Sách Certificate in Advanced English

CAE content and overview

Part/timing Content

Test focus

1

READING

1 hour 15 mins

Part 1

Three texts on one theme from a range of sources. Each text

has two multiple-choice questions.

Candidates are expected to show understanding of

attitude, detail, implication, main idea, opinion,

purpose, specific information, text organisation fea-

tures, tone, text structure.

Part 2

A text from which six paragraphs have been removed and

placed in a jumbled order, together with an additional para-

graph, after the text.

Part 3

A text followed by seven multiple-choice questions.

Part 4

A text or several short texts preceded by 15 multiple-match-

ing questions.

2

WRITING

1 hour 30 minutes

Part 1

One compulsory question.

Candidates are expected to be able to write non-

specialised text types such as article, contribution

to a longer piece, essay, letter, proposal, report,

review, competition entry, with a focus on advising,

comparing, evaluating, expressing opinions,

hypothesising, justifying, persuading.

Part 2

Candidates choose one task from a choice of five questions

(including the set text options).

3

USE OF ENGLISH

1 hour

Part 1

A modified cloze test containing 12 gaps and followed by 12

multiple-choice items.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability

to apply their knowledge of the language system by

completing a number of tasks.

Part 2

A modified open cloze test containing 15 gaps.

Part 3

A text containing 10 gaps. Each gap corresponds to a word.

The stems of the missing words are given beside the text

and must be changed to form the missing word.

Part 4

Five questions, each one containing three discrete sen-

tences. Each sentence contains one gap, which must be

completed with one word which is appropriate in all three

sentences.

Part 5

Eight separate questions, each with a lead-in sentence and

a gapped second sentence to be completed in three to six

words, one of which is a given ‘key word’.

4

LISTENING

Approximately 40

minutes

Part 1

Three short extracts, from exchanges between interacting

speakers. There are two multiple-choice questions for each

extract.

Candidates are expected to be able to show under-

standing of agreement, attitude, course of action,

detail, feeling, function, gist, interpreting context,

main points, opinion, purpose, specific information

etc.

Part 2

A monologue with a sentence completion task which has

eight items.

Part 3

A text involving interacting speakers, with six multiple-

choice questions.

Part 4

Five short themed monologues, with 10 multiple-matching

questions.

5

SPEAKING

15 minutes

Part 1

A conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate

(spoken questions).

Candidates are expected to be able to respond to

questions and to interact in conversational English.

Part 2

An Individual ‘long turn’ for each candidate with a brief

response from the second candidate (visual and written

stimuli, with spoken instructions).

Part 3

A two-way conversation between the candidates (visual and

written stimuli, with spoken instructions).

Part 4

A discussion on topics related to Part 3 (spoken questions).