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Extract

Six months ago I made a rash promise. The leader of the youth club in our village rang me in March saying, ''We're thinking of running a children's playscheme for a day in October half-term. Would you be prepared to help?'' My response was ''Sure, why not?'' In truth I was a little flattered to be asked, even though working as a care assistant with old people hardly qualified me for the role. Still, I duly put the date in my diary and of course I forgot all about it. I don't know if you've noticed this but time has a habit of speeding along faster than a police car chasing a robber and, before I knew it, the day was dawning.

I arrived at the youth centre that morning feeling full of trepidation. There was a gang of 12 helpers including me and each pair had been allocated a particular age group. Mine was the 10 to 11 year olds. Even with the planning meeting I had attended the week before, I worried about whether I was up to the task. Why hadn't I read through the copious lesson plans we were given beforehand? And wasn't the average 10-year-old more interested in the latest Play Station game than making things with paper and glue?

All too quickly the children began arriving. The look of relief on parents' faces as they handed their offspring over to us was quite comical. A handful of the children were already members of the club but the other forty five or so were from the local primary schools. Again I asked myself why I had elected to spend a day with all these 'little monsters' especially when I have two all of my own to contend with! I needn't have worried of course as it turned out to be a marvellous day. We watched entertaining dvd clips, learned 'action' songs, made clay pyramids, decorated biscuits, played memory games and spent some time in quiet reflection. I say 'we' because I rediscovered my inner child and joined in all the activities.

The particular highlight for me was the final rendition of ''He's got the whole world in his hands'' in the closing part of the day. The children knew the words and actions off by heart and sang so loudly it was almost enough to bring the roof down. It's difficult to explain those moments; only that the body tingles with the pleasure of having witnessed something so magical.

Of course there were also moments of great poignancy. I found it difficult to stop thinking of one little girl, who mentioned oh-so-casually that her mum was in hospital and would be there for a long time. It's easy for us adults to idealise childhood and forget that some children have their own burden of anxieties and concerns. When I got home utterly exhausted, still with modelling clay under my fingernails, I reflected on what a privilege it had been.

There was one disappointment for the children and that was that the playscheme was only running for a day, and not the whole week. As I said farewell to my group, one of the children turned and said ''Can we do it again in the next holiday, Miss?'' My response was, ''Sure, why not?''

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B2 First (FCE First Certificate in English) Reading and Use of English Part 5: Multiple Choice Practice Test

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Six months ago I made a rash promise. The leader of the youth club in our village rang me in March saying, ''We're thinking of running a children's playscheme for a day in October half-term.

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Career success in the arts

John Prince, famous dancer and choreographer, gives advice on how to succeed in a career in the arts.

I asked John how he got started and what requirements there are. "Well, to be a professional dancer it's useful to have had acting lessons or some background in drama. If you want to succeed in musical theatre you have to have a good singing voice as well. When you approach an agent you should take a portfolio with your CV, your statistics sheet and some good photos and reviews of past performances. You'll need dance clothes, ballet shoes, tap shoes, and even roller skates depending on what kind of show you are going to go for."

1)

"Of course, you need to be extremely fit if you want to be a professional dancer. I dance or move about for about six hours a day. There are great health benefits to being a dancer. I can eat a lot of pasta without gaining weight because dancing increases your metabolism so much."

2)

John has a very busy schedule in the next few months. He took time out to speak to me today from the making of a pop video to promote N-ergy's latest record. "I choreographed the dance routine for the boys and they only had 2 days in which to learn it! I am going to be working on a video for another well known band - but that's top secret. Next month I'll be touring Spain in a production of a musical that was written by a friend of mine, Michaela Evans.

3)

As for the future, I've come to realise that I would never be content to be just a chorus dancer - I'm too much of an individual for that. Like all artists I'd love to become a household name by writing and choreographing my own musicals." John was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican father and a Scottish mother but the family emigrated to England 20 years ago. "I have a little sister I adore, who is also training to be a dancer." How does it feel to have someone else following in your footsteps?

4)

Has he much more to learn, I wondered. "I've spent an incredible amount of my life training to get where I am. I went to college for two years in England, I trained for six months in Paris and about eight months in America. But you never really stop training or learning your art."

5)

So, would you say it's been plain sailing? "I feel I've been lucky to a degree; many people hit problems breaking into the arts. It can be a vicious circle really. You can't become a member of Equity, which is the actors' and dancers' union, without good contracts. and you can't get good contracts without being a member of Equity. My advice to people who want to get into the arts would be to go out into the world, and try everything else first.

6)

What has a dance career done for you as a person? "Thanks to dancing, I've visited and performed in 23 countries so far. This has opened my eyes to the world, and I've been able to understand issues like racism and inequality from a wider perspective. Hopefully this has enabled me to become a better and more tolerant person as a result. "So all in all I'm really happy to be a dancer!"

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B2 First (FCE First Certificate in English) Reading and Use of English Part 6: Gapped Text Practice Test

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John Prince, famous dancer and choreographer, gives advice on how to succeed in a career in the arts. I asked John how he got started and what requirements there are. "Well, to be a professional dancer it's useful to have had acting lessons or some background in drama.

