B1 Preliminary · Reading Parts 5–6: lexical and open cloze
A2 Key และ B1 Preliminary (KET, PET) · Cambridge English · B1 Preliminary (PET) หัวข้อ 3 3:22 การบรรยายภาษาอังกฤษ · คำบรรยายภาษาอังกฤษ + 中文 ลอยตัวบนภาพ
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Transcript
Reading parts five and six are the clozes at B1. Part five: six gaps with four options each, vocabulary and collocation. Part six: six gaps with no options, the small grammar words. The memory hook: part five is a chess opening; many moves look natural, and one is right. Part six is still the kitchen: cook the word yourself.
Part five is the near-synonym minefield: say, tell, speak, talk. She told me a story, because tell a story is the fixed pair. Say takes the words, speak takes languages, talk takes about. Meaning alone is not enough: all four fit the meaning, and the grammar of the company they keep decides. The sentence is a party, and the wrong word doesn't know anyone.
Pause and choose. We took a lot of photos: take photos is the fixed pair. Made, did and got are all fine verbs at the wrong party. Zuoye is do homework and fan cuowu is make a mistake; the pair must be learned as a pair, and the cloze collects the debts of the unlearned.
The open cloze, B1 edition: same kitchen, bigger menu. Articles and prepositions; pronouns and now the relatives, who, which, that, where; auxiliaries and modals including had and would; linkers including although; and fixed phrases like there is, as soon as, used to. One word per gap, spelled right, capital at the start of a sentence. The B1 grammar pays its rent here.
Pause and choose. I had never seen snow before that winter: before that winter is a flashback, so had, the past perfect. Have would say never-until-now, and the sentence says never-until-then. The perfect chain needs its helper, and the gap is often exactly that helper.
The four-option friendliness is fake. At A2, two options were obviously wrong; at B1, all four smile at you. Slow down and check the collocation and the after-word: she insisted on going, and the gap and its after-word decide together. Chinese verb-noun pairs don't map: do homework, make a mistake. Read the sentence after the gap too; the answer often hides there.
Try it. Part five style: we took a lot of photos during the trip; the collocation decides. Part six style: the film that we watched last night was amazing; the relative clause from B1 collects marks here. The shelf and the kitchen are both open at B1: collocation for the shelf, the small grammar words for the kitchen.
Pause for four checks. She told me a story: the collocation decides. Listen to music: the gap owns its neighbour. The shop where I bought it: the relative joins the menu. And I had never seen snow: the helper fills the gap. Next topic: the responsive email, B1's first writing task.