2.1. The Reading Test at a Glance
Get the shape of the Reading test: the clock, the questions and how you answer.
The short version
60 minutes for the whole test.
40 questions, each worth one mark.
3 texts to read.
You type or choose your answers on screen.
Sixty minutes, forty questions
The Reading test lasts one hour. In that hour you answer forty questions about three texts. Every question is worth the same: one mark.
Where your answers go
You take the Reading test on a computer at a test centre. The screen shows the texts and the questions. You type some answers into a box, and click to choose others, such as a letter. What you type or choose is what is marked.
Side by side
On the screen. You can highlight words and make notes there, but none of that is marked.
A box or a choice for each question. This is the only part that is marked.
What the questions look like
The forty questions come in groups. Each group has one type and its own instructions. You will meet every type later in this course.
Completion · matching · True, False, Not Given · multiple choice · diagram and flow-chart labels · short answer
Quiz time3 questions
Three quick questions on the shape of the test.
The clock
Choose the length of the test.
How long is the Reading test?
The questions
Choose the number of questions.
How many questions are in the Reading test?
What is marked
Choose what is marked.
Which part of your work on screen is marked?
Recap
Reading is 60 minutes long and has 40 questions.
You read three texts.
Every question is worth one mark.
Only the answers you type or choose are marked.
Next: how the texts differ between Academic and General Training.