Succeed In Cambridge English Advanced - 10 Cae Practice Tests Audio -
Here is the most interesting psychological fact: your brain works differently when sound enters through your ears versus light through your eyes. Reading, you can re-read. Listening, the sound is gone. The official exam uses a range of accents (British, Australian, North American) and background "noise" (interviews, announcements, lectures). By working through all 10 audio tests under timed conditions, you are not just learning English; you are training your concentration stamina. You learn to recover from a missed answer in part 2 without panicking through part 3. This meta-cognitive skill is the true secret to succeeding.
Open the transcript of any listening test—say, a conversation about sustainable architecture or a radio documentary on behavioral psychology. Now, compare the vocabulary used there to the vocabulary in the Reading texts. You will notice a difference. Reading texts often use formal, Latinate words. Listening scripts use high-frequency, collocation-rich, natural C1 language . Phrases like "to weigh up the pros and cons," "a far-fetched idea," or "to go to great lengths" appear constantly in the audio. These are the exact phrases examiners expect to see in your Writing essays and hear in your Speaking. By mining the audio scripts, you stop memorizing random word lists and start internalizing authentic lexical chunks. Here is the most interesting psychological fact: your
The CAE Listening paper isn't just about understanding words; it's about decoding connected speech . Features like elision ("going to" becomes "gonna"), assimilation, and weak forms are what separate a Band 3 from a Band 4 candidate. By actively shadowing the audio—playing a sentence, pausing, and mimicking the speaker's intonation and stress patterns—you are not practicing listening. You are practicing speaking. That natural rhythm you develop will directly elevate your performance in the Speaking paper, where examiners reward fluency and phonological control. The official exam uses a range of accents
But this is a mistake. In fact, the audio tracks for those 10 practice tests are not just a listening exam simulation. They are the most sophisticated, multi-tool learning device you own. To succeed in the CAE (now C1 Advanced), you need to stop listening to the audio and start eavesdropping on it. This meta-cognitive skill is the true secret to succeeding
Thanks for all the guides you post on here! I’ve been shooting for a while now, almost exclusively digitally. After hearing all the popularity over VSCO film presets, I bought the first pack and gave it a try. However, most of the time I used them I felt clueless and all over the place, as if I were slapping on filters on Instagram. The history of each film and its effects on saturation and tint really simplified the entire process, and I hope you write more of these guides.
Thanks so much, Bryan! Really appreciate your feedback!
Thanks for doing these guides, man. These help me out a lot.
My pleasure. Glad they are helpful!
Hi, thx for sharing information and I have one question about VSCO film 01.
Today I just bought this one and in black and white option I only have Kodak Tri-x 400 (- + ++) and I wonder if there should be Tri-x and Tri-x 100 (200, 300)?
Thank you for the answer.
Nope, it’s just TRI-X 400 in this pack. You’ve got the right thing. 🙂
Great read dude. Thanks a lot.
Hi,
Are you still doing the VSCO 3-6 missing guides?
Yes! Just got a little behind! My plan is to do in this order: 5, 6, 4 (and maybe 3).
Hi Nate… Are you going to write the missing guides? Thanks!
I know I know! It’s long overdue… I actually have a draft of my guide to VSCO Film 05 almost ready to publish, but I’m slammed right now trying to get X-CHROME out the door…
Thank you so much for writing these VSCO FILM – Missing Guides. Very generous of you. These guides are well done, informative, and useful. Looking forward to you other guides. I am glad that I found this page.
Hi,
This Was Very Informative Thank You. I Started Shooting Late 2015 & I’m Still Looking For My Style, If You Could Please Go Through Film Pack 3,4 And 5 That Will Be Very Helpful.
Hi !
Thanks so much for this ! I’ve been fighting with presets since years now, and the only films I know are Portra since I shoot film too. But this guides are so helpful !
Really hope other guides are going to follow 🙂
Stewart
Thank you so much, exactly what i was looking for. Please continue the series 🙂
Thank you for your time in providing these vsco guides. So incredibly informative and helpful. I see a whole new world now. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you
-alvin from the Philippines
Very useful Guide thank you so much 😉
Nate hay, how do I get Lightroom presets vsco 01 films – the modern movie ??
Please reply
You need to purchase them from VSCO
Very useful! Thank you 🙂 when there will be the explanations for the others packs?
Good morning, Nate. Thank you for your in depth reviews and explanation. You’ve helped me narrow down my choice, but I need help for either keeping or thinning.
Based on yout reviews, I’ve decided to purchase packs 01, 04, 05, and 06. Do you think I’ve made a good choice/selection? Are there any redundancies in my selection in terms of looks/style? Which two packs would you suggest as must haves? I don’t want to experience buyer’s remorse once again :/
Thank you for your time.
Regard,
Mike.
I would start with 1 and 5. Then 2. Then 7.
Thank you for you guide. 🙂 Really helped to choose between all these packs.
Can you tell me a little about your work flow? what LR edits do you make before adding the preset and which do you make after?
Thanks so much for your time.
Hi Nate,
This is a great site, I am really thank full for all the in depth information you have provided on vsco. I am new food photographer, what vsco pack would you recommend for me ? I like taking dark moody images of my food.
Thank you!
Is there a cheat sheet for film pack 01? I only got one for 02 and 07. Thanks so much!
These guides are brilliant. Just exactly what I need!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Aww, shucks. Thanks Kim 🙂
Hi Nathan,
Isn’t it true that these VSCO 1 presets were for free before?
I can’t find that free VSCO package anywhere anymore 🙁
Can you help/clarify maybe?
Thanks so much
Lot x
The Netherlands
Hi, at one point, VSCO had a free starter pack (00) which contained Kodak Gold (from pack 05) and Tri-X (from pack 06). It appears that they stopped offering that unfortunately.
wow this is so extremely helpful. I’m a young shooter so don’t know much about film. thanks for taking the time to create such a detailed guide!!!
Thanks so much Nate, for your guides and cheat sheets – this is just what I was looking for today ! Cheers. Pete
P5 Preset
Super guide(s) and exactly what I was looking for. I grew up shooting film but have forgotten most of the particular characteristics. I’m just a serious amateur looking to have some fun. A professional wedding photographer friend of mine was using 01 pack to wonderful effect. However, I’m thinking that since I like to take either landscapes or punchier snapshots of people/family, the 04 slide pack might be better suited to my needs. Any thoughts?
Love your consistent descriptions of each film followed by before/after demo and discussion. Very nicely done!
Amazing Guide, thank you so much..
So helpful. Thanks so much!!!
so useful, this is the best guide I found on the whole net. Please make Film Pack 5 guide!!
please provide the missing guides for the other VSCO films. Great guides!
Hello Nate, thank you very much for your guide. I really appreciate it!
Hello, man. I’m wondering if you are going to make another review about VSCO packs. It would be nice you to make another one about pack 05. I enjoyed the 3 ones you already made, by the way. Nice job.
Great Post!!!!!!!!