A2 KeyおよびB1 Preliminary (KET, PET) · Cambridge English · B1 Preliminary (PET)

B1 Preliminary (PET) 剑桥B1初级考试 Reading opens with the same two beasts as A2 Key, one level bigger: Part 1, five short notices with three options each, and Part 2, five people matched to eight short texts.

• Everything from A2 Key still applies: correct answers are paraphrased 改述; traps repeat the text's words.
• The B1 upgrade: the texts are longer, the paraphrase is deeper, and the distractors 干扰项 are smarter.
• Memory hook: at A2 the trap repeats the words; at B1 the trap repeats the idea, wrongly. Read for meaning, or the trap wins.
• Reading is 45 minutes for six parts. Budget: Parts 1–2 are the fast ones — about 10 minutes together.

Five short real-world texts: a sign, a message, a timetable note. Three options each.

• The options are now two-step paraphrases: the text says "students must return books before the last week of term", the answer says "books cannot be kept until the holidays". Same fact, new clothes.
• ⚠ Watch for scope 范围 words: all / most / some / must / can / may. The trap changes may to must and hopes you're tired.
• Strategy: as at A2, say the text's meaning in one Chinese sentence, then match the meaning — never the words.

Five people with needs; eight short texts (courses, hotels, films, museums). Match five.

• The A2 rule grows teeth: wrong texts satisfy two of three needs — and at B1, some satisfy three of four. Count every requirement 要求, including the quiet ones like "cheap" or "for beginners" 初学者.
• Strategy: write each person's needs as a checklist 清单 of three or four items, then tick texts against it. The text with all ticks wins.
• ⚠ Two people can never share a text. If two answers point at the same text, one of them is wrong. Re-read both checklists.

• ⚠ The deeper paraphrase punishes word-matching harder. At B1, the correct answer may share zero content words with the text. Trust your one-sentence meaning, not your eyes.
• ⚠ Scope words are the mark-stealers. some, most, all, only, except — underline them in both text and options before choosing.
• ⚠ Don't drift over time. Parts 1–2 fund the rest of the paper. Ten minutes, then move; the long texts in Part 3–4 eat whatever you leave them.
• ⚠ Answer sheet discipline 答题卡纪律: Reading has no transfer time. Mark as you go.

Reading Parts 3 and 4 are the long texts. Part 3: one text with five 4-option questions on detailed meaning 细节理解. Part 4: a text with five sentences removed — you put them back from a list of eight. That second part is the famous one, and the one students fear most.

• Part 3 is A2's Part 3 grown up: questions in text order, answers paraphrased, feelings and opinions now included.
• Part 4 is a jigsaw 拼图: the removed sentences are held in place by glue — pronouns, time words, linkers and repeated ideas.
• Memory hook: Part 3 asks what does it mean? Part 4 asks where does it snap in? Meaning in one, cohesion 衔接 in the other.

Five questions, four options each, in text order.

• The questions now ask about opinion, attitude 态度 and implication 言外之意: What does the writer think about…? What does she suggest?
• The correct option paraphrases the text; the traps are half-true: right fact, wrong judgement.
• ⚠ "What does the writer suggest?" is not "what does the text say?" Suggestion lives in should, might, it's worth, if I were you. Hunt the modal words.
• Strategy: question → locate the paragraph → read two lines around it → paraphrase it yourself → match. The A2 map still works; the roads are longer.

Five gaps, eight sentences. Three sentences are decoys 诱饵.

• The glue is visible. Check both sides of each gap:
  • Pronouns 代词: he, it, they, this — the sentence before must contain the person or thing.
  • Time and order words: then, after that, at first, finally.
  • Linkers: but, however, so, although — the two sides must contrast or agree as the linker demands.
  • Repeated ideas: the gap's neighbours and the sentence must be about the same thing.
• Strategy: fill the easiest gap first. Each placed sentence shrinks the decoy list.

• ⚠ The decoys are written to fit grammatically. Grammar alone can't solve the jigsaw; meaning and cohesion can. A decoy fits the grammar and betrays the logic.
• ⚠ Pronoun hunting is the highest-value habit. Every he/this/it in a candidate sentence must have an owner in the text before the gap. No owner, no place.
• ⚠ Implication questions: the answer is not written in the text — it is justified 有依据 by it. The difference: the text never says it directly, but says everything needed to conclude it.
• ⚠ Don't spend ten minutes on one gap. Place the easy ones, take the best guess on the last, and move. A guess beats a gap, and the clock is a budget.

Reading Parts 5 and 6 are the clozes 完形填空 at B1: Part 5, six gaps with four options each (vocabulary and collocation); Part 6, six gaps with no options (grammar words).

