B2 First Overview and RUE Paper Quiz

Which of the following can students keep in their bags during the exam and breaks?

• Mobile phones

• Snacks

• A water bottle

• Books

• Watches

Answer explanation

Candidates are not allowed to keep any kind of electronic devices or any kind of watches (electronic or analogue) during the exam or breaks. Being found keeping such items will result in disqualification.

Snacks and books, while not allowed on the desk during the exam, can be kept in candidates' bags and accessed during breaks.

A plastic, transparent bottle of water can be kept on the desk during the exam.

Which of the following can candidates not use during the exam?

• The toilet

• A highlighter

• Correcting fluid or tape

• Earphones

• Medicine

Answer explanation

The only component to be answers in pen is the Writing paper, and correcting fluid or tape is not allowed in it. Mistakes must be corrected by crossing them out with a single, clean line.

All electronic items are banned, so candidates cannot use earphones during the test or during breaks.

If time runs out and a candidate has not transferred any of his/her answers onto the answer sheet...

• the answers marked on the question paper will still be corrected.

• they can quickly copy their answers while the invigilator is collecting the answer sheets.

• they will fail the test.

Answer explanation

It is candidates' responsibility to transfer their answers onto the answer sheet during the time allocated for the test. They must stop writing immediately when time is up, and there is no possibility of allowing any extra time.

Question papers will be destroyed, only answer sheets being sent back to Cambridge for marking.

The range of grammar and vocabulary required for the exam...

• is listed in the Handbook for Teachers and should be all taught explicitly.

• does not include complex structures or less common lexis.

• should be learnt over a long period of time, partly from teaching and partly from exposure.

Answer explanation

The range of vocabulary and grammatical forms that a candidate at B2 level should control is open-ended and cannot be attained without considerable exposure beyond explicit teaching of words and structures.

Reading unadapted books in English...

• constitutes good preparation for the B2 exam.

• is beyond the skill of a B2 learner.

• is irrelevant in getting ready for a B2 certification.

Answer explanation

B2 learners have the necessary skill and knowledge to deal with unadapted books in English, provided that the language in them is fairly standard and the topics are not overly complicated.

This not only constitutes great reading practice but is also valuable input for the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical forms, in addition to providing something meaningful to talk about / write about in class.

Which parts of the Reading and Use of English Paper correspond to the Use of English component?

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Part 4

• Part 5

Regarding marks per question in the Reading and Use of English Paper...

• all questions weigh the same.

• parts 4, 5 and 6 carry two marks per question.

• part 4 carries two marks per question.

• part 7 carries half a mark per question.

How should longer reading tasks be approached?

• First skim, then scan, then read carefully.

• First scan, then skim, then read carefully.

• First read carefully, then skim, then scan.

• First read carefully, then scan, then skim.

Answer explanation

Students should first skim the text(s) to get a general understanding of their topic and how they are organised.

They should then read a question, scan for its answer, and read carefully just the part where the answer seems to be (repeat for each question or if the seemingly relevant part turns out not to contain the answer).

Can part 6 (the gapped text) be solved by scanning?

• Yes, this is the best strategy for this part.

• To an extent, but scanning alone is insufficient.

• No, scanning is not applicable to this task.

In which Reading and Use of English tasks is awareness of paraphrase particularly relevant?

• Part 1 (multiple choice cloze)

• Part 4 (keyword sentence transformation)

• Part 5 (multiple choice questions)

• Part 7 (multiple matching)