B1 Preliminary Reading

B1 Preliminary Reading part 1 - Signs

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In this part you have to look at very short texts, such as signs and messages, postcards, notes, emails.

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There are 7 questions in this quiz. Look at the text in each question.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

• The group leader cannot go on the trip of Saturday.

• The trip to London will take place on a different day. 

• Miriam will not be able to visit London at the weekend.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

•   Cheaper tickets are available for people who travel often. 

• You need a special type of ticket if you travel regularly. 

• The Super Weekly Saver ticket can help all travellers to save money.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

• Tom should go to the restaurant without Jess.

• Jess will meet Tom at the bar.

• Jess can’t go to the restaurant. She will meet Tom at the bar.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

• You can get your membership cards from the Private Rooms between 10am and 2pm. 

•  Anyone can visit the private rooms from 10am to 2pm. 

• Only members can visit the Private Rooms from 10am to 2pm.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

What should people at the restaurant do first?

• Find a table

• Go to the bar 

•  Pay for their food

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

Students who do not sign up before Friday lunchtime...

• won’t be able to choose their afternoon activities next week.

•   will not be able to do afternoon activities next week.

•  will have to work in the afternoons next week.

Multiple Choice

What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

•  The swimming pool is free to people who go to the Water Fitness Classes.

•  The water fitness classes are free to people who swim ten times in a month.

• This month, you can go to Water Fitness Classes and use the swimming pool ten times without paying.

B1 Preliminary Reading, part 2 - Matching

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In this part, you have to match five people to eight texts.

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The people all want to attend a course. Read the descriptions of eight courses. Decide which course would be the most suitable for each person.

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For Questions 1-5, select the best course.

​A - Form and Colour

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This is year-long course is perfect for people who want to learn about how to use a camera and who want to take it up as a profession.  Students will learn how to use light and shade, colour and different shapes.  The course will also teach students to change their work using computer technology.  Tips will be given on how best to get started in the profession.

B - Practice makes Perfect

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Learn about how to use computer software to make your work life easier.  This course is designed for people who use computers regularly as part of their career, but who feel they are unable to make the most of the technology.  Learn about new software for storing documents and photographs and keeping records.  This evening class runs for ten weeks from September to December.

C - Armchair Explorer

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This is a series of daytime lectures by people who have lived and worked in wild places.  Each of the six talks will focus on a different continent.  Lecturers will show photographs of the animals and plants, and explain why they are only found in one area.  Lecturers will include Leo Holland, a scientist from the Antarctic project, and Milly Oliphant, who researches birds in the Amazon rainforest.  Tea and Biscuits provided.

D - Art Starter

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Are you interested in a career in art?  If so, this full-time, eight-week course will be perfect for you.  Learn about different methods used by artists, including painting, drawing, photography and computer design.  Artists will create work for an exhibition which will be displayed in the Town Hall for one month in September.  Top businessmen and women from the design industry will be invited to attend the exhibition, so this could be a great start to your career!

E - Wild Design

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Whether you want a career in art, or you just want to enjoy your hobby, this holiday course is for you.  Wild Design is a two-week summer course situated on the wild coast of South Wales.  We teach all kinds of art, including photography and painting, and the wild sea, beautiful flowers and great wildlife will definitely give you lots of creative ideas.  Even if you already have a good understanding of art, you are sure to learn something new from our team of professional tutors. 

F - Explore your Imagination

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Do you want to show your friends a photograph of you beside the Egyptian pyramids or in the jungles of Borneo?  Well now you can tell your friends that you have travelled the world without actually leaving the country!  Join this evening class and learn how to use the latest technology and software to change photographs to a professional standard.  You will also learn how to make your own computer designs using the computer programmes used by professionals.

G - Technology for You

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Do you feel as if everyone is using a computer except you? Join in this five-day course and learn the basics.  You’ll learn how to store your personal files, send emails and use simple programmes to write and print letters.  In the afternoons you will have the choice of either learning how to make Birthday Cards and other designs on a computer, or you can join our ‘Basic computers for Work’ class.

