Home / C2 Proficiency / Reading & Use of English
C2 Proficiency (CPE) · Paper 1 · 551 free exercises
C2 Proficiency Reading & Use of English: the complete guide
Seven parts, 53 questions, 1 hour 30 minutes, and two separate scores. What each part tests at Proficiency level, the marks you need for a C2, how to manage the dense texts, and free practice with instant marking.
Try one now · Part 1 · 1 of 8 in the real paper
The criticism was harsh, but she took it in her ___ and carried on working.
- stride
- step
- pace
- walk
A fixed phrase meaning “deal with something calmly”. Only one noun completes it.
- 7 parts
- 53 questions
- 90 minutes
- 200 for a C2
Practise Part 1 free → · Try a timed paper
The seven parts, and where students lose marks
Tap a part for its guide
- Part 1 · Multiple Choice Cloze: Fine collocations, idioms and fixed phrases · 123 free exercises. Questions: 8 questions, 1 mark each. Time: 7 min, suggested. C2 students score: 68%.
- Part 2 · Open Cloze: Grammar words in complex sentences · 99 free exercises. Questions: 8 questions, 1 mark each. Time: 7 min, suggested. C2 students score: 58%.
- Part 3 · Word Formation: Word families, with prefixes and changes inside the word · 104 free exercises. Questions: 8 questions, 1 mark each. Time: 7 min, suggested. C2 students score: 65%.
- Part 4 · Key Word Transformations (Hardest): Same meaning in 3–8 words, key word unchanged · 98 free exercises. Questions: 6 questions, 2 marks each. Time: 12 min, suggested. C2 students score: 49%.
- Part 5 · Multiple Choice Reading: Opinion, attitude and implication in a dense text · 42 free exercises. Questions: 6 questions, 2 marks each. Time: 15 min, suggested. C2 students score: 61%.
- Part 6 · Gapped Text: Seven paragraphs to place, one extra · 43 free exercises. Questions: 7 questions, 2 marks each. Time: 15 min, suggested. C2 students score: 57%.
- Part 7 · Multiple Matching: Matching ideas across sections or short texts · 42 free exercises. Questions: 10 questions, 1 mark each. Time: 15 min, suggested. C2 students score: 70%.
- Reading score: Parts 1, 5, 6, 7 (44 marks)
- Use of English score: Parts 2, 3, 4 (28 marks)
- Times are suggestions, plus 12 minutes to check
Key Word Transformations is where C2 students score lowest (49%). Each answer is worth up to 2 marks, and half-right answers still earn 1, so practice here pays off fastest. Multiple Matching is the friendliest part (70%): bank those marks.
Average score from 4,874 tries by 232 C2 students on Cambridge Ready.
The marks you need for a C2
200 on the Cambridge English Scale in each score
- Reading: 28 of 44. Parts 1, 5, 6 and 7. About 64% of the marks gives 200.
- Use of English: 17 of 28. Parts 2, 3 and 4. About 61% of the marks gives 200.
Your overall result is the average of all five skills, so a strong Reading can carry a weaker Use of English.
From Cambridge’s published conversion tables. The exact mark varies slightly from paper to paper.
The method
Six habits that hold under time pressure
- Aim to finish Parts 1–4 in about 33 minutes: the long texts in Parts 5–7 need the time.
- In Parts 1 and 2, read for the phrase, not the word: many answers belong to fixed expressions.
- In Part 4, say the whole new sentence to yourself before you write: three to eight words, key word unchanged.
- In Part 5, find the lines each question refers to, then decide what the writer implies, not just what they state.
- In Part 6, there’s one paragraph too many. Check the text on both sides of a gap before placing anything.
- Leave nothing blank. Wrong answers cost nothing, and a half-right Part 4 answer can still earn a mark.
The traps
The mistakes we see most
- The idiom with one word swapped: At C2, Part 1 options often differ by one word in a fixed phrase. Learn idioms whole. (
at a loose stop→ at a loose end) - The word that fits the grammar only: In Part 2 several words may fit the grammar; only one fits the meaning and the rest of the sentence. (
No sooner … when→ No sooner … than) - Changes inside the word: Part 3 roots can change in the middle as well as at the ends, and many answers are negative. (CONCEIVE → inconceivable)
- True, but not what the writer says: In Part 5 a wrong option is often true in general. Choose what this text says or implies.
Practise Key Word Transformations free → The part where C2 students score lowest. 98 exercises, every answer explained.
Questions students ask
How long is the C2 Proficiency Reading and Use of English paper?
1 hour 30 minutes for all seven parts, 53 questions. There’s no extra time to copy answers onto the answer sheet.
How many marks do you need to pass C2 Proficiency Reading and Use of English?
About 28 out of 44 in Reading and 17 out of 28 in Use of English, each giving 200 on the Cambridge English Scale, the C2 level. You pass on your overall score, the average of all five skills.
Which part of C2 Proficiency Reading and Use of English is the hardest?
For C2 students on Cambridge Ready, Key Word Transformations (Part 4, 49%) and Gapped Text (Part 6, 57%) have the lowest average scores.
How many words can you use in C2 Proficiency key word transformations?
Between three and eight, including the key word, which you mustn’t change. Contractions count as two words.
Ready to try a full paper?
All seven parts, a real timer and your scale score at the end. One free paper a month.