OBJECTIVE PROFICIENCY SELFSTUDY

Map of Objective Proficiency Student’s Book
TOPIC

LESSON FOCUS

EXAM SKILLS

GRAMMAR

VOCABULARY

Unit 1
Ring the changes 8–13
Talking about change

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Paper 4 Listening: 1
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 5
(Summary sentences)

Perfect tenses

Introduction to idioms
Phrasal verbs
Suffix endings

Exam folder 1 14–15
Unit 2
Expectation 16–21
Expectations

Paper 3 Use of English: 1 Open cloze
Paper 3 Use of English: 2 Word formation cloze
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Paper 1 Reading: 2
Paper 3 Use of English: 2
Listening for details
Paper 5 Speaking: 1

Word formation – noun
endings
Similes
Idioms – nouns used
Pronunciation: homophones as verbs
Aspects of the future
Prepositional phrases
Have no + noun

Writing folder 1 22–23

Paper 2 Writing: 1

Letter

1.1 Listening and
Unit 3
vocabulary
Strange behaviour 24–29
1.2 Grammar
Human and animal
1.3 Summary skills
behaviour

Listening for true/false
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 5 (Reformulation 1)

Exam folder 2 30–31

Paper 3 Use of English: 3 Gapped sentences
Paper 3 Use of English: 4 Key word transformations

Unit 4
Sweet rituals 32–37
Food and ritual

1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Writing folder 2 38–39

Paper 1 Reading: 4
Paper 5 Speaking: 2

Conditional forms

Idioms – order of words
Quite, rather, fairly
Negative adjectives

Past tenses

Collocation
Compound adjectives
Adjectives and idioms to
do with food

Countable/uncountable
nouns
Possession
Preposition review
Spelling

Idioms with right
Abstract nouns

Degrees of likelihood

Phrases with take
Collocations with

adjectives and adverbs
Idioms with music words

Paper 2 Writing: 2
Review

Revision Units 1–4 40–41
Unit 5
The consumer society
42–47
Advertising, shopping

Paper 4 Listening: 2
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 5
(Working with two texts)

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 3 48–49

Unit 6
The sound of music
50–55
Music

Paper 3 Use of English: 5

Comprehension questions
and summary writing task
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Writing folder 3 56–57
Unit 7
Vision on 58–63
Art and sight

Paper 1 Reading: 3
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 4
Paper 4 Listening: 2
Paper 5 Speaking: 2

Pronunciation:
contrastive stress

Paper 2 Writing: 1
Essay
1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Paper 4 Listening: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 2

and 5 (Questions on the
texts 1)

Participle clauses

Idioms with eye
Extended noun phrases

map of objective proficienc y student ’s book

3


TOPIC

LESSON FOCUS

Exam folder 4 64–65
Unit 8
Urban jungle 66–71
City living

EXAM SKILLS

GRAMMAR

VOCABULARY

Paper 1 Reading: 1
Lexical cloze

1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Writing folder 4 72–73

Paper 1 Reading: 2
Paper 3 Use of English: 3
and 4
Paper 5 Speaking: 3

Inversion

Compound adjectives
Words with negative
connotation
Idioms by key word

Gerunds and infinitives

Idioms with come
Prefixes
Personal appearance,
personality

Past verb forms

Expressions with turn

Paper 2 Writing: 2
Proposal

Revision Units 5–8 74–75
Unit 9
Fitting in 76–81
Attitudes

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 5 82–83
Unit 10
Globalisation 84–89
Language and culture

Paper 1 Reading: 3
Gapped text
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Writing folder 5 90–91
Unit 11
For better, for worse
92–97

Relationships

Reference devices
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 4
and 2
Paper 4 Listening: 1
Paper 5 Speaking: 2

Pronunciation:
word stress

Paper 2 Writing: 1
Article
1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 6 98–101
Unit 12
At the cutting edge
102–107
Scientific advances

Paper 4 Listening: 4
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 5 (Linking 1)

Gradable and ungradable

Paper 4 Listening: 3
Paper 3 Use of English: 1, 2 adjectives
and 5 (Reformulation 2)

Idioms to do with
relationships
Phrasal verbs

Paper 1 Reading: 2
Themed texts
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Writing folder 6 108–109

