Test 2 answer key with extra explanations
Reading
Part 1
Questions 1–5
1 The correct answer is A: Jenny says, ‘I remember you said you wanted to visit a few
interesting cities in the UK. This might be a good way to do it!’ This is suggesting a way for Lara
to do some sightseeing. The website offers discounts on tickets, so Lara could travel to different
cities more cheaply. B is not the correct answer because Lara has already mentioned that she
wanted to visit some interesting cities in the UK, not that she wanted to buy cheap train tickets.
C is not the correct answer because Jenny is recommending that Lara should do something, not
inviting Lara to do something with her.
2 The correct answer is C: ‘The unusual story behind candy’ in the notice are the ‘surprising
facts about sweets’ in the answer. A is not the correct answer because a historical expert will
be talking about sweets, not members of the audience. B is not the correct answer because the
lecture will be about sweets, not sweet shops.
3 The correct answer is B: Dan has borrowed a book from the library. Jack wants to use this
book, so in this message, he is asking Dan to tell him when the book is back in the library, so
he can go and borrow it himself. A is not the correct answer because Jack knows the book is
suitable for his project. He is not asking for Dan’s opinion. C is not the correct answer because
Jack has not borrowed the book yet, he would like to borrow it in the future. Jack is not
recommending the book to Dan. Jack wants the book to use himself.
4 The correct answer is A: ‘use within six weeks’ on the label means eat before six weeks have
passed, or ‘a maximum of six weeks’. ‘After opening’ on the label means ‘after you start using it’
in the answer. B is not the correct answer because the label says that the sauce must be stored
in the fridge after it is opened, not as soon as it is brought home from the shop. C is not the
correct answer because you don’t need to know exactly when you bought the sauce – although
you do need to know when you opened it, so you can stop using it after six weeks.
5 The correct answer is B: ‘a certain period’ in the answer refers to ‘two months’ in the notice.
The first lesson (session) is free if a student registers for two months of lessons. A is not the
correct answer because the teacher only offers lessons for people over 18, not ‘anyone’, which
would include people aged under 18. C is not the correct answer because the notice mentions
‘all abilities’. This means that beginners are welcome too. So students must not have reached a
particular level in order to attend.
1
Part 2
Questions 6–10
6 The correct answer is B: Ethan wants to ‘know about environmental organisations around
the world’. On the website: ourworld.org, ‘You’ll … find information on groups all over the
planet working to protect the environment’. Ethan is also interested in doing a project at home
on energy production. On ourworld.org, ‘there are experiments to do like making your own
power using sunlight.’ Finally, Ethan wants recommendations for other websites with up-to-
date information on new research. On ourworld.org, he can find ‘the best places online to learn
the latest results of scientific studies on issues affecting the environment’. Overall, the website
ourworld.org provides Ethan with everything he wants.
eco.org (E) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it has no information
about projects on energy production, and Ethan can’t learn the latest results of scientific studies
on this website.
7 The correct answer is E: Mario is interested in ‘how the way he gets to work affects the
environment, and wants ideas to reduce any negative effects’. On the website eco.org, ‘you can ...
find out if your choice of transport damages the planet’. ‘If so,’ means if your choice of transport
does damage the planet, you can ‘try the easy changes to your routine suggested’. Mario would
also like to meet local people who share his interest in the environment. On eco.org, Mario can
‘Contact others who also care about environmental issues and find information about international
groups; search for one to join in your area’. This would be a good way for Mario to meet others
with the same interests. Overall, the website eco.org provides Mario with everything he wants.
futurenow.org (A) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because this website will
not help Mario to meet local people who share his interest in the environment.
8 The correct answer is F: Sylvia is ‘keen to know what she can do with items she doesn’t need,
rather than throw them away’. The website planetmatters.org has a ‘recycling section – (you
can) find different uses for things that you might otherwise put in the bin’. Sylvia would also like
the opportunity to ask environmental experts about their work. On planetmatters.org, ‘There’s a
message board so you can post questions to’ the ‘top scientists involved in research to protect
our planet’ Overall, the website planetmatters.org provides Sylvia with everything she wants.
worldaware.org (G) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because on this website,
Sylvia can’t ask environmental experts about their work.
