Both the CELPIP-General
Test and the CELPIP-General LS Test
can be challenging to non-English speakers. But it’s not something that can’t
be fixed with some practice. Joining a CELPIP preparation program is also an effective way to get better at CELPIP.
In
this blog, we will discuss tips for acing the reading part of the test.
CELPIP Reading
There
are four parts in the reading task, which takes about 55 minutes to complete. You
will get 10 minutes each to read each passage and answer the questions. As with
the other questions, you won’t be able to go back to a section. Also keep an
eye on the time on the right-side top corner, which ticks along. You don’t want
to run out of time.
The
four parts are reading correspondence, reading to apply a diagram, reading for
information and viewpoints
Reading Part 1: Reading Correspondence
The
following examples are from the free sample test that is available on the
official CELPIP website.
The
first part is reading correspondence. The message is on the left, and the
questions are on the right side. Read the entire passage once before looking at
the questions. Some of the options could be confusing. For instance, the fifth
question: Maria and Jack are worried about…is slightly tricky. It could easily
be option number 2, which is “Marco not speaking the language.” But if you read
it a little carefully, you will know that the right answer is “Marco’s lack of
experience,” which is evident when Maria says in the letter, “We think he’s so
young to be so far away…” So remember, you may need to infer meaning in some of
the cases, as not all options will be apparent.
For
this section, you need to use more of your deduction skills because not
everything is obvious. For example, let’s look at fill in the blank 1: Buses
are the “least comfortable.” Now, this is not mentioned. We deduce this from
the description. Things such as ‘no checked baggage, no washrooms, no stops,
only morning trips to Seattle’ let us know that choosing to travel by bus will
not be the most sensible decision. We also learn that train, though relaxed,
isn’t a good option, because it costs more when compared to airfares. Plus the
station is far from the hotel. The other options, apart from the station, were a
parking lot, airport, and stop.
In the
follow up section (fill in the blank 7), we figure the primary purpose of the
trip is ”to speak at a conference,” because the first line of Peter’s message
to Janice says, “You will find attached our presentation
file.” So we know they are going to speak at the event. That way you can
eliminate the other options that included, “To attend a business meeting,” “To
visit a tourist attraction and To visit a doctor.”
Reading
Part 3: Reading for Information
Now the questions get progressively harder, passages
longer. Again, the questions can be tricky here. For instance, fill in the
blank 2: Narwhals are also referred to as death-like. The words “death-like”
isn’t part of the passage, but if you read closely you can find that “corpse
whale” is mentioned in the first paragraph. You will also notice that these are
statements and that there are no drop-downs with options.
If we look at question number 8, it declares that the
narwhal population is in jeopardy. Now, if you read though the passage again,
you will realise that this is not addressed. Don’t panic. You can choose E,
which means that the information is “not given in any of the above paragraphs.”
It’s important to remember, you do have this option and should use it if you
believe you can’t find the answer in the passage.
Reading
Part 4: Reading for Viewpoints
This part, just like the last, could get challenging.
For instance, the fill the blank 2, the right choice is “was inspired by his
own successful experience as a student” could be easily replaced with “is part
of medical treatment for overweight children with ADHD”. Having a decent
vocabulary helps, especially when options are too similar. You will be able to
differentiate between words like “produced, confirmed, contradicted, and
yielded” etc.
However, drawing meaning from context is also a great
strategy when you don’t know what the word means. For example, in the following
screenshot of the comment by a visitor, say you don’t know the meaning of the
word, “fade.” From context you can deduce that when students play for long
periods, they will get tired; when students are tired, they will feel sleepy,
hence fade could mean “being sleepy” or “not paying attention”.
This section is followed by a response. In this case, it’s
in the form of comments made by a visitor to the website page.
Answer to fill in the blank 1 is “bring exercise into
the classroom,” and we know this by the last line in paragraph 1 that reads, “…he
decided to infuse academic studies with physical activity in his own classroom.”
Physical activity equals exercise, hence the choice. Sometimes you may get
lucky and find that the current and the following or previous answers are
closely connected.
Consider filling in the blanks 8 and 9. Because the
students are exercising more, they will be tired during the school day, and
therefore the choice, “are most likely to fade,” and the next statement is…”It
would be a mistake to,” and we know it should be “overwork the students prior
to the end of a busy school day.”
When all else fails, that is, you have tried to infer
the answer, eliminated the wrong choices, reread the passage, and are still unclear,
then make a guess. Since there’s no penalty or negative marks for wrong
answers, there’s no risk.
Again, if any
of this feels like too much work, you can save yourself some headache and join
a CELPIP preparation program that is offered by many colleges and institutes in
Canada and get better at all aspects of your English proficiency exam.
