Paper format

The paper contains six parts. Each part contains a text and a corresponding comprehension task. One part may contain 5 shorter related extracts.

Length of texts

2050 - 2300 words approximately overall; 200 - 600 words approximately per text.

Questions

52

Text types

Authentic business-related texts from the following: newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, notices, annual reports, company literature, letters, books on topics such as management, advertisements and messages.

Task types

matching, multiple-choice, rational deletion, proof reading.

Task focus

Understanding gist and global meaning, structure and detail, opinion and inference, lexical and collocation knowledge, coherence and cohesion, and error identification.

Answer format

For Parts 1 to 4 of this paper candidates indicate their answers by shading the lozenges on the answer sheet. For Parts 5 and 6 candidates write a one-word answer onto their answer sheet. Sample Answer Sheet (PDF).

Timing

1 hour

Marks

Each item carries 1 mark. The scores are weighted to 30 and are worth 25% of the total exam.

Part

Task type and format

Task focus

Number of questions

1

Matching

There could be a single text or five related shorter texts. The text/texts are preceded by eight statements which can be matched with only one of the texts.

Reading for gist and global meaning.

8

2

Matching

A gapped text with six sentence-length gaps.

Reading for structure and detail.

6

3

4-option multiple-choice

A longer text based on authentic source material. The multiple-choice item may be a question or incomplete sentence. Candidates must choose the correct option. The sentences test opinion and inference not straightforward facts.

Understanding general points and specific details

6

4

4-option multiple-choice cloze

A single business-related gapped text mainly to test vocabulary. Candidates have to choose the correct option from a choice of four words.

Reading - vocabulary and structure

10

5

Rational deletion with open cloze

A single business-related text with structure and discourse gaps. Candidates have to supply a word to fill each gap.

Reading - structure and discourse features

10

6

Proof reading

A short text. Candidates have to identify additional unnecessary words in the text.

Reading - understanding sentence structure; error identification

12