Module 5 · Reviews, Multiple Matching & Discussion · Lesson 18
Reading Part 7
Ten questions, four or five short texts. Train the scan-locate-confirm routine: paraphrase the question, scan for the matching detail, confirm by re-reading closely before committing.
Get talking · Section 1
5 minSkim this sentence for 3 seconds only: 'Maria moved to Berlin in 2019 after finishing her degree in Madrid.' Where did she study? Where does she live now?
In pairs, imagine four short texts about people describing their first job. Brainstorm 3 details that could distinguish one person from another.
The question says 'someone who changed careers unexpectedly'. What words might the TEXT use instead of 'unexpectedly'?
Grammar focus · Section 2
8–10 minScan → locate → confirm: the Part 7 routine
Part 7 rewards speed and precision, not deep reading. Read the questions first, scan for a paraphrase of each one across the texts, then confirm with a close re-read before you commit.
Examples
→ Question: 'Which person changed career unexpectedly?' → Text paraphrase: 'I never planned to become a chef — it happened almost by accident.'
→ Question: 'Who felt nervous about a decision at first?' → Text paraphrase: 'I had serious doubts before signing the contract.'
→ Near-miss trap: Text A mentions a career change but says it was 'long planned' — not a match. Text C says 'entirely by chance' — the real match.
→ Always locate the specific detail, don't match on general topic alone.
→ If two texts both seem to fit, re-read both closely — the confirming detail is usually a single distinguishing word or phrase.
Question 1.What's the FIRST step in the Part 7 routine?
Question 2.Why do questions rarely use the text's exact wording?
Question 3.What is the purpose of the CONFIRM step?
Question 4.A 'near-miss' in Part 7 is…
Question 5.How many texts are typically used in Part 7?
Quick check 1.Best first move on Part 7:
Quick check 2.If two texts seem to match one question, you should…
Quick check 3.Matching by general topic alone is…
Vocabulary · Section 3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
to scan
to read quickly for specific information.
"Scan the text for names and dates before reading closely."
Scan this page for the word 'scan' — how fast can you find it?
to locate
to find the exact place where information appears.
"I located the answer in the second paragraph."
Locate today's date somewhere in the room.
to confirm
to check that something is true or correct.
"Always confirm your match by re-reading closely."
How would you confirm a fact you read online?
paraphrase
to express the same idea in different words.
"The question paraphrases the text's exact wording."
Paraphrase this sentence: 'I love learning languages.'
distinguishing detail
the specific fact that separates one near-match from the correct answer.
"The distinguishing detail was the exact year mentioned."
Think of a distinguishing detail between two similar jobs.
near-miss
an option that looks correct but fails on a key detail.
"Text B was a near-miss — it mentioned travel but not for work."
Describe a near-miss decision you made recently.
skim
to read quickly for general meaning.
"Skim the whole text before reading any section closely."
Skim the nearest paragraph — what's it broadly about?
to cross-reference
to check information against another source.
"Cross-reference the question with all texts before deciding."
When do you cross-reference information in daily life?
keyword trap
when a literal word match misleads you away from the true answer.
"The word 'nervous' appeared in two texts — a classic keyword trap."
Give an example of a keyword trap from your own reading.
to commit (to an answer)
to finally decide on and record your answer.
"Once confirmed, commit to your answer and move on."
How do you feel before committing to a difficult decision?
Activate · use it within minutes
Paraphrase each sentence using different words.
'She changed careers unexpectedly.' → '...'
'He was nervous before the interview.' → '...'
'The company grew very quickly.' → '...'
'They regretted the decision later.' → '...'
Tick each word as you use it
Teacher reads two similar short texts aloud. Student must scan for a specific detail and confirm which text matches a given question.
Text A vs Text B — who felt more confident about the decision?
Text A vs Text B — who changed their mind at the last minute?
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 minFast silent reading rhythm — training your eye, not your voice
Say it aloud
- • Read a paragraph aloud as fast as you can while staying clear — this trains phrase-level eye movement.
- • Practise 'chunking': read groups of 3-4 words at a glance instead of word by word.
- • Time yourself scanning a short text for one specific name or number — aim to find it in under 5 seconds.
- • Read the question stems aloud with stress on the KEY idea word: 'Who felt NERVOUS before deciding?'
- • Drill silent skimming: cover a paragraph, reveal it for 3 seconds, then say what it was broadly about.
Reading · Section 5
8–10 minWhy Part 7 punishes careful readers who read in the wrong order
Read the passageTap to openTap to hide
Reading Part 7 has an unusual reputation among Cambridge B2 First candidates: it is often the section where naturally careful, thorough readers score worse than faster, more strategic ones. The reason is structural. Part 7 rewards a specific ORDER of operations, and careful readers instinctively do it backwards.
The instinct of a careful reader is to read all the texts first, in full, before looking at the questions. This feels responsible — understand everything, then answer. In practice it wastes ten of the fifteen minutes allotted to the task, because by the time the reader reaches the ten questions, the fine detail from text one has already faded, and they end up re-reading everything anyway.
