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Free Practice Questions for Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English

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Exam Review

Key Facts: Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English Exam

90 min

Time limit for Catalonia PAU Foreign Language (English) paper

Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC)

EUR 110.00+ access phase (EUR 41.30 exam right + EUR 68.70 access phase; plus EUR 13.80 per admission exercise, Generalitat de Catalunya 2026)

Base registration fee set by Generalitat de Catalunya for Access Phase

Generalitat de Catalunya PAU Regulations

4.0 / 10

Minimum score required in Access Phase to combine with Batxillerat GPA

Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC)

100

High-yield MCQ practice questions in this study adaptation bank

OpenExamPrep

Prepare for the Catalonia PAU English exam (2026) with 100 targeted practice questions covering reading comprehension, B2-C1 grammar, phrasal verbs, false cognates, and discourse connectors.

Sample Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Read the sentence: 'Despite early skepticism from industry veterans, the automated system demonstrated remarkable accuracy during initial trial runs.' What is the main idea of this sentence?
A.The system proved highly accurate despite initial doubts from experts.
B.Industry experts successfully prevented the system from being tested.
C.The trial runs failed because the automated system was unreliable.
D.Industry veterans designed the system to guarantee high accuracy.
Explanation: The sentence highlights that the automated system showed remarkable accuracy during initial trial runs, overcoming early skepticism from industry veterans. Therefore, the main idea is that the system proved highly accurate despite initial doubts. The distractors misstate the outcome of the trials or alter the roles of the experts.
2In the context of environmental policy, what is the best synonym for the word 'paramount' in the phrase 'protecting biodiversity is of paramount importance'?
A.supreme
B.secondary
C.negligible
D.optional
Explanation: The adjective 'paramount' means chief in importance, supreme, or preeminent. In the given context, saying protection is of paramount importance means it is of supreme or utmost importance. The options 'secondary', 'negligible', and 'optional' express low or non-essential importance.
3Read the excerpt: 'While urban expansion offers economic opportunities, it frequently encroaches upon vital natural habitats, displacing native wildlife and straining water resources.' What is the author's tone toward urban expansion?
A.cautiously critical
B.overwhelmingly enthusiastic
C.entirely dismissive
D.indifferent and neutral
Explanation: The author acknowledges economic benefits ('while urban expansion offers economic opportunities') but emphasizes negative ecological consequences ('encroaches', 'displacing native wildlife', 'straining water resources'). This combination of acknowledging benefits while stressing serious drawbacks conveys a cautiously critical tone. The other choices fail to reflect this balanced yet warning tone.
4Read the text excerpt: 'Recent studies indicate that access to green spaces reduces cortisol levels and enhances cognitive recovery in city residents.' What can be logically inferred from this statement?
A.Urban parks can contribute positively to residents' mental health.
B.Living near green spaces eliminates all physiological stress.
C.City residents prefer artificial parks over natural reserves.
D.Cortisol levels increase when people spend time in green environments.
Explanation: Lowering cortisol (a stress hormone) and enhancing cognitive recovery directly imply improvements in mental health and stress management. Therefore, urban parks contributing positively to mental health is a logical inference. Option 'eliminates all physiological stress' is an overgeneralization, option 'prefer artificial parks' is unsupported, and option 'cortisol levels increase' contradicts the text.
5What is the meaning of 'alleviate' in the sentence: 'The new public transit line was designed to alleviate traffic congestion in the city center'?
A.relieve
B.intensify
C.ignore
D.generate
Explanation: To 'alleviate' means to make suffering, deficiency, or a problem less severe, which is synonymous with 'relieve'. In this sentence, the transit line aims to reduce traffic congestion. 'Intensify' and 'generate' express opposite meanings, while 'ignore' implies lack of action.
6Read the paragraph: 'Digital literacy has become indispensable in contemporary education. Students must not only navigate online platforms but also evaluate the credibility of digital sources to avoid misinformation.' What is the primary purpose of this paragraph?
A.To emphasize the necessity of critical thinking skills in digital learning.
B.To argue that physical textbooks should be completely replaced by online media.
C.To explain how search engine algorithms filter unreliable information.
D.To criticize students for relying heavily on internet research.
Explanation: The paragraph points out that students must learn to evaluate source credibility alongside using online platforms, stressing the importance of critical thinking in digital literacy. It does not advocate abandoning textbooks, explain search algorithms, or criticize students.
7In the sentence 'Although the committee presented a detailed proposal, the board rejected it due to budget constraints', what does the pronoun 'it' refer to?
A.the proposal
B.the committee
C.the board
D.the budget constraint
Explanation: The pronoun 'it' serves as a direct object pronoun replacing the singular noun phrase 'a detailed proposal' presented by the committee. The board is the subject doing the rejecting, and budget constraints represent the cause of rejection.
8Read the statement: 'Synthetic microfibers released during washing cycles accumulate in marine sediments, posing ingestion risks to benthic organisms.' Which assertion is supported by the text?
A.Laundry processes contribute to marine ecosystem pollution.
B.Benthic organisms thrive on synthetic materials in ocean sediments.
C.Washing machines filter out all microfibers before wastewater discharge.
D.Microfiber pollution is confined strictly to freshwater lakes.
Explanation: The text explains that washing cycles release synthetic microfibers into marine sediments where they pose ingestion risks, supporting the conclusion that laundry contributes to marine pollution. The options claiming organisms thrive on synthetic materials, machines filter all fibers, or pollution is confined to freshwater contradict the passage.
9Read the sentence: 'Remote work offers unprecedented flexibility; nevertheless, without clear boundaries, it frequently blurs the line between professional duties and personal life.' What is the author's attitude toward remote work?
A.balanced, acknowledging both advantages and potential pitfalls
B.entirely opposed to flexible working arrangements
C.unconditionally supportive without any reservations
D.uninterested in workplace organizational changes
Explanation: The author praises remote work for 'unprecedented flexibility' but warns that it 'frequently blurs the line' between work and personal life. The contrast marker 'nevertheless' sets up a balanced view presenting both benefits and drawbacks. The other options express extreme or indifferent positions not reflected in the text.
10Select the best antonym for 'subsequent' in the sentence: 'The initial findings were modest, but subsequent experiments produced groundbreaking results.'
A.prior
B.following
C.consecutive
D.later
Explanation: 'Subsequent' means coming after something in time or following. The antonym indicating something occurring before is 'prior' (or previous). 'Following', 'consecutive', and 'later' are synonyms or related terms pointing to future sequence.

