C2 Proficiency Exam
This section of the Cambridge C2 exam challenges candidates to manipulate advanced vocabulary, grammar, and collocations across multiple task types.
What is Use of English?
This colourful idiom which only exists in English textbooks describes extremely heavy rainfall.
This simile describes two things that are completely different, but often complementary.
What are like chalk and cheese?
This clothing word entered English from Hindi and Persian, originally referring to loose-fitting trousers.
What are pyjamas?
This is the name of the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere
What is the Winter Solstice?
This is the required word count range for the essay in the Cambridge C2 Writing paper.
What is 240-280 words?
You might say you are this when you fall completely and passionately in love.
What is head over heels?
This person is so furious they are nearly speechless.
What is apoplectic with rage?
This elegant dance-form word comes into English from French, though its deeper roots lie in Italian.
What is Ballet?
This meteorological phenomenon occurs when freezing rain coats surfaces in a smooth, glass-like layer.
What is an ice storm?
This expression refers to something lasting only a tiny fraction of a moment.
What is for a split second?
This expression describes an audience response involving collective clapping.
What is a round of applause?
What a lazy Brit in Madrid might be up to after lunch.
What is a siesta?
This is the traditional name for the red-berried plant used in winter celebrations and often hung above doorways.
What is mistletoe?
The minimum score required to achieve a grade C in Proficiency on the Cambridge English Scale
What is 200 points?
This idiom means to resolve tension by having an honest conversation.
What is clearing the air?
A small element of accuracy within an otherwise false statement.
What is a grain of truth?
This low-built house with a veranda was first found in India.
What is a bungalow?
This winter sport involves sliding a small stone across ice toward a circular target.
What is curling?
This informal term describes an unexpectedly difficult or tricky question that might appear in a Use of English exam.
These verb-particle combinations are often referred to as a secret code for native speakers.
What are phrasal verbs?
A failed attempt a describing perspectives or opinions that are complete opposites, translated from another language perhaps.
What is white and black?
The English like watching over the French with this sneaky word.
What is surveillance?
This natural formation occurs when water droplets freeze on tree branches, giving forests a sparkling white appearance.
What is hoarfrost?