B1 Preliminary Reading Part 5 can be frustrating when all four options look familiar. Knowing a word’s basic meaning is useful, but the task often depends on whether it belongs in a particular phrase. “Make a decision” works; “do a decision” does not, even though both verbs are common.
The task is a shorter text with six gaps and four options for each. It focuses on vocabulary in context. This differs from Part 6, where you supply one word without options. Our B1 Preliminary hub shows how both parts fit into the 45-minute Reading paper.
This workshop contains three original teaching sets. They are shorter, focused practice rather than calibrated exam papers. Try each complete text before opening the answers, then record the full useful expression instead of only its missing word.
What kinds of knowledge help?
Collocations are words that commonly work together: “make a choice”, “pay attention” and “heavy rain”. Sometimes two options are close in meaning, but only one forms the ordinary partnership in that sentence.
Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a particle, as in “set up” a club or “give up” an activity. Read the whole expression and notice whether it needs an object. Knowing the meaning of the base verb alone may not help.
Dependent prepositions belong to patterns such as “interested in”, “responsible for” and “proud of”. Learn these with a short sentence. Translating the preposition from another language is unreliable.
Linkers show addition, contrast, reason or result. Their grammar matters too. “Although it rained” contains a clause, while “despite the rain” uses a noun phrase. Fixed phrases, such as “in advance” and “on time”, are best learnt as complete units.
These categories overlap. You do not need to label every gap perfectly during the exam. Their value is in helping you notice patterns when learning and reviewing mistakes.
A strategy for comparing four options
Read the full text first to understand the situation. At each gap, look at the words immediately before and after it, then the whole sentence. If you can predict an expression before reading the options, do so.
Compare the choices for both meaning and structure. Reject an option with a reason: it needs a different preposition, creates the wrong meaning or does not form a natural phrase. Avoid choosing only because a word appeared in a previous practice task.
After completing all six gaps, reread the text smoothly. Does the sequence still make sense? If two options seem possible, compare the precise expression rather than repeatedly reading the entire list. Our Vocabulary & Grammar guide offers related patterns to practise.
Original set 1: the repair café
Choose A, B, C or D for each gap.
Last spring, our neighbourhood decided to (1) _____ a small repair café. People could bring broken household objects and learn how to fix them. I knew very little about tools, but a volunteer gave me a (2) _____ with my old lamp. Several visitors were interested (3) _____ learning basic repairs, so we all took (4) _____ in a short workshop. (5) _____ I made a few mistakes, nobody complained. When my lamp finally worked, I felt a great (6) _____ of satisfaction. Now I help welcome new visitors and explain how the sessions work.
| Gap | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take off | set up | turn down | look after |
| 2 | side | way | hand | turn |
| 3 | on | for | at | in |
| 4 | place | care | part | time |
| 5 | Despite | However | During | Although |
| 6 | sense | manner | point | result |
Answers and explanations: the repair café
- B — set up. To set up a café or project is to establish it. “Look after” means care for something, rather than create it.
- C — hand. “Give someone a hand” means help them. Learn the whole phrase, not the literal body-part meaning alone.
- D — in. The pattern is “interested in doing something”. “Learning” is the -ing form after the preposition.
- C — part. “Take part in” means participate. “Take place” describes an event happening and would not fit this subject and structure.
- D — Although. A full clause follows: “I made a few mistakes”. “Despite” would need a noun phrase or -ing form instead.
- A — sense. “A sense of satisfaction” is the natural phrase for the feeling produced by completing something successfully.
For review, describe something you helped set up and something that gave you a sense of satisfaction.
Original set 2: a journey with a change of plan
Read the whole text before choosing. Notice the transport and planning expressions.
