) such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk.
The word in space 1 is a noun because it follows the article AN.
The relevant word we have is IRRITATE. To generate a noun from the verb IRRITATE, we get IRRITATION and IRRITANT, which is the most suitable for the context of space 1.
That gives the completed sentence:
Pearls are formed when an (1) .......IRRITANT........, such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk.
This is grammatically correct.
Looking at the second sentence with a space:
The (2) ............(FINE) quality wild pearls have been (3) ...............(HEIGHT), valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries.
The word we need for space 2 is an adjective to describe or modify the noun QUALITY, and as it follows the definite article THE, we need a superlative adjective. The given word is FINE. So, the word we need is FINEST.
The word we need for space 3 is an adverb to describe or modify the adjective VALUED, and the given word is HEIGHT. So, the word we need is HIGHLY.
This gives the following completed sentences:
Pearls are formed when an (1) ...IRRITANT...., such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk.
To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2) .....FINEST....... quality wild pearls have been (3) ....HIGHLY....., valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries.
These are grammatically correct.
Looking at the third sentence with a space:
Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) ...............,(ADMIRE)
The word we need for space 4 is an adjective to go with RARE and FINE to describe SOMETHING, and the given word is ADMIRE. So, the word we need is ADMIRED.
This gives the following completed sentences:
Pearls are formed when an (1) .......IRRITANT........, such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk. To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2)...FINEST... quality wild pearls have been (3) ......HIGHLY........., valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) ....ADMIRED...........,
These are grammatically correct.
Looking at the fourth sentence with a space:
The most (5) ............... (VALUE) pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are (6) ...............(EXTREME) rare.
The word we need for space 5 is an adjective to describe the plural noun PEARLS and the given word is VALUE. So, the word we need is VALUABLE.
The word we need for space 6 is an adverb to modify the adjective RARE, and the given word is EXTREME. So, the word we need is EXTREMELY.
This gives the following completed sentences:
Pearls are formed when an (1) .......IRRITANT........, such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk. To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2) ...FINEST... quality wild pearls have been (3) ......HIGHLY........., valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) ....ADMIRED....... The most (5) ......VALUABLE......... pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are (6) .......EXTREMELY........rare.
These are grammatically correct.
Looking at the final sentence with a space:
These wild pearls are sometimes referred to as
(7) ...............(NATURE) pearls, and often have (8) ...............,(PERFECT)
The word we need for space 7 is an adjective to describe the plural noun PEARLS and the given word is NATURE. So, the word we need is NATURAL.
The word we need for space 8 is a noun, infact a plural noun because there is no article. The given word is PERFECT, So, the word we need is either PERFECTIONS or IMPERFECTIONS, and the context of the sentence the word IMPERFECTIONS more suitable.
This gives the following completed sentences:
Pearls are formed when an (1) .......IRRITANT........, such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk. To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2) ...FINEST... quality wild pearls have been (3) ......HIGHLY......, valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) ....ADMIRED....... The most (5) ......VALUABLE......... pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are (6) .......EXTREMELY........rare. These wild pearls are sometimes referred to as (7) ......NATURAL.........pearls, and often have (8) ......IMPERFECTIONS.........,
These are grammatically correct.
The correct answers are:
1 IRRITANT
2 FINEST
3 HIGHLY
4 ADMIRED
5 VALUABLE
6 EXTREMELY
7 NATURAL
8 IMPERFECTIONS
and the finished text would be:
Text
Pearls are formed when an (1) ........IRRITANT......., such as a bit of food or a grain of sand, becomes trapped in the mollusk. To protect itself, the mollusk secretes substances that it also uses to build its shell. These substances are secreted in layers and a pearl is formed.
The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The (2) .....FINEST....... quality wild pearls have been (3) .......HIGHLY........, valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and (4) .......ADMIRED........, The most (5) ........VALUABLE......., pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are (6) .......EXTREMELY........,rare. These wild pearls are sometimes referred to as
(7) ........NATURAL......., pearls, and often have (8) ........IMPERFECTIONS........
Words
(1) IRRITATE
(2) FINE
(3) HEIGHT
(4) ADMIRE
(5) VALUE
(6) EXTREME
(7) NATURE
(8) PERFECT