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

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.

Text with a gap: "…the bakery opens at six. ___. By eight, the queue reaches the corner." Candidate: "The smell of fresh bread fills the street by seven." — fits: the time chain (six → seven → eight) and the bakery idea. A decoy about "My grandfather loved fishing" fits neither; grandfather, fishing and the queue never meet.

Part 3 style: "I wouldn't say the course was easy, but it was worth every evening." The writer's attitude: positive, with effort — the but carries it.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. "What does the writer suggest?" — hunt the modal words: should, might, it's worth.
2. A candidate sentence starts with "He" — find the owner before the gap. No owner, no place.
3. A decoy fits the grammar perfectly — still wrong if it breaks the logic. Cohesion over grammar.
4. Part 4's three extra sentences — decoys. Place the easy gaps first and watch the list shrink.
5. "It wasn't easy, but worth every evening." — the attitude is positive with effort; the but carries it.

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.

Four options that all mean almost the same thing: say / tell / speak / talk.

• Collocation decides. She ___ me a story. → told (tell a story). say takes the words, speak takes languages, talk takes about.
• Check the preposition after the verb: listen to, depend on, good at. The gap often owns its neighbour.
• ⚠ Meaning alone is not enough. All four options "fit" the meaning; the grammar of the company they keep decides. The sentence is a party; the wrong word doesn't know anyone.

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.

Part 5 style: "We ___ a lot of photos during the trip." A) made B) took C) did D) got → took (take photos).

Part 6 style: "The film ___ we watched last night was amazing. I had never seen anything like it." → that/which. The relative clause from B1 topic 9, collecting marks.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. She ___ me a story. — told. tell a story; the collocation decides.
2. listen ___ music — to. The gap often owns its neighbour.
3. the shop ___ I bought it — where. The relative joins the menu.
4. I ___ never seen snow. — have. The perfect needs its helper.
5. fàn cuòwù — make a mistake. Pairs are learned as pairs; the cloze collects debts.

B1 Preliminary Writing Part 1: a responsive email 回信 — about 100 words, replying to a friend's email. The friend's email contains four cues 提示点, marked or unmarked: two questions, plus things to react to — an invitation, news, an apology, a suggestion.

• The marks: content (all four cues answered), communicative tone (friendly, natural), organisation (paragraphs, greeting, closing), and language (correct and varied).
• Memory hook: the incoming email is a baton 接力棒 with four ribbons on it. Your reply must touch every ribbon.
• 45 minutes for two writing parts; give the email about 20.

A reply has four parts, and the anatomy 结构 never changes:

1. Greeting: Hi Sam, / Dear Mia,
2. React first: Thanks for your email! Great news about the competition! — react before answering; it's what makes it a reply, not a form.
3. Answer each cue, one short paragraph or two sentences each, in the email's order.
4. Close: Write soon. / See you Friday! / Best, + your name.

Model (cue: invited to a weekend trip; asked what to bring, when to leave, and about the weather):

Hi Alex, Thanks for the invite — I'd love to come! A weekend at the lake sounds brilliant. You asked what to bring: I'll pack my sleeping bag and some snacks for the journey, because the village shop is always closed. Tell me if we need anything else. Leaving at eight on Saturday is fine with me; I'm an early bird anyway, so I'll meet you at the station ten minutes before. And don't worry about the rain! Last time it rained we just played cards in the tent, and it was the best part of the trip. See you soon, Lin

Four ribbons touched, 101 words, warm tone. Read it and find the four cues: the reaction, the bringing, the leaving time, the rain.

• ⚠ The reaction sentence is the cheapest mark on the paper. Students who skip it write a correct, cold robot 机器人 email. Robots score lower.

• ⚠ Answer all four cues. The mark scheme counts them. A beautiful email answering three cues loses to a plain one answering four.
• ⚠ Tone: warm and personal. I am writing to inform you ✗ — that's a business letter. Thanks for your email! ✅. The register is friendship.
• ⚠ Chinese letter habits don't travel: no 「祝学习进步」-style fixed closing wishes. Write soon / See you / Best is the whole wardrobe.
• ⚠ Don't copy the question sentences into your answer. "You asked what I will bring." ✗ — just bring it: I'll bring…. Reported speech is for B1 grammar, not for B1 emails.
• ⚠ Leave two minutes to check: articles, third-person -s, past-tense verbs. The same three classics as A2, worth the same marks.

