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Free Practice Questions for Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language

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Key Facts: Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language Exam

Exam Name: Segunda Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés (Madrid PAU 2026)

Exam Administrator: PAU Organising Commission of the Community of Madrid / UCM

Duration: 90 minutes

CEFR Level Target: B2 (Upper-Intermediate)

Scoring System: 0 to 10 scale (Minimum 4.0 for Access Phase weighting)

The Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language exam is administered by the PAU Organising Commission of Madrid / UCM for 2nd Bachillerato students taking English as an additional foreign language. The 90-minute exam is scored on a 0–10 scale. Local questions on this platform provide 100 multiple-choice practice items covering the complete 2nd Bachillerato English curriculum.

Sample Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language Practice Questions

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

1Read the text excerpt: 'While artificial intelligence tools offer unparalleled speed in generating educational outlines, educators emphasize that critical thinking and emotional intelligence remain fundamentally human attributes that algorithms cannot replicate.' What is the main thesis of this passage?
A.AI tools accelerate educational tasks, but core human cognitive and emotional skills remain irreplaceable.
B.Educational outlines produced by algorithms are completely unreliable and should be avoided by teachers.
C.Human teachers will soon be replaced entirely by automated artificial intelligence systems.
D.Critical thinking skills are less important in modern education than mastering AI speed and efficiency.
Explanation: The passage contrasts the speed of AI tools with irreplaceable human attributes like critical thinking and emotional intelligence, highlighting that while AI is fast, human cognitive skills remain primary.
2In the sentence 'Mobile devices have become ubiquitous in secondary school classrooms across Europe,' what does the word 'ubiquitous' mean?
A.Strictly prohibited
B.Present everywhere
C.Outdated and obsolete
D.Extremely expensive
Explanation: 'Ubiquitous' means present, appearing, or found everywhere. In the context of secondary school classrooms, it describes how mobile devices are now commonplace.
3Consider the sentence: 'When climate scientists analyzed the new satellite observations, they discovered that polar ice melt had accelerated faster than previous models predicted.' To what does the pronoun 'they' refer?
A.Polar ice sheets
B.Satellite observations
C.Climate scientists
D.Previous computer models
Explanation: The plural personal pronoun 'they' functions as the subject performing the action 'discovered', referring back to the plural noun phrase 'climate scientists'.
4Which of the following words is the closest ANTONYM of 'deteriorate' as used in environmental reports?
A.Decline
B.Worsen
C.Decay
D.Improve
Explanation: 'Deteriorate' means to become progressively worse. Therefore, 'improve' (to make or become better) is its exact antonym.
5Read the statement: 'While urban vertical farming holds undeniable promise, blindly celebrating it without addressing its colossal energy demands is reckless.' What is the author's tone toward vertical farming?
A.Cautious and analytical
B.Unreservedly enthusiastic
C.Hostile and dismissive
D.Completely indifferent
Explanation: The author acknowledges the 'undeniable promise' while highlighting critical energy concerns and warning against 'reckless' celebration, reflecting a balanced, cautious, and analytical tone.
6Passage snippet: 'Studies indicate that remote workers often log longer hours than office-based staff, primarily due to the blurring of boundaries between professional duties and domestic life.' What can be logically inferred from this snippet?
A.Remote workers always work fewer hours because they waste time at home.
B.Working from home can make it difficult for employees to disconnect from work.
C.Employers prefer office workers because they are proven to be more productive.
D.Domestic life is completely unaffected by remote work schedules.
Explanation: The phrase 'blurring of boundaries between professional duties and domestic life' leading to longer hours logically implies that remote workers struggle to separate work from personal time.
7Text snippet: 'The James Webb Space Telescope operates at Lagrange point 2, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, allowing it to maintain an uninterrupted view of deep space.' Which statement is TRUE based on the text?
A.The telescope orbits Earth at a distance of 150 kilometers.
B.Lagrange point 2 prevents the space telescope from viewing deep space.
C.The telescope is positioned roughly 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.
D.The James Webb telescope requires daily manual maintenance from astronauts.
Explanation: The text directly states that the telescope operates at Lagrange point 2, 'approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth'.
8Passage structure: Paragraph 1 introduces the rise of fast fashion. Paragraph 2 details the ecological degradation caused by synthetic textile waste. What is the main function of Paragraph 2?
A.To provide historical background on ancient textile production.
B.To offer solutions for recycling natural cotton garments.
C.To refute the arguments presented in the first paragraph.
D.To illustrate the environmental consequences of the trend introduced in Paragraph 1.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 expands upon the topic of fast fashion introduced in Paragraph 1 by describing its negative ecological impact, serving to illustrate consequences.
9'Owing to prolonged droughts in Western Europe, agricultural yields dropped by 18% last season, causing food prices to surge.' What caused the surge in food prices?
A.A decrease in agricultural yields resulting from extended droughts.
B.A sudden drop in global transport and fuel costs.
C.Overproduction of crops across Western European farms.
D.Government subsidies lowering retail market prices.
Explanation: The sentence specifies a cause-and-effect chain: prolonged droughts caused agricultural yields to drop, which in turn caused food prices to surge.
10What is the contextual meaning of 'unprecedented' in the phrase 'unprecedented global heatwaves'?
A.Predictable and regular
B.Never done or known before
C.Mild and pleasant
D.Historically insignificant
Explanation: 'Unprecedented' means never having happened or existed in the past, denoting an extraordinary or novel event.

