B1 Preliminary (PET) Reading Test 2 – Part 6

Write one word in each gap of a short text about a first job in a café. Practise the grammar words – prepositions, conditionals and question words – that Part 6 tests.

Questions 27–32Open cloze6 marks
For each question, write the correct answer. Write one word for each gap.

My first job

I got my first job 27 I was sixteen. It was at a small café in the town centre, and I worked there every Saturday. On my first day, I was so nervous that I dropped a whole tray 28 cups! Luckily, the owner, Mr Patel, just laughed and told me not to worry.

Mr Patel taught me how to make different kinds of coffee and how to talk to customers politely. At first I found it difficult to remember 29 the orders, but after a few weeks it became much easier.

The best thing about the job was the other staff. We were all about the same age, and we soon became good friends. We still meet up 30 month, even though none of us works there any more.

I didn’t earn much money, but I learnt a lot. Working at the café taught me to be patient and to work as part of a team. 31 I hadn’t taken the job, I would never have met some of my closest friends. I’m really glad I said yes when Mr Patel asked me 32 I wanted to work for him.

Explanations

Where more than one word is possible, all correct answers are accepted.

27Question 27

Answer: when. when introduces the time something happened: when I was sixteen.

28Question 28

Answer: of. a tray of cups: we use of after words for containers to say what they hold (a box of, a cup of, a tray of).

29Question 29

Answer: all. all the orders = every one of the orders. The gap comes between the verb remember and the orders, so it must be a determiner like all.

30Question 30

Answer: every / each. every month (or each month) describes something that happens regularly. Both answers are correct.

31Question 31

Answer: if. This is a third conditional: If + had + past participle, would have + past participle. It talks about an imaginary situation in the past.

32Question 32

Answer: if / whether. ask someone if / whether… reports a yes/no question. Both if and whether are correct.

About Reading Part 6

In Part 6 you read a short text with six gaps and write one word in each gap. There are no options to choose from. The missing words are mostly grammar words, such as prepositions, pronouns, articles and auxiliary verbs. There is one mark for each correct answer. Source: Cambridge English – B1 Preliminary exam format.

  • Decide what kind of word is missing: a preposition, a pronoun, a determiner, a linking word…
  • Check whether the gap is part of a fixed pattern (a tray of, ask if).
  • Write only one word, and check your spelling.

More B1 Preliminary Reading practice