Olly is preparing your space...
Loading page content...
Olly is preparing your space...
Loading exercise...
Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.
Sara had sent out forty job applications without receiving a single interview. Then a recruiter friend read her CV for ten minutes and pointed out three simple mistakes. Within two weeks of fixing them, Sara had an interview booked.
The first mistake was length. Sara's CV ran to four pages. Most recruiters spend under thirty seconds on a first read, so anything beyond two pages is unlikely to be read at all. The second was vague wording: instead of writing "responsible for customer service," Sara's friend told her to describe a specific result, such as "resolved over 200 customer queries per month, improving satisfaction scores by 15%." Numbers and action verbs prove what a candidate actually achieved, not just what their job title was. The third mistake was a generic CV sent to every company. The friend suggested Sara reorder her skills section for each application. She put the most relevant experience for that specific job at the top.
Sara also removed her photo, age, and marital status, information that many employers no longer expect and that can even work against a candidate. She proofread the final version twice for spelling errors. Her new two-page, achievement-focused CV finally started getting noticed — proof that a CV's clarity matters far more than its length.
This B1 English reading is a practical, real-world text: the story of a job seeker who fixed three common CV mistakes. It teaches useful career vocabulary while modelling the kind of problem-solution structure you'll meet often in B1 and IELTS reading.
As you read, track how each mistake is introduced, explained, and then solved — this problem-solution-result pattern is common in workplace and advice texts, and recognising it makes scanning for answers much faster.
Keep practising with related reading and grammar units at your level.
يتابع هذا النص الإنجليزي للمستوى المتوسط قصة سارة، الباحثة عن عمل التي صحّحت ثلاثة أخطاء شائعة في سيرتها الذاتية وحصلت على مقابلة خلال أسبوعين. ستتعلم مفردات المهنة والبحث عن عمل، وتتدرب على مهارات المسح والاستنتاج، ويمكنك ترجمة أي كلمة داخل التطبيق.
جميع أسئلة القراءة لمستوى B1 لـ “نصائح للسيرة الذاتية تحصل بها على مقابلات – قراءة بالإنجليزي للمستوى المتوسط مع الأسئلة والإجابات”، كل سؤال مع الإجابة الصحيحة وشرح موجز. اقرأ النص أعلاه، وجرّب التمارين التفاعلية، ثم تحقق من إجاباتك هنا.
1. Why had Sara not received any interviews from her forty applications?
الإجابة: Her CV had several common mistakes that a friend later identified
Correct. The text says a recruiter friend "read her CV for ten minutes and pointed out three simple mistakes." Qualifications, phone follow-ups, and company competitiveness are never mentioned.
2. According to the text, roughly how long do recruiters spend on a first read of a CV?
الإجابة: Under thirty seconds
Correct. The text states "most recruiters spend under thirty seconds on a first read." Ten minutes was how long the friend spent reviewing Sara's CV, not a typical recruiter's read time.
3. Why did Sara's friend dislike the phrase "responsible for customer service"?
الإجابة: It was too vague and did not show a specific, measurable result
Correct. The text explains the friend wanted "a specific result" instead, with "numbers and action verbs" to prove real achievement. Grammar and tone are never mentioned as issues.
4. What example of a stronger sentence does the text give?
الإجابة: "Resolved over 200 customer queries per month, improving satisfaction scores by 15%"
Correct. This exact sentence is quoted in paragraph 2 as the improved, measurable version. The other options are all examples of the vague style the text criticises.
5. What was Sara's third mistake, according to the text?
الإجابة: Sending the exact same generic CV to every company
Correct. The text names this directly and explains the fix: reordering the skills section "for each application." References and language are never mentioned.
6. What personal information did Sara remove from her CV?
الإجابة: Her photo, age, and marital status
Correct. The text states she "removed her photo, age, and marital status." Contact details, job titles, and qualifications are never described as removed.
7. What is the writer's main conclusion about what makes a CV effective?
الإجابة: A CV's clarity and specific achievements matter far more than its length
Correct. The final sentence states this directly: "proof that a CV's clarity matters far more than its length." The text explicitly says photos are often removed, contradicting the photo option — this question tests the overall conclusion, not one fact.
1. A _____ is a person whose job is to find and hire new employees for a company.
الإجابة: recruiter
A recruiter is the professional who reviews CVs and hires candidates — the same person who reviewed Sara's CV in the passage.
2. Try to avoid _____ statements in an interview — give specific examples instead.
الإجابة: vague
Vague means unclear or not specific — exactly the problem with Sara's phrase "responsible for customer service."
3. Winning the regional sales award was her proudest professional _____.
الإجابة: achievement
An achievement is something accomplished through effort — what a strong CV should describe with numbers, like Sara's revised sentence did.
4. Always _____ an important email before you send it, to catch any spelling mistakes.
الإجابة: proofread
To proofread means to carefully check a text for errors — the final step Sara took before her CV started getting noticed.
5. Instead of sending the same _____ message to every company, personalise each one.
الإجابة: generic
Generic means not adapted for a specific situation — Sara's third mistake was a generic CV sent to every company unchanged.