About the Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language Exam

The Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language exam (Segunda Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés) assesses upper-secondary school graduates in Madrid on B2 CEFR English proficiency, advanced syntax, text comprehension, vocabulary, and sentence transformations. Local questions are an English-language MCQ study adaptation for 2nd Bachillerato curriculum.

Exam sponsor: PAU Organising Commission of the Community of Madrid / Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

90-minute written examination (reading comprehension, language use, rephrasing, and composition; local questions are an English-language MCQ study adaptation)

Time Limit

90 minutes (1.5 hours)

Passing Score

Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).

Exam / Certification Fees

EUR 93.02 base registration fee for compulsory Access Phase in Community of Madrid (or ~11.63 € per optional subject in voluntary phase).

Exam sponsor website

Reported exam pass rate: High (~90-95% PAU overall pass rate in Madrid). This describes exam candidates, not OpenExamPrep users or results from using our resources. 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.

25%

Reading Comprehension & Text Analysis

Textual analysis, identifying central arguments, contextual vocabulary inference, true/false statement validation, and reference resolution.

25%

English Grammar & Advanced Syntax

Complex tenses, passive/causative constructions, modal auxiliary verbs, relative clauses, conditional sentences, and inversion.

20%

Lexicon & Phrasal Verbs/Idioms

Phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions, collocations, dependent prepositions, word formation (prefixes/suffixes), and false friends.

15%

Sentence Reformulation & Transformations

Syntactic rephrasing, reported speech rewrites, active-to-passive transformations, conditional rewrites, and keyword transformations.

15%

Cultural & Communicative Competence

Pragmatic intent, speech acts, formal vs informal register, discourse markers, and cultural knowledge of Anglophone contexts.

Preparing for the Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU >= 5.0 to pass).
  • Assessment: 90-minute written examination (reading comprehension, language use, rephrasing, and composition; local questions are an English-language MCQ study adaptation)
  • Time limit: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
  • Exam / certification fees: EUR 93.02 base registration fee for compulsory Access Phase in Community of Madrid (or ~11.63 € per optional subject in voluntary phase). 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

Madrid PAU English — Additional Foreign Language: Suggested Study Strategy

1Master high-frequency phrasal verbs and dependent prepositions that routinely appear in PAU transformation exercises.
2Practice identifying grammatical structures such as third conditionals, mixed conditionals, and inversion (e.g., 'Not only... but also').
3Develop scanning and skimming techniques for reading comprehension to locate specific textual evidence quickly.
4Learn key discourse linkers (e.g., 'nevertheless', 'furthermore', 'owing to') and understand their syntactic placement.
5Review false friends (cognates like 'actual', 'embarrassed', 'assist') to avoid common vocabulary pitfalls in translation and comprehension.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Segunda Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés in Madrid PAU?

It is the PAU subject exam for students who take English as their second foreign language in 2nd Bachillerato (or choose it in the voluntary phase to raise their admission score).

How is the exam structured and scored?

The official exam is a 90-minute written paper marked out of 10 points. In the Access Phase, a minimum of 4.0 is required. The 100 questions here adapt the syllabus into multiple-choice format for practice.

What level of English is expected?

The exam corresponds to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), requiring solid command of complex grammar, rich vocabulary, and text comprehension.

What registration fees apply in Madrid?

The base registration fee for the compulsory Access Phase in Madrid is EUR 93.02, or approximately 11.63 € per subject in the voluntary phase.

How should I use these 100 practice questions?

Work through questions by category, study the detailed explanations for both correct and incorrect options, and take full practice tests to improve speed and retention.