Celpip Reading Correspondence Our New Place in Costa Rica
Reading Correspondence Our New Place in Costa Rica
This Reading Module has 12 questions similar to the kinds of questions that you can expect to find on an actual CELPIP Test. Practice Celpip Reading Correspondence Our New Place in Costa Rica.
Part 1
Directions: Read the following letter.
Hello Juan:
How are you doing? All’s well in St. John’s. I have some exciting news to tell you! Do you remember that real estate opportunity I was telling you about in Costa Rica? Well, I have decided to take the plunge! May and I will be buying a house somewhere along the Pacific Ocean side. Sounds great, right?
On our last trip there, sometime in November, we found a realtor, with the same first name as you by the way, who had some excellent leads for us. Not only that, his English is much better than our Spanish, so that helped! We told him that we were looking for a smaller, cheaper bungalow, not too far from the beach, but also that it didn’t necessarily need to be beachfront (which would have driven the price right up). So he found a few listings that were within a few kilometres of the beach, but that were also within our very limited budget. We checked out three places on the first day. Unfortunately, the jet lag hit me hard after seeing the third place, so we decided to call it a day. By the way, none of the first three houses really caught our eye. celpipmaterial.com
The next day, we continued our search. Juan showed us another three houses. After considering all six, May and I decided to put in an offer for the fifth one that we had seen. The offer was not accepted, but the owner countered, and by the end of the day we had a place to call our second home. It’s a bigger and more expensive bungalow than what we had actually hoped for. It’s just over 1,000 square feet. It has two bedrooms at the front of the house. Then at the back of the house, there’s another smaller bedroom. The really nice thing about the property is that it’s pretty big, and there’s actually a small guest house included, with another two bedrooms. There are also two bathrooms in the main house, and one in the guest house. And of course there’s a kitchen (but none in the guest house, so the guests would have to borrow the cooking facilities in the main house), and each house has a living room as well.
The reason I keep mentioning the guest house is that May and I would love to see you and Carla there. How far is Costa Rica from Mexico anyway? Well, I will let you know when we’re ready to move in, which should be soon, and then maybe we can plan for you to visit. celpipmaterial.com
Take care Juan,
Stephen
Part 2
Directions: Answer the questions by choosing the best word or phrase to complete the sentence, referring to the above letter.
1. Stephen is writing this letter to_____.
a. his friend.
b. his realtor.
c. his wife.
d. his real estate agency.
2. Stephen lives _____.
a. in Costa Rica.
b. in Mexico.
c. in St. John’s.
d. along the Pacific Ocean.
3. Stephen and May were hoping for _____.
a. a smaller beachfront bungalow.
b. a smaller, cheaper bungalow.
c. a pretty big property with a guest house.
d. a main house with three bedrooms and two baths.
4. The house that Stephen and May decided on was _____.
a. the second one they had seen.
b. the third one they had seen.
c. the fifth one they had seen.
d. the sixth one they had seen.
5. The property has _____.
a. two bedrooms.
b. three bedrooms.
c. four bedrooms.
d. five bedrooms.
6. On the property, there is only one _____.
a. building.
b. house.
c. kitchen.
d. living room.
7. Stephen mentions the guest house multiple times because _____.
a. he has invited Juan to stay there.
b. he loves to see Juan and Carla there.
c. he needs to plan for Juan and Carla to visit there.
d. he wants Juan and Carla to visit there. celpipmaterial.com
Part 3
Directions: Read the response to the above letter. Answer the questions by choosing the best word or phrase to complete the sentence, referring to the above letter when necessary.
Hi Stephen:
Thanks for the great news! I (8. know / knew / heard / wish) that you and May would finally buy (9. a houses / big homes / something / small homes) over there. When do you (10. plan / think / anticipate / guys) on moving in there? Carla and I would love to see you and May there (11. once / if / by the time / afterward) you’ve settled in.
By the way, Mexico’s not all that (12. close to / close from / far as / far from) Costa Rica. I think it’s only an hour or so by plane.
Talk to you again soon, celpipmaterial.com
Juan
Reading Correspondence Our New Place in Costa Rica Answers
1. a
2. c
3. b
4. c
5. d
6. c
7. d
8. knew
9. something
10. plan
11. once
12. far from
Answers Explanation
Reading for Correspondence “Our New Place in Costa Rica”
1) a: Since answer choices “b”, “c”, and “d” can all be eliminated, “a” is the only choice that remains. Stephen tells Juan that he has found a realtor, that “May (Stephen’s wife) and I will be buying a house”, and a “real estate agency” is a business, not a person, so logically Juan must be Stephen’s friend.
2) c: In Paragraph 1, Stephen tells Juan that “all’s well in St. John’s”.
3) b: Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 both give information about what kind of house they originally wanted, and what they ended up getting.
4) c: In Paragraph 3, Stephen says that “May and I decided to put in an offer for the fifth one that we had seen. The offer was not accepted, but the owner countered, and by the end of the day we had a place to call our second home,” so the fifth house was the one they bought.
5) d: There are 2 houses on the property: The main house has 3 bedrooms, and the guest house has 2 bedrooms, for a total of 5 bedrooms on the property.
6) c: Near the end of Paragraph 3, Stephen mentions that there is a kitchen (in the main house), but none in the guest house.
7) d: In the last paragraph of his letter, Stephen says to Juan that “The reason I keep mentioning the guest house is that May and I would love to see you and Carla there.”
8) knew: Juan had expected Stephen to buy a house, so the past tense verb “knew” is used.
9) something: Here, “something” refers to a house. All the other answer choices are grammatically incorrect for Stephen’s situation.
10) plan: The only possible answer choice for the sentence “When do you ___ on moving in there?” is “plan” because of the preposition “on” celpipmaterial.com
11) once: In this sentence, “once” has the meaning of “when”.
12) far from: In this sentence, Juan is telling Stephen that Mexico is not so far from Costa Rica, and that it is “only an hour or so by plane.”
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