Textos en inglés B2 con ejercicios (nivel First)

Texto de nivel B2 con preguntas de comprensión que se corrigen solas, vocabulario avanzado y ficha descargable en PDF.

Ficha imprimible

El salto de B1 a B2 no es de vocabulario: es de densidad. En B2 una sola frase puede contener la respuesta a una pregunta y la trampa de otra. Este texto está escrito con la longitud de frase y el registro del Cambridge B2 First.

Diez minutos. Y no vale releer el texto entero para cada pregunta: eso, en el examen real, no te da tiempo.

The problem with productivity

For the best part of a decade, the internet has been telling us that our mornings are the key to everything. Wake up at five, we are told; drink cold water, write down three intentions, and the rest of the day will look after itself. What is rarely mentioned is that most of the people giving this advice earn their living by giving it.

There is, admittedly, some evidence behind the idea. Studies on attention suggest that concentration tends to be at its highest a couple of hours after waking, whenever that happens to be. The mistake is in the leap from that finding to the claim that everyone should wake up before dawn, which the research does not support at all.

What the research does show is rather less marketable. People differ genetically in when they are alert, and forcing a natural night owl into an early routine tends to reduce, not increase, the amount of useful work they produce. In other words, the advice is not wrong so much as misdirected: it works beautifully for the roughly forty per cent of the population it was accidentally designed for.

Perhaps the honest version of the message would be less inspiring but rather more useful. Find out when your own attention peaks, protect those two hours from meetings and messages, and accept that this may well be at four in the afternoon.

Comprensión

Ejercicio 1 · Comprensión B2

Elige la opción correcta. En B2 la respuesta suele estar entre dos opciones muy parecidas: lee las dos enteras.

  1. What does the writer imply about people who give morning-routine advice?They are dishonestThey have a financial interest in the adviceThey wake up early themselvesThey have a financial interest — «earn their living by giving it». El autor insinúa un conflicto de interés, no acusa de mentir: por eso la A es demasiado fuerte.
  2. According to the research mentioned, concentration is highest…before dawna few hours after you wake upat a fixed time for everyoneA few hours after you wake up — «whenever that happens to be». Esa coletilla es la clave: la hora del reloj es irrelevante.
  3. What is the «leap» the writer criticises?Concluding that everyone should wake up earlyBelieving that attention can be measuredUsing studies that are too smallConcluding that everyone should wake up early — «the mistake is in the leap from that finding to the claim that everyone should wake up before dawn».
  4. The phrase «rather less marketable» suggests the real findings are…harder to proveharder to sellless importantHarder to sell — marketable viene de market. Es vocabulario B2 típico: derivación de palabras.
  5. What does the writer mean by «not wrong so much as misdirected»?The advice is falseThe advice is aimed at the wrong peopleThe advice is out of dateAimed at the wrong people — la estructura not X so much as Y corrige, no niega: «no es tanto falso como mal dirigido».
  6. What does the writer finally recommend?Waking up laterIdentifying your own best hoursAvoiding meetings completelyIdentifying your own best hours — «find out when your own attention peaks». La C exagera: dice proteger dos horas, no eliminar reuniones.

Ejercicio 2 · Vocabulario de nivel First

Completa con la palabra exacta del texto.

  1. For the best part of a ___, the internet has been telling us this.decade — «the best part of a decade» = casi diez años. The best part of es una expresión muy útil en writing.
  2. There is, ___, some evidence behind the idea.admittedly — «hay que reconocerlo». Marcador de concesión: muy valorado en el writing de B2.
  3. A natural night ___ is someone who is alert late at night.night owl — literalmente «búho nocturno». Su opuesto es early bird.
  4. Protect those two hours from meetings and ___.messages — el texto lo usa como sustantivo contable en plural.
  5. This may ___ well be at four in the afternoon.may very well be — estructura de probabilidad alta. Suena mucho más natural que «is probably».

Por qué este texto es difícil

Cuenta las veces que el autor no dice las cosas directamente: «what is rarely mentioned», «admittedly», «not wrong so much as». Eso es el registro de B2. En A2 y B1 el texto afirma; en B2 el texto matiza, y las preguntas van justo a los matices.

Truco concreto para el examen: cuando una opción contiene «all», «never», «completely» o «everyone», desconfía. Los textos de B2 casi nunca afirman en absoluto, así que una opción absoluta suele ser la incorrecta. En este mismo texto te ha pasado dos veces.

Si esto te ha costado, baja a B1. Si te ha salido fácil, ve directo a los exámenes de tipo Cambridge.

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