Proper English Grammar
General Training Reading Comparing adverts13 questionsSuggested: 13 minutes

Everyday texts: comparing four adverts

The signature Section 1 experience: several short advertisements read side by side, with matching questions that reward fast, precise scanning rather than deep reading.

How to use this. Skim all five texts once, then answer the thirteen questions. When you're done, press Check answers for your score, an approximate band, and an explanation of every answer. With matching questions, read the statement first and scan the adverts for it, never the other way round. For a single-text Section 1 paper, see the residents’ notice.

·Reading texts

Evening courses this autumn

Texts A to D are advertisements for evening courses. Text E is the enrolment-terms notice that applies to all four.

A

Pottery for Beginners · Kiln & Co. Studio. Learn to throw, trim and glaze on the wheel in a friendly working studio. Tuesdays, 7pm to 9pm, for eight weeks from 30 September. £120, with all clay, glazes and firing included in the price. The class is limited to ten people so that everyone gets time on a wheel. Book by 15 September and pay £15 less. No experience needed, just clothes you do not mind ruining.

B

Conversational Spanish · Westbrook Community Centre. Build real fluency for travel and everyday life in a relaxed, talkative group. Mondays and Thursdays, 6.30pm to 8pm, for ten weeks. £95. Learners buy the course book separately (£18 from reception). The first week is a free taster, so you can try a class before you commit. The course suits people who already know a little basic Spanish rather than complete beginners.

C

Digital Photography Evenings · The Old Library. Get off automatic mode and start taking photographs on purpose. Wednesdays, 7pm to 8.30pm, for six weeks. £140. Bring your own camera; any model will do, including the one on your phone. Two of the six sessions are outdoor shoots held at the weekend, arranged with the group in the first class. Small groups, individual feedback, and absolute beginners are very welcome.

D

Bread and Baking · The Mill Kitchen. Four Saturday mornings of proper baking: sourdough, enriched doughs, and a final showstopper. Saturdays, 10am to 1pm, for four weeks. £150, with all ingredients and aprons provided, and you take home everything you bake. Open to ages 16 and over only. Our kitchen classes fill quickly, so early booking is strongly advised.

E

Enrolment terms · Westbrook Adult Learning (all four courses). Enrol online or at the reception desk. A place on a course is confirmed only once full payment has been made. If you cancel more than fourteen days before the first class, you will receive a full refund minus a £10 administration fee; cancellations after that point receive credit towards a future course instead of a refund. Concessions are available for full-time students and those aged over 65, who save 20 per cent on all courses except those held at The Mill Kitchen. Any class with fewer than six enrolments may be cancelled, in which case fees are refunded in full.

·Questions 1–13

Answer the questions.

The Section 1 question types this paper drills: matching statements to short texts, then sentence completion. Nothing is sent anywhere, your answers stay in your browser and are marked on this page.

Questions 1–7

Matching

Look at the four advertisements, A–D. For which course are the following statements true? Choose the correct letter. You may choose any letter more than once.

  • 1This course costs the least to attend.

  • 2This course is only open to people above a certain age.

  • 3Some sessions on this course take place at a different time from its usual weekly slot.

  • 4Students can pay a reduced price if they book before a particular date.

  • 5This course is not suitable for someone with no knowledge of the subject.

  • 6This course is held during the daytime.

  • 7The advertisement states a maximum number of students for the class.

Questions 8–13

Sentence completion

Complete each sentence using no more than two words and/or a number from Text E.

  • 8People who cancel more than fourteen days before the course begins pay an administration fee of .

  • 9Anyone cancelling later than that receives towards a future course rather than their money back.

  • 10Full-time students and people over 65 save on most courses.

  • 11The concession rate does not apply to courses held at .

  • 12A class may be cancelled if fewer than people enrol on it.

  • 13A place is only confirmed once has been made.

13 questions · not yet marked
·Scoring

Approximate band equivalence

This is a thirteen-question section, so the band shown is an approximation. General Training Reading needs a higher raw score than Academic for the same band, and a full paper has forty questions across three sections, so your band on the day depends on the whole test.

Score (/13)13121110987≤6
Band8.5+8.07.56.56.05.55.0<5.0
→Reading, under timed conditions

Marks lost on Reading are usually technique, not vocabulary.

Knowing the answer and scanning a busy notice to find it fast are different skills.

True/False/Not Given, matching, and the traps built into the distractors catch out strong readers who've never been shown the method. In a lesson we work through where your marks are actually going, and how to read for the answer rather than reading the whole passage twice. Lessons are £20 for fifty minutes, one to one, in proper British English; the first step is a discounted trial lesson.

Book a trial lesson → About my approach