CELPIP Reading Part 1: Reading Correspondence, with a free timed set
Part 1 gives you a personal message, such as an email to a friend, and 11 questions in 11 minutes: some about the message, the rest blanks in a reply to it.
The part at a glance
| Time | 11 minutes |
|---|---|
| Questions | 11 |
| What you read | A message such as a letter or email, and a reply to complete. |
Try a full Part 1 set
An original practice set in the format of the test, written by MapleMock. Start the clock, choose an answer for each question, and its answer and the reason for it show as you go. When the time is up, every answer shows.
Read the following message.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your message last week. I meant to write back the same day, but the days kept filling up. The last month has been strange, mostly in a good way. You know I had been thinking about leaving my job at the bank. Well, things changed, though not in the way I expected. In early March my manager asked whether I would run the training sessions for new tellers, which would have meant staying late three evenings a week. I said no, and two weeks later I asked to go part-time instead. So I haven't quit after all, but I now work three days a week, and the other two I spend at the community radio station on Fraser Street.
The radio work started in April, once I had those two free days. My neighbour Hana hosts a Saturday program about local food, and she and her co-host, who grew up in Penticton, wanted someone to report on the farms around the valley. I expected to be terrified on my first show, but I was oddly calm; it was Hana who forgot to switch on her microphone. It pays nothing for now, but I've learned more in two months than in two years at the bank.
The hardest part has been getting around. Working fewer hours meant giving up my car, and I thought the bus would be fine. It isn't: most of the farms are far from any bus stop, so every week I end up borrowing Hana's old truck.
I'm also finally taking the evening sound-editing course I told you about last summer. It runs until June, and the station manager says that if I finish it, they may pay me for a weekend shift.
How are things with you? Did you ever decide about the apartment in Kamloops? If you do move, I'd love to come and visit, though not on a summer weekend, since Hana and I are covering the farm festivals in Salmon Arm every Saturday until September.
Love, Priya
Hi Priya, what a month! I can't believe you turned down blank 7; I would have taken it just to avoid an argument with my manager. The station sounds wonderful, and I'm not surprised they wanted you back after that first show. Please send me a link to your blank 8, because I'd love to hear the interviews from the farms. As for me, I finally signed the lease, so I'll be living in blank 9 from May. The apartment is small, but it has a garden, so you can finally teach me how to grow something that I can actually eat. Come whenever your blank 10 are over; the spare room is yours for as long as you like. And please thank blank 11 for lending you the truck; I know how much she loves it.
Question 1: answer and explanation
The answer is “lead classes for new staff”. He asked her to run training for new tellers.
Why the other options are wrong:
- take a job at another branch: No other branch is mentioned.
- reduce her hours at the bank: Going part-time was her own request.
- leave her job at the bank: Leaving was her own idea, which she dropped.
Question 2: answer and explanation
The answer is “after her schedule got lighter”. It started once she had two free days a week.
Why the other options are wrong:
- when a regular host left town: Hana and her co-host are both still there.
- once her course had begun: The course is not given as the start.
- before she spoke to her manager: The talk with her manager came in March, before April.
Question 3: answer and explanation
The answer is “was more relaxed than she feared”. She expected terror but was calm.
Why the other options are wrong:
- made a slip because of nerves: It was Hana who made the slip.
- had prepared it for many weeks: She says nothing about preparing.
- was let down by the audience: No reaction from listeners is given.
Question 4: answer and explanation
The answer is “tougher than she had hoped”. She thought the bus would do, but it does not.
Why the other options are wrong:
- easier than she had feared: The bus does not reach the farms.
- the reason she went part-time: Going part-time led to giving up the car.
- a way to save for the course: No link to the course is made.
Question 5: answer and explanation
The answer is “start earning money from the radio”. The station may pay her for a weekend shift.
Why the other options are wrong:
- produce whole episodes alone: Making episodes alone is not mentioned.
- return to full-time bank work: She does not plan to go back.
- move closer to the station: No move is mentioned for her.
Question 6: answer and explanation
The answer is “on Saturdays during the summer”. She covers the farm festivals every Saturday until September.
Why the other options are wrong:
- while her course is still running: The course is not her reason.
- until he has a bigger place: The size of his place is not her concern.
- because the bus does not go there: Her bus problem is about the farms.
Question 7: answer and explanation
The answer is “the training role”. She said no to running the training sessions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the part-time hours: She asked for them herself.
- the radio segment: She took the radio work.
- the evening course: She is taking the course.
Question 8: answer and explanation
The answer is “farm reports”. She reports on the valley farms for the show.
Why the other options are wrong:
- editing course: A course is not something to listen to.
- weekend shift: The paid shift has not started.
- festival plans: Her plans are not something to listen to.
Question 9: answer and explanation
The answer is “Kamloops”. He signed the lease for the apartment Priya asked about.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Salmon Arm: That is where the festivals are.
- Penticton: That is where the co-host grew up.
- the valley: That is where the farms are.
Question 10: answer and explanation
The answer is “festival Saturdays”. She is busy every summer Saturday until September.
Why the other options are wrong:
- evening classes: The course ends in June, but her Saturdays stay busy.
- bank shifts: Her bank days do not stop her visiting.
- radio interviews: The interviews are part of the festival work, not the whole.
Question 11: answer and explanation
The answer is “your neighbour”. Her neighbour Hana lends her the truck.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the station manager: The manager does not lend the truck.
- the bank manager: He has nothing to do with the truck.
- the co-host: The co-host is not said to own a truck.
Tips for Part 1
- Read the whole message once before the questions: the answer to an early question is often in a later paragraph.
- Each blank in the reply points back to the message. Find the detail the reply is talking about before you choose.
- Watch for options that reuse the message's words but change who did what, or when.
Practise it on the clock
The free Listening & Reading mock is open now: it has the full Reading section, with each part on its own timer.
Questions
- What is in CELPIP Reading Part 1?
- A message such as a letter or email, and a reply to complete: 11 questions in 11 minutes.
- How long is CELPIP Reading Part 1?
- 11 minutes for 11 questions, on the part's own timer.
- Is this an official CELPIP practice set?
- No. MapleMock wrote it in the format of the test, for practice. It is not an official CELPIP set.
For all four parts and how they are timed, see the CELPIP Reading page.
See every part and task in the CELPIP test format, or how to practise for CELPIP.
These parts, questions and timings follow Paragon's published test format: see the sources on our CELPIP test format page.
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