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

Parts 4 and 5 are the cloze 完形填空 parts: a short text with gaps. Part 4 gives three word choices per gap (vocabulary); Part 5 gives no choices at all (grammar). Together they are the "vocabulary and grammar in context" engine of A2 Key.

• Part 4: six gaps, three options each. It tests word choice: collocation 搭配, meaning, phrasal verbs 短语动词.
• Part 5: six gaps in a short email — sometimes an email and its reply. No options; you write one word per gap: an article, a preposition, a pronoun, a modal — the small grammar words.
• Memory hook: Part 4 is a shop — choose from the shelf. Part 5 is a kitchen — cook the word yourself from whatever the sentence gives you.

Three options; usually all three are "possible English", but only one fits this sentence.

• Collocation is king. We ___ a great time. A) made B) had C) took → had (have a great time is the fixed pair). The other two are fine words at the wrong party.
• Read the whole sentence, not just the gap. The answer often hides three words later: She is very fond ___ cats. → of. (fond of — the shelf only sells the pair.)
• ⚠ If two options feel right, one of them is collocating with a neighbour word you're ignoring. Re-read the gap's neighbours on both sides.

No options. One word per gap, and the menu is predictable:

• The grammar you learned in A1 and A2 is the answer key: articles (A2 topic 7), prepositions of time and place, there is, question words, modals.
• Example: I have lived here ___ 2019. → since. ___ you like tea? → Do. The A2 review pays its rent here.
• ⚠ Spelling counts. A right word spelled wrong is a wrong word. whent gets no mark and no sympathy.

1. Read the whole text first without writing anything. Know the story.
2. Then fill the gaps one by one, reading the full sentence each time.
3. Re-read the finished text. If a sentence sounds wrong in your head, it is wrong.

• Memory hook: the first read is the map; the gaps are the roads; the re-read is the drive.

• ⚠ The article gaps are yours to lose. Chinese has no articles, so a/the gaps feel invisible. They are not invisible; they are free marks wearing camouflage 伪装.
• ⚠ One word only. Part 5 takes exactly one word. "in the" in one gap is two words and zero marks.
• ⚠ Don't invent rare words. The answer is always a small common word. If your answer is serendipity, the gap wanted so.
• ⚠ Check the capital letter. A gap at the start of a sentence needs a capital. There not there.

Last summer, I went to the beach ___ my family. We stayed ___ a small hotel near the sea. The weather ___ perfect, so we swam every day. I have never had ___ a good holiday. I will never forget it.

Answers: with · in/at · was · such. (such a good holiday — the collocation shelf again. so would need so good a holiday, and nobody has time for that.)

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. We ___ a great time. — had. The collocation decides.
2. I have lived here ___ 2019. — since. A start line, from A2.
3. Part 5, no options — one small grammar word: article, preposition, pronoun, modal, linker.
4. A right word spelled wrong — no marks. Spelling counts.
5. "in the" in one gap — illegal. One word per gap.

Listening Parts 4 and 5 change the question. Parts 1–3 asked for details; Parts 4–5 ask for the gist 主旨 — the main idea, the speaker's feeling, the purpose of the talk — and for matching 配对.

• Part 4: five short talks or conversations, each with one question: What is the speaker doing? How does she feel? Why is he calling?
• Part 5: one longer conversation and a matching task — match five items to eight lettered options, A–H (e.g. five friends to the activities they choose). Three options are never used.
• Memory hook: Parts 1–3 ask what exactly? Parts 4–5 ask so what? The answer is the meaning, not the words.

Each short recording has one question about the big picture.

• The questions are usually: What is the speaker's job? How does the girl feel? Why is the man calling? What are they talking about?
• ⚠ The detail words are bait. "I love the smell of fresh bread in the bakery" — the question is What is her job? She is a baker, not a customer who likes bread. The smell is bait; the job is the answer.
• Listen for the purpose verbs: I'm calling to apologise / to invite / to complain / to remind. The verb after calling to is the answer.
• Feelings come through tone 语气 and adjectives: "That's fantastic!" (delighted), "I don't believe it…" (surprised), "Oh no, not again" (annoyed).

A conversation where people choose things: five friends choosing from eight activities (A–H); five guests, eight dishes. Three options will be left over — nobody chooses them.

• The extra options are not decoration: they hold the rejected choices. "I wanted the pasta, but they're out of it, so the fish." → the fish. The pasta stays in the list, waiting for you.
• Strategy: as each person speaks, write a mark 记号 by their choice — a tick for chosen, a cross for rejected. Don't write the final letter until they finish speaking.
• ⚠ The rejected options are the answer list's traps. Each rejected dish will sit in the options, waiting for you.