• Part 5 is the A2 shelf with a fourth option and meaner choices: the four words are often near-synonyms 近义词, and only one collocates 搭配.
• Part 6 is the open cloze: articles, prepositions, pronouns, auxiliaries, linkers — the small words, one per gap.
• Memory hook: Part 5 is a chess opening 国际象棋开局 — many moves look natural, one is right. Part 6 is still the kitchen: cook the word yourself.

Same kitchen as A2 Part 5, with a bigger menu: the grammar words now include the B1 machinery.

• The relative pronouns join the menu: the shop ___ I bought it → where. B1's grammar pays its rent here.
• ⚠ One word per gap, spelled right, capital letter when the gap opens a sentence. The A2 rules never retired.

• ⚠ The four-option friendliness is fake. At A2, two options were obviously wrong. At B1, all four look friendly. Slow down and check collocation.
• ⚠ Chinese verb-noun pairs don't map. 做作业 is do homework, 犯错误 is make a mistake — the pair must be learned as a pair. The cloze is where unlearned pairs come to collect their debt.
• ⚠ Read the sentence after the gap too. The answer often hides in the next line, especially prepositions: "she insisted ___ going" — the gap and its after-word decide together.
• ⚠ Don't leave the have/has/had chain broken. "I ___ never seen snow" → have. The perfect needs its helper; the gap is often exactly that helper.

B1 Preliminary Writing Part 1: responsive email（返信メール）— 友人へのメールに対する返信で、100单词程度。友人のメールには四つのヒントが含まれる（明示的または非明示的）：2つの質問に加え、反応すべき要素（招待状、お知らせ、謝罪、提案）。

• 採点基準：コンテンツ（四つのヒントすべてに回答）、コミュニケーションのトーン（親しみやすく自然）、構成（段落、挨拶、結び）、および言語（正確かつ多様性）。
• 記憶のフック：届いたメールは四つのリボンがついたバトンである。返信ではすべてのリボンを触れる必要がある。
• 二つの作文問題に45分；そのうちメールには約20分を割く。

返信には四つの部分があり、その構造は変わらない：

1. 挨拶: Hi Sam, / Dear Mia,
2. まず反応する: Thanks for your email! Great news about the competition! — 回答する前に反応すること。これが単なる形式書式ではなく「返信」であることを示す。
3. 各ヒントに答える: メール内の順序通り、それぞれ短い段落一つ、あるいは二文ずつ。
4. 結び: Write soon. / See you Friday! / Best, + 氏名。

モデル（ヒント：週末旅行への招待、持ち物、出発時間、天気について質問あり）：

Hi Alex, 招待ありがとうございます！ぜひ行きたいです！湖での週末は素晴らしいですね。 何を持参すべきか尋ねられていたので: 寝袋と旅のおやつを持って行きます。村の店はいつも閉まっているからです。他に何か必要なら教えてくださいね。 土曜日の8時出発なら問題ありません。私はもともと早起きなので、10分前に駅でお会いします。 雨のことも心配しないでください！前回の旅行では雨が降りましたが、テントの中でカードゲームをして楽しんだのが、旅の中で一番の思い出でした。 またすぐ会えるのを楽しみにしています、 Lin

4つのリボンが交差し、101文字、温かみのあるトーン。読んで4つのヒント（反応、持ち物、出発時間、雨）を見つけなさい。

• ⚠ 反応の文は答案用紙上で最も安価なポイント源です。これを省略すると、正解だが冷たいロボットのようなメールになり、点数が下がります。

• ⚠ 4つのヒントすべてに答える。 採点基準にはこれを含みます。3つのヒントしか答えていない美しさのあるメールより、4つ全てを答えた質素なメールの方が勝つ。
• ⚠ トーン：温かく個人的に。 I am writing to inform you ✗ — これはビジネスレターです。 Thanks for your email! ✅。文体は「友情」レベルであるべきです。
• ⚠ 中国語の手紙の慣習はそのまま通用しません：「」のような固定された結びの言葉は使わないでください。 Write soon / See you / Best が基本のバリエーションです。
• ⚠ 質問文をそのまま答えにコピーしないでください。 "You asked what I will bring." ✗ — 単に持ってくることを伝えます： I'll bring…。間接引用法はB1文法のためのものであり、B1のメールには適していません。
• ⚠ 確認に2分残す：記事、三人称-s、過去形動詞。A2と同じ3つの定番問題で、同点値。

あなたの友人Anaからのメッセージ： "土曜日のパーティーに来られない——本当にごめんね！急用が出てしまったんだ。来週末に別日でも会うことはできる？ どちらの日があなたにとって良い？ そして、パーティーの状況も教えてね！"

