What do you have to do in the B2 FIRST exam?

The use of English and reading parts of the exams are joined. There are 7 tasks in total and the exam lasts for 1.15 minutes. You can do them in any order. My suggestion is to begin with what you find easiest; this will motivate you and also help you if you run out of time and cannot complete the whole part of the test.

(PART 1) For questions 1-8 read the text and decide which word (A-D) best completes the gap

(PART 2) For questions 9-16 read the text and fill on the gap with one word. USE ONLY ONE

(PART 3) For questions 17-24 read the text and use the (root) word given to form the correct word that best completes the sentence

(PART 4) For questions 25-30 complete the sentences with 2-5 words so that it has a similar meaning to the first, include the word given. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD.

(PART 5) For questions 31-6 read the extract of a text and answer the questions with the best option (A-D)

(PART 6) For questions 37-42 read the text and fill in the gaps with the best option (A-G). There is one extra option that is not to be used

(PART 7) For questions 43-52 read the text (A-D) and answer the questions with the best option (A-D)

FCE MOCK EXAM

 

How to do each part of the exam

Part 1: multiple choice gaps fill (A-D) in PDF B2 USE OF ENGLISH PART 1

The key to this part of the exam is to study word patterns and collocations (HERE). You should read the text with the gaps and think, which type of word is missing? Then look at the options and select the best word. If there is an option with two words that mean exactly the same, you know that they will be incorrect because there is only one possible answer. It is important to understand prepositions (HERE) and phrasal verbs (HERE) to pass this part of the exam. You also need to focus on what type of word they are assessing. It can be based on grammar; there is usually only 1 of the 8 gaps. Grammar is assessed with connectives, relative pronouns, quantifiers etc. The vocabulary points (usually 7 of the 8) are based on word patterns, phrasal verbs, collocations or fixed expressions. They key is to look at clues around the gaps (PREPOSITIONS, articles etc.)

Find out how to do this exercise successfully HERE

 

Part 2: one word gaps fill in PDF B2 USE OF ENGLISH PART 2

In this part of the exam you need to complete the text with one word for each gap. It might seem similar to part 1 but this time you need to produce the word. 6 of the 8 gaps are usually based on grammar (connectives, articles, pronouns, auxiliary verbs, quantifiers, determiners etc.) and vocabulary can be based on prepositions, context, phrasal verbs, fixed expressions or word patterns.

FOR EXTRA GRAMMAR STRUCTURES SEE FREE STUDY MATERIAL (PDF)  AND OPEN CLOZE (PART 2) USE OF ENGLISH FOR THE FCE (B2) AND CAE (C1)

Find out how to do this exercises successfully HERE

 

Part 3: word formation in PDF B2 USE OF ENGLISH PART 3

In this part of the exam you need to complete the text by using the root form (basic form) of the word. You need to conjugate the word by adding its prefix or suffix to make sure that it fits into the text and that it makes sense. The idea is to look around the gap and to think of the word class (noun, verb, adverb, adjective), decide if it is affirmative or negative and then later think of the grammar. If it is a verb, which tense? If it is a noun, is it singular or plural? FOR EXTRA VOCABULARY HELP AND ADVICE CLICK HERE

 

Steps to success:

identify the word type

grammar – is it singular or plural? tense of the verb?

is it affirmative or negative? (use the correct prefix or suffix

spell the word correctly

Find out how to do this exercises successfully HERE

 

 

Part 4: transformations (rephrasing) in PDF B2 USE OF ENGLISH PART 4

In this part of the exam you have six sentences to complete. You need to read the first sentence in each question. From this you need to look at the second sentence and think about what information is missing. You must then complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first with 2-5 words (NO MORE). Another thing to understand is that you are provided with a word that you must use in exactly the same form (if it is TOLD, you cannot use tell, telling or any variation of the word. ONLY TOLD). Each of the questions is worth 2 points and the points are based on lexical (vocabulary) or structural (grammatical) points. What they assess in this part of the exam are as follows:

Lexical: phrasal verbs, word patterns, fixed expressions, contextual vocabulary etc. TO IMPROVE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF PREPOSITIONS: HERE

Structural: passive, relative clauses, reported speech, quantifiers, connectors, tense changes, gerund versus infinitive, modal verbs, inversions (rarely), conditionals etc.

Find out how to do this exercises successfully HERE

Try the Deleting Technique. You take the sentence transformation, for example:

You’ll have a great time no matter where you go

REGARDLESS      You’ll have a great time ________ where you go

YOU MUST CONSIDER WHAT IS THE SAME IN BOTH SENTENCES AND THEN DELETE WHAT IS THE SAME IN THE FIRST SENTENCE

You’ll have a great time no matter where you go

REGARDLESS      You’ll have a great time ________ where you go

YOU ARE LEFT WITH NO MATTER AND ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS THINK OF THE SYNONYM FOR IT.

Answer: regardless of

 

Follow up activity 110 EXPRESSIONS FOR KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS FOR THE FCE (B2) AND CAE (C1): You should write down the answers and the common vocabulary. These are almost always synonyms. Write them in a list like…

put up with = tolerate

so that = in order

as long as = provided that

 

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 2

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 3

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 4

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 5

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 6

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 7

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 8

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 9

FCE (B2): KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS 10

 

 

Part 5: comprehension multiple choice

You will read an extract from a novel or an article. You are to answer the 6 questions (A-D). Each is worth 2 points so it is worth taking your time over it. They key is to find/underline the part of the text that refers to the question and analyze the grammar and vocabulary. You should look to discard the incorrect answers through looking at the key points in both the question and the part of the text.

FOR EXTRA READING SEE READING: MULTIPLE CHOICE GAPS FILL

 

Part 6: complete text with missing paragraphs

This is probably the most difficult part of the test. You need to complete the text with the missing section of the paragraph, there are 6 gaps and 7 options. You need to look at the options, ALWAYS START WITH THE OPTIONS and the around the gap. You are looking for similar words, tenses of verbs etc. There are always two easier answers, look to find these and then start building from there. There are normally 2 difficult points because they are based on general meaning. My tip is that if there are two options that are very similar. One of them is very likely to be the extra (not needed) option.

IMPROVING VOCABULARY FOR READING Vocabulary acquisition and how it has changed – a message to language learners

 

Part 7: answer questions with the correct text

In this part of the exam you have 4 or 5 short texts and 10 questions about them. You need to answer each question by saying to which text it refers (A-E). You need to START WITH THE QUESTIONS, and then look in the text for similar vocabulary or themes. You should SCAN READ, meaning, not focussing on overall comprehension but LOOK FOR KEY INFORMATION. SEE OUR POST ON STUDY SKILLS HERE

 

For a full course to pass the B2 FIRST exam see WWW.APPF.ES (IT INCLUDES 1000´S OF REAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH FULL SUPPORT FROM TUTORS AND QUALIFIED CAMBRIDGE EXAMINERS)