About the Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English Exam

The Catalonia PAU Foreign Language (English / Anglès) exam, administered by the Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC) under the Generalitat de Catalunya, assesses upper-intermediate to advanced English proficiency (B2 to C1 level) for 2n de Batxillerat students aiming for university entry. The official exam features open-ended written questions, listening tasks, and an essay. This practice bank provides 100 multiple-choice adaptation questions covering reading comprehension, complex grammar and rephrasing, upper-intermediate lexicon, phrasal verbs, false friends, and discourse markers.

Exam sponsor: Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC) / Generalitat de Catalunya. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

The official Catalonia PAU English exam evaluates B2-C1 proficiency through listening comprehension, reading comprehension, open-ended grammar and rephrasing exercises, and an essay composition. Note that the official examination is written open-ended in English; local questions in this study bank are an English-language MCQ study adaptation designed for self-assessment.

Time Limit

90 minutes (1.5 hours)

Passing Score

Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum score of 4.0 required in the Access Phase to calculate overall entrance score (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).

Exam / Certification Fees

EUR 41.30 examination right + EUR 68.70 access phase + EUR 13.80 per admission-phase exercise (Generalitat de Catalunya, PAU 2026); 50% reduction and full exemption available for eligible groups

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

30%

Reading Comprehension & Text Analysis

Identifying main ideas, implicit meanings, contextual inferences, tone, and context-dependent vocabulary in authentic B2/C1 texts.

35%

English Grammar & Syntax

Mastery of verb tenses, passive voice, reported speech, conditionals, modal verbs, relative clauses, inversion, and syntactic rephrasing.

20%

Vocabulary, Phrasal Verbs & Collocations

Phrasal verbs, idioms, false friends (false cognates in Catalan/Spanish), word formation (prefixes/suffixes), and fixed prepositions.

15%

Discourse Markers & Writing Mechanics

Cohesive connectors, transition words, formal essay structure, register awareness, punctuation, and academic writing conventions.

Preparing for the Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum score of 4.0 required in the Access Phase to calculate overall entrance score (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).
  • Assessment: The official Catalonia PAU English exam evaluates B2-C1 proficiency through listening comprehension, reading comprehension, open-ended grammar and rephrasing exercises, and an essay composition. Note that the official examination is written open-ended in English; local questions in this study bank are an English-language MCQ study adaptation designed for self-assessment.
  • Time limit: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
  • Exam / certification fees: EUR 41.30 examination right + EUR 68.70 access phase + EUR 13.80 per admission-phase exercise (Generalitat de Catalunya, PAU 2026); 50% reduction and full exemption available for eligible groups Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Catalonia PAU Foreign Language — English: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master sentence rephrasing patterns, such as transforming active sentences into passive voice, direct speech into indirect speech, and standard conditional sentences into inverted structures.
2Build a categorized vocabulary log for phrasal verbs commonly used in formal and semi-formal contexts (e.g., 'carry out', 'bring about', 'take over', 'turn down').
3Study discourse connectors by logical function (concession: 'although', 'even though', 'despite'; cause/result: 'consequently', 'owing to', 'therefore'; addition: 'furthermore', 'besides').
4Watch out for false friends between Catalan/Spanish and English in reading texts and option choices to avoid misinterpreting passage meaning.
5Read diverse opinion articles and essays in English to improve speed in reading comprehension and recognize nuanced authorial tone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Catalonia PAU English exam structured?

The official Catalonia PAU English exam includes listening comprehension, text-based reading questions (synonyms, true/false with justification, main idea), language use (rephrasing/grammar), and a written composition of 125–150 words. Note that while the official exam is written open-ended in English, this practice bank provides a multiple-choice adaptation covering the exact same subject competencies.

What level of English is required for Catalonia PAU Anglès?

The exam tests B2 to early C1 proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), aligning with the 2n de Batxillerat foreign language curriculum in Catalonia.

What is the fee and passing score for the PAU exam in Catalonia?

The Generalitat de Catalunya, through the Consell Interuniversitari de Catalunya (CIC), sets the 2026 PAU ordinary fees at EUR 41.30 examination right, EUR 68.70 access phase, and EUR 13.80 per admission-phase exercise. A 50% reduction and a full exemption are available for eligible groups such as large families (família nombrosa general), scholarship holders, and students with a recognised disability of 33% or more.

What grammar topics appear most frequently in Use of English?

Frequent grammar topics include mixed conditionals, passive and causative structures ('have something done'), reported speech with reporting verbs ('insisted on', 'accused of'), relative clauses, modal verbs of deduction in the past ('must have been'), negative inversion, and gerund vs. infinitive constructions.

What false friends should Catalan and Spanish speakers watch out for?

Key false cognates include 'actually' (in fact, not actualment/actualmente), 'assist' (help, not assistir/asistir), 'sympathetic' (understanding/compassionate, not simpàtic/simpático), 'sensible' (reasonable, not sensible), and 'constipated' (suffering bowel obstruction, not constipat/resfriado).