Answers and Discussion

  1. Where has the extract come from?
    It is taken from an article in a journal. It is a continuous text that has been divided into four sections.

  2. What is its relevance to ICFE?
    The extract discusses the value of an MBA in the accountancy profession.

  3. Which did you read first, the questions or the texts?
    Candidates differ in their test-taking strategies, but it probably makes most sense to read the questions first, in order to know what information/key words to scan for in the texts. The questions are printed before the texts, on the left-hand page, for this reason.

  4. How is the phrase ‘does not automatically lead to promotion’ in Question 40 paraphrased in section D?
    The phrase matches with ‘would not greatly enhance career progression’ in section D. Occasionally, the same or similar words may be used in both the question and text but more commonly, different paraphrases are used.

  5. Which word in text B means the same as ‘contacts’ in Question 41?
    The word ‘networking’, which is of a lower frequency than the word ‘contacts’. In order for B2 level candidates to be able to take ICFE, the wording of the questions on the Reading paper (Parts 4 and 6) is generally pitched at a lower level than that of the texts.

  6. How much of text D is relevant to Question 38?
    Most of the quote from Michael Taylor is relevant to this question.  Candidates have to process at sentence level and above to match this question to its text.

  7. How long should candidates spend on Part 4?
    It is difficult to specify how long candidates should spend on any one part, but they should be spending around 40-45 minutes on the final three reading tasks. Of those three, Part 4 probably demands the least time.