R.1-2 · Preliminary reading: notices and needs matching

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.

Notice: "Swimming pool: weekday mornings are for school groups only. Public swim starts at 12. Weekends: open to all from 9."

The notice says the public can swim: A) every morning B) weekday afternoons and weekends C) only at weekends. Answer: B. A is the scope trap (mornings belong to schools), C forgets the weekday afternoons.

Person: "Jia wants a two-day course, in the evening, for beginners, under 200 yuan." — a checklist of four. A text missing any one of the four is not her course.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. The correct option shares zero content words with the text. — Fine. Meaning, not words: the B1 paraphrase.
2. may in the text, must in the option. — The scope changed; it's a trap.
3. A text satisfies three of Jia's four requirements. — Not the answer. Checklists don't negotiate.
4. Two people matched to the same text. — One of them is wrong. Re-read both checklists.
5. Spending 15 minutes on Part 1. — Too slow. Parts 1–2 fund the paper; ten minutes, then move.