CAE Reading and Use of English Test 2: waiting, paper-making and bird migration
CAE Reading and Use of English Test 2 is a free C1 Advanced practice paper: 56 questions in eight parts, timed at 90 minutes, with 3,206 words of text. You read about waiting, collaborative uncertainty and paper-making, then compare evidence in ocean research, museum interpretation, bird tracking and accounts of expertise.
- Free, no sign-up to start
- Layout modelled on the computer-based exam
- Estimated Cambridge English Scale score
What is in CAE Reading and Use of English Test 2
| Part | Task | Questions | What you read | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multiple-choice cloze | 1–8 | “The experience of waiting” | 155 |
| 2 | Open cloze | 9–16 | “Leaving room for uncertainty” | 169 |
| 3 | Word formation | 17–24 | “Paper made on a smaller scale” | 153 |
| 4 | Key word transformations | 25–30 | Six sentences to rewrite, 3–6 words each | — |
| 5 | Multiple choice | 31–36 | “When two measurements disagree”: an article about an ocean researcher. A research team investigates an apparent contradiction in observations of a bay. | 710 |
| 6 | Cross-text multiple matching | 37–40 | “Choosing how to explore a museum”: four extracts from articles about offering museum visitors a choice of interpretation. By Elena March, exhibition designer, Martin Lau, learning researcher, Nora Adey, curator and Omar Pell, visitor advocate. | 592 |
| 7 | Gapped text | 41–46 | “The gaps in a migration map”: an article about tracking a migrating bird. An unexpected track changes where a research team looks for evidence. | 846 |
| 8 | Multiple matching | 47–56 | “What expertise looks like”: an article in which four people describe revising their assumptions about expertise. Lina, Theo, Anya, Samir. | 581 |
| Total | Within Cambridge’s 3,000–3,500 words (questions not counted) | 3,206 | ||
How the long texts begin
- Part 5: The red line on the screen rose sharply, while the blue one remained almost level. Both described the temperature of water in the same small bay, measured on the same afternoon.
- Part 7: The route on the screen took a small migrating bird away from the coast and inland, then back again two days later. It was not the journey that researcher Rina Holt had expected to see.
Examples (0), shown answered in the test
Part 1
We often (0) it for granted that a service should be judged by how quickly it is delivered.
- set
- put
- make
- take
Answer: D, take
Part 2
People working together are often encouraged (0) arrive at a clear answer quickly.
Answer: to
Part 3
The revival of small paper-making workshops is not simply a return to (0) methods. TRADITION
Answer: traditional
Part 4
I have never attended a more enjoyable workshop. MOST
This is (0) workshop I have ever attended.
Answer: the most enjoyable (3 words)
Marking and review notes
CAE Reading and Use of English marking
Reading (Parts 1, 5–8) is out of 50 and Use of English (Parts 2–4) out of 28; Part 4 gives up to 2 marks per question and spelling must be correct. 32/50 Reading is about 180. Scores are estimates.
From our review
Our reviewer found that the Part 4 transformations test a narrower range of grammar than a typical C1 paper.
More CAE Reading and Use of English tests
CAE Reading and Use of English practice tests · CAE Mock Test 2 · Updated 15 November 2026
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90 minutes. Free, no sign-up to start: you give an email address when you submit, and your marks open straight away.