FCE Reading and Use of English Part 1: multiple-choice cloze
FCE Use of English Part 1 is a multiple-choice cloze: a short text with eight gaps and four options for each. Only one option fits both the meaning and the grammar around the gap, and the eight marks count towards your Reading score, not Use of English.
- Questions
- 8 (Q1–8)
- Marks
- 1 each
- Time to spend
- ≈ 8 min
- Counts towards
- Reading
What the FCE multiple-choice cloze tests
Part 1 is the first task in the Reading and Use of English paper. You read a short text of one or two paragraphs with eight numbered gaps (questions 1–8) and an example (0) at the start. For each gap there are four options, A, B, C and D, and only one of them fits both the meaning and the grammar of the sentence.
The focus is vocabulary, but never vocabulary on its own. The four options usually mean roughly the same thing, so the real question is which word works in this sentence. Items typically test:
- collocations: which words go together (make a difference, heavy traffic, take a risk);
- phrasal verbs and the particle that completes them (point out, take apart);
- fixed phrases and idioms (into the bargain, by no means, on purpose);
- complementation: the preposition or verb pattern a word needs after it (rely on, prevent someone from, manage to);
- linking words and shades of meaning between near-synonyms (journey, trip, travel).
How it is marked: one mark for each correct answer, so the part is worth 8 marks, and nothing is taken off for a wrong answer. On paper you shade a lozenge on the answer sheet; on the computer you click an option. One detail is easy to miss: although everyone calls it Use of English Part 1, these 8 marks count towards your Reading score (Parts 1, 5, 6 and 7, 42 marks in all), not your Use of English score (Parts 2–4, 28 marks).
A B2 multiple-choice cloze to try
Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Repair cafés
When the first repair café opened in a small community hall, few people expected the idea to (0) catch on. The plan was simple: volunteers with practical skills would give up a Saturday afternoon to help their neighbours fix broken toasters, lamps and bicycles instead of throwing them away. Today these events take place all over the world, and the busiest ones (1) hundreds of visitors a month.
Organisers say the cafés (2) a real difference to the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfill. However, the volunteers themselves often (3) out that the social side matters just as much. Strangers who would never normally (4) a conversation sit side by side, waiting for a kettle or a radio to be brought back to life. Younger visitors in particular are surprised to discover that many everyday objects can be repaired with (5) more than a screwdriver.
Not every repair is successful, of course. Some products are designed in a way that makes them almost impossible to take (6). Even so, few people leave without (7) something useful. As one regular put it, 'Even when my toaster can't be saved, I find out what went wrong, and I get a cup of tea and a chat into the (8).'
0 A catch · B take · C hold · D get
1 A appeal · B tempt · C attract · D interest
2 A do · B make · C give · D bring
3 A set · B give · C put · D point
4 A strike up · B bring up · C take up · D turn up
5 A few · B less · C small · D little
6 A away · B apart · C off · D over
7 A studying · B teaching · C learning · D training
8 A deal · B trade · C offer · D bargain
Show the answer and explanation
1 C attract. You attract visitors. Appeal needs to (it appeals to visitors), tempt needs a person plus to do, and interest does not go with a number of people like this.
2 B make. Make a difference is a fixed collocation. Do a difference is a common mistake translated from other languages.
3 D point. Point out (that) means to mention something important. Set out, give out and put out cannot introduce a fact like this.
4 A strike up. You strike up a conversation with a stranger. You bring up a topic, take up a hobby, and turn up does not take an object here.
5 D little. Little more than means "only". Few is for countable nouns, and less more and small more are not English.
6 B apart. To take something apart is to separate it into pieces. Take away, take off and take over all exist, but none of them means opening up a machine.
7 C learning. You learn something useful by chance or experience. Studying needs a subject you work on deliberately, teaching reverses the meaning, and training needs a person as its object.
8 D bargain. Into the bargain is a fixed phrase meaning "as well". The other three nouns look possible but do not form the phrase.
