Module 1: READING. Tips & Practice

Here are strategic tips for each task in your script to help your students navigate these challenges.

🧠 Task 1: Multiple Choice Cloze (Precision & Tone)

• Contextual Collocations: At this level, all three options might mean "to stop" or "to start," but only one fits the scientific or academic register. For example, we halt a process (Question 1) but we inflict a narrative (Question 3).

• Negative vs. Positive Prosody: Pay attention to whether the missing word has a positive or negative connotation. "Doomsday narratives" (Question 3) usually require a verb like inflict, which implies forcing something unpleasant onto someone.

• The "Slogan" Trap: In Question 6, the word hollow is a specific academic critique. It doesn't just mean "empty"; it implies a lack of substance or truth in a political context.

  
  

📖 Task 2: Extended Reading (Inference & Abstract Metaphor)

• Decoding Metaphors: C2 texts use imagery to test abstract understanding. The "toothpicks in a hurricane" metaphor (Question 4) isn't about weather; it’s about disproportionality—the solution is too small for the problem.

• Tracking Character Evolution: Note how Elias’s "anachronistic" fieldwork (Question 3) is contrasted with his daughter’s "digital cartography." The exam tests the conflict between empirical (hands-on) data and theoretical (simulated) data.

• Vocabulary in Context: Words like "capriciously" or "vernacular" are used to set the tone. Students must understand that the father's view was "folkloric" because he lacked the modern scientific "vernacular" (vocabulary).

  
  

✍️ Task 3: Open Cloze (Grammar & Fixed Phrases)

• Identify the Part of Speech: Before writing, determine if the gap is a verb, noun, or preposition.

• Academic Verbs: In Question 1, "to coin a term" is a classic C1/C2 fixed expression for creating a new phrase.

• Temporal Markers: In Question 5, "at the outset" is a sophisticated way of saying "at the beginning."

• Causality: In Question 6, a verb like triggered or galvanized is needed to show how evidence leads to a movement.

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📑 Task 4: Structural Synthesis (Headings & Lexical Chains)

• Identify the "Kernel" of the Argument: Every paragraph has one central point. Paragraph D talks about water, clouds, and rainfall—this forms a lexical chain leading directly to (viii) Hydrological cycles.

• Ontology vs. Methodology: Proficiency exams love "heavy" words. Paragraph C uses ontological stewardship. Students must recognize that this refers to a way of being or believing (Indigenous ontology), which matches heading (ii).

• The Economy of Scale: Paragraph E mentions "trillions of dollars" and "fiscal analysis." Even if students don't know "fiscal," they should link "trillions" to (i) Financial repercussions.

• Look for Distractors: Heading (vii) (Agricultural expansion) is a distractor. While agriculture is mentioned in Paragraphs D and E, it is never the main theme of those paragraphs.

  
  

⚡ General C1/C2 Test-Taking Tip:

The "Read-Back" Rule: After completing a task, read the entire text again with your answers included. C1/C2 texts are written with a specific rhythmic flow. If a word choice makes the sentence feel "clunky" or logically inconsistent, it is likely the wrong choice.