Answer key: B2 First · Part 1: Multiple-choice cloze · Joining a local choir

For the teacher. Each answer comes with the reason it is right.

1. C: ear
We say someone has 'an ear for music' (they can hear and copy music well). 'An eye for', 'a nose for' and 'a head for' are real phrases, but they go with other things (detail, a good story, heights or figures).
2. A: do
The collocation is 'do someone a favour'. We do not 'make', 'give' or 'take' someone a favour.
3. D: relaxed
A 'relaxed atmosphere' is calm and informal. 'Rested' describes a person who has had enough sleep, and 'eased' and 'loosened' describe things that have been made less tight or less severe.
4. B: instead
'Instead of being embarrassed' means 'in place of being embarrassed'. 'Rather' would need 'than', 'despite' is never followed by 'of', and 'apart' would need 'from'.
5. A: sense
The fixed phrase is 'make sense (to someone)'. We do not say 'make meaning', 'make reason' or 'make logic'.
6. C: dreamed
'Never dreamed of doing something' means you never imagined you could do it. 'Wish', 'hope' and 'expect' are not followed by 'of' + -ing in this way.
7. B: given
Something can 'give someone a sense of belonging'. 'Made', 'put' and 'set' do not combine with 'someone a sense of'.
8. D: missed
'I wouldn't have missed it for anything' means the experience was too good to miss. The other verbs do not form this expression.