Hi Yizhivika,
I agree with you on all counts!
As for the difficulty (as I wrote in the other post) these exercise are meant for students who are sitting for the
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). This exam is made up of five papers (reading, writing, English in use, listening and speaking), so students are required a high level ("near-native", as you say) of fluency in all of the four skills + an excellent command of grammar. In fact, if we look at the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the level of the CPE is C2, which means that successful candidates ...
... can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
”
As for the cultural bias, since this exam is organised by the University of Cambridge, it focuses especially on British English. However, in the listening paper candidates are exposed to a reasonably large variety of accents; these include AmE and Australian English, as well as many regional accents from the UK.
That said, as a learner I must recognise they are challenging!!! I didn't mean to discourage anybody... just to give a flavour of the abilities required to pass this exam, really useful for those who want to study abroad, although less focused on academic language and skills than the TOEFL and the IELTS.