Your friend Ana: "I can't come to your party on Saturday — I'm so sorry! Something came up. Can we meet next weekend instead? Which day is better for you? And tell me how the party goes!"

Cues: the apology, the new plan, the day question, the party news. Write ~100 words.

Model (98 words): Hi Ana, Don't worry at all — we'll miss you, but these things happen! Next weekend works well for me. How about Sunday afternoon? I could come to your place at about three o'clock, and we can finally watch that film you told me about. Saturday is harder for me, because I have football practice until six. Don't be sad about missing the party: I'm planning some really silly games, and my mum is baking a huge chocolate cake. I'll take lots of photos and tell you all the gossip when I see you on Sunday. Write soon! Bo

Find the four cues in the model: the apology (line 1), the new plan (Next weekend works), the day question (Sunday afternoon, with a reason Saturday is hard), the party news (games, cake, photos).

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. How many cues? — Four. Touch every ribbon.
2. First sentence of the reply — a reaction: Great news! / Don't worry at all. Replies react; forms don't.
3. I am writing to inform you… — ✗ → Thanks for your email! Friendship register.
4. "You asked which day is better." — ✗ → Sunday is better for me. Answer, don't report.
5. Length — about 100 words. Twenty minutes, then Part 2.

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.

Article: "What's the best season in your city?" — answer in line one, two reasons, an invitation at the end.

Story: "When I opened the box, I found something I had lost three years ago." — continue: what was it, how did it leave, how does it feel to hold it again.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. Article or story? — The one you write better today. No prize for difficulty.
2. The article's first line — answers the title question directly.
3. The story's given sentence — inherit its tense, place and mood.
4. Nowadays, with the development of… — ✗ → write like a person, not a template.
5. Length — ~100 words, one scene, one turn. A week in 100 words reads like a timetable.

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.

Seven short extracts; each question targets one detail: a time, a place, an object, a reason.

• Preview the question and the options; name the difference before the recording starts (the A2 clock trick, one level faster).
• ⚠ All three options are mentioned. The extract corrects itself: "I wanted the morning train, but I missed it, so I'm on the afternoon one." The correction is the answer.
• The pictures differ by one detail; the words come reworded. a dog → "my pet"; a bicycle → "I cycled".

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 cushion trap. Chinese politeness often says the negative directly; English wraps it. "The food was interesting" after a strange dish is not praise. Tone and the pause before the word tell the truth.
• ⚠ Numbers and corrections are still bait. thirteen/thirty, first the wrong price, then the right one. Wait for the correction.
• ⚠ Don't answer from your own opinion. The question asks what the speaker thinks, not what you think. The option you agree with is a trap wearing your face.
• ⚠ Answer on the first play, check on the second. The second listening is for the unsure, not the unprepared.

Teacher-read rehearsal: this page has no recording. Your teacher reads each extract aloud twice, exactly like the exam; the printed text is the script, not the task.

Extract: "The concert? Well, the singer was amazing. The seats were a bit far from the stage, honestly." How does he feel about the concert? A) completely positive B) positive, with a complaint C) negative. Answer: B — amazing plus the cushion complaint.

Detail: "I wanted the morning train, but I missed it, so I'm on the afternoon one." → the afternoon train.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. All three options mentioned in the extract — normal at B1. The correction is the answer.
2. "The music was nice, honestly." (about a bad concert) — a cushion: the opinion is negative.
3. "I expected more." — disappointed. The expectation verb carries the attitude.
4. The option you personally agree with — a trap wearing your face. The speaker's opinion, not yours.
5. The second listening — for checking, not for starting.

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.

Run a full practice round with a partner.

• Interview: What do you like doing after school? — sandwich answers.
• Photo minute: find any photo on your phone (a meal, a street, a game) and describe it for sixty seconds: place, people, action, detail, guess.
• The decision: your class can start one club — music, coding, cooking, basketball, drama. Choose one together. Disagree politely. The drama club overhears everything.
• Discussion: Do you prefer learning in groups or alone? — answer, detail, reason.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. The photo recipe — place → people → action → detail → guess.
2. Guessing language — look like / seem / maybe / probably. The photo can't confirm; you speculate.
3. Part 3: your partner is silent — invite them: What do you think about this one? Interaction management is marked.
4. "Yes, yes, yes" to everything — ✗ → I see what you mean, but… Disagreement shows the English.
5. Part 4 answers — the sandwich, one level up: answer, detail, reason.