Reading
What PEIC A1 Reading tests
PEIC A1 Reading checks understanding of short, simple texts that you meet in daily life: signs, notices, menus, timetables, labels, forms, short emails, and messages. The exam asks you to find specific information, match a notice to its meaning, decide if a short statement is true or false, or choose the best reply. Texts are short and use common vocabulary.
Core rules and concepts
- Decide the purpose first: is the text informing, warning, inviting, or asking?
- Scan for capitals, numbers, days, times, and prices; these often carry the answer.
- Match meaning, not just words: 'No entry' means you cannot go in, even if the question uses 'enter'.
- In a form or message, check who writes to whom and what action is needed.
- For true/false items, find the exact line that proves your answer; do not rely on general knowledge.
Worked example
Notice: 'Library closed Monday 3 June. Opens Tuesday at 9 a.m.' Question: 'When does the library reopen?' Reasoning: 'closed Monday' rules out Monday; 'Opens Tuesday at 9 a.m.' gives the answer: Tuesday at 9 a.m. The date 3 June is extra detail and does not answer 'when reopen'.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an option because it repeats a word from the text but has the wrong meaning.
- Mixing the day something closes with the day it opens.
- Missing 'not', 'only', 'except', or 'free' in a notice.
- Answering from personal experience instead of the text.