H - Wildlife Photographer

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Travel to a different wild place every week and learn how to take photographs of animals, plants and scenery.  Our expert teachers will advise you how to take the best pictures.  This course will run for six weeks on Saturdays.  Students should already have a good understanding of photography and their own equipment.  The class is suitable for everyone, as there is very little walking involved.

Multiple Choice

Harriet is 71, and is interested in painting and drawing. She would like to go somewhere in the summer where she can learn new tips and paint attractive scenery.

• Form and Colour

• Practice makes Perfect 

• Armchair Explorer 

• Art Starter 

• Wild Design

Multiple Choice

Belinda works for a large Art Company and she feels she needs to improve her computer skills. She already has a basic understanding of some common computer programmes, but she wants to learn how to organise her work and store information.

• Practice makes Perfect 

• Armchair Explorer

• Art Starter 

• Wild Design 

• Explore your Imagination

Multiple Choice

Jenny is interested in a career in design, and wants to learn how to create art and change photographs using special computer programmes. She wants a course that will fit into her normal school day.

• Wildlife Photographer

• Form and Colour 

• Explore your Imagination

• Practice makes Perfect

• Technology for You

Multiple Choice

George is unable to travel because he has difficulty walking, but he wants to learn more about the wildlife and scenery in different parts of the world.

• Practice makes Perfect 

• Armchair Explorer

• Art Starter

• Wild Design 

• Explore your Imagination

Multiple Choice

Chris wants a change in career, so he’s looking for a full-time course in which he can learn everything there is to know about photography and how to use computers to change and sell his work.

• Practice makes Perfect 

• Armchair Explorer

• Art Starter 

• Form and Colour

• Wild Design

B1 Preliminary Reading, part 3 - comprehension questions

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In this part of the quiz you need to read a long text and answer 5 multiple choice questions.

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Read the text and then answer questions 1-4.

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​Different Colours can affect us in many different ways; that’s according to Verity Allen.  In her new series ‘Colour me Healthy’, Verity looks at the ways that colours can influence how hard we work and the choices we make.  They can even change our emotions and even influence how healthy we are. ‘Have you ever noticed how people always use the same colours for the same things?’ says Verity.  ‘Our toothpaste is always white or blue or maybe red.  It’s never green.  Why not?  For some reason we think that blue and white is clean, while we think of green products as being a bit disgusting.  It’s the same for businesses.  We respect a company which writes its name in blue or black, but we don’t respect one that uses pink or orange.  People who design new products can use these ideas to influence what we buy.’

​During this four-part series, Verity studies eight different colours, two colours in each programme.  She meets people who work in all aspects of the colour industry, from people who design food packets, to people who name the colours of lipsticks.  Some of the people she meets clearly have very little scientific knowledge to support their ideas, such as the American ‘Colour Doctor’ who believes that serious diseases can be cured by the use of coloured lights.  However, she also interviews real scientists who are studying the effects of green and red lights on mice, with some surprising results. Overall, it’s an interesting show, and anyone who watches it will probably find out something new.  But because Verity is goes out of her way to be polite to everyone she meets on the series, it’s up to the viewers to make their own decisions about how much they should believe.

Multiple Choice

What is the writer doing in this text?

• giving information about how colours influence us

• reporting what happens in a new television series  

• giving information about a television presenter

• giving his opinion of a recent television show

Multiple Choice

According to Verity, why is a knowledge of colour important?

•  It can help you to choose the best products.

• It can give you new ideas.

•  It can help you to change people’s minds.

• It can help you to sell products.

Multiple Choice

Who does the writer respect least?

• Verity Allen

• The people who name lipsticks

• The ‘Colour Doctor’

• The scientists who work with mice

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would make a good title for the text?

• Enjoy it, but don’t believe everything.  

•  Another great show from Verity Allen! Five Stars!

• Don’t miss this if you work in Business!

• Watch this programme! It will make you healthy!