9 The correct answer is C: Declan wants to ‘know where to find clothes produced without
damaging the environment. The website cleanplanet.org has ‘a section about how much
attention various fashion companies pay to their effect on the environment’. So Declan could use
this to find clothes from fashion companies that do as little damage as possible. Declan would
also like to learn about the recycling processes and see how recycling is done internationally.
On cleanplanet.org, he can ‘discover how waste plastic, glass and metal are turned into new
products, and watch clips showing different methods used around the world’. Overall, the
website cleanplanet.org provides Declan with everything he wants.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading2
worldaware.org (G) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because it does not have
any information about clothes produced without damaging the environment.
10 The correct answer is H: Tasha wants to ‘help her family save energy’. On the website
oneworld.org, there is a ‘useful guide on using less electricity at home’. Tasha also wants to get
a basic introduction to studying the environment for a college project. On oneworld.org, ‘there’s
lots of environmental information ..., [for people who are] just starting to explore the subject’.
Finally, Tasha would like to buy something created from recycled items. On oneworld.org, ‘Gifts
are on sale, too, made from objects and materials that are often thrown out’. Overall, the website
oneworld.org provides Tasha with everything she wants.
globaleco.org (D) may look possible, but it is not the correct answer because this website would
not help Tasha to find something to buy made from recycled items.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading3
Part 3
Questions 11–15
11 The correct answer is C: In the first paragraph, Luka says that his father ‘was a professional
basketball player’ and Luka ‘loved telling (his) friends how good (his) dad was’.
A is not the correct answer because Luka says, ‘You might think that seeing so many matches
would give me a love of the sport, but it actually had the opposite effect’. This means that, even
though people would probably expect that going to that many basketball matches as a child
would make Luka love the sport of basketball, in fact it made him not love basketball (it had the
opposite effect). B is not the correct answer because Luka says: ‘I used to take a book with me
to read instead of watching.’ D is not the correct answer because Luka does not mention that he
wanted to become a basketball player. The text shows that he was not interested in basketball.
12 The correct answer is A: In the second paragraph, Luka explains that even though he
enjoyed training with the school basketball team, ‘I thought I’d need to develop my skills before
I took part in a real match’. But although Luka didn’t have much confidence in himself, Luka’s
teacher had confidence in him and encouraged him to take part in a match.
B is not the correct answer because Luka says: ‘Mum and Dad coming to watch didn’t really
help – it made me more nervous’. C is not the correct answer because Luka doesn’t say he
had a problem with his teacher’s attitude. He just says that his teacher had more confidence in
Luka’s abilities than Luka himself did. D is not the correct answer because Luka felt worried that
he would not be good enough to play in the team. This made him feel nervous, not delighted.
13 The correct answer is B: In the third paragraph, Luka says, ‘I can’t say I enjoyed my first
experience of living far from my parents’. He couldn’t spend much time with his friends, but he
was already used to that, so not being with his friends was less of a problem for him than not
being with his family. A is not the correct answer because Luka says that his English ‘improved
quickly’. C is not the correct answer because Luka says ‘it was fantastic to work with’ the coach
in the USA. D is not the correct answer because Luka says: ‘At home, I’d never been able to
spend much time with my friends due to all the training, so that wasn’t such a change for me’.
14 The correct answer is D: In the fourth paragraph, Luka says that since he was fifteen ‘(I)
had been much too light for my height, so had to get that right first’. This means that he had to
become heavier before he was ready to join a professional team.
A is not the correct answer because Luka’s coach found a team that would take Luka while he
was still at college. B is not the correct answer because Luka’s coach already knew a team that
would take Luka when he was ready. C is not the correct answer because Luka says ‘I’d been
taller than most players in the professional league since I was fifteen’.
