CAE Reading and Use of English Test 6: tool labels, software design and an insect guide
CAE Reading and Use of English Test 6 is a free C1 Advanced practice paper: 56 questions in eight parts, timed at 90 minutes, with 3,343 words of text. You read about service conversations, explanations, tool labels, software design, learning structure, an insect guide and professional decisions to reduce waste.
- 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 6
| Part | Task | Questions | What you read | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Multiple-choice cloze | 1–8 | “What the counter conversations reveal” | 162 |
| 2 | Open cloze | 9–16 | “An explanation rewritten” | 183 |
| 3 | Word formation | 17–24 | “Labels that help people choose” | 155 |
| 4 | Key word transformations | 25–30 | Six sentences to rewrite, 3–6 words each | — |
| 5 | Multiple choice | 31–36 | “After the blocks stop moving”: an article about a software designer. A designer discovers the work beyond an elegant interface. | 756 |
| 6 | Cross-text multiple matching | 37–40 | “How much structure does learning need?”: four views on structure in learning. By Ruth Calder, Samir West, Lena Morris and Theo Lane. | 577 |
| 7 | Gapped text | 41–46 | “Drawing the difference”: an article about making an illustrated insect guide. An illustrator creates a guide to insects that are easy to overlook. | 878 |
| 8 | Multiple matching | 47–56 | “Decisions that reduce waste”: accounts by four professionals about reducing waste at work. Clare (theatre wardrobe supervisor), Rafi (café manager), Jo (furniture maker), Anika (exhibition installer). | 632 |
| Total | Within Cambridge’s 3,000–3,500 words (questions not counted) | 3,343 | ||
How the long texts begin
- Part 5: In a quiet corner of a conference centre, software designer Ivo Tan watches a visitor use his new planning tool. She moves three coloured blocks across the screen, stops and asks where she can print the result.
- Part 7: Illustrator Mae Lin had drawn butterflies often enough to know which features made a picture immediately recognisable. When she was asked to produce a guide to a group of small, less familiar insects, that confidence was of limited use.
Examples (0), shown answered in the test
Part 1
A small neighbourhood service may be (0) according to a formal timetable, yet much of the information that keeps it useful emerges in casual conversation.
- run
- lead
- drive
- perform
Answer: A, run
Part 2
One test (0) our understanding is whether we can explain an idea without borrowing the wording in which we first encountered it.
Answer: of
Part 3
A collection of everyday tools can be surprisingly (0) to someone who has never used them. FAMILIAR
Answer: unfamiliar
Part 4
I advise you to check the opening times. SHOULD
You (0) the opening times.
Answer: should make sure you check (5 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 placed one Part 3 stem word at the top edge of C1, closer to C2.
More CAE Reading and Use of English tests
CAE Reading and Use of English practice tests · CAE Mock Test 6 · Updated 15 November 2026
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