CELPIP Reading Part 1: Reading Correspondence

How to approach Reading Part 1

1. Start with the relationship and purpose. Who is writing, who will reply, and what decision or action does the writer need? A polite opening alone does not tell you the purpose.
2. Track changes carefully. Mark the original arrangement and the new one separately. Words such as instead, still and only often decide which detail answers a question.
3. Prove each comprehension answer with the message. The correct choice may paraphrase a sentence; an option that repeats a word can still change its meaning.
4. For the reply, use both messages. Read each completed sentence aloud in your head. Check the facts, the grammar and the writer’s tone before choosing.

Questions and answer explanations

Choose an answer before opening its explanation. For blanks, insert the complete option into the message. This learning exercise does not calculate an official CELPIP score.

1. 1. Why is Priya writing to Maya?

   1. To cancel Saturday’s workshop.
   2. To explain changed arrangements and confirm Maya’s help.
   3. To ask Maya to lead an electrical repair class.
   4. To invite Maya to register as a participant.
   Show answer 1 and explanation

   B — Priya explains the indoor location, setup time and equipment, then asks whether Maya can still help. The event is not cancelled. Maya already offered to volunteer, so this is not a participant invitation. Electrical repairs are explicitly outside the session.

2. 2. Which part of the original plan stays the same?

   1. The location in the courtyard.
   2. The maximum number of registrations remaining available.
   3. The workshop’s 10 a.m. start.
   4. The use of the main entrance before setup.
   Show answer 2 and explanation

   C — The first paragraph says the workshop will still run from 10 a.m. to noon. “Still” signals an unchanged arrangement. The location moves indoors, registration closes, and volunteers need the side entrance before the main doors open.

3. 3. What does Priya allow registered participants to do?

   1. Bring one child who stays beside them.
   2. Invite another adult to repair a bicycle.
   3. Register an extra bicycle on arrival.
   4. Leave children at a separate supervised activity.
   Show answer 3 and explanation

   A — The exception permits one child beside each registered participant. It does not reopen registration or add bicycle places. No separate childcare activity is offered. Permission to bring a child does not mean anyone can bring guests.

4. 4. Why does Priya ask Maya to bring her pump?

   1. The centre has no tools at all.
   2. Maya is expected to give it to the centre permanently.
   3. The pump is needed to repair electrical systems.
   4. The centre’s pump is not suitable for every tyre valve.
   Show answer 4 and explanation

   D — The centre has basic tools, but its pump does not fit every valve. This specific limitation explains the request. Nothing says Maya must donate her pump, and electric bicycles are excluded from the work.

5. 5. What is the purpose of the sign at the courtyard gate?

   1. To announce that registration has reopened.
   2. To direct participants who have not seen the email to the new room.
   3. To tell volunteers that the workshop starts at 9:30.
   4. To advertise a full bicycle repair service.
   Show answer 5 and explanation

   B — Priya has emailed the room change, but some people may miss it and go to the old meeting point. The sign helps those people find the indoor session. It does not change registration, the 10 a.m. workshop start or the limited learning-service offer.

6. 6. What does Priya’s offer to ask Leo show?

   1. She no longer wants Maya to attend.
   2. She plans to postpone the workshop if Maya is late.
   3. She can arrange different setup help if Maya cannot arrive early.
   4. She expects Leo to repair electric bicycles.
   Show answer 6 and explanation

   C — Priya offers a backup for setup if the earlier arrival is difficult. This suggests flexibility about volunteer arrangements, not cancellation or rejection of Maya’s help. Nothing connects Leo to electrical repairs.

7. 7. Choose the best option for blank 7.

   1. sensible
   2. unnecessary
   3. impossible
   4. disappointing because of the sunshine
   Show answer 7 and explanation

   A — “Moving the workshop indoors sounds sensible given the weather forecast” agrees with the practical response to steady rain. “Unnecessary” contradicts that supportive reply. An indoor room is already booked, so “impossible” lacks support, and sunshine contradicts the forecast.

8. 8. Choose the best option for blank 8.

   1. cancel the registrations
   2. lock the side entrance
   3. change the workshop to 9:45
   4. help with the setup
   Show answer 8 and explanation

   D — Maya cannot arrive at 9:30, so she accepts Priya’s offer of Leo’s setup help. Her bus time does not become the workshop start time. Cancelling registrations or locking the required entrance would not solve the setup problem.

9. 9. Choose the best option for blank 9.

   1. ask each child to supply them
   2. borrow the centre’s set
   3. buy them from Leo
   4. repair bicycles without any
   Show answer 9 and explanation

   B — Priya says the centre has basic tools they can borrow. That fact makes it reasonable for Maya to leave her own tools at home. The passage does not ask children to supply tools, offer a sale or say that repairs need none.

10. 10. Choose the best option for blank 10.

    1. invite more people to join
    2. keep all children outside
    3. help people find the new location
    4. tell everyone to return on Thursday
    Show answer 10 and explanation

    C — The sign is for people who go to the courtyard without seeing the email. It redirects them to the activity room. Registration remains closed, permitted children can accompany participants, and Thursday is the reply deadline rather than the event day.

11. 11. Choose the best option for blank 11.

    1. outside the scope of this workshop
    2. the main topic of the session
    3. welcome if she arrives before 9:30
    4. included as a full repair service
    Show answer 11 and explanation

    A — “Outside the scope” means the request is not covered by this session. Priya explicitly excludes electric bicycles because of the volunteers’ training. Arriving early does not remove that restriction, and the workshop is not a full repair service.

Turn your mistakes into a reading strategy

Sort mistakes into changed details, permissions, purpose and reply context. For example, volunteers are asked to arrive at 9:30. Maya’s bus arrives at 9:45. The workshop starts at 10 a.m. All three times are real details, but only one answers question 2. For each reply blank, point to the fact in Priya’s email that makes the choice fit. Getting 11 out of 11 here does not establish an official CELPIP level. It shows how you handled this one untimed example.

Keep a short error log: your choice, the correct choice, the sentence or table cell that proves it, and the trap you missed. Then try a fresh question set to practise the same skill without relying on memory.

What should you practise next?

Use the free CELPIP Reading course for guided lessons, or download the free four-skill prep pack for printable practice. When you are ready to work under a clock, take a full CELPIP Reading practice test.

The official CELPIP test-format guide lists eleven questions for Reading Correspondence. These are our original teaching examples, not official test materials. The official guide is the source for current format details.