• ⚠ Gist questions punish word-catching. If you grab bread and answer customer, the bakery trick worked. Ask yourself: what is the whole sentence about?
• ⚠ Feelings are not facts. How does she feel? is answered by adjectives and tone, not by events. The event is the evidence; the feeling is the answer.
• ⚠ Matching needs a system. Ticks and crosses while listening; letters at the end. Students who assign letters mid-sentence meet the correction and lose both marks.
• ⚠ Don't panic at one missed item. The parts are independent; a missed gist question is one mark, not a disaster. The next recording starts fresh — so should you.

Teacher-read rehearsal 排练: no recording here — your teacher reads each text aloud twice, like the exam, and you listen without reading. The transcript is the script, not the task.

A girl says: "Hi Dad, I'm at the station. The six o'clock train was cancelled 取消, so I'm taking the seven one. Don't wait dinner for me."

Why is she calling? A) to buy a ticket B) to give news about her journey C) to invite her father to dinner. Answer: B. The ticket and the dinner are bait; the purpose is the news.

Matching: "Tom wanted the pasta, but they're out of it, so the fish. Anna never eats fish; she'll have the salad." → Tom: fish, Anna: salad. The pasta sits in the options, waiting.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. Gist question: How does she feel? — Listen for adjectives and tone, not the events.
2. "I'm calling to apologise." — the purpose verb is the answer: to apologise.
3. "I wanted the pasta, but they're out of it, so the fish." — the fish. Rejected options are traps.
4. In matching, assign letters mid-sentence? — No: ticks and crosses first, letters at the end.
5. One missed gist question — one mark, not a disaster. The next recording starts fresh; so should you.

The A2 Key Speaking test: 8–10 minutes, with a partner 搭档, and two examiners. It is the friendliest part of the exam — a conversation, not an interrogation 审问.

• Part 1: the interview. The examiner asks about you: name, school, hobbies, family, home.
• Part 2: the collaborative discussion. You and your partner look at five pictures and talk: which do you like, why, what would you choose.
• Memory hook: Part 1 is a friendly chat 聊天; Part 2 is planning a trip with a classmate. Both are conversations you already have — just in English, with marks.
• The examiners want: clear answers, interaction 互动 with your partner, and everyday vocabulary. They do not want speeches.

Answer in full sentences, two or three of them per question.

• Where do you live? — ✗ "Beijing." → "I live in Beijing, in an apartment near the park. I like it because it's quiet." Answer + detail + reason.
• Memory hook: every answer is a sandwich 三明治: the answer, a detail, a reason. I like football. I play every weekend. It's fun with my friends.
• Prepare the classics aloud: your name (spelled), your school, your family, your hobbies, your favourite food, your weekend. These are rehearsed 排练过 answers — say them until they're warm.

Five pictures (e.g. five birthday gifts), a question, and your partner. You must talk to each other, not just to the examiner.

• Start: Which do you like? / I like the camera — what about you?
• Agree, disagree, add: I agree. / Really? I think the book is better, because… / That's true, but…
• ⚠ Never give a monologue 独白. The marks are in the interaction: ask your partner's opinion, answer theirs, build on it.
• ⚠ Disagreeing is free marks. "I see your point, but I'd choose the bike" shows more English than yes-saying. The exam is the one place where polite disagreement pays.

• ⚠ One-word answers are the mark-killer. "Yes." "Beijing." "Football." — three answers, zero sentences. The sandwich, every time.
• ⚠ Don't recite 背诵 a memorised speech. Examiners hear it instantly and redirect. Prepare building blocks, not paragraphs.
• ⚠ Look at your partner in Part 2, not at the examiner. The discussion is with them; the examiner is just listening in.
• ⚠ Don't freeze on an unknown word. Describe around it 迂回表达: "It's a thing for… you use it to…" — paraphrasing is a marked skill, not a failure.
• ⚠ Pronunciation matters less than audibility 可听度. Speak up. The quiet correct answer and the loud correct answer earn the same mark, but the quiet wrong-mumble earns nothing.

Rehearse the interview classics, then run a two-minute discussion with a partner.

• Tell me about your family. — There are four of us. My sister is twelve. We fight about the TV, and I usually win.
• What do you do at the weekend? — I play basketball with my classmates. It's fun, and I'm getting taller. Both matter.
• Part 2 with a partner: five gifts — a book, a bike, a camera, a game, a plant. Which is best for your teacher? Discuss. Disagree politely. The plant has feelings too.

Answer first, then read the explanation.

1. Where do you live? — Answer + detail + reason. The sandwich, every time.
2. Part 2: your partner says the book is best. — Respond to them: Really? I think… / I agree, and… Interaction is the mark.
3. You don't know the word for 植物 — describe around it: a plant — a green thing for your desk. Paraphrasing is a skill, not a failure.
4. A memorised two-minute speech — the examiner redirects instantly. Blocks, not speeches.
5. Quiet mumble vs clear voice — audibility is free marks. Speak up.