Paper 1 Reading: 3
Paper 3 Use of English: 4
Paper 5 Speaking: 3

Passive structures
Pronunciation:
stress and emphasis

Idioms with technical
words
Idioms with set

Paper 2 Writing: 2

Report

Revision Units 9–12 110–111
Unit 13
Save the planet 112–117
The environment

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 7 118–119
Unit 14
Get fit, live longer
120–125
Sport and health

4

Paper 4 Listening: 1
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 5 (Questions on the
texts 2)

Direct/reported speech

Register
Synonyms

Articles review
Preposition review

Alliteration
Register
Expressions with live
Idioms with nouns and no
article

Paper 1 Reading: 4
Multiple-choice text
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Paper 1 Reading: 2
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 4
Listening practice
Paper 5 Speaking: 2

Pronunciation:
noun/verb/adjective stress

map of objective proficienc y student ’s book


TOPIC

LESSON FOCUS

Writing folder 7 126–127
Unit 15
The daily grind 128–133
The world of work

EXAM SKILLS

GRAMMAR

VOCABULARY

Paper 2 Writing: 1
Proposal
Paper 4 Listening: 3
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 5
(Linking 2)

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Purpose and reason clauses Topic expressions
Neologisms

Exam folder 8 134–135

Paper 4 Listening: 2 Sentence completion 4
Paper 4 Listening: 4 Three-way matching

1.1 Reading and vocabulary
Unit 16
Hidden nuances 136–141 1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
Literature and the
1.3 Listening and speaking
printed word

Paper 1 Reading: 4
Paper 5 Speaking: 3
Paper 3 Use of English: 2,
3 and 4

Writing folder 8 142–143

Paper 2 Writing: 2
Set text question

Concessive clauses

Adjectives describing
character

Pronunciation:
silent consonants

Revision Units 13–16 144–145
Unit 17
Defining happiness
146–151
Happiness and well-being

Paper 4 Listening: 4
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Paper 3 Use of English: 5
(Full summary task 1)

1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 9 152–153
Unit 18
On freedom 154–159
Freedom

1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Paper 1 Reading: 3
Paper 5 Speaking: 2
Paper 3 Use of English: 2,
3 and 4

Review of modal verbs
Pronunciation:
stress and emphasis

Paper 2 Writing: 1
Essay
1.1 Listening and
vocabulary
1.2 Listening and grammar
1.3 Summary skills

Exam folder 10 168–169

Paper 4 Listening: 2
Word order and adverbs
Paper 1 Reading: 1
Adverb or adjective?
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 5 (Full summary task 2)

Onomatopoeia
Word formation

Paper 5 Speaking
1.1 Reading and vocabulary
1.2 Grammar and
vocabulary
1.3 Listening and speaking

Unit 20
A sense of humour
170–175
Humour

Metaphor

Paper 4 Listening: 1 Multiple-choice questions
Paper 4 Listening: 3 Multiple-choice questions

Writing folder 9 160–161
Unit 19
The unexplained 162–167
Strange places and
happenings

Comparison

Paper 1 Reading: 4
Paper 3 Use of English: 1
and 3
Listening for true/false
Paper 5 Speaking: 3

Have/get smth done
Grammar review

Phrasal verbs with go

Pronunciation:

foreign words

Paper 2 Writing: 2
Articles and letters
General advice

Writing folder 10
176–177
Revision Units 17–20 178–179
Grammar folder 180–188
Revision crosswords 189–191
Self-study folder

192

map of objective proficienc y student ’s book

5


Content of the Proficiency Examination
The Cambridge Proficiency examination consists of five papers, each of which is worth 40 marks. It is not necessary to pass all five papers
in order to pass the examination. There are five grades: Pass – A, B, C; Fail – D, E.
As well as being told your grade, you will also be given a graphical profile of your performance, i.e. it will show whether you have done
especially well or badly on some of the papers.

Paper 1 Reading

1 hour 30 minutes

There are four parts to this paper and they are always in the same order. Each part contains either one or more texts and a comprehension
task. The texts used are from books (fiction and non-fiction), non-specialist articles from journals, magazines and newspapers,
promotional and informational materials (e.g. advertisements, guide books, manuals).
Part

Task Type

Number of
Questions

Task Format

Objective
Exam folder

1

Four-option
multiple choice
lexical cloze

18

You must choose which word from four answers completes each of
the gaps in each of the three texts (375–500 words in total).

