Test 1 answer key with extra explanations
Reading
Part 1
Questions 1–6
1 The correct answer is C: Chloe has written this message so that Susie will tidy up (clean)
the living room by putting away her things: ‘Can you take your work stuff out of the living room
and put it in your room?’. A is incorrect as Chloe is asking her flatmate to clean their living room
rather than her room (Susie’s bedroom). B is also incorrect because Susie isn’t being asked to
stop working at home, but to simply take her ‘work stuff out of the living room’ before Chloe’s
friend Liz comes over.
2 The correct answer is A: The message is asking students to ‘wash up and put things
away’ which is another way of asking them to ‘help keep the kitchen tidy’. B is incorrect as
the message isn’t asking students to let the cleaners know when the kitchen’s free, but to tell
the students that cleaners come every Friday. C is also incorrect as the message isn’t telling
students to stay out of the kitchen every Friday.
3 The correct answer is C: Anna has written Pete this text because she needs a lift from the
station: ‘Could you get me from the train station later tonight?’. A is incorrect because Anna is
telling Pete that she doesn’t ‘think there’ll be any taxis there (at the station)’, so she isn’t asking
Pete to order a taxi to pick her up. B is also incorrect as Anna hasn’t arrived at the station yet and
she would like Pete to text her back now, rather than when he gets to the station.
4 The correct answer is B: The notice is telling new students that their course books will be
available at reception: ‘Go to Reception to collect your course books’. A is incorrect because
the message is telling students to get their ‘books before seeing [their] teacher’, but not to go to
Reception before they collect their books. C is also incorrect as the notice says new students
will go to see their teacher, not that teachers will meet them at Reception.
5 The correct answer is B: This flat (apartment) is ready to move into because it has ‘just been
painted’ and has a ‘new kitchen’. A is incorrect as the advert only says the apartment has a ‘new
kitchen’, but doesn’t mention if it is in a new building. C is also incorrect. It isn’t too small for two
people because the advert says it has ‘one double bedroom’ which is designed to be used by a
couple (two people).
6 The correct answer is B: Gemma contacted Simon to ask him to return her book: ‘Don’t
forget to bring that book I lent you …’. A is incorrect as Simon already has her book. It is implied
that he borrowed Gemma’s book to read it, so he should already know what it is about. C is also
incorrect because Gemma has already lent Simon her book.
1

Part 2
Questions 7–13
7 The correct answer is B: High Wood is the only campsite that says it has an indoor swimming
pool: ‘pool with a roof window that can open and close’. A and C are incorrect. Sandy Bay has
an outdoor swimming pool with ‘a wide area of grass around it’ and Black Lace doesn’t have a
swimming pool, but visitors can ‘swim in the lake’.
8 The correct answer is A: We know that Sandy Bay offers water sports classes because it
‘has its own surfing schools … for campers’. Campers ‘can also learn to windsurf and sail there’,
which are water sports classes. B is incorrect because it says campers can go ‘fishing’, or go
swimming in the ‘fantastic pool’, but High Wood campsite doesn’t say it offers any classes to
teach these water sports. C is incorrect. Black Lake only says campers can ‘swim in the lake’,
but doesn’t mention if it offers swimming lessons.
9 The correct answer is C: Black Lake is the only campsite that says it has great views:
‘beautiful mountains all around you’. A is incorrect. Sandy Bay says it ‘has a wide area of grass’
around the outdoor swimming pool, but this doesn’t mean it has great views. B is also incorrect
as the text doesn’t describe what the views are like at the High Wood campsite.
10 The correct answer is A: Sandy Bay is the only campsite that has a shop: ‘its small
supermarket has long opening hours’. B is incorrect because the text says campers can go
‘food shopping … in the nearby village’. C is incorrect as it explains that a ‘shop in the next
village has a good variety of food’.
11 The correct answer is B: High Wood is the only campsite that offers evening activities:
‘watch films or dance under the stars to local bands’. A and C are incorrect. Both Sandy Bay
and Black Lake offer a range of different activities, but these are daytime activities such as
surfing, windsurfing, sailing, swimming, walking and cycling.
12 The correct answer is A: Sandy Bay has lots of space for your tent: ‘the campsite is large
and you won’t be too near your neighbours.’ B is incorrect as High Wood is ‘not as large as
some campsites’. C is incorrect. Black Lake doesn’t give any details about the size of the
campsite.
13 The correct answer is B: High Wood has bikes you can borrow: ‘There are lots of activities
... from fishing to cycling, and they’ll lend you any of the equipment you need’. Bikes are cycling
equipment. C is incorrect as Black Lake campsite tells campers not to ‘forget to bring [their]
mountain bikes’.
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Part 3

