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B1 Business Preliminary, B2 Business Vantage and C1 Business Higher.

Anyone who has studied English in the last 5 years at any accredited Cambridge English Exam Preparation Centre (like Cambridge School) will know the Cambridge English exams. You will be familiar with names such as KET, PET First and Advanced, along with the A2 or B2 codes you keep seeing in your coursebook.

“What does B2 mean?”

These Common European Framework (CEFR) codes have become almost ubiquitous within English language learning, and reaching a certain level is now an objective for most learners. In fact, it is now a requirement for all new university students to obtain B2 level (equivalent to First certificate) in order to graduate. You can see the CEFR levels on our website.

But what if you have already graduated from university? What if you want to study for an exam that is more related to your working environment? Is there an exam that allows you to both improve your practical knowledge of English in a business context, and achieve a qualification that is acknowledged by businesses around the world?

The answer is, Yes! Cambridge English has renewed its business exams and we are here to give you the inside information on what they involve.

1) Cambridge offers 3 business English exams:

- B1 Business Preliminary
This qualification shows that you have mastered the basics of business English.

- B2 Business Vantage
This qualification will help you when applying for new jobs, getting a promotion or to develop your career

- C1 Business Higher
This qualification gives you the practical language skills you need to operate confidently at a senior level in global business.

2) Each exam consists of either separate or combined papers based on the following areas: Reading, writing, listening and speaking.

3) Each exam lasts for between 2 to 3 hours and you have the option to take a paper or computer-based version. A more detailed breakdown of each of the exams can be found here: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/qualifications/business/

There’s an example question from the B1 Business Preliminary exam below. Can you answer it? (The answers are at the end of the article).

We can see from the example question how the business exams differ from those of the standard exams offered by Cambridge English: 

- a focus on business-related topics
- interaction with vocabulary used in a variety of different business contexts
- the chance to develop your English skills for everyday work and business tasks

If you or your company are interested in knowing more about these exams, then don’t hesitate to contact Cambridge in-company.

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EXAMPLE
PART SIX Questions 29 – 40. Read the article below about team-building. Choose the correct word to fill each gap, from A, B or C.

TEAM-BUILDING THROUGH ACTIVITIES

Nowadays, company bosses are increasingly trying to find unusual team-building events as part of their training programme. An activity park (29) ...... Fast-track has just opened to offer (30) ...... events. It specialises (31) ...... events to attract the corporate entertainment market, (32) ...... is growing all the time. The park is situated just a few kilometres outside the city centre (33) ...... it provides events that (34) ...... entertain as well as train. Clients can try outdoor attractions such as sailing or climbing, (35) ...... availability clearly depends entirely (36) ...... the weather. Activities of (37) ...... kind are perfect team-building exercises. ‘I’d (38) ...... been to an activity park before,’ explained James Black, a company manager. ‘Before we came, I didn’t think we (39) ...... enjoy ourselves so much and I didn’t expect the huge difference that Fast-track’s programme has (40)......to my team. Now we work better together than we did before.’

29 A calling B calls C called
30 A such B like C so
31 A at B for C in
32 A who B which C what
33 A and B but C or
34 A ought B will C shall
35 A because B although C since
36 A on B of C with
37 A a B these C this
38 A still B ever C never
39 A must B would C might
40 A made B had C done

Taken from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/

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ANSWERS:
29 C; 30 A; 31 C; 32 B; 33 A; 34 B; 35 B; 36 A; 37 C; 38 C; 39 B; 40 A.