Reading and Use of English
What the paper tests
Reading and Use of English is a single 75-minute paper with seven parts. Parts 1–4 test language systems: multiple-choice cloze (lexical collocation and fixed phrases), open cloze (grammar words such as articles, prepositions, pronouns and auxiliaries), word formation (building a word-family member from a root), and key word transformations (rewriting while keeping meaning). Parts 5–7 test reading: multiple choice on detail, opinion and attitude; gapped text using cohesion and coherence; and multiple matching using paraphrase.
Traps to recognise
In Part 1, all four options may fit grammatically, so choose by collocation, not by translation. In Part 2, look at the word before and after the gap: a gap after a preposition often needs a gerund; a gap before a past participle may need an auxiliary. In Part 3, check whether the sentence needs a noun, adjective, adverb or negative form, and watch internal spelling changes. In Part 4, the given word must not change, the answer must be two to five words, and the meaning must stay identical. In Part 6, pronouns and linking words (this, such, however, for example) point to the missing paragraph; do not match on topic alone. In Part 7, the answer is a paraphrase, not the same words.
Worked example
Prompt: 'It's a pity I didn't study.' + WISH. Answer: 'I wish I had studied.' Rule: use wish + past perfect for a past regret. The answer is five words, keeps the given word unchanged, and preserves the meaning.