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FCE Practice Test: Reading Part 3: Multiple Matching

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Flo-Joe's practice tests for FCE (First Certificate in English) Reading Part 3, Multiple Matching.

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B2 First (FCE) Practice Test

FCE Reading and Use of English Part 1: Multiple Choice Cloze

For Questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning.
Example (0)
A) situation B) place C) position D) site

Environmental Concerns

Earth is the only (0) ........ we know of in the universe that can support human life. (1) ........ human activities are making the planet less fit to live on. As the western world (2) ........ on consuming two-thirds of the world's resources while half of the world's population do so (3) ........ to stay alive we are rapidly destroying the very resource we have by which all people can survive and prosper. Everywhere fertile soil is (4) ........ built on or washed into the sea. Renewable resources are exploited so much that they will never be able to recover completely. We discharge pollutants into the atmosphere without any thought of the consequences. As a (5) ........ the planet's ability to support people is being reduced at the very time when rising human numbers and consumption are (6) ........ increasingly heavy demands on it. The Earth's natural resources are there for us to use. We need food, water, air, energy, medicines, warmth, shelter and minerals to (7) ........ us fed, comfortable, healthy and active. If we are sensible in how we use the resources they will (8) ........ indefinitely. But if we use them wastefully and excessively they will soon run out and everyone will suffer.

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B2 First (FCE, First Certificate in English) Multiple Choice Cloze (Part 1) Practice Test

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For Questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning. Example (0) A) situation B) place C) position D) site Earth is the only (0) ........ we know of in the universe that can support human life.

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B2 First (FCE) Practice Test

FCE Reading and Use of English Part 2: Open Cloze

Read the following extract from a brochure giving advice on taking an examination. For questions 1-8, type the word which best fits in each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example at the beginning:
Example(0) TO

Exam Tips

When the day comes give yourself plenty of time (0) ........ do everything: have breakfast but don't drink (1) ........ much; go to the toilet; arrive on time, but not too early or you will find yourself getting more and more nervous while you wait to start.
In the exam, calm(2) ........ down by breathing deeply and thinking positively. Read the exam questions carefully and underline all of the key instruction words (3) ........ indicate how the questions should be answered. If possible start with the ones (4) ........ can do easily to give you confidence. Remember what you've learnt from practising questions and doing mock exams previously and plan your use of time. Don't panic (5) ........ everyone around you seems to start writing furiously straight away and don't be tempted to follow their example.
Finally, after the exam, don't join in a discussion about(6) ........ everyone else did, (7) ........ you want to frighten yourself, and drain your self-confidence for the next exam. Above (8) ........, remember that exams are not designed to catch you out, but to find out what you know, what you understand and what you can do.

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B2 First (FCE, First Certificte in English) Part 2 Open Cloze Practice Test

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Read the following extract from a brochure giving advice on taking an examination. For questions 1-8, type the word which best fits in each space. Use only one word in each space. There is an example at the beginning: Example(0) TO When the day comes give yourself plenty of time (0) ........

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B2 First (FCE) Practice Test

FCE Reading and Use of English Part 3: Word Formation

For Questions 1-8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the gap. There is an example at the beginning.
Example:
(0) NATURAL

Food Production

In the not-too-distant past farm animals were able to live (0) ........ (NATURE) lives in what we would now term 'free-range' conditions. Such farming methods however, were not able to supply the rapidly growing (1) ........ (POPULATE) of the world and the increasing demands on food (2) ........ (CONSUME) In order to cope with this rising demand, factory farming methods were introduced along with the (3) ........ (DEVELOP) of genetically engineered (4) ........ (GROW) hormones, which resulted in a massive increase in food production. However, these developments in the use of factory farming and drug (5) ........ (TREAT) have led to a widespread feeling that animals are being caused a lot of distress and that the quality of the food itself suffers as a consequence. Certainly, many people (6) ........ (AGREE) with the idea of keeping animals in one building for their entire (7) ........ (EXIST) and argue that more emphasis should be given to (8) ........ (ALTERNATE) farming methods.

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B2 First (FCE, First Certificate in English) Part 3 Word Formation Practice Test

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For Questions 1-8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals to form a word that fits in the gap. There is an example at the beginning. Example: (0) NATURAL In the not-too-distant past farm animals were able to live (0) ........ (NATURE) lives in what we would now term 'free-range' conditions.

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B2 First (FCE) Practice Test

FCE Reading and Use of English Part 4: Key Word Transformation

For questions 1-6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. For example:

A very friendly taxi driver drove us into town.
DRIVEN
We ..................................... a very friendly taxi driver.

Answer: WERE DRIVEN INTO TOWN BY

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B2 First (FCE, First Certificate in English) Part 4 Key Word Transformation Practice Test

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FCE Reading and Use of English Part 4: Key Word Transformation

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Try these quizzes to test your use of linking words for the FCE formal letter question

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Common linking words used in typical FCE (Cambridge English: First Writing tasks

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Exercises to help First Certificate in Estudents proofread English texts

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First Certificate in English (FCE) Listening

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FCE Listening - information about this intermediate level exam and links to free practice exercises.