B2 First Exam Guide: Reading Comprehension Multiple Choice
Reading & Use of English Paper
Contents
Overview
Context: Part 5 of the B2 First Reading and Use of English paper includes a text accompanied by six 4-option multiple-choice questions.
Task: The task involves understanding the content and organisation of a text, which may be extracted from a modern novel or an article. Questions target main ideas, details, attitudes, opinions, the meaning of words or phrases, and understanding of textual references.
Objective: To assess the ability to comprehend detailed content, deduce meanings, and understand the tone and purpose of a text.
Scoring & Marks: The six questions are worth twelve points, so two points for each. There are 70 points available for the whole Reading & Use of English paper.
How to Approach
- Reading the Text: Start by reading the entire text to grasp its overall meaning and structure.
- Understanding Questions: Focus on what each question asks, paying attention to whether it refers to main ideas, specific details, or the writer's tone and purpose.
- Avoiding Word Spotting: Be cautious of selecting an answer just because it contains a word found in the text. Ensure that the meaning of the chosen option aligns with the text.
- Inference Skills: Practice inferring meanings from the text, a key skill in reading comprehension.
- Analysing Sentence Construction: For questions in the form of incomplete sentences, ensure that the entire sentence aligns with the text, not just a phrase in one of the options.
Example Question
For centuries, the common view of how domestication had occurred was that prehistoric people, realizing how useful it would be to have captive herds of food animals, began capturing wild animals and breeding them. Over time, by allowing only animals with "tame" characteristics to mate and produce offspring, human beings created animals that were less wild and more dependent upon people.
1. According to traditional theories of domestication, how were wild animals tamed?
capturing only smaller animals
selective breeding
aggression and control
Assessment Focus
This section tests the candidate's comprehension skills, including understanding of the main ideas, details, tone, writer's purpose, and the ability to infer meanings from the text.
Tips
- Develop skills in quickly identifying key information in texts.
- Practice understanding the tone and purpose of different types of texts.
- Practise summarising texts in your own words, focusing on capturing the main ideas and underlying messages.
How It Looks
Student Suggestion
"I practised reading faster to gain a quicker understanding of a text or paragraph that I was working with, then I would check afterwards to see if I was right." - Sofia Ribeiro
Practice Exercises
We have a page on the site to practise: B2 First: Reading Comprehension Multiple Choice Exercises
