Take this fortnight reading and use of English quiz and boost your preparation for the Cambridge B2 First exam.
Roll up your sleeves and sharpen your wits!
Good luck!
Reading and Use of English, Part 1
Read the sentence. Decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits the gap.
Do you know who ………….. the fact that sound travels in waves?
A. invented
B. developed
C. discovered
D.found
Reading and Use of English, Part 2
Read the sentence. Think of the word which best fits the gap. Use only one word.
The distance from the Earth to the Sun is, ………….. average, about 150 million kilometres.
Reading and Use of English, Part 3
Read the sentence below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of the line to form a word that fits in the gap.
I’m planning to train as a ………….. when I grow up. PSYCHOLOGY
Reading and Use of English, Part 4
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
I can’t wait until my childhood friend and I get together this winter holidays to discuss what has been happening in our life.
FORWARD
I’m really ………………………………………………………… with my childhood friend when we meet this winter holiday.
Reading and Use of English, Part 5
Read the extract. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the most successful artist of the last 50 years, excitedly skips along the red carpet of the Park Lane Hilton Hotel before collecting his Bafta Fellowship, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, lifetime achievement award. A huge smile doesn’t leave his face in the evening. It no doubt masks a desire to escape the limelight he’s reluctant to embrace; to return home to his wife, two children and his true out-of-work passion, playing and appreciating bluegrass music.
The writer suggests that on the evening that Miyamoto receives his Bafta Fellowship, the artist
A has secret thoughts of changing his career.
B dislikes the physical contact at the ceremony.
C questions whether he deserves the award.
D would be happier if he were somewhere else.
Reading and Use of English, Part 6
Read the extract. One sentence has been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences (A-C) the one which fits the gap.
A day in the life of a radio news presenter
Without doubt, the worst part of my job is the unearthly hour that I have to get up at every day. This puts me in a foul mood for at least two hours as I am not, nor have I ever been, a morning person!
´Why, then?’ people ask me, ‘Why do you have a job that means you have to get up at 3.45 in the morning?’ The simple answer is that the job of presenting the breakfast news programme on a radio station is what I have always wanted to do.
♦ ?
But there are no two ways about it – I am still not a morning person!
A. However, that’s all part of the job, and the unpredictability is one of the reasons I love it so much.
B. Of course, I realize there’s a contradiction here, and shouldn’t be moaning about getting up early when my job is the envy of hundreds of other ‘would-be’ presenters in Australia.
C. A couple of strong coffees later, however, I feel better able to face the day and my grumpiness begins to lift.
Reading and Use of English, Part 7
You are going to read a magazine article about parents of young children and what they take on holiday with them.
For questions 1-10, choose the ones that are mentioned in the text.
Our twins generally get on quite well, but after a few days on holiday, they get fed up with being together all the time and everybody often loses tempers. So we always make a point just before we start our journey of buying a few new toys and games to take with us. They give us a chance to calm things down at moments of high tension and help restore the peace between them. We don’t tell the girls we’ve bought these things, so it comes as a pleasant surprise for them when we suddenly produce them. That’s part of the trick, of course. The other thing is that because these disputes are quite frequent when we’re away, we only buy fairly cheap things – otherwise we couldn’t afford to have a holiday!
Which parents
- do not allow their children to do certain activities when travelling?
- are generally pleased at their children’s growing desire for independence?
- have children who grow tired of each other’s company on holiday?
- have avoided one problem but created another?
- accept that they are sometimes overcautious?
- have experience of their children being unwell as the result of an activity?
- keep something secret from their children until it is needed?
- are amused by the results of their children’s activities?
- have no objections to the repetitive nature of a particular activity?
- have not needed to make use of something they always take on holiday?
Part 1: C
Note: If we had the preposition out instead of the fact after the gap, the answer would be D: found. To find out means to discover information or a fact.
Part 2: ON
Note: More examples of word patterns and collocations with average: (to improve) by an average of, to be above average, be below/above average, to be higher/lower than average, the weekly average, to spend an average of, average income/snowfall, etc
Part 3: PSYCHOLOGIST
Part 4: LOOKING FORWARD TO CATCHING UP
Note: The expression to look forward to means to feel pleased and excited about something that is going to happen. It is followed by either a noun or a verb +“ING”. To catch up with someone means to communicate with someone by talking in person or on the phone or by exchanging messages, and learn or discuss the latest events.
As you see, Reading and Use of English part 4 is THE task which assesses your control of both grammar and vocabulary components at B2 level. This exact question is challenging you on your control of gerunds and infinitives, and phrasal verbs.
Part 5: D
Note: (there’s) no two ways about it refers to something that you say in order to emphasize that something is true.
Part 6: B
Part 7: 3, 7
- B2 First Reading and Use of English Quiz
- B2 First Reading and Use of English Quiz 2
- B2 First Reading and Use of English Quiz 3