4 (64–65)

2

Four-option
multiple choice

8

You must read four themed texts (600–900 words in total)
and answer two questions on each.

6 (98–101)

3

Gapped text

7

You must read a text (800–1100 words) with paragraphs removed.
You need to use the missing paragraphs to complete the text.

5 (82–83)

4

Four-option
multiple choice

7

You must read a text (700–850 words) and answer the questions
by finding the relevant information in the text.

7 (118–119)

Paper 2 Writing

2 hours

There are two parts to this paper. Part 1 is compulsory, you have to answer it. In Part 2 there are four questions and you must choose one.
Each part carries equal marks and you are expected write between 300–350 words for each task.
Part

1

2

Task Type

Number of
Tasks

Task Format

Question 1
A contextualised
writing task within the
following formats:
● an article
● an essay
● a letter
● a proposal

1
You are given material in the form of notes or a
compulsory short text or an extract from a newspaper.
You will have to react to the information,
presenting and developing arguments, expressing
and supporting opinions, evaluating ideas, etc.

1 (22–23)
3 (56–57)
5 (90–91)
7 (126–127)
9 (160–161)

Questions 2–4
an article
● a letter
● a proposal
● a report
● a review

4
choose one

Article 10 (176–177)
Letter 10 (176–177)
Review 2 (38–39)
Report 6 (108–109)
Set text 8 (142–143)

●

You are given a choice of topics which you have to
respond to in the way specified.

Question 5
Choice of 3 questions
on set books: article,
essay, letter, review,
report

6

Objective
Writing folder

content of th e profici enc y exami nation


Paper 3 Use of English

1 hour 30 minutes

There are five parts to this paper, which test your grammar, vocabulary and summary skills.
Part

Task Type

Number of
Questions

Task Format

Objective
Exam folder

1

Open cloze mainly testing
grammar

15

You must complete a text with 15 gaps.

1 (14–15)

2

Word formation

10

You need to use the right form of a given word to fill
each of ten gaps in a text.

1 (14–15)

3

Gapped sentences

6 sets of
3 sentences

You must think of a word which would fit into all 3 of
the given sentences.

2 (30–31)

4

Key word transformations

8

You must complete a sentence with a given word,
so that it means the same as the first sentence.

2 (30–31)

5

Comprehension questions
and summary writing task

4 questions on
2 texts and 1
summary
writing task

You must first of all answer the four questions and then,
using information from both texts, write the required
summary in your own words.

3 (48–49)

Paper 4 Listening

about 40 minutes

There are four parts to this paper. Each part is heard twice. The texts are a variety of types either with one speaker or more than one.
Part

Task Type

Number of
Questions

Task Format

Still to be supplied

Objective
Exam folder

1

Multiple choice

8

You hear four short, unrelated extracts, with either one or two
speakers. You must choose an answer from A, B or C.

9 (152–153)

2

Sentence completion

9

You must complete gaps in sentences with information given
mainly by one speaker.

8 (134–135)

3

Multiple choice

5

You will hear two speakers interacting. You must choose your
answer from A, B, C or D.

9 (152–153)

4

Three-way matching

6

You must match statements about a text to either of two
speakers or to both when they express agreement.

8 (134–135)

Paper 5 Speaking

about 19 minutes

There are three parts to this paper. There are usually two of you taking the examination and two examiners. This paper tests your
accuracy, vocabulary, pronunciation and ability to communicate and complete the tasks.
Part

Task Type

Time

Task Format

Objective
Exam folder

1

The interviewer asks each

candidate some questions

3 minutes

You will be asked some questions about yourself
and asked to express personal opinions.

10 (168–169)

2

Two-way conversation between
candidates

4 minutes

You will be given visual and spoken prompts and
asked to have a discussion.

see above

3

A long turn for each candidate
followed by a discussion on
related topics

2 minutes
You will be given a written question to respond to.
each for the You will then be asked to engage in a discussion on

long turn
related topics.
8 minutes
following the
long turns

see above

content of th e profici enc y exami nation

7