Skip to guide
CambridgePreparationAI home
English
Log inCreate free account

B2 First · Reading & Use of English · Part 7

B2 Multiple Matching Practice (Free)

Find the part of a text that answers each prompt. Practise scanning for specific information and recognising the same idea in different words.

Try the free exerciseCreate account for more practice

This exercise, its explanations and the downloadable PDF are in English.

Download exercise and explanations (PDF)
Free download · No account needed · 4 pages

Trying an evening class

You are going to read four accounts of evening classes. For questions 1–10, choose from the people (A–D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Original, independent teaching material. No account needed. The result counts correct answers in this sample, not exam marks.

A

Anna — Pottery I had recently moved to the area and knew nobody apart from my colleagues. Pottery seemed a pleasant excuse to spend time with local people, although I had never thought of myself as artistic. My first bowl was uneven, and I wanted to throw it away. The tutor asked me to keep it until the end of the course and compare it with my later work. Seeing the difference made me realise that an unsuccessful piece could be useful evidence of progress. It now holds my keys. There is a shop nearby selling beautiful handmade bowls, but I feel no pressure to produce anything like those. For me, the conversations while we work matter more than the objects we take home. I have made two friends who live within walking distance, and we sometimes meet between classes. That was what I had hoped for.

B

Ben — Bicycle repair I cycle to work, so regular repair bills were becoming a problem. Before joining the class, I had tried to deal with a fault myself and made it worse; paying a professional to undo my mistake was particularly annoying. I took the damaged part along, and the tutor helped me understand where I had gone wrong. He demonstrates a repair, then watches us practise until we can explain what we are doing. I bought my own small set of tools after the first lesson. The money I have saved on simple repairs since then is already greater than the course fee, although I still take complicated problems to the shop. Several classmates want to build bicycles from old parts. That sounds interesting, but my ambition is simpler: I want to keep the bicycle I use every day working reliably without spending so much.

C

Clara — Astronomy I nearly chose a different class because I imagined astronomy would involve difficult calculations every week. Instead, our tutor began by showing us how to recognise a few patterns in the sky and build our knowledge from there. She welcomes questions without expecting us to know technical terms. My sister lent me a telescope for the course, but we often use nothing more complicated than our eyes. I used to regard my late train journey home as a boring gap between work and dinner. Now, when the weather is clear, I look out for familiar stars from the platform and notice how the view changes through the year. It has altered an ordinary part of my routine. I still have plenty to learn, and I am happy with that; the class has made the subject inviting rather than something I need to master immediately.

D

Dario — Sewing A friend persuaded me to sign up with her, then changed jobs and could no longer attend. By then I had paid for the whole term. I worried that I would be slower than everyone else and regret going on my own, but I decided to give it a chance. Some people were more experienced, yet the teacher planned projects that could be made simple or challenging. My first useful creation was a shopping bag for my nephew, who had asked for one with an inside pocket. When he told me he used it every day because the pocket kept his keys easy to find, I felt proud in a way that finishing a practice exercise had not made me feel. I now look forward to choosing my next project. My friend is surprised I have continued so enthusiastically without her.

Four people describe what they gained from joining an evening class.

1. Which person values meeting people more than the objects made in the class?
2. Which person found the subject less academically demanding at first than expected?
3. Which person used equipment borrowed from a family member?
4. Which person has already saved more money than the course cost?
5. Which person continued after the person they planned to attend with could no longer join them?
6. Which person changed their opinion of an early unsuccessful attempt after a tutor’s suggestion?
7. Which person used a mistake made before the course as a learning opportunity?
8. Which person worried about keeping up after already paying for the course?
9. Which person now finds a previously uninteresting journey more enjoyable?
10. Which person was particularly pleased by someone’s explanation of how they used a finished item?

No account needed. You can check your answers as often as you like.

Answers and explanations

Read the reason behind each answer, then return to the text and find the evidence yourself.

Question 1: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: A — Person A

Anna explicitly says “the conversations ... matter more than the objects”. This is a comparison of priorities, and her original reason was meeting local people. Dario values making something useful for another person; that is different from placing social contact above the finished object.

Question 2: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: C — Person C

Clara expected “difficult calculations every week”, but the first lessons used recognisable patterns in the sky. The question concerns the difference between an expectation and the starting approach, not a claim that astronomy is always easy. Dario feared being slower than others, but does not describe the subject as too academic.

Question 3: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: C — Person C

Clara says “My sister lent me a telescope”. Sister identifies the family relationship and lent establishes borrowing. Ben bought his own tools, while Dario made something for a relative; neither describes using equipment owned by a family member.

Question 4: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: B — Person B

Ben compares the money saved on repairs with “the course fee” and says the savings are greater. This is stronger evidence than merely hoping to save money. Dario had paid for a term, but does not mention earning back or saving that amount.

Question 5: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: D — Person D

Dario’s friend changed jobs and could no longer attend, but he went on his own and has continued enthusiastically. Anna made friends through the class; she did not lose an intended companion before continuing. Distinguish a friendship formed during a course from the person originally expected to attend it.

Question 6: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: A — Person A

Anna wanted to throw away her uneven bowl. The tutor asked her to keep it and compare it with later work, which made her see it as “useful evidence of progress”. Ben also discusses a mistake with a tutor, but learns what went wrong; he does not change his view of the value of keeping an early creation.

Question 7: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: B — Person B

Before enrolling, Ben tried a repair and made the fault worse. Bringing the damaged part let the tutor explain “where I had gone wrong”. Anna’s uneven bowl was her first course project, so it was not a pre-course mistake. The time reference before the course is essential.

Question 8: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: D — Person D

Dario says “By then I had paid for the whole term” and then recalls worrying he would be “slower than everyone else”. Clara’s concern about calculations came while choosing a class; her account does not say she had already paid. Both have doubts, but only Dario matches the timing and comparison with other learners.

Question 9: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: C — Person C

Clara calls the late train journey a former “boring gap”, then describes looking for familiar stars from the platform. Astronomy has changed her experience of that routine. Ben’s commute explains why he needs reliable repairs, but he does not say the journey itself became more enjoyable.

Question 10: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: D — Person D

Dario’s nephew explained that the bag’s pocket kept his keys easy to find, making Dario feel unusually proud. Anna uses her own bowl for keys, but receives no such feedback from another user. Match the person giving the response and its practical detail, rather than choosing on the repeated word keys.

Ready for more B2 multiple matching practice?

Create a free account for more practice and saved progress. This sample and its explanations stay free to use.

Create free account

Already have an account? Log in to this activity.

Practice exercises are AI-generated and may contain errors. They are supplementary practice, not official exam materials.