B2 First Parte 7: multiple matching con método y soluciones

Q: ¿Por qué nunca encuentro la palabra de la pregunta en el texto?

Porque está reformulada a propósito. Si la pregunta dice accommodation, el texto dirá flat o rent. Buscar la palabra literal es el camino directo a fallar.

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La parte 7 del B2 First es un multiple matching: un texto dividido en secciones y diez preguntas del tipo ¿en qué sección se menciona esto?. Vale un punto por acierto y es la parte donde más gente se queda sin tiempo, porque intenta leerlo todo.

El método que funciona

Paso	Qué hacer
1	Lee las preguntas primero, no el texto. Al revés que en la parte 6.
2	Subraya en cada pregunta la idea, no las palabras. La pregunta nunca usa las mismas palabras que el texto.
3	Lee las secciones en diagonal buscando esa idea. No hace falta entender cada frase.
4	Si dudas entre dos secciones, quédate con la que lo dice explícitamente, no con la que lo insinúa.
5	Las secciones se repiten. Que ya hayas usado la C dos veces no significa nada.

El fallo típico es buscar la palabra de la pregunta dentro del texto. Cambridge lo tiene previsto: si la pregunta dice accommodation, el texto dirá flat, rent o a place to live. Se busca el significado, no la palabra.

El texto

A · Marta, Lisbon

I had been in Madrid for eleven years and the offer came out of nowhere. The salary was almost fifteen per cent lower, which everyone told me was madness, but the job itself was the one I had been waiting for. I found a flat in the second week, which is unheard of here, and that removed most of the stress. I earn less, I walk more, and I have not once wished I had stayed. My mother still asks when I am coming back.

B · Tom, Berlin

I arrived thinking my school German would carry me. It did not. Meetings were fine because everyone switched to English, but the small things, the post office, the doctor, the neighbours, were exhausting for the first year. What saved me was joining a climbing gym: you do not need much vocabulary to belay someone, and three of the people I met there are now my closest friends. Even so, I think about going home more often than I expected to.

C · Aisha, Dublin

The company paid for everything, the flights, the shipping, even two months in temporary accommodation, so the move itself was painless. What I was not ready for was the rent. The first place I viewed cost more than my old mortgage and had no window in the bedroom. I nearly turned round and went back. The thing that kept me here was the team: I had never worked anywhere where people invited the new person to lunch on day one.

D · Piotr, Manchester

I came with no job, two suitcases and a friend who let me sleep on his sofa. For eight months I worked nights in a warehouse, which paid the rent and taught me more English than any class ever had. I am now halfway through a course in electrical installation, and in eighteen months I should be qualified. It is not the path I imagined, but nobody here has ever asked me why I did not do it the other way round.

Ejercicio 1 · Multiple matching

Escribe la letra de la sección (A, B, C o D) en cada hueco. Las letras se pueden repetir.

In which section does the writer mention being shocked by the cost of housing? ___C. Aisha dice what I was not ready for was the rent y que el primer piso costaba más que su antigua hipoteca. Ninguna otra sección habla de precios de vivienda: Marta encuentra piso rápido, pero no dice que fuera caro.
Who had their relocation costs covered by their employer? ___C. The company paid for everything, the flights, the shipping, even two months in temporary accommodation. Piotr, en cambio, llegó por su cuenta y sin trabajo.
Who arrived without having a job arranged? ___D. Piotr empieza diciendo I came with no job, two suitcases and a friend. Es el único que no tenía empleo antes de llegar.
Who accepted a reduction in salary? ___A. Marta dice the salary was almost fifteen per cent lower. Es un dato explícito; en las demás secciones no se habla de sueldo.
Who is considering returning to their home country? ___B. Tom cierra con I think about going home more often than I expected to. La madre de Marta le pregunta cuándo vuelve, pero Marta dice justo lo contrario de querer volver.
Who made friends through a leisure activity? ___B. El gimnasio de escalada: three of the people I met there are now my closest friends. En C hace amigos en el trabajo, que no es una actividad de ocio.
Who is training for a different profession? ___D. Piotr está halfway through a course in electrical installation. Es formación para otra profesión, no para la que traía.
Who found somewhere to live unusually fast? ___A. I found a flat in the second week, which is unheard of here. Justo lo contrario de Aisha, que estuvo dos meses en alojamiento temporal.
Who underestimated how difficult the local language would be? ___B. I arrived thinking my school German would carry me. It did not. Es la definición de subestimar la dificultad.
Who was surprised by how welcoming their colleagues were? ___C. I had never worked anywhere where people invited the new person to lunch on day one. La sorpresa es positiva y va de compañeros de trabajo, no de amigos.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿Se pueden repetir las letras en la parte 7?

Sí, y de hecho se repiten casi siempre. Que ya hayas contestado C tres veces no es motivo para dudar.

¿Cuánto vale cada pregunta?

Un punto. Son diez preguntas y es la parte con más preguntas del Reading, aunque cada una pese menos que las de la parte 6.

¿Merece la pena leer el texto entero primero?

No. En esta parte se leen las preguntas primero y luego se busca. Si lees el texto entero te quedas sin tiempo para el Writing.

¿Por qué nunca encuentro la palabra de la pregunta en el texto?

Porque está reformulada a propósito. Si la pregunta dice accommodation, el texto dirá flat o rent. Buscar la palabra literal es el camino directo a fallar.