C2 Practice and Application 4

Question 1

Which sentence correctly applies an absolute phrase for stylistic sophistication?

Accepted Answer

The storm approaching, we decided to cancel the event.

Answer

An absolute phrase ('the storm approaching') is a nominative construction that modifies the entire main clause without a conjunction.

Question 2

In a formal debate, a speaker says, 'One might argue that the policy is flawed.' What rhetorical strategy is this?

Accepted Answer

Procatalepsis

Answer

Procatalepsis is the anticipation of an opponent's counterargument followed by a rebuttal, used to pre-empt objections.

Question 3

Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the perfect infinitive to express an unfulfilled past intention?

Accepted Answer

She intended to have finished the report by Friday.

Answer

The perfect infinitive ('to have finished') after a past-tense verb of intention signals that the action was planned but not completed.

Question 4

A novelist writes: 'The city that had once hummed with industry now lay in a silence broken only by the wind.' Which technique is most prominent?

Accepted Answer

Pathetic fallacy combined with contrast

Answer

Pathetic fallacy projects emotional tone onto the environment (silence, wind), while the temporal contrast ('once...now') amplifies the desolation.

Question 5

Which option correctly uses inversion for formal emphasis?

Accepted Answer

Rarely have I seen such dedication.

Answer

After a negative or restrictive adverb ('rarely,' 'never,' 'hardly') in initial position, subject-auxiliary inversion is required in formal English.

C2 Practice Test