FCE Reading and Use of English Test 3: thank-you notes, footpaths and a weather station
FCE Reading and Use of English Test 3 is a free B2 First practice paper: 52 questions in seven parts, timed at 75 minutes, with 2,218 words of text. You read about personal notes, routines, footpaths, a weather-station placement, recorded village memories and quieter holiday experiences.
- Free, no sign-up to start
- Layout modelled on the computer-based exam
- Estimated Cambridge English Scale score
What is in FCE Reading and Use of English Test 3
| Part | Task | Questions | What you read | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multiple-choice cloze | 1–8 | “A thank-you worth keeping” | 157 |
| 2 | Open cloze | 9–16 | “A new timetable” | 166 |
| 3 | Word formation | 17–24 | “Keeping paths open” | 160 |
| 4 | Key word transformations | 25–30 | Six sentences to rewrite, 2–5 words each | — |
| 5 | Multiple choice | 31–36 | “A week of looking up”: an article about a student spending a week at a weather station. Student Amara kept notes during a placement at a coastal weather station. | 634 |
| 6 | Gapped text | 37–42 | “Voices for the archive”: an article about recording village memories. | 539 |
| 7 | Multiple matching | 43–52 | “A quieter day away”: an article in which four people describe choosing a quieter holiday activity. Nora (a harbour bench), Elias (a slow train), Sofia (a small garden), Daniel (an early walk). | 562 |
| Total | Within Cambridge’s 2,200–2,500 words (questions not counted) | 2,218 | ||
How the long texts begin
- Part 5: On Monday morning, I expected someone to show me an impressive screen and explain how it produced the day’s forecast. Instead, a technician called Paul took me outside to check a simple rain gauge.
- Part 6: When the village archive asked for help recording local memories, student Milo expected to spend most of his time learning about microphones. The first training session was about listening instead.
Examples (0), shown answered in the test
Part 1
When a handwritten note from a friend (0) Lila by post, she kept it beside her desk for months.
- arrived
- delivered
- reached
- received
Answer: C, reached
Part 2
A change of job or course often brings a new timetable, (0) can take longer to adjust to than expected.
Answer: which
Part 3
A volunteer team helps (0) enjoy the countryside by looking after local footpaths. VISIT
Answer: visitors
Part 4
The room had enough chairs for everyone. SHORT
The room was (0) for everyone.
Answer: not short of chairs (4 words)
Marking and review notes
FCE Reading and Use of English marking
Reading (Parts 1, 5–7) is out of 42 and Use of English (Parts 2–4) out of 28; Part 4 gives up to 2 marks per question and spelling must be correct. 24/42 Reading is about 160. Scores are estimates.
From our review
Our reviewer rated Part 1 as easy for B2: most gaps are high-frequency collocations.
More FCE Reading and Use of English tests
FCE Reading and Use of English practice tests · FCE Mock Test 3 · Updated 15 November 2026
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