Reading CAE

Reading & Use of English– Tips & Tasks | C1 Advanced (CAE)
Part I: Multiple Choice Cloze
Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part I
1. When building your vocabulary power for the paper, note the collocation,
the differentiating sets of similar words and complementation (e.g. whether
words are followed by a certain preposition, by a gerund or an infinitive etc.)
2. Look closely at each of the options before choosing an answer. Some of the
options may seem correct, but only one choice will be semantically and
grammatically correct in that particular context.
https://app.engxam.com/cae/reading/1/
Part 2: Open Cloze
Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part 2
1. Engage in tasks that help you develop your grammatical accuracy,

especially those that focus on verb forms and the use of auxiliary and modal
verbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, modifiers and determiners.
2. Remember only one word is required for each question. Answers that have
more than one word will not earn the mark.
3. Some gaps in this section can be answered by referring just to the immediate
phrase or sentence, but other items will require an understanding of
the paragraph or whole text.
https://app.engxam.com/cae/use-of-english/2/
CAE) Reading & Use of English Part 3: Word Formation
Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 3
1. Preparation tasks that promote familiarity with the principles of word

formation, including use of prefixes, suffixes, internal changes, will be helpful.
2. Remember you need to fully comprehend the context of each gap in the text
to decide which part of speech (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) is needed.
3. Sometimes you may need to provide a negative prefix. Traditionally there is
usually at least one world requiring a prefix in each Part 3 task, so remember
to look for these.
Part 4: Key Word Transformations
1. Practice transformation tasks which increase awareness of expressions with

parallel or synonymous meanings and develop flexibility in the use of
language.
2. Remember that the keyword MUST be used in each answer and that
the keyword may NOT be changed in any way.
3. Also your answer must NOT exceed six words. Contractions do count as two
words.
Part 5: Multiple Choice
1. Familiarise yourself with a variety of sources, registers, topics and lexical

fields. In your preparation practise reading a text quickly for an initial overall
impression, then followed by a close reading of the text to prevent any
misunderstanding.
2. Read the question and underline the part of the text which answers the
question. Examine the options and decide which is the closest to answering
the question. Often candidates mistakenly only briefly refer to the text when
answering a question and just choose an answer which sounds plausible or
supports their own ideas.
3. Check the questions that take the form of incomplete sentences carefully; the
whole sentence must reflect what is written in the text and not merely the
phrase in the four options provided.
4. Read materials that express opinions, attitudes and feelings such as
interviews with famous people that explore how they became successful or
short stories that relate how characters interpret the circumstances they
endure. Engage also in activities that focus on recognising and evaluating
attitudes and opinions.
5. Have practice in text organisation features. You may encounter a question,
for example, that evaluates your ability to distinguish between a main idea
and an example or one which requires you to draw connections between an
abstract argument and a concrete illustration.
Part 6: Cross Textual Multiple-Matching
1. Familiarise yourself with reading samples that express various viewpoints on a

related theme, such as different reviews of the same book or some experts
giving their opinion on a subject.
2. The texts will feature a sophisticated reading level without assuming in-depth
subject-specific knowledge, so develop your skills in using complex
vocabulary and the structures.
3. Read the texts to gather the general attitude of each writer on the subject
being discussed. Underlining the part or parts of a text that expresses an
opinion or attitude and then determining whether this is negative or positive is
helpful.
COMMON TRAPS 1 - WHO?
Imagine a text that describes how George Lucas irritated his fans by changing Star
Wars.
Then there's a question:
How did George Lucas feel about the new version of Star Wars?
A - irritated.
The answer can't be A because it was the FANS who were irritated.
COMMON TRAPS 2 - THE MOST
Questions like this are common: What was his main field of interest? / What was his
most valuable painting? / Which subject did he specialise in?
The text might mention several interests, multiple paintings, many subjects. But only
one is the main; only one is the most valuable; only one is his specialty.
COMMON TRAPS 3 - SUSPICIOUSLY OBVIOUS CONNECTIONS
The text says 'The writer cancelled his projected holiday.'
One of the questions asks, 'What was the writer's attitude to the holiday?'
And option A is 'He had foreseen the need to take out travel insurance.' It's a trap! A
good student understands that 'projected' and 'foreseen' are similar sorts of word,
but this part of the test is about understanding the text, not just individual words. So
be suspicious if it is this easy. Reading again, more slowly, leads us to see that the
two sentences have nothing to do with each other.
4. A quick case study
Let's take a look at a paragraph and question from the Cambridge CAE handbook.
Take a couple of minutes to read the text, the question, and the answers.
“This book examines how the ever-changing role of colour in society has been
reflected in manuscripts, stained glass, clothing, painting and popular culture.
Colour is a natural phenomenon, of course, but it is also a complex cultural construct
that resists generalization and, indeed, analysis itself. No doubt this is why serious
works devoted to colour are rare, and rarer still are those that aim to study it in
historical context. Many authors search for the universal or archetypal truths they
imagine reside in colour, but for the historian, such truths do not exist. Colour is first
and foremost a social phenomenon. There is no transcultural truth to colour
perception, despite what many books based on poorly grasped neurobiology or –
even worse – on pseudoesoteric pop psychology would have us believe. Such
books unfortunately clutter the bibliography on the subject, and even do it harm.”
Q - What problem regarding colour does the writer explain in the first paragraph?
A - Our view of colour is strongly affected by changing fashion.
B - Analysis is complicated by the bewildering number of natural colours.
C - Colours can have different associations in different parts of the world.
D - Certain popular books have dismissed colour as insignificant.
Whoo! That's a lot of text to read and understand in two minutes. And this is just one
question. Now you see why you have to hurry through parts 1-4...
The first thing to look at is answer B, because there doesn't seem to be anything in
the text about a 'bewildering number of natural colours'. Scan through the text
again looking for words that mean 'a large number' or 'bewildering'. There is
'complex' which some students might connect with bewildering, but nothing about
numbers. We can rule B out.
A seems to be possible because of the sentence 'colour is first and foremost a social
phenomenon.' Doesn't that mean fashion? Well, no. Fashion is one small component
of society. So, no, it's not A.
D also seems plausible, until we read it more carefully. It says 'certain popular books'
which means best-selling books, but the text says 'pop psychology'. Pop psychology
means 'popular psychology' - which is psychology made simple for the general
public to understand. It doesn't mean popular as in best-selling. Furthermore, the
pop psychology books say there is a 'transcultural truth to colour perception' - they
don't say that colour is insignificant. So we have two reasons to cross out answer D.
So what does 'There is no transcultural truth to colour perception' MEAN, anyway?

