B1 Preliminary Overview and Reading Paper Quiz

What implements do candidates need for the reading and listening papers?

• pencil

• pen

• eraser

• correcting fluid or tape

• Paper for making notes

Answer explanation

The Reading and the Listening papers must be answered in pencil only. Candidates can make notes on the question paper, but they cannot bring extra paper for notes.

What implements do candidates need for the Writing paper?

• pencil and eraser

• black or blue pen

• coloured pens

• correcting fluid or tape

Answer explanation

A Writing paper written in anything other than black or blue ink will not be corrected. Correcting fluid or tape is not allowed. Candidates should cross out their mistakes with a clean line.

How much extra time do students have for transferring their answers in the Reading Paper?

• 10 minutes

• 5 minutes

• No time at all

Answer explanation

Students must transfer their answers within the 45 minutes that the test lasts. When time is up, they must stop writing immediately, even if they have not finished.

In order to develop reading fluency, what is NOT advised when teaching vocabulary?

• Using synonyms and opposites.

• Checking the meaning of all the words in a text.

• Explaining through translation.

• Teaching how to use a monolingual dictionary.

Answer explanation

Dealing with unknown vocabulary is a necessary skill, so it is important to learn to use contextual cues to infer meaning instead of looking up every unknown word.

Using synonyms and opposites and consulting a monolingual dictionary will help with paraphrasing, whereas resorting to translation will not help with this.

How should students first approach a longer text or a set of shorter texts?

• First skim

• First scan

• First read everything carefully

Answer explanation

Candidates should first approach a text by skimming in order to understand its topic and general idea.

How should students tackle specific comprehension questions?

• Read the whole text carefully, then try to remember all the answers.

• Answer one question at a time, reading the whole text every time.

• After having skimmed, read a question and scan for its answer. Repeat for each question.

Answer explanation

Important: students should read carefully the parts of the text that seem to provide the answers to the questions, but they can identify these parts by skimming and scanning first.

When dealing with multiple choice tasks, students should...

• Be aware of paraphrase.

• Look for alternatives that repeat words from the text.

• Guess additional information not supported by the text.

• Make inferences based on information in the text.

Answer explanation

Correct alternatives will usually paraphrase information from the text and they will sometimes involve simple inferences that can be made based on the text's content.

Candidates should never choose an answer that is not supported by the text.

What does Reading Part 4 evaluate?

• Understanding gist.

• Making inferences.

• Identifying referents.

• Understanding connectors.

• Following logical organisation of ideas.

Answer explanation

Reading Part 4 focuses on understanding text structure, coherence, and cohesion.

What does Reading Part 5 mostly evaluate?

• General comprehension

• Detailed comprehension

• Knowledge of collocation

• Distinction between words with similar meanings

Answer explanation

Reading Part 5 evaluates mostly vocabulary knowledge in context. Awareness of collocation, grammatical use and slight differences in meaning are key to this task.

What does Reading Part 6 evaluate?

• Knowledge of grammatical structures

• Knowledge of phrasal verbs

• Knowledge of fixed expressions

• Paraphrasing

• Inferring meaning from context

Answer explanation

Reading Part 6 evaluates knowledge of grammatical structures in context, phrasal verbs, connectors, and fixed expressions.