ヒント：お詫び、新しい計画、日付の質問、パーティーの情報。約100文字で書きなさい。

モデル回答（98文字）： Hi Ana, 心配しないで！あなたを愛してるけど、こういうことはあるものよ 来週末なら私に都合が合うよ。日曜日の午後はどう？ 午後3時ごろにあなたの家に来られるから、あなたが教えてくれたあの映画をようやく観られるね。土曜日は無理だよ、サッカーの練習が6時まであるから パーティーを欠席して悲しまないで： really silly games を計画してるし、お母さんが大きなチョコレートケーキを焼いてくれるんだ。たくさん写真を撮るから、日曜日に会ったときに全部のゴシップを教えてあげる 早く返事してね! Bo

モデルにある4つのヒントを見つけなさい：謝罪（行 1）、新しい計画（Next weekend works）、日の質問（Sunday afternoon、土曜日が難しい理由）、パーティーのニュース（games, cake, photos）。

まず答えを記し、その後に解説を読むこと。

1. ヒントはいくつ？ — 4つ。すべてのリボンを触れなさい。
2. 返信の最初の文 — 反応: Great news! / Don't worry at all. 返信は反応を示すが、形式そのものではない。
3. I am writing to inform you… — ✗ → Thanks for your email! フレンドシップ・レジスター（友だちリスト）。
4. "You asked which day is better." — ✗ → Sunday is better for me. 答えて、伝聞はしない。
5. 長さ — 約100語。20分後、Part 2へ。

Writing Part 2 gives you a choice 二选一: an article 文章 for a magazine or website (~100 words, with a title question like "What's your favourite place?"), or a story starting from a given sentence.

• Both are ~100 words. Both want organisation, a clear voice, and correct, varied language.
• Memory hook: the article answers the reader; the story moves the reader. Pick the one you can write better today — there is no prize for choosing the harder one.
• Choose fast: 30 seconds of deciding, not five minutes. The clock is a budget.

Structure: title question → your answer → two reasons or examples → a closing line, all with personality 个性.

• Open by answering directly: My favourite place is the school roof at sunset. Then two reasons: what you see, how it feels. Close with an invitation: Go there once. You'll see.
• ⚠ An article is not an essay 议论文. It's a magazine page: direct, personal, a little lively. You-questions are welcome: Have you ever watched the sky turn pink?
• The examiners reward a voice 声音: an opinion, an example, a small joke. Correct and boring is a C; correct and alive is a B.

The task gives the first sentence: "The door opened slowly, and I couldn't believe my eyes."

• The given sentence is a springboard 跳板: continue it, don't restart it. It sets tense (past), place and mood — inherit 继承 all three.
• The story machine from A2 Part 7 works here: background (past continuous), events (past simple), one feeling per paragraph, connectors to move time.
• End with a turn 转折 or a feeling: I never found out who left the key. I never needed to.
• ⚠ 100 words is short. One scene, one moment, one turn. A story that tries to fit a whole week reads like a timetable.

• ⚠ Don't write the 八股. The template essay — Nowadays… With the development of… In conclusion… — is instantly recognisable and quietly penalised 扣分. Write like a person with a favourite place.
• ⚠ Choose one task and commit. Marking both costs you nothing except the better mark: only one is marked — pick, write, check.
• ⚠ The article needs the title question answered in line one. Don't warm up for three sentences; the reader (and the examiner) is impatient.
• ⚠ The story must stay in the past. The given sentence is past tense; the story follows it. Drift is the mark-loser, as always.

B1 Preliminary Listening opens with short extracts 短对话: Part 1, seven short recordings with three-option questions (several with pictures); Part 2, six short recordings, each asking for the meaning 含义 — the speaker's feeling, opinion, purpose or the main point.

• Everything from A2 listening still applies: played twice, preview the questions, the first number is bait.
• The B1 upgrade: extracts are longer, and Part 2 asks so what? — attitude 态度 and intention 意图, not just facts.
• Memory hook: Part 1 is the photo — one detail, exactly. Part 2 is the review — what the speaker really meant.

Six extracts; each asks for the speaker's feeling, opinion, purpose or the main point.

• Listen for the evaluation 评价 words: amazing, disappointed, not bad, a waste of time, worth it.
• ⚠ The polite no is the classic B1 sound: "The film was… well, the music was nice." — the opinion is negative; the compliment was a cushion 垫子. English criticism arrives wrapped in a compliment; unwrap it.
• ⚠ "I expected more" = disappointed. "It exceeded my expectations" = impressed. The expectation verbs carry the attitude; learn to hear them.

