Test 1 answer key with extra explanations

Reading

Part 1
Questions 1–5

1 The correct answer is B: ‘prices reduced’ in the notice are the ‘special offers’ in the answer
and ‘until Friday’ means the offers are available ‘at the moment’. A is not the correct answer
because students do not have to buy things at the college shop, they can buy them in other
places if they want to. C is not the correct answer because the shop is open at lunchtime on
Mondays as well.

2 The correct answer is C: ‘I’ll no longer be able to’ shows that Max and Jake had made
a plan. The arrangement was ‘the shopping trip tomorrow’. ‘I’m afraid I’ll no longer be able
to come’ is cancelling this arrangement. A is not the correct answer because Jake does not
suggest a new date. B is not the correct answer because Jake does not invite Max to meet
Jake’s aunt.

3 The correct answer is A: ‘any pizza’ means ‘All the pizzas ... are included’. B is not the
correct answer because if a customer buys only one pizza, it will cost the full price. It is only
if the customer orders two pizzas that one of these pizzas will be half the price. C is not the
correct answer because the second pizza is not free, it is half-price.

4 The correct answer is C: ‘we could do better!’ shows that Mr Wood wants to improve waste
recycling at school. ‘Please put any suggestions in the box outside my office’ is a request for
new ideas. A is not the correct answer because Mr Woods is asking for suggestions, not making
suggestions himself. B is not the correct answer because Mr Wood wants ideas to be put into
the box outside his office, not the recycling itself.

5 The correct answer is B: ‘admit’ in the answer is suggested by ‘I didn’t say at the time’. ‘I
was a bit frightened!’ in the message shows that Mel found the film scary. A is not the correct
answer because Mel and Sam have already been to cinema. The message is about the film they
saw last night. C is not the correct answer because Mel is not asking about a time or day when
Sam can see another film with her. She’s just saying what type of film she’d like to see.

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Part 2
Questions 6–10

6 The correct answer is G: Ahmed enjoys reading about real people who tell their own story.
In Night Light, ‘the writer tells us how he became a world-class athlete. He talks about his life...’
Ahmed also wants to read a book about someone who has had to deal with difficulties in their
life. In Night Light, the writer ‘talks about his life as a blind person’ and ‘the challenges he faced’.
Overall, the book Night Light provides Ahmed with everything he wants.

Our Lives (H) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it is not about people having
to deal with difficulties.

7 The correct answer is C: Pritti would like to learn ‘as much as possible about top
sportspeople from all over the world’ and Action Plan ‘is all about famous athletes’. Pritti wants
to learn ‘as much as possible’, and Action Plan will tell Pritti about ‘things like the food they eat,
the number of hours they train, and what they do to prepare for important competitions’. Pritti
wants to know about how the sportspeople have ‘managed to achieve their goals’ and Action
Plan has interviews about what the athletes have ‘done to succeed in their careers’. Overall, the
book Action Plan provides Pritti with everything she wants.

Being Me (A) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it is not about how
famous sportspeople achieved their goals.

8 The correct answer is E: Conal loves nature and Days in the Sun is about the countryside.
Conal ‘wants ideas to help him further develop his writing skills’ and in Days in the Sun, the
author ‘describes in detail how he improved his style’. Conal wants a career as a writer. The
author’s ‘experiences will interest anyone who is hoping to get their own work published’.
Overall, the book Days in the Sun provides Conal with everything he wants.

Memories (D) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it does not contain any
information about developing writing skills.

9 The correct answer is B: Elif likes reading about adventures, and flying across the Atlantic is
an adventure. The first pilots who flew across the Atlantic did ‘brave things in the past’. Elif also
likes to read about how people who did brave things in the past ‘have influenced the way we
lived today’. Endless Days has ‘a detailed discussion of the importance of these events for the
modern world’. Overall, the book Endless Days provides Elif with everything she wants.

Parrots in Paradise (F) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it is fiction,
and does not explain how someone’s actions have had an effect on modern life.

10 The correct answer is H: Stefan is ‘keen to discover more about other cultures’. Our Lives
is about ‘how people live in different parts of the world’. Stefan also wants to learn how to make
typical dishes from a variety of countries. Our Lives ‘includes recipes for traditional meals from
these places’ (these ‘places’ mean different parts of the world and a variety of countries). Overall,
the book Our Lives provides Stefan with everything he wants.

Memories (D) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it does not include any
information about cooking.

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Part 3
Questions 11–15

11 The correct answer is C: At the end of the first paragraph, we are told: ‘The track was near
her school, which meant it was no problem for her to attend training sessions after school every
day.’ Because the track was near Vicky’s school, she could get there easily.
A is not the correct answer because Vicky had a swimming coach who thought she could
become a good swimmer – she didn’t have a cycling coach at that time.
B is not the correct answer because no advice is mentioned – Vicky’s parents just let her choose
what she did in her free time. D is not the correct answer because Vicky’s brother bought himself
a bike, he didn’t buy one for her.

