C2 Practice and Application 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher is writing a literature review and wants to attribute a finding to a source while subtly distancing herself from it. Which phrasing best achieves this?
- Smith (2020) proves that caffeine improves cognition.
- According to Smith (2020), caffeine improves cognition.
- Smith (2020) claims that caffeine improves cognition. (Correct answer)
- Caffeine improves cognition (Smith, 2020).
Correct answer: Smith (2020) claims that caffeine improves cognition.
The verb 'claims' signals epistemic distance and invites the reader to evaluate the assertion critically, unlike 'proves' or neutral attribution.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences contains a dangling participle?
- Having read the report, the committee made its decision.
- Having read the report, the decision was made. (Correct answer)
- The committee, having read the report, reached a consensus.
- After reading the report, the committee voted unanimously.
Correct answer: Having read the report, the decision was made.
In 'Having read the report, the decision was made,' the participial phrase wrongly modifies 'decision' rather than the committee that did the reading.
Question 3: In discourse analysis, what is the primary function of a 'hedge' in academic spoken English?
- To assert a claim with maximum confidence.
- To signal politeness by avoiding all direct statements.
- To qualify a claim and signal the speaker's epistemic uncertainty or caution. (Correct answer)
- To introduce a topic change.
Correct answer: To qualify a claim and signal the speaker's epistemic uncertainty or caution.
Hedges such as 'it seems,' 'arguably,' and 'to some extent' calibrate the degree of certainty the speaker commits to.
Question 4: Which sentence most effectively uses parallel structure in a formal speech?
- We came, we saw, and the city was conquered.
- We came, we saw, we conquered. (Correct answer)
- We came, saw things, and the city fell to us.
- Coming, seeing, and to conquer the city.
Correct answer: We came, we saw, we conquered.
Julius Caesar's tricolon 'veni, vidi, vici' pattern ('we came, we saw, we conquered') demonstrates perfect grammatical parallelism.
Question 5: A journalist wants to write a sentence that conveys inevitability using a modal. Which choice is most precise?
- The treaty may collapse.
- The treaty will collapse.
- The treaty should collapse.
- The treaty is bound to collapse. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The treaty is bound to collapse.
'Is bound to' is a semi-modal expressing strong inevitability, stronger than 'will' (prediction) and clearer than the vague modality of 'should' here.
Question 6: Which rhetorical device is used in: 'The silence spoke volumes; every unspoken word echoed through the room'?
- Synecdoche
- Personification combined with hyperbole (Correct answer)
- Anaphora
- Zeugma
Correct answer: Personification combined with hyperbole
Personification grants human speech to silence, while hyperbole exaggerates its impact; both devices work together in this sentence.
Question 7: A C2 learner editing a business email replaces 'get in touch' with a more formal equivalent. Which is most appropriate?
- hit us up
- reach out to us
- contact the undersigned (Correct answer)
- holler at us
Correct answer: contact the undersigned
'Contact the undersigned' is the highest-register formal alternative, suitable for official business correspondence requiring maximum formality.
C2 Practice and Application 3
A researcher is writing a literature review and wants to attribute a finding to a source while subtly distancing herself from it.
Which phrasing best achieves this?