Reading - Signs & Notices
B1
Cambridge English B1 Exam
Look at the text of each sign. What does it suggest? Select the option that best captures the meaning of the sign.
B1 Cambridge-Style Signs
Sign 1
Staff only beyond this door. Visitors must wait in the reception area until called.
What does this sign suggest?
Visitors must wait beyond this door in the reception area until called.
Visitors are not permitted to go past this door and should stay in reception until someone invites them.
Visitors should ask for directions because the reception area may be difficult to find.
Sign 2
Please switch your phone to silent mode during the performance. No calls inside the hall.
What does the text say?
You must keep your phone quiet, and you are not allowed to make calls in the hall.
Please make calls in silent mode during the performance inside the hall.
You should turn your phone off because the performance will be very loud.
Sign 3
Wet floor near the entrance. Please use the side door until cleaning is finished.
What does this sign suggest?
It may be slippery at the entrance, so you should go in through another door for now.
The entrance floor is wet, so you must clean it before you go through the side door.
You can use the entrance again only if you finish cleaning the floor yourself.
Sign 4
Cyclists must dismount and walk across the bridge. Riding is not permitted for safety reasons.
What does the text say?
Cyclists must ride across the bridge slowly for safety reasons.
Cyclists are not permitted to use the bridge at any time.
People on bikes have to get off and push their bicycles over the bridge instead of cycling.
Sign 5
To borrow a laptop, you have to leave your student card at the desk and return the device within 2 hours.
What does this sign suggest?
You have to borrow a laptop for 2 hours to get a student card at the desk.
You can keep the laptop longer if you return your student card within 2 hours.
You must give your student card as a deposit and bring the laptop back within two hours.
About Reading Signs & Notices — Cambridge English B1
This Cambridge English B1 Reading Signs & Notices exercise shows short public messages — signs, labels, emails and notes. For each one, choose the option that best explains its meaning.
It tests your understanding of everyday English and the real purpose behind short, functional messages you meet in daily life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Reading Signs & Notices?
You read a short message such as a sign, label or note and choose the option that best explains what it means or wants you to do.
What does it test?
Understanding the purpose and meaning of short, real-world English messages.
Any tips for Signs & Notices?
Ask yourself who wrote the message and why — the correct option matches its real purpose, not just individual words in it.
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What to do
This part of the reading test consists of five images with messages. Each image has 3 possible answer options. What does the notice say?
Read the notices and messages first. Don’t look at the choices until you understand the texts.
Compare each option with the text before choosing your answer. Remember that the wrong, answers might seem to be correct at first, so it is important to read the chosen option again to check that the meanings match.
Strategy
- Read the text and decide what situation it could appear in.
- Look at the images, the design often suggests the correct answer.
- Read the three options.
- Compare each option with the text before choosing an answer.
- Read the chosen option again to be sure it is a right answer.