15 The correct answer is B: In this text, Luka explains how he became a professional basketball
player, and at the beginning of the text he says that his father and grandfather were both
basketball players too. A is not the correct answer because in the first paragraph, Luka says
that he was less interested in basketball than in reading. C is not the correct answer because
although Luka clearly had talent, as well as the right kind of body to become a good basketball
player, in the third paragraph he talks about how hard he trained, and he doesn’t mention being
lucky in this text. D is not the correct answer because in the second paragraph, Luka describes
how he started playing basketball when he was ‘still two years away from being a teenager’.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading4
Part 4
Questions 16–20
16 The correct answer is C: In the text before the gap, Larry ‘had wanted to fly using balloons
for a long time’. In the answer sentence, this idea is repeated, ‘he was just a boy when he first
started thinking about it’. In the answer sentence, ‘it’ refers to ‘fly(ing) using balloons’ in the text
before the gap.
17 The correct answer is F: In the answer sentence, ‘there was an unexpected problem’. The
problem is explained in the text after the gap. ‘However’ in the answer sentence introduces a
contrast between the first part of the experiment, which went as Larry had planned, and the
difficulties he experienced after that.
18 The correct answer is D: In the text before the gap, Larry is having a lot of problems, ‘things
were getting dangerous’. In the answer sentence, we learn that Larry was lucky and landed
safely in the end.
19 The correct answer is G: In the text before the gap, we learn that Leo Burns was an
experienced pilot before he became a cluster balloonist. In the answer sentence, we learn that
he ‘prefers to use balloons’ (instead of a plane) to fly. In the text after the gap, Leo says ‘there is
no better way to fly’. This refers to ‘us(ing) balloons’ in the answer sentence.
20 The correct answer is B: In the text after the gap, ‘they’ refers to ‘old-fashioned hot-air
balloons’ in the answer sentence. The ‘old-fashioned’ hot-air balloons are contrasted with
‘modern’ cluster balloons.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading5
Part 5
Questions 21–26
21 The correct answer is C: The verb is used in a passive form here. ‘to discover’ something
means to find out or realise that something is true. The other verbs don’t have this meaning.
22 The correct answer is D: People ‘produce’ records. The other verbs can’t be used with the
noun ‘record’. The verb is in the passive form here.
23 The correct answer is A: ‘in previous centuries’ means in centuries before that time. The
other adjectives cannot be used with the noun ‘centuries’.
24 The correct answer is B: If something is ‘included’, it is one of a number of other things.
Several different recordings of sounds from Planet Earth were sent into space and the songs of
the whales were one of the recordings.
25 The correct answer is A: If you ‘send’ something, you make it go from one place to another.
The other verbs don’t mean that something travels or moves.
26 The correct answer is D: The noun ‘variety’ means that there are different types of
something. It is used with the adjective ‘wide’ to say that there are a lot of different types.
The other nouns cannot be used with ‘wide’.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading6
Part 6
Questions 27–32
27 The correct answer is ‘be’: The fixed phrase ‘to be honest’ is being tested here. The phrase
is used when a person wants to admit something.
28 The correct answer is ‘with’: The preposition ‘with’ follows the adjective ‘familiar’ when we
are saying what someone knows well. In this text, the person is going to know the city better, so
they will ‘become familiar with’ the city.
29 The correct answer is ‘of’: ‘loads of’ is a fixed phrase meaning ‘a lot of’.
30 The correct answer is ‘us’: This is a pronoun in the first person plural. There were several
people on the tour, and the tour guide gave them all suggestions. This text is written in the first
person singular, but here the writer is a part of a group.
31 The correct answer is ‘to’: The expression ‘a good place + full infinitive’ is being tested here,
for example ‘a good place to go’, ‘a good place to see’, ‘a good place to stay’. The superlative
form of ‘good’ is ‘best’, and can be used in the same way. ‘to’ is part of the full infinitive.
32 The correct answer is ‘than’: ‘than’ is used here because two things are compared: what
the writer expected to feel on the walking tour and what the writer actually felt when they did it.
B1 Preliminary, Test 2 answer key with extra explanations, Reading7