The second half of the listening paper: Part 3, a talk with six note gaps to fill, and Part 4, a longer interview 访谈 with six 3-option questions on detail and attitude.

• Part 3 is the A2 note-gap part grown up: a guided tour, a course description, a talk about a club — fill a word or number per gap.
• Part 4 is an interview with a guest: a musician, a student who did something unusual 不寻常的. Questions follow the interview order and dig into attitude.
• Memory hook: Part 3 is a form 表格 — fill it. Part 4 is a podcast 播客 — follow the guest's story.

Six gaps in notes about a talk: names, dates, prices, places, websites.

• The gaps are signposted 有路标 by the notes themselves: Day: ___ tells you a day is coming. Preview and predict.
• ⚠ The spelling rule is absolute: names and websites are spelled aloud; write the letters as they come. W-E-B-S-I-T-E arrives letter by letter; the recording waits for no one.
• ⚠ The correction rule applies: "It costs fifteen — sorry, fifty." The sorry is the signal. Numbers self-correct; wait for it.
• ⚠ Plural endings are audible 可听见的: three weeks or three week — the -s is part of the answer.

An interview with six questions, in order, asking detail and attitude.

• The attitude questions ask: How did she feel about…? What does he say about…? — the cushion trap from Part 2 applies here too.
• The detail questions paraphrase: the guest says "we slept in tents for two weeks"; the option says "they camped 露营".
• ⚠ Interviewers ask the question, guests wander. The answer comes when the guest finally answers, sometimes after a story. Patience is a listening skill.
• ⚠ Watch the guest's but: "It was exhausting, but amazing." The word after but is the attitude; the word before it is the bait.

• ⚠ The note gaps punish slow writers. Write the short form while listening (wk for week), complete the word at the pause. The recording doesn't wait for your handwriting 笔迹.
• ⚠ Interview attitude ≠ your attitude. What does the guest say about the journey? — the guest's word after but, not your opinion of tents.
• ⚠ Websites and emails are dictated 听写: "that's travel-now, all one word, dot com". Practise writing dictated strings; they come exactly once per sitting.
• ⚠ Miss one, move on. The interview continues; a gap you chase is two answers you miss.

The B1 Preliminary Speaking test: 10–12 minutes, with a partner, in four parts: the interview, the long turn 个人陈述 (a photo description), the collaborative task 协作任务 (a decision with your partner), and the discussion.

• Part 1: interview questions about you — the A2 sandwich still applies.
• Part 2: each of you describes a photo, alone, for about a minute.
• Part 3: you and your partner discuss options and reach a decision 决定.
• Part 4: a discussion about the Part 3 topic, with the examiner joining in.
• Memory hook: the four parts are a meal 一顿饭: the appetiser 开胃菜 (interview), the solo 单人表演 (photo), the cooking together (the decision), and the conversation over coffee (discussion).

A colour photo of people doing something. Describe it for about a minute.

• The recipe 配方: place → people → action → detail → guess. "In this photo, there's a kitchen. A woman and a girl are cooking. The girl is mixing something in a bowl. They're both smiling — they look like they're having fun."
• Use the present continuous for the action (A2's camera), and look like / seem / maybe / probably for your guesses. The photo can't confirm; you speculate 推测.
• ⚠ Don't just list objects. "There is a table. There is a bowl." is an inventory 清单, not a description. The recipe moves from scene to people to feeling.
• ⚠ Finish with a guess or an opinion. "I think they're enjoying it" is the sentence that turns description into English.

Five or six options (pictures or words) and a task: "Which two should the school choose?" — discuss with your partner and decide.

• The machinery: suggest (How about…?), respond (Good idea, but…), compare (The library is more useful than…), decide (So, we agree on…).
• ⚠ The decision must be mutual 双方的. Steamrolling 强行推进 your partner scores worse than a friendly compromise 妥协. "OK, let's choose yours — the library makes sense."
• ⚠ Don't agree to everything. "Yes, yes, yes" shows no English. "I see what you mean, but…" shows all of it.

• ⚠ The photo description has no 有口无心 template. "This is a picture of…" then silence is a lost minute. The recipe: place, people, action, detail, guess.
• ⚠ In Part 3, silence is the only failure. Anything grammatical beats quiet. When stuck: "What do you think about this one?" — the question machine restarts the conversation.
• ⚠ Part 4 widens the topic: give reasons. Do you like cooking? — Yes, I do. is thin. Yes — I cook at weekends, because it's relaxing and the results are edible 可食用的. The sandwich again, one level up.
• ⚠ Watch your partner's signals. If they haven't spoken, invite them: "What do you think?" Inviting your partner is itself marked — it shows interaction management 互动管理.