CAE Reading & Use of English Practice

CAE Reading & Use of English is one paper combining 4 grammar/vocabulary parts and 4 longer reading parts. Texts are sophisticated articles, fiction and academic prose at advanced (C1) level — 90 minutes, 56 questions, including the unique Cross-text Multiple Matching part where you compare opinions across four short texts.

CAE Reading & Use of English: part by part

1. Part 1 — Multiple Choice Cloze (8 questions): C1 collocations, phrasal verbs, register-locked vocabulary.
2. Part 2 — Open Cloze (8 questions): advanced grammar including subjunctive, inversion, complex linkers.
3. Part 3 — Word Formation (8 questions): often double-affix (un- + -able etc.), irregular forms, spelling changes.
4. Part 4 — Key Word Transformation (6 questions, 2 marks each): rewrite using a fixed key word, 3–6 words.
5. Part 5 — Multiple Choice Reading (6 questions, 2 marks each): one sophisticated text. Detail / inference / tone / purpose.
6. Part 6 — Cross-text Multiple Matching (4 questions, 2 marks each): 4 short texts, compare and contrast opinions.
7. Part 7 — Gapped Text (6 questions, 2 marks each): 6 missing paragraphs to slot into a long article.
8. Part 8 — Multiple Matching (10 questions): 10 prompts against 5 sections sharing the same profession or topic.

Sample CAE Reading item

A typical reading task you'd see in a CAE mock exam.

Common CAE Use of English mistakes

• Skim-reading Part 6 — the trick is opinion comparison, not content recall. Note each writer's stance on each sub-topic before answering.
• Choosing Part 1 distractors that 'almost' work — at C1 the wrong options collocate plausibly but fail one specific structural test (preposition, complementation, register).
• Missing the cohesion direction in Part 7 — removed paragraphs almost always refer BACK (anaphoric reference: 'These developments', 'Such an approach'), not forward.

Practise CAE Reading now

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