Before our weekend walk, we had to (1) _____ a decision about transport. The early train was cheaper, so we booked our tickets in (2) _____. Unfortunately, a problem on the line caused a long (3) _____. We were worried (4) _____ missing the start of the walk, but the organiser sent us a message. She suggested a shorter route that began near the station. Thanks to her advice, we arrived just in (5) _____ to join the group. The change of plan did not (6) _____ us from enjoying a lovely afternoon outdoors.
| Gap | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | do | make | put | give |
| 2 | ahead | early | advance | before |
| 3 | delay | distance | direction | journey |
| 4 | of | with | to | about |
| 5 | date | time | hour | minute |
| 6 | avoid | refuse | prevent | cancel |
Answers and explanations: the changed journey
- B — make. The collocation is “make a decision”. A common verb is not automatically interchangeable with another common verb.
- C — advance. “In advance” means before the time something happens. “Ahead” would need a different expression, such as “ahead of time”.
- A — delay. A problem can cause a delay, making the train later than expected. The other nouns do not express that interruption here.
- D — about. “Worried about” introduces the problem causing concern. The following -ing form names the possible event.
- B — time. “Just in time to join” means early enough for the activity. “On time” would describe being punctual, but the given word is “in”.
- C — prevent. The pattern is “prevent someone from doing something”. “Avoid” does not use that object-plus-from structure.
Write one sentence with “in advance” and another with “prevent… from”. Use a situation from your own life.
Original set 3: learning to record a podcast
Check verb patterns as well as vocabulary meanings.
At first, I found it difficult to (1) _____ attention to my voice when recording our college podcast. I was responsible (2) _____ introducing each guest, and I worried about making mistakes. Our teacher advised me to (3) _____ a few notes instead of writing every sentence. I also learned to speak more slowly so that listeners could follow my ideas. After several attempts, I (4) _____ to record an introduction without stopping. I was proud (5) _____ the result. The experience has encouraged me to (6) _____ on practising, even when my first attempt is disappointing.
| Gap | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | spend | take | pay | give |
| 2 | to | for | with | at |
| 3 | take | do | get | put |
| 4 | achieved | succeeded | reached | managed |
| 5 | of | for | with | on |
| 6 | hold | move | carry | turn |
Answers and explanations: recording a podcast
- C — pay. “Pay attention to” means focus on something. Keep the preposition when recording the phrase in your notebook.
- B — for. “Responsible for” introduces a duty. Here it is followed by “introducing”, an -ing form.
- A — take. “Take notes” is the ordinary collocation. “Do notes” and “put notes” do not fit this meaning in the sentence.
- D — managed. “Managed to record” means succeeded in doing it, often after difficulty. “Succeeded” would need “in recording”.
- A — of. Use “proud of” to introduce the thing producing pride.
- C — carry. “Carry on practising” means continue. “Move on” suggests progressing to something else and does not fit the given pattern.
Compare “managed to finish” with “succeeded in finishing”. Both express success, but their grammar is different.
Turn a score into a learning plan
Count your answers if it helps you focus, but do not convert the score from these sets into a Cambridge English Scale result. The texts are original teaching exercises, and their difficulty has not been calibrated against an official exam.
Instead, sort mistakes by reason. Was the meaning unknown, the collocation unfamiliar or the grammar pattern overlooked? An unknown phrase needs an example and review. A rushed reading error may need a slower left-and-right check. Different problems need different practice.
Keep a phrase notebook with three columns: expression, meaning and your example. Cover the expression later and rebuild it from the example. A few phrases recalled actively are more useful than a long list copied once.
Connect the patterns to writing and speaking
Use two expressions from each set in an original short paragraph. For example, describe a journey you planned in advance or an activity you decided to carry on doing. Choose expressions that fit naturally rather than forcing all of them into one message.
The B1 email workshop shows how reasons and practical details improve a response. Try adding a useful collocation to your own email, then check that the meaning stays clear. For contrast, the A2 open-cloze workshop focuses more directly on small grammatical words.
Key takeaways
- Read the whole text, then check both sides of each gap.
- Compare complete expressions and patterns, not isolated definitions.
- Record collocations, phrasal verbs and dependent prepositions in useful sentences.
- Review why an option fails and reuse the correct phrase in your own language.
For the latest task requirements, check the official B1 Preliminary format page. All three practice texts, options and explanations here are original A2B1 Lab material.