Transcultural means 'across cultures'. Association can mean perception. So another
way to write the sentence would be 'Colour can have different associations in
different parts of the world.' Ding ding ding! So it is C…
NOT EASY. Make sure you give yourself enough time in the exam to go through this
process, and make it easier for yourself by reading as much as you can between
now and the exam.
Part 7: Gapped Text
Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part 7
1. Read the text as a whole and not to focus on each gap individually. Often
candidates select the wrong answer by choosing an option that fits the text
before the gap, but neglect to check that the text after the gap continues
smoothly.
2. At times you may need to choose between two paragraphs as possible
answers and will need to practice making decisions about which is the most
logical paragraph to complete the gap. Practice recognising a variety of
linguistic devices that mark the logical and cohesive construction of a text,
such as words and phrases that indicate time, cause and effect, contrasting
arguments use of pronouns, paraphrasing of vocabulary, repetition and the
use of verb tenses.
3. Be aware of the risks of approaching the gapped-text task as an
exercise requiring you to identify extracts from the text and sections in the
text containing the same words including names and dates. The task aims to
evaluate your understanding of the development of ideas, opinions and
events rather than the recognition of individual words.
Part 8: Multiple Matching
1. Practice skimming and scanning texts to prepare for the multiple-matching

task. Practise examining texts for particular information required without
reading every word in the text. Also practise reading under timed conditions.
2. Note that the questions for the multiple-matching task are printed before the
text so that you know what to look for in the text.
3. Notice the particular wording of questions as these are intended to lead the
reader to specific information and to disregard unnecessary information. You
may find it helpful to underline key words in the questions, as this helps you to
find the information in the text which contains the answers.
4. Sometimes a question may consist of two parts: such as an author’s surprise
at being confronted by a difficult matter. You may find evidence of a hard
situation in a section of the passage but fail to understand that it may be the
incorrect section as no surprise is expressed in that part. it is essential that you
comprehend that you need to find a paraphrased form of the whole
question, not just one part.

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Reading & Use of English– Tips & Tasks | C1 Advanced (CAE)

Part I: Multiple Choice Cloze

Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part I

Part 2: Open Cloze

Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part 2

1. Engage in tasks that help you develop your grammatical accuracy,

CAE) Reading & Use of English Part 3: Word Formation

Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 3

1. Preparation tasks that promote familiarity with the principles of word

Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 4

1. Practice transformation tasks which increase awareness of expressions with

Part 5: Multiple Choice

Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 5

1. Familiarise yourself with a variety of sources, registers, topics and lexical

Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 6

1. Familiarise yourself with reading samples that express various viewpoints on a

COMMON TRAPS 1 - WHO?

Then there's a question:

COMMON TRAPS 2 - THE MOST

COMMON TRAPS 3 - SUSPICIOUSLY OBVIOUS CONNECTIONS

The text says 'The writer cancelled his projected holiday.'

4. A quick case study

A - Our view of colour is strongly affected by changing fashion.

B - Analysis is complicated by the bewildering number of natural colours.

C - Colours can have different associations in different parts of the world.

D - Certain popular books have dismissed colour as insignificant.

So what does 'There is no transcultural truth to colour perception' MEAN, anyway?

Part 7: Gapped Text

Tips for Reading and Use of English- Part 7

Part 8: Multiple Matching

Tips for Reading and Use of English – Part 8

1. Practice skimming and scanning texts to prepare for the multiple-matching

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