FCE Reading and Use of English Test 5: concert-hall sound, shop signs and a sensory garden
FCE Reading and Use of English Test 5 is a free B2 First practice paper: 52 questions in seven parts, timed at 75 minutes, with 2,212 words of text. You read about adjustable concert halls, travel memories, old signs, website usability, a sensory garden and different routes to speaking confidence.
- 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 5
| Part | Task | Questions | What you read | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multiple-choice cloze | 1–8 | “Changing a room’s sound” | 159 |
| 2 | Open cloze | 9–16 | “Remembering the journey” | 153 |
| 3 | Word formation | 17–24 | “The signs above the shops” | 152 |
| 4 | Key word transformations | 25–30 | Six sentences to rewrite, 2–5 words each | — |
| 5 | Multiple choice | 31–36 | “Finding what a customer needs”: an article about a teenager helping a business redesign its online shop. Seventeen-year-old Ivo helped a small stationery business rethink its website. | 649 |
| 6 | Gapped text | 37–42 | “A garden beyond the window”: an article about planning a sensory garden. | 535 |
| 7 | Multiple matching | 43–52 | “Finding a voice in front of others”: an article in which four people describe becoming more confident about speaking to an audience. Tariq (demonstrating a process), Lucia (presenting a group idea), Emil (describing photographs), Amina (chairing a discussion). | 564 |
| Total | Within Cambridge’s 2,200–2,500 words (questions not counted) | 2,212 | ||
How the long texts begin
- Part 5: The first thing Ivo removed from the online shop was a photograph he particularly liked. It showed rows of pencils arranged in a coloured circle, and it had taken most of an afternoon to get right.
- Part 6: The narrow strip of ground beside the library was easy to overlook. People saw it through the reading-room windows, but a locked gate kept them from entering.
Examples (0), shown answered in the test
Part 1
At first (0), a concert hall may look the same from one evening to the next, while sounding noticeably different.
- vision
- display
- sight
- picture
Answer: C, sight
Part 2
A journey, (0) may seem like the least important part of a holiday, can remain surprisingly clear in memory.
Answer: which
Part 3
As older shop signs (0) from a town’s streets, a small history group is recording the ones that remain. APPEAR
Answer: disappear
Part 4
I am certain that Noor is at home. MUST
Noor (0) at home.
Answer: must be (2 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 on the easy side of B2 (mostly common fixed phrases) and placed the Part 4 set at the easier end of B2.
More FCE Reading and Use of English tests
FCE Reading and Use of English practice tests · FCE Mock Test 5 · Updated 15 November 2026
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75 minutes. Free, no sign-up to start: you give an email address when you submit, and your marks open straight away.