The strategic order is the reverse. Read the ten questions first, one at a time, and for each one restate its key idea in your own words before looking at a single text. This forces you to notice, before you even start scanning, that the text almost certainly won't use the QUESTION's exact wording — 'changed career unexpectedly' will appear in the text as 'it happened almost by accident' or 'I fell into it, really'. Knowing the paraphrase you're hunting for makes scanning dramatically faster.
The second discipline is confirmation. Fast scanners sometimes find a plausible match and commit immediately — and Part 7 is specifically designed to punish this. Nearly every question has at least one near-miss: a text that shares the general topic but fails on a specific, decisive detail. A question asking 'who felt nervous about a decision at first' might have two texts mentioning nerves — but only one says the nerves were BEFORE the decision, and the other describes nerves AFTER. Skipping the confirm step is the single most common cause of wrong answers on this task.
The practical routine, then, is: read one question, restate it, scan all texts for the paraphrase, find a candidate, confirm by re-reading that section closely, commit, move to the next question. Candidates who run this loop finish Part 7 in twelve minutes with high accuracy. Candidates who read everything first often finish in twenty minutes with several wrong answers from near-misses they never confirmed.
Question 1.What is the 'instinct of a careful reader' that the writer warns against?
Question 2.Why does reading all texts first waste time?
Question 3.What should you do with a question BEFORE scanning texts?
Question 4.What is the 'single most common cause of wrong answers', according to the writer?
Question 5.How long does the writer say the strategic routine typically takes?
Q1.Reading all texts fully before the questions is the fastest approach.
Q2.Questions rarely use the text's exact wording.
Q3.Skipping the confirm step is a common cause of wrong answers.
Q4.The strategic routine typically takes about 20 minutes.
Listening · Section 6
8–10 minA teacher and student work through a Part 7 near-miss together
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Drag the timeline to jump anywhere.
Show transcript
Mr. Owen:OK, question 3: 'Which person felt nervous about their decision before making it?' What's the key idea, in your own words?
Sophie:Someone who had doubts BEFORE they decided, not after.
Mr. Owen:Good. Now scan the four texts — who mentions nerves or doubts?
Sophie:Text B says: 'I was terrified for weeks after I'd signed the contract.' And Text D says: 'I almost backed out the night before I was due to start.'
Mr. Owen:Both mention nerves. Which one matches 'before making the decision'?
Sophie:Text B is AFTER signing — so the nerves came after the decision was already made.
Mr. Owen:Exactly. And Text D?
Sophie:'The night before I was due to start' — that's after they'd already agreed too, isn't it?
Mr. Owen:Read it again — 'almost backed out'. That means they were reconsidering the decision itself, right before committing. That's doubt BEFORE the decision was final.
Sophie:So Text D is the real match, and Text B is the near-miss because the timing is wrong.
Mr. Owen:Exactly right. Timing is very often the distinguishing detail in these near-misses.
Question 1.What is the question's key idea, according to Sophie?
Question 2.Why is Text B a near-miss?
Question 3.What phrase in Text D confirms it as the real match?
Question 4.What does the teacher say is 'very often the distinguishing detail'?
Exam skills · Section 7
5 minReading Part 7 — Multiple Matching
🎯 Reading Part 7
10 questions, 4-5 short texts. Scan → locate → confirm.
- Read questions FIRST, restate each in your own words
- Scan texts for a PARAPHRASE, not literal wording
- Watch for near-misses — check the distinguishing detail
- Always CONFIRM by re-reading before committing
Open the FCE Exam Practice block below for a full Reading Part 7 task.
Quick Tip
Restate each question in your own words before scanning — it primes you to spot paraphrases faster.
Exam Hack
When two texts both seem to match, look for a TIMING or DEGREE word (before/after, slightly/completely) — that's usually the deciding detail.
Common Mistake
Don't commit to the first plausible match. Confirm by re-reading the specific sentence closely.
Your task
Run the multi-text task in FCE Exam Practice using the scan-locate-confirm routine. Aim for 12 minutes total.
Example
Question: 'Who had doubts before making their decision?' Paraphrase found: 'I almost backed out the night before I started.' Confirmed: doubt was BEFORE the decision became final. Commit.
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.Part 7 usually has ___ questions.
Question 2.The FIRST step of the routine is to ___ the question.
Question 3.A text that looks right but fails on a detail is called a ___.
Question 4.Before committing to an answer, always ___.
Question 5.Timing words like 'before' and 'after' are often the ___ detail.
Question 6.Reading all texts fully before the questions usually ___ time.
Q1.One word meaning 'to read quickly for specific info':
Q2.One word meaning 'a near-correct but wrong option':
Q3.One word meaning 'to express in different words':
Writing · Section 9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write two short 40-word texts about starting a new hobby — one where doubts came BEFORE starting, one where doubts came AFTER. Swap with a partner and time how fast they identify which is which.
Show model answer
TEXT A (doubts before): 'I nearly didn't sign up for the pottery class at all — I stood outside the door for ten minutes deciding whether to go in. In the end I did, and I've loved every session since.' TEXT B (doubts after): 'Signing up for the pottery class felt completely natural at the time. It was only after the first session, covered in clay and behind everyone else, that I started wondering if I'd made a mistake.'
