B1 Preliminary (PET) practice: reading, writing, listening
B1 Preliminary, still widely called PET, tests the English you need to handle everyday work, study and travel. These pages take the exam apart task by task: what each one actually measures, the order to do it in when the clock is running, and forty original practice questions to try straight away. Nothing here is copied from a real paper — every item was written for this site.
Who B1 Preliminary is for
- Teenagers and adults who finished an intermediate course and want proof that the level is real.
- Students who need an intermediate English certificate for a school place, a job application or a college entry requirement.
- Candidates moving up from A2 Key who want a clear next step rather than a jump straight to B2 First.
- Teachers who need short, level-appropriate practice sets they can set as homework between classes.
- Workers who deal with English-speaking customers or suppliers and need a certificate their employer recognises.
- People preparing to study or work abroad who must show intermediate English on an application form.
- Learners who have studied English for years without ever taking an exam and want an honest measure of where they are.
- Candidates who failed a B2 exam narrowly and want a certificate at the level they can currently hold under pressure.
The exam at a glance
| CEFR level | B1, with results also reported just above and just below that band |
|---|---|
| Papers | Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking |
| Length | Around two and a half hours in total across the papers |
| Speaking | Taken in pairs with two examiners, in four short phases |
| Results | A pass is graded A, B or C; a strong or weak result is reported one band away |
| Validity | The certificate has no expiry date, though institutions often ask for a recent result |
| Recognition | Schools, colleges and employers that ask for intermediate English; formats are computer- or paper-based |
Note
Pick Two Activity is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the British Council, IDP, ETS, Duolingo or any other exam board. Exam names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to describe the exam you are preparing for. Every question on this page is original practice written by us: we do not provide, copy or reproduce official exam papers.
The papers
Reading
B1 Preliminary (PET) Reading practice, part by part: signs, matching, long texts, gapped text and multiple-choice cloze, with 100 original questions.
Writing
B1 Preliminary (PET) Writing practice: the email, the article and the story, plus planning and checking, with 200 original questions and model phrases.
Listening & Speaking
B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening and Speaking practice: picture questions, sentence completion, the photo long turn and the collaborative task. 200 questions.
Frequently asked questions
Is B1 Preliminary the same as PET?
Yes. PET stands for Preliminary English Test, the exam’s older name. The certificate and most school websites now say B1 Preliminary, but teachers and students still say PET in conversation, so search results mix the two.
How much English do I need before I start preparing?
You should already control the present and past simple, the present perfect, comparatives, basic conditionals and around 2,500 common words. If you still hesitate over ‘he go’ versus ‘he goes’, spend a few weeks on grammar first — task practice will not fix a missing tense.
Do I have to be good at every paper?
Your result comes from an average across the papers, so a weak paper can be balanced by a strong one. In practice, Writing and Speaking are where most candidates lose easy marks, because both reward planning and neither rewards silence.
How long does preparation usually take?
From a solid A2, most learners need several months of regular study. From a shaky B1, six to eight weeks of task practice is often enough, because the language is already there and what is missing is the exam technique.
Should I take the computer-based or the paper-based exam?
Choose the one that matches how you write. Candidates who type quickly and edit as they go usually do better on screen; candidates who plan in the margin and cross things out often prefer paper. Practise in the format you will sit.
What is the difference between B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools?
The level, the task types and the marking are the same. Only the topics differ: the Schools version uses school life, friends, family and hobbies, while the standard version adds work, travel and services. Preparation material for one works for the other.
Is Writing or Speaking harder for most candidates?
Writing, because the marks depend on things you can control but often skip: answering every point in the task, organising paragraphs and leaving time to check. Speaking feels harder but is more forgiving, since examiners reward communication over accuracy.
How many words do I need to write?
Each writing task states a length — usually about 100 words. Going a little over is not penalised; going well under is, because short answers cannot cover every point in the task. Count words in a few practice pieces so you learn what 100 words looks like in your handwriting.
Can I use a dictionary or take notes in the exam?
No dictionary. You can write on the question paper in the paper-based exam, and you should — underlining the points in a writing task and jotting a two-line plan costs a minute and saves several marks.
What should I do in the last week before the exam?
Stop learning new vocabulary and start doing whole papers to time. In the final week the gains come from pacing, from not leaving answers blank, and from rehearsing the speaking phrases you will actually use.