Questions 14–18
14 The correct answer is B: Jack Calder didn’t have a violin, but he learned to play this
instrument by borrowing his uncle’s: ‘my uncle said I could use his’. A is incorrect as some ‘girls
(and Jack) put up their hands’ when their music teacher asked if anyone wanted to learn to
play the violin. C is also incorrect because Jack said ‘the lessons were really hard at first’, so he
didn’t enjoy playing the violin as soon as he started.
15 The correct answer is C: This is correct because it’s the only option that reflects the main
idea of the second paragraph. Jack ‘bought an electric violin’ so he could use ‘the things he
liked about rock music’ when he played his violin. A is incorrect as Jack isn’t explaining that rock
music was easy to play. B is also incorrect because other people’s opinions about the music
Jack played aren’t mentioned in the second paragraph.
16 The correct answer is C: In the third paragraph, Jack says the members of his band (Ocean
Blue) wanted to stay friends when the band became successful. Though their ‘music was selling
well’ (they became successful) the band didn’t want to stop being friends. A is incorrect. The
band ‘were playing lots of concerts’, but Jack doesn’t say anything about travelling far to play
the concerts. B is also incorrect because the band members weren’t interested in different kinds
of music as they ‘all thought about music in the same way’.
17 The correct answer is B: Jack is lucky because he thinks ‘it’s (playing the violin) the best
thing in the world’. This is another way of saying that he loves what he does. A is incorrect
because he doesn’t say he is lucky he meets many people. C is also incorrect as lots of people
think Jack has an unusual career, but Jack doesn’t agree with them.
18 The correct answer is A: Jack thinks it is a good idea ‘to keep some things (beautiful old
instruments) that people used in the past (instruments that are two or three hundred years old).’
B is incorrect as Jack only says that the internet ‘has changed music’. He doesn’t say he wants
more music available on the internet. C is also incorrect because ‘Jack meets many people’, but
he doesn’t say that more people should learn to play an instrument.
A2 Key 1, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading3

Part 4
Questions 19–24
19 The correct answer is C: ‘decided’ is the only verb that collocates with ‘to’ which follows the
gap. It is also the only verb that fits the meaning of the text that ‘John Disley and Chris Brasher’
made the decision ‘to run the New York Marathon’ after thinking about what entering this race
would involve.
20 The correct answer is C: ‘time’ is the correct word for this gap because ‘At that time in the
UK’ is referring to 1979. A and B are incorrect. Neither ‘year’ or ‘day’ collocate with ‘at’. ‘day’ is
also incorrect because the meaning of the sentence isn’t referring to a specific day.
21 The correct answer is B: ‘crowds’ is the only noun with the correct meaning for this gap.
‘crowds’ means a large group of people who have come together to watch something. A and C
are incorrect. Neither ‘members’ or ‘visitors’ fit in this gap, as the words that are before and after
the gap do not collocate with either of these nouns.
22 The correct answer is A: ‘idea’ is the only option that fits the meaning of this sentence.
Disley and Brasher thought of a plan to start ‘a similar race in London’. B and C are incorrect,
because neither ‘answer’ or ‘fact’ collocate with ‘had the’ or ‘of’ which are words either side of
the gap.
23 The correct answer is B: ‘took’ is the only option that completes the phrase ‘took part’.
This is another way of saying you have been involved in an activity with other people: ‘over
six thousand runners took part’. A and C are incorrect. Neither ‘stayed’ or ‘made’ collocate
with ‘part’.
24 The correct answer is A: ‘shown’ is the only verb that fits the meaning of this gap. The
London Marathon was ‘shown’ on TV so that people in ‘nearly 200 countries’ could watch the
race. B is incorrect. ‘made’ doesn’t fit this gap because it doesn’t collocate with ‘on’ which
follows the gap. C is incorrect. The phrasal verb ‘held on’ is an informal way of saying to wait for
a short period of time and so it doesn’t match the meaning of this sentence.
A2 Key 1, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading4
Part 5

Questions 25–30
25 The correct answer is ‘up’: The word ‘up’ is needed in the gap as it is the particle that
completes the phrasal verb ‘grew up’. This phrase means to gradually become an adult.
26 The correct answer is ‘At’: The preposition ‘At’ completes the fixed phrase for this gap.
‘At the moment’ is another way to say ‘now’ or ‘at the present time’.
27 The correct answer is ‘it’: The pronoun ‘it’ is needed in the phrase ‘it only takes me ten
minutes to get there’ because ‘it’ is referring to the ten minute journey from Mark’s home to his
office.
28 The correct answer is ‘for’: The preposition ‘for’ completes the fixed phrase for this gap.
‘For example’ is used to give an example of what you are talking about. In this instance, the text
says, ‘I have to travel to other countries to work’ and the example is ‘last month, I went to’.
29 The correct answer is ‘the’: The definite article ‘the’ must come before ‘USA’. You put ‘the’
in front of the name of countries if the country’s name includes a common noun (i.e., ‘state’,
‘kingdom’ and ‘republic’). This rule works for almost every country except ‘the Philippines’.
30 The correct answer is ‘if’: The conjunction ‘if’ is needed for this gap. ‘If’ is used to say that
something will happen only after something else happens. In this instance, you must first leave a
message before you can ask questions.
A2 Key 1, Test 1 answer key with extra explanations, Reading5