Notice that five of the eight answers were decided by the word that came after the gap: out, a conversation, more than, the end of the sentence, and something useful.
How to do Part 1 Use of English B2, step by step
- 01
Read the whole text once without looking at the options. Thirty seconds is enough to know the topic, the tone and where the text is going, which helps with linking words and meaning.
- 02
For each gap, read the words after it before you look at A–D. A preposition, an infinitive, an -ing form or that straight after the gap often rules out two options at once.
- 03
Name the item type: is it a collocation, a phrasal verb, a fixed phrase, a verb pattern or a linker? Once you know what is being tested, you know what to check.
- 04
Cross out options that are grammatically impossible, then choose between the rest by meaning and by what you have seen used together in real texts.
- 05
Read the full sentence with your choice in it. If two options still seem to fit, look for a word partnership you recognise rather than the word you like best.
- 06
Answer all eight. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank is always a lost mark. Then move on: Parts 5 and 6 are worth two marks a question and need the time more.
Mistakes that cost marks in the FCE multiple-choice cloze
Choosing by meaning alone. Rely, depend, count and trust all express the same idea, but only trust works without on. Meaning narrows the field; grammar usually decides it.
Translating from your own language. Many wrong answers are direct translations: do a mistake, say a lie, make a photo. If an option feels natural in your language, check it again in English.
Ignoring the rest of the sentence. Candidates often read only up to the gap. The word that settles the answer is frequently two or three words later.
Spending too long on one gap. Part 1 is 8 marks out of 42 for Reading. If you are stuck after a minute, choose, mark the question and come back at the end if there is time.
The item types in the multiple-choice cloze, with B2 examples
| Item type | What decides the answer | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Collocation | Which word naturally goes with the noun or verb | heavy rain (not strong rain), pay attention |
| Phrasal verb | The particle and its meaning | put off (postpone) vs call off (cancel) |
| Fixed phrase | The whole expression | by chance, in charge of, on purpose |
| Complementation | The pattern after the word | succeed in doing, manage to do, avoid doing |
| Linker | Logic and grammar of the clause | despite + noun vs although + clause |
| Near-synonyms | Precise meaning or countability | job (countable) vs work (uncountable) |
The best preparation is a word-partnership notebook. When you read in English, note whole chunks such as raise awareness of or come to a decision, never single words. Ten new chunks a week adds up to several hundred by exam day, and those chunks are exactly what this part rewards.
Practise Part 1 in full FCE Reading and Use of English tests
Each FCE Reading and Use of English test on this site has its own Part 1, timed with the whole paper and marked as soon as you submit, with an explanation for every answer.
FCE multiple-choice cloze: questions
Does FCE Use of English Part 1 count towards Reading or Use of English?
Towards Reading. The multiple-choice cloze is printed with the Use of English tasks, but its 8 marks are added to Parts 5, 6 and 7 for your Reading score (42 marks). Use of English is Parts 2, 3 and 4 (28 marks).
How many marks is the B2 multiple-choice cloze worth?
Eight: one mark for each of the eight gaps. Wrong answers lose nothing, so always choose an option.
How can I improve at Part 1 Use of English B2?
Learn words in combinations rather than alone: collocations, phrasal verbs and verb patterns. Read widely, note whole chunks such as make progress or take part in, and test yourself on which preposition or verb goes with each word.
How long should I spend on the FCE multiple-choice cloze?
About eight minutes. The paper lasts 75 minutes for seven parts, and the long reading texts in Parts 5 to 7 need the most time.
Sources
- B2 First Handbook for Teachers (Cambridge University Press & Assessment), pages 7, 10
- B2 First exam format (cambridgeenglish.org)
- B2 First preparation materials: Cambridge's own sample tests
CambridgeMock is independent and not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Facts on this page are checked against the official documents above; the practice items and advice are our own.
Ready for B2 First? Find out today
Take a free FCE mock test and get an estimated Cambridge English Scale score, with your marks part by part.