CAE CAE Vocabulary 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which word correctly completes the collocation: 'She made a _______ decision to leave her job'?
- snap (Correct answer)
- quick
- fast
- rapid
Correct answer: snap
'Make a snap decision' is the fixed collocation meaning a decision made quickly without much thought; the other adjectives do not collocate with 'decision' in this way.
Question 2: What does the CAE-level idiom 'to beat around the bush' mean?
- To work very hard physically
- To avoid getting to the main point (Correct answer)
- To search carefully for something lost
- To speak very loudly and clearly
Correct answer: To avoid getting to the main point
'Beat around the bush' means to talk around a topic without saying what you really mean, avoiding the main issue.
Question 3: Choose the correct phrasal verb: 'She had to _______ the meeting until next week due to a conflict.'
- put off (Correct answer)
- put out
- put up
- put down
Correct answer: put off
'Put off' means to postpone or delay an event; the other phrasal verbs have different meanings (extinguish, accommodate, criticise).
Question 4: Which word has a similar meaning to 'meticulous' at C1 level?
- Careless
- Thorough (Correct answer)
- Rapid
- Vague
Correct answer: Thorough
'Meticulous' means extremely careful and precise; 'thorough' is the closest synonym among the options.
Question 5: What does the prefix 'mis-' mean in the word 'misinterpret'?
- Incorrectly or wrongly (Correct answer)
- Again or repeatedly
- Before or in advance
- Excessively or too much
Correct answer: Incorrectly or wrongly
The prefix 'mis-' means wrongly or incorrectly, so 'misinterpret' means to interpret something incorrectly.
Question 6: In formal English, which word best replaces 'get' in 'We need to get a decision by Friday'?
- grab
- reach (Correct answer)
- find
- take
Correct answer: reach
'Reach a decision' is the standard formal collocation; 'get a decision' is informal and would be replaced by 'reach' in academic or professional writing.
CAE CAE Vocabulary 1
Which word correctly completes the collocation: 'She made a _______ decision to leave her job'?