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Hi everybody! ABC English Levels and Valentine welcome you to the next episode about the FCE exam. In today’s audio lesson, you’ll learn how the Reading and Use of English Paper is organized, what it tests and some tips on what to pay attention to while reading.
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Well, let’s get to the point and talk about the Reading and Use of English Paper!
Reading and Use of English Structure
Number of parts in Reading and Use of English
It consists of 7 parts:
- Part 1. A cloze text with 8 gaps followed by 8 multiple-choice items.
- Part 2. An open cloze text with 8 gaps (no options to choose from).
- Part 3. A text with 8 gaps. To fill them in, you have to change the words given beside the text so as to get a proper form of the word for each gap.
- Part 4. 6 separate questions. Each one has a lead-in sentence and a gapped 2nd sentence which you must complete with 2 to 5 words including the given, a so-called ‘key-word’. And the meaning of the lead-in sentence must be the same.
- Part 5. A text with 6 multiple-choice questions.
- Part 6. A text from which 6 sentences have been removed and placed in disorder after the text. The tricky thing here is that you see 7, not 6 sentences. That’s to say the 7th is one odd out – you don’t need it.
- Part 7. Several, usually 4, short texts related to 10 multiple-matching questions which come before the texts.
What Reading and Use of English tests and the time it takes
Reading and Use of English takes 1 hour 15 minutes. Parts 1,2,3 and 4 test your knowledge of such parts of vocabulary as phrasal verbs, idioms, collocations, word formation, difference in meaning of words, grammar connected with some words and your skills to find the right synonym to a given word or phrase – that is to say how well you can use the English language.
In terms of reading, they’re parts 5, 6 and 7, you have to showcase your ability to understand the gist of the texts, find specific information, tell the difference between similar but not the same ideas. For this, you’ll definitely need a certain set of skills and approaches to make the best. About some of the reading techniques, I told you in the previous audio lesson of ABC English Levels, so, you can always brush up on them.
TIPS
This tip isn’t anything new. But sometimes it’s just useful to summarise, revise and review things we already know, though for some reason don’t use them in practice and as a result, never remember about them.
OK, to put it in a nutshell (to cut it short, briefly saying), every time you read something in English, pay close attention to:
- verb forms like infinitive and gerund and how they’re used in sentences; e.g., afford to buy or afford buying? remember to do or remember doing? suggest going out or suggest to go out? stop to think or stop thinking? etc. By the way, you can write the correct answer in your comments below);
- see what fixed prepositions they put with some adjectives and verbs; e.g., be interested in, be crazy about, be frightened of, pay for sth, succeed in sth etc.
- be curious enough to check the difference between synonymous words and expressions; e.g., what’s the difference between be prone to and be likely to? figure out and understand? mull over sth and contemplate sth? (Write your answers in comments below)).
- channel your inner Sherlock and try to predict the meanings of unknown words through the context always before looking them up in a dictionary. It will help a lot in the exam.
Well, let’s stop now. I think you’ve got enough food for thought. You’ve learnt the structure of the Reading and Use of English, how long it takes and some tips on how to get the advantage of any reading.
In the next audio lesson with ABC English Levels, I’ll share my experience on the 1st part of Reading and Use of English.
This was ABC English Levels and Valentine. Goodbye till next week!