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
Roleplay
1:1 online task. Teacher reads two short texts on the same topic. Student must identify the DISTINGUISHING detail that separates a near-miss from the real match to a given question.
Useful phrases
- • The key idea in the question is…
- • Both texts mention…, but the timing/detail is different because…
- • Text A is a near-miss because…
- • The distinguishing detail is…
- • I'd confirm this by re-reading…
Teacher notes
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Two short drills that build the scan-locate-confirm reflex. Both work 1:1 online. ~14 min total
FCE Exam Practice · Section 11
20–30 minReal FCE tasks
Cambridge B2 First · Reading · Part 7. Four short texts about people describing a career change. Match each of the 10 questions to the correct person (A-D). Teacher Mode reveals the distinguishing detail for every item.
For questions 1-10, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once.
Section A
Amara had worked in finance for over a decade before she trained as a landscape gardener. 'I'd always assumed I'd stay in banking until retirement,' she says, 'so the change genuinely took me by surprise — I fell into gardening almost by accident, covering for a friend's business for two weeks and never looking back.' The first year was financially tough; she took a significant pay cut and had to relearn budgeting from scratch. What she didn't expect was how much calmer she'd feel. 'I used to dread Sunday evenings. Now I actually look forward to Mondays.' Her only regret is not making the move sooner, though she admits her younger self probably wasn't ready for the risk.
Section B
Daniel had dreamed of becoming a professional photographer since his teens, and after years of saving, he finally left his job as a teacher to pursue it full-time. Unlike some career-changers, he had no doubts going in — he'd planned meticulously for three years, built a client base on the side, and knew exactly what he was walking into. What he hadn't planned for was how isolating self-employment would feel. 'Nobody warns you about the admin, or how much you'll miss having colleagues down the corridor.' He now works part-time at a community centre partly to stay socially connected, and says the balance has made the whole transition sustainable.
Section C
Priya left a stable job in marketing to retrain as a nurse in her late thirties, a decision she describes as terrifying at every stage. 'I nearly withdrew my course application the night before the deadline — I sat there for hours convinced I was making an enormous mistake.' She pushed through, but admits the fear didn't disappear once she started; the first placement in a busy hospital ward left her doubting herself constantly. It was only after qualifying, she says, that the anxiety finally lifted. 'I wish someone had told me it gets easier. I spent two years assuming I'd chosen wrong.'
Section D
Tom's move from corporate law to running a small bakery wasn't planned so much as forced — a health scare made him reassess everything within a matter of weeks. 'There was no three-year plan. I quit, retrained part-time, and opened the shop eighteen months later.' He says the speed of the decision meant he skipped the anxious deliberation others describe. His challenge was different: proving himself to family members who thought he'd thrown away a good career. 'My parents still ask when I'm going "back to a real job". I don't think they'll ever fully accept it, but I've stopped needing them to.'
- 1.Which person changed career largely by chance rather than through planning?
- 2.Which person had no doubts before starting their new career?
- 3.Which person felt intense doubt immediately before committing to the change?
- 4.Which person made the decision very quickly, without a long period of planning?
- 5.Which person found an unexpected downside related to working alone?
- 6.Which person still faces disapproval from family about their decision?
- 7.Which person says their doubts continued well after starting the new career?
- 8.Which person wishes they had made the change earlier in life?
- 9.Which person took a pay cut as a result of their decision?
- 10.Which person found a way to balance their new career with a need for social contact?
Homework · Section 12
Take-homeTake it home
Near-miss hunt
Find two short online texts on the same topic (e.g. two travel blog posts) and identify one sentence in each that could be a near-miss for a hypothetical question.
Write the hypothetical question, then explain why one text matches and the other is a near-miss.
- Hypothetical question:
- Text 1 sentence + why it's a near-miss or match:
- Text 2 sentence + why it's a near-miss or match:
Paraphrase drill
Paraphrase 8 sentences using different vocabulary and structure.
Rewrite each sentence keeping the same meaning but changing at least 3 words.
- She regretted the decision almost immediately.
- He had always dreamed of running his own business.
- The change happened much faster than anyone expected.
- They struggled to adapt to the new routine.
- Nobody believed the plan would succeed at first.
- The opportunity came completely out of the blue.
- She was reluctant to accept the offer initially.
- It took him years to admit he'd made a mistake.
Timed scan drill
Time yourself locating 5 specific facts in a news article as fast as possible.
Pick any online news article. Write 5 factual questions, then time yourself finding each answer by scanning (not reading fully).
Questions
- Who is mentioned first?
- What date is given?
- What number/statistic appears?
- What location is named?
- What quote is included?
Recap · Section 13
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- Reading Part 7 = 10 questions across 4-5 short texts (or sections).
- Routine: SCAN the question → LOCATE a paraphrase in the texts → CONFIRM by re-reading.
- Questions rarely use the text's exact wording — expect paraphrase.
- Near-misses share the general topic but fail on a specific detail (often timing or degree).
- Never commit without confirming — it's the most common source of wrong answers.
- Target time: about 12 minutes for the whole task.