The Reading Paper

PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
In this part, there is an emphasis on detailed understanding of a text,
including the expression of opinion, attitude, purpose, main idea,
detail, tone and gist. Candidates are also tested on their ability to
recognise meaning from context and follow text organisation
features, such as exemplification, comparison and reference.
Part 1 consists of a text, followed by eight 4-option multiplechoice
questions which test the understanding of content and
text organisation. The text may be taken from, for example, an
article or a modern novel. Questions may focus on the main
ideas or details in the text, and on the attitudes or opinions
expressed. Candidates may also be asked to deduce the
meaning of a word or phrase and to demonstrate
understanding of references, such as pronouns, within the
text. Additionally, questions may focus on the tone of the text
or the writer’s purpose, as well as the use of exemplification or
comparison. These questions may require candidates to infer
the meaning from clues in the text, a skill which is an
essential part of reading ability.
The 4-option multiple choice questions are presented in the
same order as the information in the text so that candidates
can follow the development of the writer’s ideas as they work
through the questions. The final question may require
candidates to interpret an aspect of the text as a whole.
PART 2: GAPPED TEXT
In this part, there is an emphasis on text structure, cohesion and
coherence, and candidates’ ability to follow the development of a long
text.
Each correct answer in Part 2 receives 2 marks.
Part 2 consists of one text from which seven sentences have
been removed and placed in jumbled order after the text,
together with an eighth sentence which does not fit in any of
the gaps. Candidates are required to decide from where in the
text each sentence has been removed. Each sentence may be
used only once, and there is one sentence that candidates do
not need to use. The task tests understanding of how texts are
structured.
Rather than concentrating on individual sentences, candidates
need to be able to follow the development of ideas, opinions
and events through the text as a whole, using their
understanding of text coherence and cohesion devices. This
task is particularly effective in helping to distinguish between
stronger and weaker candidates at FCE level.
PART 3: MULTIPLE MATCHING
In this part, there is an emphasis on locating specific information and
detail, and recognising opinion and attitude, in one long text or a
group of short texts.
Each correct answer in Part 3 receives 1 mark.
Part 3 consists of one long text or up to six shorter texts,
preceded by 15 questions. Candidates are required to locate
the specific information which matches the questions. To do
this, they need to understand detail, attitude or opinion in the
question and locate a section of text where that idea is
expressed, discounting ideas in other sections which may
appear similar but which do not reflect the whole of the
question accurately. Some of the options may be correct for
more than one question, and there may be more than one
correct answer to some questions. If so, the instructions to
candidates will say this.