12 The correct answer is B: In the second paragraph, Vicky says: ‘I began to get a bit tired of
the whole thing – and when the excitement stops, there’s no point.’ She had become bored with
the races and wanted to try something different.
A is not the correct answer because although Vicky’s age is mentioned, it is not given as the
reason why she stopped cycle racing. C is not the correct answer because Vicky mentions
winning competitions, but not that she had won all the ones she wanted to. D is not the correct
answer because Vicky did not know she would have a new career when she stopped racing. She
says she was ‘lucky’ to have a new career afterwards.

13 The correct answer is D: In the third paragraph, Vicky says about her work with CycleZone,
‘We want them to learn to believe in themselves and their own abilities.’ (‘them’ meaning young
people). A is not the correct answer because CycleZone teaches young people how to ride
a bike, the text doesn’t mention track racing here. B is not the correct answer because the
text does not mention talented kids, in fact it says that they work with people who have never
enjoyed sport. C is not the correct answer because only riding a bike is mentioned here, there is
no mention of learning other sports.

14 The correct answer is A: In the final paragraph, Vicky says: ‘some people aren’t sure
whether the support of a celebrity is always positive for a charity ... prevents the public from
seeing the real work of the charity.’ So the public don’t find out what the charity actually does,
the focus is on the famous person instead. B is not the correct answer because the people Vicky
is talking about say that celebrities are not very helpful. C is not the correct answer because
some people say that the celebrities may not be very helpful, not that they actually make the
pubic care less about the charity. D is not the correct answer because there is no mention in the
text of getting more members of the public (not celebrities) to get involved in the charity.

15 The correct answer is C: In the answer, Vicky says: ‘track cycling is not the only sport I’ve
been good at’ and in the first paragraph of the text we are told: ‘She was a good swimmer ...
become a champion.’ She also says in the answer: ‘I’ve never regretted my choice of career.’ In the
first paragraph, we are told, ‘She says that was the best decision she ever made.’ Even when she
became tired of competitive cycling (see paragraph 2), Vicky was able to do another job connected
with cycling which she really enjoys. A is not the correct answer because Vicky never mentions
knowing she wanted to be a cyclist or work for a charity. In fact, in the first paragraph, she says
that she did lots of different sports and was very good at swimming. B is not the correct answer
because CycleZone is adertised by celebrities – it isn’t a place where you can go and meet famous
people. D is not the correct answer because the text does not say that Vicky goes to visit schools.

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Part 4
Questions 16–20

16 The correct answer is G: In the text before the gap, Taimi ‘wondered how it was going to
work’. This was partly because it ‘would be the first time that anything like this had happened at
Rudolf House’.

17 The correct answer is D: In the text before the gap, the young man was outside Taimi’s
room and Taimi could see him (he ‘appeared’). We can imagine the scene more clearly when we
add the answer sentence.

18 The correct answer is A: In the text before the gap, Jonatan asked Taimi to tell him about
herself. In the answer sentence, Taimi talked about her childhood. In the text after the gap, Taimi
gave more information to Jonatan, ‘She also told him about her family...’.

19 The correct answer is B: In the text before the gap, we are told that Jonatan had been
living with his mother and brother in Helsinki, but that they had moved away while he was in
the middle of a course. The answer sentence refers to this with ‘Therefore’ (for that reason) he
needed somewhere to live.

20 The correct answer is E: In the text before the gap, we are told that over 300 young people
applied to live at Rudolf House, and that they had to attend an interview and write a short
essay. In the answer sentence, ‘In the end’ refers to this process, and ‘them’ refers to ‘over 300
hundred young people’.

B1 Preliminary, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading4

 
Part 5
Questions 21–26

21 The correct answer is A: All the adjectives could describe how Crum felt, but only ‘proud’
can be used with ‘of’.

22 The correct answer is C: To be ‘used to doing something’ means that you normally do
something. The other verbs can’t be followed by a verb in the -ing form.

23 The correct answer is D: to ‘demand’ something means to ‘insist’. The other verbs in their
active form can’t be followed by ‘that + subject + should’.

24 The correct answer is A: If you give an opinion about something, you make a ‘comment’
about it. The other nouns don’t have this meaning.

25 The correct answer is B: ‘huge’ is the only extreme adjective here. Only extreme adjectives
can follow ‘absolutely’.

26 The correct answer is B: If something is ‘intended’, it is done deliberately. The other verbs
can’t be used in the passive form like this followed by the full infinitive (infinitive with ‘to’).

B1 Preliminary, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading5


Part 6
Questions 27–32

27 The correct answer is ‘It’: The structure ‘It wasn’t until... that...’ is being tested here.

28 The correct answer is ‘most’: A superlative form of the adjective is needed after ‘one of the’
followed by the present perfect.

29 The correct answer is ‘all’: ‘after all’ is a fixed phrase which adds information to what has
just been said and also emphasises that what has just been said is very logical in this situation.
It’s like saying: ‘Of course I was sad, it’s obvious that I should be sad, because I had lived in my
old house all my life.’

30 The correct answer is ‘forward’: ‘look forward’ is a phrasal verb. When you ‘look forward’ to
a future event, you feel happy and excited about the event.

31 The correct answer is ‘at’: ‘at least’ is a fixed phrase which is used after some negative
information to introduce a positive idea.

32 The correct answer is ‘if’: This is a conditional sentence: ‘Come along to the party if you are
free on Saturday night’.

B1 Preliminary, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading6