Tema 2 · Reading & vocabulary B1

Estrategias de lectura (skimming, scanning, inference), vocabulario por temas (work, environment, health, technology, education, travel, media), false friends, collocations y formación de palabras.

1. Reading strategies: skimming, scanning, inference

Skimming: lectura rápida para captar la idea general (gist). Lee titulares, primera y última frase de cada párrafo. Útil para previsualizar un texto.
Scanning: búsqueda rápida de información específica (datos, nombres, fechas). Recorre el texto con la vista hasta encontrar la palabra clave.
Inference: deducir información implícita (la actitud del autor, el contexto, el significado de palabras desconocidas) a partir de las pistas del texto. "Although he smiled, his eyes were cold" → no es sincero.

2. Vocabulary by topics (B1)

Work & jobs: employee, employer, colleague, salary, wages, promotion, deadline, meeting, interview, CV/résumé, working hours, freelance, self-employed.
Environment: pollution, climate change, global warming, recycling, renewable energy, biodiversity, endangered species, carbon footprint, sustainable.
Health & lifestyle: balanced diet, exercise, mental health, well-being, stress, anxiety, sleep, junk food, addiction, prescription, side effect, healthcare.
Technology & media: social media, smartphone, screen time, fake news, privacy, app, download, streaming, influencer, hashtag, trending, cyberbullying.
Education & travel: degree, graduate, scholarship, exchange, gap year, abroad, accommodation, sightseeing, backpacking, jet-lag, itinerary, check-in.

3. False friends and tricky pairs

False friends (cognados engañosos)
  • actually = in fact, not "actualmente" (= currently).
  • library = biblioteca, not "librería" (= bookshop).
  • sensible = sensato, not "sensible" (= sensitive).
  • embarrassed = avergonzado, not "embarazada" (= pregnant).
  • constipated = estreñido, not "constipado" (= to have a cold).
  • assist = ayudar, not "asistir" (= attend).
Tricky pairs
  • say vs tell: say + (to sb) + sth; tell + sb + sth.
  • do vs make: do homework, do the dishes; make a decision, make a mistake.
  • borrow vs lend: I borrow a book from you; you lend a book to me.
  • fun vs funny: enjoyable vs producing laughter.
  • too vs enough: It's too cold to swim / It's not warm enough.

4. Collocations and word formation

Collocations típicas (combinaciones naturales)
  • make + decision, mistake, effort, friends, money, sense.
  • do + homework, business, the shopping, exercise, your best.
  • take + a break, a photo, a chance, advantage, place.
  • get + married, dressed, lost, ready, used to.
Word formation
  • Prefijos: un-, in-, im-, dis-, mis-, re- (unhappy, impossible, dislike, misunderstand, rewrite).
  • Sufijos nominales: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity (information, agreement, happiness, ability).
  • Sufijos adjetivales: -ful, -less, -able, -ous (helpful, useless, comfortable, famous).
  • Sufijos adverbiales: -ly (quickly, finally).

Problems and guided analysis (step by step)

Mixes guided analysis (identify tenses, transformations, false friends, mediation types) with multiple-choice exercises where the expected answer is the option number.

Análisis · Skimming for gist 2025-26OrientacionesMedio

Read quickly: «Many young people today spend an average of seven hours a day on their smartphones. Although technology allows constant communication, doctors warn that excessive screen time is linked to anxiety, sleep problems and falling concentration. Schools and parents face a real challenge.»
1
¿Cuál es la idea principal del texto? (una palabra: positivo / negativo / neutro)
2
¿De qué tema trata principalmente? (en inglés, una o dos palabras)
Ver solución completa
Se trata de un texto negativo sobre el uso excesivo del teléfono. La idea principal (gist) es que el smartphone causa problemas de salud. Skimming: la primera frase introduce el tema (smartphones), la segunda introduce el problema (problemas médicos), la tercera evalúa (challenge). Como pista clave: «warn», «excessive», «anxiety», «falling».

Análisis · Inference and false friend 2025-26OrientacionesAlta

«After the long flight, she felt very tired and her stomach was upset. She decided to visit a chemist's because she thought she was constipated
1
'Constipated' en inglés significa: (una palabra en español)
2
¿De qué tipo de error léxico es esta confusión? (dos palabras en inglés)
Ver solución completa
Constipated es un false friend. En inglés significa estreñido, NO «constipado» (cold/blocked nose). Es uno de los false friends más típicos para hispanohablantes. Otros: actually ≠ actualmente, library ≠ librería, sensible ≠ sensible, embarrassed ≠ embarazada, assist ≠ asistir.

Reading · Skim vs scan

Quieres saber rápidamente si un artículo trata de política o de deporte. ¿Qué técnica usas?
1
Técnica más adecuada (1=skimming para el gist, 2=scanning para datos, 3=inferencia, 4=traducción literal).

False friend · Library

«I bought this novel at the library.» — ¿Por qué es incorrecto?
1
Razón (1=falta de artículo, 2=library = biblioteca, no librería; debe ser 'bookshop', 3=el verbo es incorrecto, 4=no hay error).

False friend · Embarrassed

«She is embarrassed because she is going to have a baby.» — Identifica el error.
1
Error (1=embarrassed ≠ embarazada; debería ser 'pregnant', 2=verbo incorrecto, 3=falta concordancia, 4=es correcto).

Collocation · Make vs Do

«I have to ___ my homework before dinner.»
1
Verbo correcto (1=make, 2=do, 3=take, 4=have).

Collocation · Make a decision

«It's hard to ___ an important decision quickly.»
1
Verbo correcto (1=make, 2=do, 3=take, 4=have).

Phrasal verb · Look up

«If you don't know a word, ___ it ___ in the dictionary.»
1
Phrasal verb (1=look up, 2=look after, 3=look for, 4=look at).

Vocabulary · Environment

«Greenpeace fights against ___.» (la palabra más específica)
1
Sustantivo (1=health, 2=pollution, 3=transport, 4=traffic).

Vocabulary · Technology

«___ is when someone harasses you online.»
1
Sustantivo (1=streaming, 2=hashtag, 3=cyberbullying, 4=influencer).

Word formation · From verb to noun

«To inform → noun.»
1
Forma (1=informer, 2=information, 3=informative, 4=informment).

Word formation · From noun to adjective

«fame → adjective.»
1
Forma (1=famed, 2=famous, 3=fameful, 4=famely).

Prefix · Negative

«happy → opposite.»
1
Forma (1=inhappy, 2=imhappy, 3=unhappy, 4=dishappy).

Tricky pair · Say vs Tell

«She ___ me she was tired.»
1
Verbo correcto (1=said, 2=told, 3=spoke, 4=talked).
2
Regla (1=tell requiere objeto, 2=say nunca lleva objeto, 3=son intercambiables, 4=tell solo en negativo).

Tricky pair · Borrow vs Lend

«Can I ___ your pencil for a minute?»
1
Verbo correcto (1=borrow, 2=lend, 3=give, 4=hire).

Self-assessment test

'Sensible' in English means:

Choose the correct collocation:

Skimming is used to:

Which is a false friend?

«unforgettable» is formed by:

Simulators

🎭 Identify the false friend (English → Spanish)

Cada tarjeta presenta una palabra inglesa. Elige el significado correcto en español (no el cognado engañoso).

🧠 Identify the collocation: make / do / take / get

Cada tarjeta presenta una colocación inglesa. Identifica el verbo correcto.

Exam bank (Inglés 1º Bach)

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