Introduction

Remember: for this paper you have to put your answers on a separate answer sheet. You should do this with a soft pencil by filling in shapes which can be recognized by a computer. (If you are not sure how to do this, you will see an example at the top of the exam paper.)

The texts are mainly adapted from real-life texts that have been taken from English newspapers and magazines. Some of these are rather interesting, and you might enjoy reading them if you were not doing an examination. Other texts might be from things like an instruction manual or an information brochure. The CAE reading exam does not test your understanding of literature, so your text will not come from a literary work.

The material in the test was originally written to inform or entertain readers. You can expect narratives, descriptions and comment, as well as purely informational texts. Sometimes the writer is neutral about his subject, and at other times he has a strong opinion. If you think the writer is expressing an opinion, make sure that you study the text carefully to find out what it is.

It is a good idea to read the questions before you start reading the texts. Read the text once quickly. Then read a second time, looking at each question when you think you have found the answer to it. Remember that the first possible answer in the text may not be the correct one. Once you have completed your answers for the entire paper, go back and look for careless errors. Be careful with other corrections - studies have shown that many students change correct answers to wrong answers when they do their final check.

The best way to prepare for this test is to read as much as you can. Look for articles of about 1,000 words in length. When you have finished, try to explain to an imaginary listener what the text was about. Do several practice tests so that you are sure that you can complete all parts of the test in good time.

The reading test is paper 1 of the Cambridge Advanced English exam. You have to read four different texts, each several hundred words in length making a total of about 3 000 words. The different parts of the paper check different reading skills; including your ability to find particular types of information, to understand the structure of a composition and its overall meaning.

You are allowed allowed 1 hour 15 minutes for the paper. There are 40 - 50 questions which give you 20% of your total mark.

Part 1. Twelve to eighteen questions, for one mark each. You need to look for particular information in the text.
Part 2. Six to seven questions, for two marks each. You need to put paragraphs into the text to show you have understood how the text has been written.
Part 3. Five to seven questions, for two marks each. Reading followed by questions, each with a choice of A,B,C,or D for the correct answer.
Part 4. Twelve to twenty-two questions, for one mark each. Looking for particular information. Sometimes you will have several short texts.