B2 Reading Cambridge Masterclass
We are delighted to announce our latest publication…
Published: 2024
ISBN: 9781915654175
Examiner guidance on how to plan a response to exemplar Reading questions, with 4 extra practice tests
There are three parts to the B2 First Reading exam.
This write-in student book focuses on each exam part individually, explaining its characteristics and providing guidance on how to respond to the questions.
In preparation for taking on several exam-styled texts and questions, each unit contains a series of practice exercises with detailed answer keys that clarify how and why answers are correct.
For each exam part, there are two full-length exam-styled texts with questions and answer keys that explain why the correct answers are correct as well as pointing out why candidates may have chosen incorrect answers.
The four exam-styled practice tests included in this resource will allow the reader to consolidate their approach to the different types of reading task that will be assessed.
About the author
Simon Haines is an ELT writer, teacher and teacher trainer who has written a wide range of course books, skills materials and teacher handbooks. He is co-author of the coursebook Landmark (OUP) and exam titles First Masterclass (OUP), IELTS Masterclass (OUP) and Complete Advanced (CUP).
Working with Simon on producing this resource has been a very enjoyable experience. We asked him some questions concerning the B2 Reading exam….
What reading skills are expected of candidates taking the Cambridge B2 First exam?
Perhaps, most importantly, you’ll be expected to read a range of different types of text and understand their overall meaning – that means the main idea or theme as well as understanding specific details in in the text. You’ll also be expected to show that you understand the structure of texts – that means the way sentences and paragraphs relate logically to each other.
What part of the Reading paper do you think candidates struggle with the most, and why?
From my own experience of teaching at this level, I’d say it is Part 5 that students struggle most with. This is because only one of the four multiple choice questions is correct, but the other three questions may seem possible. You have to read the texts and the questions very carefully to identify the correct answer. This is often because of ‘distractors’.
What are ‘distractors’ and how can candidates identify these?
Distractors are wrong answers that are similar to the right answer. They are included to check whether you can match a question with a text correctly. Basically, the examiners are trying to catch you out – to tempt you to choose an incorrect answer.
How important is it to be able to read quickly?
Reading Parts 5–7 follow the Use of English section (Parts 1–4) of this paper. For this reason, it is very important that you plan how much time to spend on each section of the paper. It is essential that you don’t run out time and this will almost certainly mean that you won’t have time to read all the texts in as much details as you’d like. So keep an eye on the clock!
This book is the latest addition to our Cambridge Masterclass series:
