Use of English
Part 4: Keyword Transformation
B2 First Exam
Overview
In Part 4 of the Reading and Use of English Paper on the B2 First Exam, you are provided with two sentences. The second sentence has a gap. You are also provided with a key word.
You must use the word to fill in the gap of the second sentence, giving it the same meaning as the first sentence.
How it works
There are 6 questions (plus an example). Each question contains three parts:
a lead-in sentence
a key word
a second sentence with a gap between the beginning and end
You have to complete a second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first sentence (= it's a paraphrase!)
The gap must be filled with between 2 - 5 words, one of which must be the key word.
You cannot change the key word.
You must write your answers in capital letters.
Here’s an example:
American football is better than Canadian football.
AS
Canadian football __________________ American football.
The answer: Canadian football IS NOT AS GOOD AS American football.
Scoring
You are awarded a mark of 2, 1, or 0 depending on the accuracy of your response.
You must use correct spelling in your answers in this section. Misspelled responses will be marked wrong. Answers that don't use capital letters will be marked wrong.
Note
You must use the keyword.
Do not change the keyword in any way. If the keyword is "start" you cannot write "starting" or "starts".
You must use between 2 and 5 words. Do not write more words.
Contractions count as two words. didn't = did not / isn't = is not. However, can't = cannot (one word).
Correct spelling is very important.
You must write your answers in capital letters.
Tips
This part of the exam is pretty hard. Sometimes it's even hard for me and I speak English. Usually the answer is simply something I'd never personally say, so it doesn't come to me immediately. You might be tempted to spend a lot of time thinking about an answer but don't. If you are really struggling, just make a guess and move on to the next one instead of wasting time.
When you know the answer, double check that what you've written makes sense.
Make sure the nouns and verbs in your sentence agree with each other. I go / you go / he goes etc.
You must paraphrase. The meaning of the first phrase must be the same as the second phrase. Use the same words where possible.