CEFR B1 · PET · Reading
PET Reading Practice
PET Reading is the first half of the combined Reading & Writing paper at B1 Preliminary level. You read short notices, messages, articles and longer texts and answer 32 questions across six parts. Texts are pitched at intermediate (B1) level — the kind of English you'd meet in everyday adult life.
Duration: 45 min reading + 45 min writing combined paperFormat: 32 reading questions
PET Reading: part by part
- Part 1 — Multiple Choice (5 questions): short signs, notices, messages, postcards. Choose what each one means.
- Part 2 — Matching (5 questions): match 5 people to 8 short texts about a common topic (events, courses, holidays).
- Part 3 — Multiple Choice or True/False (5 questions): one longer factual text. Test of detail and inference.
- Part 4 — Gapped Text (5 questions): five sentences are removed from a text. Slot them back into the right gaps.
- Part 5 — Multiple Choice Cloze (6 questions): a short text with 6 vocabulary gaps. Choose the best word for each gap.
- Part 6 — Open Cloze (6 questions): a short text with 6 grammar gaps. Write the missing word — no options given.
Sample PET Reading item
A typical reading task you'd see in a PET mock exam.
PET · MC Cloze · Part 1
The committee failed to _____ a consensus on the proposed reforms.
Which word best fits the gap?
A · achieve
✓B · reach
C · gain
D · arrive
Common PET Reading mistakes
- Reading too literally in Part 3 — the answer often paraphrases what the text says, not copies it.
- Picking the option that 'sounds right' in Part 5 instead of looking for the locked collocation (e.g. take a photo / make a decision).
- Forgetting that Part 6 gaps are usually function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) — not content words.
Practise PET Reading now
Free to start. Auto-marked with detailed per-question explanations.