Hello ExamSeekers,

You all know that I’ve been updating some old content, right? Well, I was looking at the content posted on the blog to check what needs to be updated when I realized that I haven’t talked much about the A2 Key (former Cambridge English KET). I know that many people have been looking for the B1 Preliminary (former Cambridge English PET), but I really don’t know how interested you are in A2 Key. Therefore, today, I decided to write some tips on it.

First things first, though. Take a look at the overview I did on the A2 Key to be sure this is the exam for you. There are other exams for you to check out as well:

• B1 Preliminary;
• B2 First;
• C1 Advanced;
• C2 Proficiency.

So if you are sure A2 Key is the exam for you, let’s go into it now!!!

Part 1 – Multiple Choice

This part of the exam consists of six short real-world texts which you should read and get the main message. Each correct answer will provide you with one mark.

So here is a sample of the first part:

As you can see, there is a picture with some writing inside.

A2 Key is the first exam from the Main Suite. This means that candidates who take this exam are no longer children and are probably over 12 years old. So this is a transitional exam. There are no more colorful pictures, but you won’t find texts only. Cambridge tried to balance from colorful images to text, as you can see in the sample above.

So, by glancing at this first sample, you can identify it as an ad. This ad is probably selling something related to bicycles (due to the bike pic).

There are two ways of going over this part of the exam:

1. You can either read the text inside the ad, then go over the alternatives.
2. Or, you can go over the alternatives first, then read the ad.

If you don’t have much time, I’d advise you to take the second option. As this is a practice, let’s take the first:

I will read the ad, then read the alternatives and choose the one I think is correct. If I need, I will go over the ad again, but as I don’t want to waste a lot of time in this exercise, I will read the ad carefully and analyze it before checking the alternatives.

The ad says: “For sale – Women’s bicycle (small). 11 years old – needs new tyres. Phone Debbie – 0794587454”.

So this is a selling ad, as expected. Debbie is selling an 11-year-old small bike meant for women that requires new tires. I guess this is all the information I need. Let’s go over the alternatives:

A) The bicycle that’s for sale was built for a child.

No, it was meant for women, as the text says. So that’s not the correct alternative.

B) Some parts of the bicycle must be changed.

Yes, the tires need changing. So this is probably the correct option.

C) Debbie is selling the bike because she’s too big for it now.

I don’t know. This piece of information is not provided. We cannot infer meaning here. We must go with what we have.

By analyzing the three alternatives, I know the correct answer is letter B. Is that clear? Let’s go to sample number two:

This is the picture of a cellphone with text inside, so it’s probably a text message someone received. Let’s read:

“Hi Ben, I’ve booked concert tickets for both of us online. Can you give me the money this afternoon when I see you? Tim.”

By reading the message, I understand that Tim bought concert tickets online for him and for Ben. He informs Ben of that and asks him to pay him this afternoon when they see each other. Remember that I don’t know when the concert is and if they are meeting for the show today. I have to stick with the information given: tickets bought, now Tim is asking Ben for payment this afternoon if possible.

My alternatives are:

A) Tim thinks Ben should look on the concert website.

No. Nothing about what Tim thinks is mentioned. He is not asking for Ben to look at the website either.

B) Tim hopes that Ben will be able to come with him.

No. Again, there is no mention of “hopes” or “to be able to”.

C) Tim wants to know if Ben can pay him back today.

Yes. That’s precisely it. Tim has already bought the tickets and requires payment today (if possible).

Was it clear how I got the correct alternative?

As I mentioned, you can also go the other way around: read the alternatives carefully and underline the aspects you think are relevant before reading the message in the picture. However, for an A2 Key exam, I prefer analyzing the text attentively first before checking the possible answers.

I will leave the other four questions from part 1 for you to try. If you do as I did, there is no way you can make a mistake. Okay?

So, this is it for today. I hope that you were able to do the Multiple Choice task without any issues. However, if you did have problems, or if you have questions about this part, please make sure to leave a comment in the comment section below.

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Have a great week,
Patricia Moura

PS: All samples are provided by Cambridge. And here are the answers:

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. C